Looking back at Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga

[dmk1198]

They both ooze quality in my opinion
The music, production values etc
Still haven't been beaten

[xEbb1993x]

Even though we've had great ones like Crimzon Clover? Or any of the DonPachi series? Honestly, I feel like only Ubusuna can finally topple Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga. It's from the same guy after all. When that game comes out, and I hope to God it will, it'll make Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga look like a walk in the park. Heck, probably make those two games footnotes.

[AGermanArtist]

They both ooze quality in my opinion
The music, production values etc
Still haven't been beaten

No question they're both well developed/realised games, but they lack the spark of a solid arcade experience. They're somewhat joyless.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

What about games like Axelay, Silpheed (Sega CD), Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, and Soukyugurentai? Were they crowned as the best before Radiant Silvergun came along?

On the PC Engine Arcade CD-Rom2 release of Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, if you collect four of the same colored power-ups, the fifth one and beyond if collected, will be worth a whopping 5,000 point bonus each added to your overall score -- there are certain portions of any given stage with a bunch of power-ups that are "free bonus points," ripe for the taking.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[xEbb1993x]

On the PC Engine Arcade CD-Rom2 release of Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, if you collect four of the same colored power-ups, the fifth one and beyond if collected, will be worth a whopping 5,000 point bonus each added to your overall score -- there are certain portions of any given stage with a bunch of power-ups that are "free bonus points," ripe for the taking.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Really? Been a while since I played it, but I'm not sure I tried that before.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

On the PC Engine Arcade CD-Rom2 release of Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, if you collect four of the same colored power-ups, the fifth one and beyond if collected, will be worth a whopping 5,000 point bonus each added to your overall score -- there are certain portions of any given stage with a bunch of power-ups that are "free bonus points," ripe for the taking.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Really? Been a while since I played it, but I'm not sure I tried that before.

It gives you extra incentive to revisit the PCE Arcade CD-Rom2 of GFDS stg again.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[xEbb1993x]

All right, I might try it.

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Even though we've had great ones like Crimzon Clover?

Tried a couple of times to get into this game, apart from the fact that some of the music is aggressively shitty I just didn't enjoy it much despite its stellar reputation.
Same for Ikaruga, looks great, is just not fun for me.

[Steven]

Damn, I thought I was the only person who doesn't really like Crimzon Clover's music.

[xEbb1993x]

Damn, I thought I was the only person who doesn't really like Crimzon Clover's music.

Original or arranged? Because the arranged music is available on the get-go in World EXplosion, while for World Ignition, you have to download it.

[Steven]

Damn, I thought I was the only person who doesn't really like Crimzon Clover's music.

Original or arranged?

Both

[Faith]

Tried a couple of times to get into this game, apart from the fact that some of the music is aggressively shitty I just didn't enjoy it much despite its stellar reputation.

Both

I guess I am against the flow then? I think Crimzon Clover has some of the best STG music... if set up properly.

There are actually "three" OST's for Crimzon Clover, the original OST you can select "Regular" and "Other" and then there is the Arranged OST which is selected from "Music Settings."

In my opinion, this is the best setup:

Spoiler

One annoying thing is you need to set the music for all three "BGM Mode" (Boost, Original, and Unlimited).

I do not like the Arranged OST at all, so I keep "Music Settings" to "Original" (also, the Arranged OST does not allow you to set individual stage OST).

I feel like they messed up the Arranged OST for the TLB, and it really breaks from the feel of the fight, whereas the Original OST TLB music is very grand, epic, and final; and sets the tone for the fight.

For the Original & "Regular" OST, I feel like the only one that was a miss was Stage 3. But the Original "Other" track for Stage 3 is superb and fits the level very well I feel.

So that is how I set it up. Keep mostly the Original & "Regular" OST, but change Stage 3 & 4 to the Original & "Other" track.

For Stage 4, I like both the "Regular" and "Other" but with a slight preference for the "Other."

[Light1000]

Spoiler

Tried a couple of times to get into this game, apart from the fact that some of the music is aggressively shitty I just didn't enjoy it much despite its stellar reputation.

Both

I guess I am against the flow then? I think Crimzon Clover has some of the best STG music... if set up properly.

There are actually "three" OST's for Crimzon Clover, the original OST you can select "Regular" and "Other" and then there is the Arranged OST which is selected from "Music Settings."

In my opinion, this is the best setup:



One annoying thing is you need to set the music for all three "BGM Mode" (Boost, Original, and Unlimited).

I do not like the Arranged OST at all, so I keep "Music Settings" to "Original" (also, the Arranged OST does not allow you to set individual stage OST).

I feel like they messed up the Arranged OST for the TLB, and it really breaks from the feel of the fight, whereas the Original OST TLB music is very grand, epic, and final; and sets the tone for the fight.

For the Original & "Regular" OST, I feel like the only one that was a miss was Stage 3. But the Original "Other" track for Stage 3 is superb and fits the level very well I feel.

So that is how I set it up. Keep mostly the Original & "Regular" OST, but change Stage 3 & 4 to the Original & "Other" track.

For Stage 4, I like both the "Regular" and "Other" but with a slight preference for the "Other."

The "Other" OST is the OST for unlimited mode. Not sure why they named it so vaguely in the menu...

[Steven]

I don't really like the Unlimited OST either, largely because it feels like it was made for a completely different game and doesn't suit this game very well at all, like if one was to put Saidaioujou's music or Medal of Honor's music or Garegga's music in Super Mario Bros. Or maybe it's just me, but...

[Faith]

The "Other" OST is the OST for unlimited mode. Not sure why they named it so vaguely in the menu...

I don't really like the Unlimited OST either

Yeah but that's the thing... as you can see in my screenshot... you can mix and match the tracks.

So, for all of my modes, I set them up to use the "Regular" tracks for Stage 1, 2 & 5, and then the "Other" tracks for Stage 3 & 4. I feel that this playlist is the best of both worlds balance for me.

I agree that the "Other" (Unlimited) tracks for the rest of the stages don't work for me, but I think for Stages 3 & 4 they did a good job and it works.

So I just don't use the tracks I do not like, lol.

Anyway, I disagree with using different music for different modes, because it messes with my memory.

Even for Crimzon Clover, where routing is completely different between all modes, I would still rather the music be the same.

I mean, if you wanted to, you could use the Unlimited music for Original and vice versa, or just use the Unlimited music for everything... or the Original for everything.

So in that sense, I do like how they give you the choice to mix things up!~

[Austin]

Ah, glad to see the thread title has only about 10% to do with the actual thread itself.

*Edit - Oh wait, apparently I started on Page 2.

Silvergun and Ikaruga are slow-burn games from start to finish that require a ton of repeated play to make it anywhere (even past the first level for some people). If you're not down with that, then you'll probably never get into them. But if you persevere, they can be some of the most satisfying games in the genre.

Silvergun at the time of release was one of the most impressive looking games in the history of the genre up to that point in time (1998), at least for myself and my group of friends personally. It still looks awesome and takes amazing advantage of the Saturn's hardware.

Ikaruga was (and still is, IMO) one of the most elegant looking and sounding games of the Dreamcast/PS2 era.

Both games aren't for everyone, but I personally feel they are masterclasses in game design. Not just from the gameplay alone, but the combination with the visuals, sound design, camera implementation, pacing and stringing all of those things together, etc. They are the "full package" many developers strive for, but often fail to achieve.

[dai jou bu]

Probably should get back to playing ikargua again, but yeah, both games are masterclasses in their design.

Radiant silvergun was designed for the super-hardcore shmup players who wanted to master a complex game system and pushes your mental stamina to its limits since each run is really, really long. And if you do not understand how the game systems work, your late-game DPS isn’t going to nudge the boss’ HP at all, thus putting you in an unwinnable state.

Ikaruga goes in the exact opposite direction and strips the mechanics down to its bare fundamentals, and it doesn’t force you to understand and master them in order to finish the game unlike radiant silvergun.

As I mentioned before in another thread, these games are despised by a lot of the shmup community because treasure’s objective with both games was to provide a title that went against the majority of the shmups currently out at the market by not feeling like another cookie-cutter title but at the same time having the level of pizazz found in a AAA title. And well, it seems like everyone here likes a ton of danmaku and dodging said danmaku instead of thinking of other ways to deal with the danmaku than just dodging them and punishing you for using an ability that clears the screen of said bullets instead of using them creatively.

This is why these games are looked favorably by the mainstream over every other game in the genre.

[Johnpv]

RSG has never been fun to me, I also just never understood why it was so highly rated. Ikaruga, I think is more interesting, and while not the most fun I've had playing a shmup, it is far better than RSG. Though I would probably rank it pretty mid overall, in the grand scheme of things.

[shmuppy-puppy]

I have spent days with Mushi, Ando Dunos II, Eschatos and DoDonPachi Dai Fukkatsu but hardly hours with Ikaruga. I love the art style but the gameplay does not fascinate me at all. Radiant is even worse, I can‘t get myself to play it. It just confuses me.

[charlie chong]

i've always thought it was just too much stuff to do and technical stuff at that . lately though i just been creditfeeding saturn mode and enjoying the whol experience of the game while slowly reducing the credits you use . the graphics really do blow your min especially the fiery metal phoenix

[charlie chong]

i've always thought it was just too much stuff to do and technical stuff at that . lately though i just been creditfeeding saturn mode and enjoying the experience of the game while slowly reducing the credits you use . the graphics really do blow your min especially the fiery metal phoenix