Lost In Translation/Radiant Silvergun

This page is a stub for arcade games that are part of the Lost In Translation series using information based on MAME (version 0.113u2).
For an example of preferred content and layout please refer to Out Run or The Ninja Warriors.

Radiant Silvergun
Manufacturer	Treasure
Released	1998
Control Method	8-way Joystick 6 Button(s)
Main CPU	Sega Saturn (2x) SH-2 (@ 28.636 MHz) 68000 (@ 11.455 MHz)
Sound CPU	Stereo SCSP
Video Details	Raster (Horizontal) 704 x 513 pixels 60.00 Hz 6,144 Palette colours
Screens	1
ROM Info	14 ROMs 23,592,960 bytes (22.50 MiB)
MAME ID	rsgun

About The Game

Radiant Silvergun is a vertically scrolling arcade video game shoot-em-up rendered with a superb mix of two and three-dimensional graphics, and is widely considered to be the finest ever game of its type in what is a very crowded genre.

Sometime in the future, scientists have discovered a diamond-shaped alien device deep in space. The mysterious alien device detonates while being probed, starting a chain reaction which destroys the entire planet. Fortunately, there's a group of slap-happy space cadets who are up in orbit who aren't affected by the explosion, but witness it, so they decide to do something about it - which means finding a way to travel back in time to avert the catastrophe before it happens!

Part of the reason for the game's huge success is in the implementation of its weapons system. Unlike other shoot-em-ups, all of the game's weapons are available to the player from the very beginning. Silvergun's control panel consists of three different fire buttons, each of which activates a different weapon; either 'Vulcan', 'Homing' or 'Spread'. In addition, players can activate four extra weapons using a combination of the three fire buttons. These are :

• A + B = Homing Plasma
• A + C = Backwards Wide Shot
• B + C = Homing Spread
• A + B + C = Radiant Sword

At the start of a game, the player's weapons are very weak, but they can be 'powered-up' by shooting same-coloured enemies (chaining), in a fashion similar to gaining experience for a weapon in a role playing game.

Trivia

Toshiba EMI released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Radiant Silvergun Soundtrack + - TYCY-5613) on 07/08/1998. The soundtrack was so popular that it was reprinted by Absord Music Japan (Radiant Silvergun Soundtrack + - ABCA-5043) on 24/03/2004.

Tips and Tricks

Radiant Sivergun Weapons Overview

Vulcan

(A button) A devastating forward firing set of plasma bursts (heavy fire forwards the enemy). This is potentially the best weapon against any enemy, when at full power it can take down even the toughest enemies in a few shots. The only disadvantage is that it's fire is very concentrated and as such you need to move a lot to avoid fire.

Homing

(B button) Green homing pulses which target anything that is hovering around you. Even though it is initially weak, at full power it becomes very powerful and requires less movement than the Vulcan.

Spread

(C button) A wide shot which goes further the longer you hold down the fire button. A little tip; rapidly press the fire button to create a explosion shield around the front of your ship.

Homing Plasma

(A+B buttons) A double trail of homing lasers which target anything within a 120 degree angle in front of your ship. Moderately powerful, and has a habit of targeting the wrong enemy.

Tailgun

(A+C buttons) A Thunderforce-style tailgun shot which is invaluable in many areas; especially the areas where you get attacked repeatedly from behind.

Lock-on Spread

(B+C buttons) Slow moving but powerful shots which target anything in close range. (NOTE - THIS IS THE ONLY WEAPON THAT CAN LOCATE THE SECRET DOGS).

Radiant Sword

(A+B+C buttons) The game's most powerful weapon. Collecting ten pink bullets with the sword powers up the RSG meter, once full you can use the Hyper Sword and destroy almost everything on the screen.

Bonuses

• Chain bonus - break the same colour enemies 3 times without a break.

• Secret bonus - break the enemies with Red -> Blue -> Yellow. If you destroy the enemies with the following pattern, will get 2 Chain Bonuses and 1 Secret Bonus [Red ->Red->Red->Blue->Yellow->Yellow->Yellow]

Weapon Bonus

1. Vulcan : Hit over 200 times without a break.
2. Homing : Hit over 300 times without a break.
3. Spread : Hit 16 times before explosed Spread.
4. Homing Plasma : Hit over 10 seconds against 1 enemy.
5. Back Wide : Hit over 300 times within 2 seconds.
6. Lock on Spread : Hit an explosion over 15 seconds.
7. Radiant Sword : Hit over 5 seconds.

Secret Character Merry Dogs

You can find secret character called 'Merry Dogs' by Lock on Spread. For example : at the starting of 1st Stage, Merry Dogs is hidden in lower-right position on screen.

Series

1. Radiant Silvergun (1998)
2. Ikaruga (2001)

Staff

Directed/Produced By

Hiroshi Iuchi

Assistant Director

Namie and Merry

Based On Story / Screenplay By

Hiroshi Iuchi

Tyrant Programer

Fukuryu

Zako Enemies Program & Set By

1998/Nami

Boss Enemies Program By

2015/Nami

BG, Demo, 5 Bosses, Tool Program

Atsutomo Nakagawa

(133MHz)

Inu Program

Choko Monkey

Object Design

Dad Oginon

Naokiman

Object Design Rookie

E-Suzuki

BG Graphic

Hiroshi Iuchi 11

Character Designed By

Han

Music By

Hitoshi Sakimoto

Sound Effects

S. Murata

Opening & Ending Picture By

Gonzo

English Translation

Haruko Hosaka

Debug Cooperator

Kji

Shirotg

Waka

Kazuhiko Murakami

Debug Dog

Merry

Executive Producer

Masato Maegawa

Ports

Since the arcade game hardware was based on the Sega Saturn, it was only fitting that a port was made to the home console. In fact, it was the ONLY machine to receive a home conversion. (This is a rare port and usually commands three-figure sums whenever a copy changes hands.)

Supposedly, a PlayStation port of this game was planned, but eventually scrapped, as the console did not have enough power to generate the huge amount of sprites the game requires.

Consoles

Sega Saturn (1998)

Soundtrack Releases

Album Name	Catalogue No.	Released	Publisher	Comments
Radiant Silvergun Soundtrack +	TYCY-5613	1998-08-07	Toshiba EMI	CD version.
Radiant Silvergun Soundtrack +	ABCA-5043	2004-03-24	Absord Music Japan	CD version.
Radiant Silvergun Soundtrack-	N/A	1998-01-01	TREASURE/ESP	CD version.

References

The contents of this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
The sources used include MAME (version 0.113u2) and history.dat (revision 1.28 - 2008-10-18).
Please see http://www.arcade-history.com for credits.