Is Radiant Silvergun the best shooter ever made?

[The Coop]

VOTING TIME!

Best horiztonal shmup- Thunder Force IV.
Best vertical shmup- Hmmm... at the moment, it would be a tough call between Raiden II and Under Defeat.

Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga are enjoyable shmups with strategy and puzzle elements thrown in, and I don't regret picking up either game in the least. They look good, they play good, they sound good, and they're fun. But to be honest, I play other shmups more often than them (see votes).

[AD2101]

Personally I'd say its the best shmup on the Saturn, but if you're more interested in simple twitch gaming, shooting enemies and dodging bullets then you'll probably prefer other games.

Simple twitch gaming? I'm assuming you're talking about manic shooters like Dodonpachi (If you're not then feel free to ignore this ). That game may seem like a simple "twitch" shooter, but actually trying to chain together entire stages I feel adds a real level of intricacy and strategy to the game, which is why I love it so much.

I "own" Radiant Silvergun on XBLA and while I don't consider myself anywhere near an expert authority on that title, I believe both Dodonpachi and Soukyugurentai offer more enjoyable shmup experiences on the Saturn alone, so no I don't think Radiant Silvergun is the best shooter ever.

[16-bit]

I might be in the minority here, but I quite fancy the original Gradius on whatever platform honestly when it comes to horizontal shooters. I'm not big into vertical shooters, but I do think Radiant Silvergun is a really fun game

[JFLY]

Why yes, R-type III is one of the best games ever made.

Naw, R-Type Delta is much better.

[Bloodreign]

I'm more of the Gradius, Parodius, R-Type, and Thunderforce mentality on the hori games. Raiden, Rayforce/Layer Section, Twinbee, and Toaplan verts on the vert side of shmups. I have played RSG and Ikaruga, neither felt like my type of game.

I still consider Gradius Gaiden my finest shmup owned (I own enough shmups these days), followed closely by Thunder Force IV. Hell I even love the Darius series, and stuff like Galaga and it's ilk.

The Genesis and Saturn were filled with shmups, lots of stuff to choose from for both systems, some good, and some not so good.

[TailsAlone]

I don't know about that. But from what I've heard, it may very well be the hardest and the rarest.

[Black_Tiger]

I don't know about that. But from what I've heard, it may very well be the hardest and the rarest.

It's not rare at all, only sought after.

[Moirai]

It's not rare at all, only sought after.

Yeah, everybody always says its rare, yet you can find like 5 copies of it at any given time on ebay.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Not to mention you can walk into most used game stores in Japan and get it for under $100. Though some have started to get smart in the past few years and have started putting their copies on ebay.

[Hidden_Darkness]

radiant silvergun is far from being rare, its just in demand and thats why the prices are high. theres much harder to find games for the saturn that go for twice as much.

[Black_Tiger]

Not to mention you can walk into most used game stores in Japan and get it for under $100. Though some have started to get smart in the past few years and have started putting their copies on ebay.

It was common enough to be sold at Electronics Boutique and import stores bitd and Japan still has tons of them. It was one of the easiest noteworthy imports to find.

Then one day collectors who somehow missed it, went and "discovered" it for the world and the collectible market for it was born.

[kokujin]

Radiant Silvergun is good, but I rarely have the urge to ever play it.For me it's a tie between Battle Garegga and Ketsui for me, don't ask me to pick one, because I can't.

[M4R14NO94]

Simple twitch gaming? I'm assuming you're talking about manic shooters like Dodonpachi (If you're not then feel free to ignore this ). That game may seem like a simple "twitch" shooter, but actually trying to chain together entire stages I feel adds a real level of intricacy and strategy to the game, which is why I love it so much.

I "own" Radiant Silvergun on XBLA and while I don't consider myself anywhere near an expert authority on that title, I believe both Dodonpachi and Soukyugurentai offer more enjoyable shmup experiences on the Saturn alone, so no I don't think Radiant Silvergun is the best shooter ever.

This so much. I recently got into most of Cave's games, and they're becoming into some of my fav shmups (especially DoDonPachi, DDP Dai-Ou-Jou and Ketsui) And yes, they're quite strategic, especially when you're trying to do huge chains and not get shot so that, besides getting a boss chain hit bonus, you also get the no death bonus.

[StarMist]

Well Curryman, got your answer yet?

No. Dino Riki is heaps better in music, graphics, and, you know, fun.
Spaceflea's post is really the crux of the matter: if you find RSG unique and majestic you will forgive/enjoy its sheer trial-and-error memorisation gameplay. Seeing as you're a Gaiares fan it's highly likely you will. My suggestion is you watch some videos of play a few levels in; the early levels are more developed but the game inevitably grows into a boss rush with almost nothing in the way of levels except one or two that feel like rehashes of earlier. It's an amazing challenge; apart from that, a bloody bore. ...and...
It's really Alien Soldier in shmup form. Don't be fooled by all that weapon variety, your arsenal only functions as a swiss army knife: you don't select a weapon according to personal playstyle, you go muck about with bosses until you've found the one right tool for the job; the stages do allow some flexibility but again the game's a boss rush.

Einhander is really the game RSG pretends to be, and exceeds it in every facet.