As the many of you here are, I am an avid gamer and I enjoy it immensely. I have been gaming for over two decades now and don't see it stopping anytime soon. I began early on with a Master System and pretty much ran the gamut of consoles and games. Although there is a developer and genre in particular that have made me feel the core of who I am as a gamer. That core began resounding when playing games like Bomber Raid and R-Type when I was still quite young. And as I grew up, Gradius, Thunder Force, and Gunstar Heroes made this core come forth. But it wasn't until I ran into one gem of a game that I truly found who I was as a gamer, and what it meant to me.



Radiant Silvergun found its home on the Japanese Sega Saturn and has never since made it stateside. That did little to deter me because at the time I was already importing for my Sega Saturn. Games like Vampire Savior, Silhouette Mirage, and Grandia were busy gracing my US Saturn even though I had no idea how to read Japanese. Nonetheless, there I sat about ten years ago figuring out what I needed to enjoy the games. And enjoy them I did.

Around the time I was playing these imports I was really getting into Treasure. If anybody remembers Guardian Heroes then you know greatness. If you know Radiant Silvergun then you know greater greatnessity of greatousity grandeur. My lord did that game kick my ass, and how. Your diminutive ship boasted 6 different attacks, all easily mapped to the epitome of gaming controllers at the time, the 6 button Sega Saturn pad. You spent the entirety of your time either avoiding shots or gathering them up with your sword. Which would absorb these little buggers and upon reaching its limit would unleash two clashing swords together to mow down everything small in your path, and deal massive damage to sweat-inducing bosses. And bosses there were!

Bosses were everywhere! Treasure loves them. Just look at Alien Soldier, the entire game is boss battles. Radiant Silvergun was pretty much Alien Soldier on crack when it comes to boss battles. Kill a few baddies and get ready for a mid-boss. Oh wait, thats not a mid-boss, thats a boss on the way to the mid-boss, or maybe that one was? In any case, bosses galore made you constantly on your toes and when you met the real thing you knew it. Often times it came soaring out of the background or dropping from the foreground, thus making a real harrowing impression on your tiny but nimble ship. And if you thought the bullet count was high while just surviving to get to the boss, well you had something else coming.

Radiant Silvergun kept you on your toes constantly and kept you visually transmogrified by the milliseconds, but there is a time I can remember when I had the most awe struck feeling in the game. That was reserved for the end, which was a 6 part nightmare of insanity that culminated with a throwback to Gunstar Heroes and hinted at what to expected in Ikaruga. I really shouldn't say anymore. Instead i'll share someone else's joy. View at your own discretion.













Radiant Silvergun did something to me that no other video game did at the time. What that it is don't know, but I know it has left a lasting impression for me to this day. For one it has turned me into a lover of all things Treasure. Bangai-O Spirits here I come! It has also made me realize that shmups are my favorite genre, and thanks to Treasure's urge to create project RS3 my clamoring is going into overdrive. Ultimately though Radiant Silvergun showed me how much I enjoy video games. Radiant Silvergun is one of the few games that brings a tear drop to my eye. Not because of a sappy storyline, or a strong bond to characters. No, Radiant Silvergun was one of the first games to peer into my soul to show me not only my gaming core, but a core of myself. Im not sure why or how, but Radiant Silvergun knows me better than I do.