"Hark! O All Ye Hail! Lord Bless Treasure! Lord Bless Shooters! Lord Bless Radiant Silvergun!"

Radiant Silvergun, developed by Treasure, exploded onto the Japanese Sega Saturn scene in 1998. Developed by a bare-bones team of programmers, designers, and a composer, Radiant Silvergun escalated into a household term for shooter fans and left its mark as one of the most hardcore and sought-after games of all time. With prices reaching $200+ dollars on EBay and a dedicated following across the globe, one cannot digress that the demand is still very high some six years later. But how could this powerful game spawn and thrive in only the Japanese market, created from a small handful of developers? Not only how could it survive, but keep a place in gaming history for the next decade?

Because Radiant Silvergun was not only the prime of vertical shooters, but an evolution.

Think of a shooter. Any shooter. Probably, you think of fun but impossibly hard games like Gradius, R-Type, or whatever Neo-Geo game there is at the bowling alley (On a side note, if your bowling alley has a Neo-Geo, consider yourself very lucky). While great games in their own rights, words like ‘epic', ‘consistently fresh', and ‘hard but not maddening' probably don't come first to mind. Story in a shooter? Good music in a shooter? That's like asking for good music or story in a porn, right? Bah. Radiant Silvergun has all those and more.

The story of Radiant Silvergun starts when a strange Stone-Like object is unearthed from deep within the planet. It is researched while three pilots, their overseer, and a superhuman robot orbit the planet in their ship, the Tetra. Buster (Player 1) is the most promising pilot, calm and collected, though with his sardonic traits on occasion. Reana (Player 2), is an orphan and excellent pilot in her own right, bubbly and cheerful, though with traits of impulsive behavior. Gai is the third pilot, though an awful and nosy one. Igarashi is the overseer, testing these three to see how they will cope with the new model of spacecraft, the Silverguns. The Creator, Igarashi's assistant, tags along for the tests. As these five orbit Earth, a message from the Earth Defense Association (EDA) comes up. Apparently there was a robot lying next to the Stone-Like, which had the same ID number as the Creator. The Creator is perplexed and puzzled, but they soon shrug it off. It was only days later that they would soon find why.

One night, as scientists grumble about their duties and working hours, the Stone-Like suddenly emits a massive bright light. Energy signatures for the Stone-Like are read, and the lab suddenly explodes. Minutes later, the EDA declares a Level A emergency and a evacuation of the complex. Energy signatures from the Stone-Like grow rapidly, infinite in its power. Up in orbit, Igarashi reads the report and sends the pilots to their Silverguns on standby, ready for whatever might happen.

Seconds later, the entire Earth is engulfed in a bright light. The crew of the Tetra stare in amazement as all life is wiped from the Earth. When the light cools, there no communication. No response. No life.

"Western Calendar 2520, July the 14th. On that day, the world collapsed. Leaving the four of us human beings and one robonoid behind."

A year is spent in deep space, until a lack of supplies forces them to land back on Earth. Once they arrive, they find that the Stone-Like has ultimate control over the planet. And so they fly to the EDA headquarters to unearth the secrets of this strange artifact and recover Earth back to their state.

Now, I've been rambling on about the story, but let's face it. It's icing on the cake for a shooter. The real meat lies in the gameplay. The level design, the boss strategies, the little niche that sets a shooter apart from the others. On this level, Radiant Silvergun does not disappoint.

The main thing that sets Radiant Silvergun apart from other shooters is its unique weapondary system. You have three buttons for your weapons (not counting the shortcut buttons). However, you have 7 weapons at your disposal, and one ‘smart bomb'-esque weapon. These 7 can all be used as many times as you want for any situation. And the list varies from your standard shot to a lock-on laser to even a sword. All very unique, and all very fun. It doesn't stop there. The more you use a weapon, the more powerful it grows. Say you use the Vulcan Cannon a lot (button A). Not only will your Vulcan Cannon shots be more powerful at the end of the game, but the Back-Wide Shot (A+C), Homing Plasma (A+B), and Radiant Sword (A+B+C) will grow in power. This gives an RPG-esque element that many appreciate.

But another big star of the gameplay is the excellent level design. Crafty turns and carefully placed enemies keep you on your toes and reflexes twitching throughout the entire game. There is no part of the game that the level design seems too similar to a past section. And the bosses! Treasure has always been known to have a excellent care for bosses. Radiant Silvergun displays them at the utmost prime.

Bosses are composed of several parts. If that laser is bothering you, shoot the weapon off. But be warned, because an elevator may come and attach and more deadly weapon to it. Dodge those locked-on shots while avoiding the wire-frame lasers that have been set in the level. Chase down the speeding ship through narrow passages white it lays bombs and shoots lasers at the same time. Go up against other Silverguns. And even one level is composed entirely of one boss, forcing you fly all over the gigantic ship with the movement rolling as you destroy it's weak points. Bosses are the definite highlight of the game that will keep you on your toes.

With Treasure fame at hand, one more gameplay feature factors into higher scores. Every enemy in the game is either a red, yellow, or blue color. By keeping a chain of the same color (Hint: use red), you can rack up points very quickly. A chain of red-yellow-blue also nets you a quick bunch of extra points, as does hidden ‘dogs' throughout the level that can only be obtained by a certain homing weapon.

We've covered gameplay and story, but I'd like to cover one more very important figure. The music. Composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy Tactics/Advance, Gradius V, Varagant Story, Stella Deus), this OST is nothing short of brilliance. Tracks both epic and catchy that will keep you whistling for a while. Not only has Sakimoto completed a fine backdrop for the game, but he has also composed one of the greatest video game OSTs in history. If nothing else from this review, I suggest you seek this OST out.

As great as this game is, I can see one major difference that some may consider a flaw. Radiant Silvergun is not your typical shooter. A typical shooter is over in about a half-hour and the most incentive for replay is to get higher and better scores. Shooter purists consider many other games to be more rewarding to get higher scores, which is understandable.

The bottom line: Is it worth the $200+ dollars it goes for? My opinion: That's a lot of money. If you're a shooter fan and don't mind saving up the pennies for video games, I support making a purchase. There aren't many games this expensive that are greater. Calling Radiant Silvergun the holy grail of video games isn't that big of a stretch. Nevertheless, this is a must play if you are a shooter fan. And even if you aren't, you won't be disappointed anyway.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/07/05