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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/radiantsilvergun.png]]
2->''"Now that it's done....''\
3''I've begun to see the reason why we are here."''
4
5''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling ShootEmUp by developed by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the Platform/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] Platform/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a Platform/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical edition, including limited editions thereof, was available in early-2024 by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for Platform/{{Steam}} was released on November 2, 2023.
6
7The game-play is rather unique, allowing various combinations of three buttons to fire any of ''seven'' weapons at any time, as well as a powerful charged attack. The game eschews {{Power|Up}}-Ups found in other shoot 'em ups: instead, weapons increase in strength as you score points with them, and destroying a chain of enemies that have the same color gives higher and higher bonuses as the chain continues. Thus, players will need to use a variety of attack methods to level up each weapon evenly, as well as NOT destroying enemies of other colors as to not break the chain. Failure to do so results in a near {{Unwinnable}} scenario against the FinalBoss, as under-leveled weapons are ineffective and rendered useless. The game is designed so that there is almost always an optimal weapon for any situation. Like previous Treasure games, ''Radiant Silvergun'' concentrates heavily on boss battles that are designed so that they have multiple parts and segments which, if all were to be destroyed before the "core" of the boss, will reward players with point bonuses. Being able to apply the right weapons against any of the game's many bosses is key to obtaining these bonuses. The infamous boss warning screen appears about two dozen times and bosses take numerous different forms to try to annihilate players.
8
9The story is rather bleak and depressing for a ShootEmUp: on July 14, 2520 A.D., a strange crystalline object called the "Stone-Like" is found in the ruins of an ancient city, which then proceeds to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt kill everyone on Earth]]. Players take control of a pilot in a small crew that escaped the Stone-Like's explosion, helming the eponymous Silvergun and returns to the planet to discover the secrets behind the artifact. [[FromBadToWorse Things are just getting worse from this point on]].
10
11See also ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'', the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Radiant Silvergun''. Not to be confused with ''Videogame/RadiantHistoria'' or ''Videogame/RadiataStories''.
12----
13!! Encountered an assailant: '''Example List'''. Be attitude for gains...\
141. In-Depth Document\
152. Observe Detail\
163. Enrich The Life
17* ThirteenIsUnlucky: The events of the game take place on July 13, 2521 A.D., the year following the destruction of mankind on Earth from the Stone-Like.
18* ActionBomb: Kamikaze ships that hurl towards the player in Stage 5A, [[spoiler:not to mention the Silverguns on the Penta after exhausting all of their other attacks on the player]].
19* AdaptationExpansion: In the home ports, "Saturn"/Story Mode not only makes the player go through all stages as opposed to a mutually-exclusive choice between Stage 2 or 4 in arcade mode/version, but also expands upon Stage 5 by adding the SBS-33KI boss after SBS-130 and Stage 6 by adding a ''gauntlet'' of bosses before engaging the FinalBoss, Xiga.
20* AdamAndEvePlot: [[spoiler:After the complete annihilation of humanity and the Stone-Like goes dormant, C.R.E.A.T.O.R. 00104 creates clones of Buster and Reana in the far past to restart humanity once again. His name alone makes the allusion even more blatant]].
21* AfterTheEnd: The game begins with the Stone-Like causing the apocalypse, with only four people managing to survive.
22* AirborneAircraftCarrier: "Tetra", which houses the protagonist and their Silverguns, [[spoiler:and its sister ship, "Penta", that has its own Silverguns, serving as a boss in Stage 5]].
23* AllThereInTheManual: There's additional back-story in Secretary Igarashi's journal, which puts more focus on the researchers' findings. As it turns out, in addition to the Stone-Like and C.R.E.A.T.O.R. 00104's fossilized torso, the prehistoric layer contained what appears to be ruins that seemed too technologically advanced for the time period. [[spoiler:Coincidentally, the EDA headquarters is built ''right on top of it'']].
24* AnachronicOrder: The game starts players off on Stage 3 ("Return"); after that, players have the option to go to either Stage 2 ("[[{{Flashback}} Reminiscence]]"), which occurs prior to the events of Stage 3, or Stage 4 ("Evasion"), set immediately after Stage 3. The game continues to Stage 5 ("Victim") and Stage 6 ("The Origin"), culminating in [[spoiler:Stage 1 ("Link"), the ''first'' stage chronologically]].
25* ApocalypseHow: The game ''[[DownerBeginning opens up]]'' with a ApocalypseHow/{{Class 6}} example by the Stone-Like. Only four humans manage to survive it, [[spoiler:until the end of the game]].
26* ApocalypticLog: [[spoiler:All of the ship's logs are this after the ending]].
27* ArrangeMode:
28** In the Saturn Mode added in the Platform/SegaSaturn version (renamed Story Mode in the later HD ports), instead of choosing from Stage 2 or Stage 4 after completing Stage 3, players do both Stage 2 and 4 in a row. This mode also allows access to a NewGamePlus mode where the Silvergun's weapon levels are carried over to another playthrough if one desires. On the downside, there are limited continues (or, in the HD ports, none at all).
29** The Platform/Xbox360 and Switch ports have an unlockable "''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' Mode" which switches up the scoring system to its spiritual successor; the Steam version also has this mode available right from the start[[note]]Sets of three enemies don't have to be the same color to continue the chain, but the combo score {{Cap}} is 25,600 instead of 100,000[[/note]].
30* AttackDrone: A few bosses are supported by these that can move around freely while firing at the Silvergun. Whether they can be destroyed or not depends on the boss.
31* BigBad: {{Downplayed}}; the Stone-Like is ultimately the prime motivator and obstacle for the heroes, though it is not really "evil" in the traditional sense (see TheScourgeOfGod).
32* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:The Stone-Like ultimately succeeds in eradicating humanity, though C.R.E.A.T.O.R. resurrects the species via cloning in a StableTimeLoop]].
33* BattleshipRaid: Stage 5, Victim, involves two of these; however, the second battleship is Saturn/Story Mode-exclusive.
34* BorderOccupyingDecorations: The HD ports of the game feature decorative wallpapers to occupy the borders of the screen (although these can also be turned into a simple black background by setting the Wallpaper Brightness setting to 0%) and the option to replace original pixel art heads-up display with an HD one that also keeps track of color chains and weapons experience. In single-player mode, the right side of the screen also features an in-game reference sheet for the weapons and their corresponding buttons.
35* BossBonanza: Generally speaking, ''half the entire time spent'' in a typical play-through is made up of boss fights, but Stage 6 is particularly loaded with bosses.
36* BossOnlyLevel:
37** The arcade version of Stage 5 only consists of a single boss fight preceded by a very small level portion, though the fight is a LevelInBossClothing to compensate. Story Mode adds a second boss to the level.
38** Stage 6 (in the arcade version) is nothing but a fight against the FinalBoss, while Stage 1 (in every version) is [[spoiler:a [[HoldTheLine "fight"]] against the Stone-Like, but players only have to avoid its attacks for a full minute]]. The Story Mode version of Stage 6 downplays this somewhat by making it a full-bodied stage with bosses and regular enemies before throwing Xiga at you, but it's still mostly bosses.
39* BossSubtitles: Complete with GratuitousEnglish to give nonsensical advice in place of the nonsensical move lists of ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes''! Considering the Stone-Like's understandable English, though, the {{Engrish}}y advice is likely [[RuleOfFun intentional]].
40* BossWarningSiren: The game has the entire screen taken over with the word "WARNING", as well as the warning "NO REFUGE" and the memetic "BE ATTITUDE FOR GAINS" before every boss fight.
41* BulletHell: It has its moments, but the pacing is somewhat slower than the typical ShootEmUp of this caliber.
42* ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts: The crew of the Tetra are barely able to escape to an orbit around the Earth at the end of Stage 2. Stage 3 starts with them returning to Earth after a year because they exhausted their food and energy supplies.
43* ChargedAttack: The Hyper Sword is of the "collect" type - after swiping away 10 pink bullets with the Radiant Sword weapon, its next usage is a Hyper Sword attack which sweeps two massive blades across the screen and makes the Silvergun invincible for its duration.
44* ClassicCheatCode: The Saturn version has an unlimited credits cheat by holding down the L and R buttons for Arcade Mode when "Insert Coin(s)" appears on screen.
45* ClimaxBoss: The second boss in Stage 5, "SBS-33KI" - it only exists in Story Mode, and is the last boss fought before [[spoiler:half of the crew dies]] and the final stage starts.
46* CognizantLimbs: Most of the bosses in the game have destructible parts such as MIKA-L's weapons, and destroying all of them is required to get the "100% Destruction Bonus" points for the boss.
47* ConspicuousElectricObstacle: Stage 4B has metal pairs with electric current flowing between them. Shooting them temporarily closes the pair.
48* ColorCodedMultiplayer: Player 1 takes control of Buster and his blue Silvergun, while Player 2 takes control of Reana and her red Silvergun.
49* CombiningMecha: Stage 4 boss "LUNAR-C" is composed of three different parts which join after some time.
50* ContinuingIsPainful: Continuing preserves player score and weapon levels; however, this will invalidate the score when players go into the ranking screen.
51* CoolShip: Silverguns are equipped with a total of seven weapons ''at all times''.
52* CooperativeMultiplayer: The game features co-op multiplayer where the second player can take control of Reana's Silvergun.
53* DepopulationBomb: The game opens with the Stone-Like scouring the Earth in a brilliant white light, annihilating all of humanity except those who happened to be in orbit.
54* DesperationAttack: After the FinalBoss is defeated and the Stone-Like travels back in time, it unleashes an enormous barrage of projectiles with an onscreen countdown. Once it runs out, the Stone-Like is defeated and shuts down, [[spoiler:but not before it releases a massive explosion [[MutualKill that obliterates Buster and Reana]], wiping out the last of humanity]].
55* DieLaughing: The AKA-O's spastic movements implies that it is laughing at the player's attempt to stand up against the Stone-Like as they encounter it early into Stage 3, and it continues to do so all the way through the boss battle proper. Even after it gets destroyed by the player or it self-destructs, AKA-O is still yakking it up while it's being blown to smithereens.
56* DiscardAndDraw: The ''Ikaruga'' chaining mode in the HD versions lets players switch enemy colors after every three kills, but caps the chain bonus at 25,600 points instead of 100,000 as a counterbalance.
57* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Although Story Mode's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qC7FfL2qzI Stage 1 dialogue]] appears to be [[spoiler:the memories of humanity heard throughout time, possibly being played back by the Stone-Like itself]], [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080419104927/http://www.emuxhaven.net/~silver/Link%20Stage%20Explanation.html it's implied by game director Hiroshi Iuchi]] that it's intentional symbolism [[spoiler:about the video game industry - the meddling between game retailers, developers, and publishers, with hardcore gamers caught in the middle]].
58* DownerBeginning: Nothing like ''the annihilation of all life on Earth'' as part of the game's backstory and console-exclusive introductory cutscene!
59* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:All of humanity dies, and the GroundhogDayLoop the Stone-Like enacts is implied to be more of an EternalRecurrence]].
60* DualBoss: The "Golets" brothers in Stage 2; when flying through tunnels at high speed, the second one will periodically join in.
61* EasierThanEasy: The console ports have a "Very Easy" difficulty...[[NintendoHard on their own terms, anyway]][[note]]Yes, this is the easiest difficulty of the game[[/note]]. It does simplify or remove a lot of hazards and boss attacks, but a lot of the major obstacles and challenging melee attacks remain.
62* EnemySummoner: The "Walker" boss at the end of Stage 4.
63* EnergyBall: The Silvergun's homing weapon takes the form of rapid-fire balls of plasma. Enemies frequently fire similar orb projectiles.
64* EnergyWeapon: Most of the bosses are made up of mechanical parts and debris, meaning that they all have access to energy bullets and laser blasts.
65* {{Engrish}}: "BE ATTITUDE FOR GAINS" is but the most widely known example.
66* EvilElevator: "[=UE2A-GAL=]", the boss at the end of Stage 2, has the ability to replace its parts as soon as players destroy them.
67* EverybodyDiesEnding: The game '''starts''' with a cutscene showing all of humanity getting wiped out apart from the main characters, and things don't get any better from there. [[spoiler:Those still alive die in the end as the Stone-Like releases another wave of light and worse, they are now stuck in a time loop of this happening over and over again.]].
68* EveryTenThousandPoints: Extra lives can be earned by scoring a lot of points. By default, the first 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 points afterwards rewards extra lives. The home ports gives players the option to change the requirements for extends or turn them off entirely.
69* EvolvingAttack: The crux of the game-play involves leveling up each of the three weapons through scoring and chaining enemies effectively. The weapons and their respective combinations not only deal greater damage, but their unique properties also evolve as they become stronger (e.g. Vulkan's single fire becomes bigger while the rapid shots widens its spread, Homing fires larger bullets, Spread leaves larger explosions).
70* ExcusePlot: Unusually {{Averted|Trope}} for a Creator/{{Treasure}} game, though it's still mostly in the background, but the plot is far more fleshed out than those in their other games. How else could it be so [[FromBadToWorse downright]] [[DownerEnding depressing]]?
71* ExperienceMeter: {{Averted}} in the original arcade version and its Sega Saturn port as they only display the levels of the player's weapons but not their accumulated experience points on the heads-up display. The HD ports of the game, however, gives players the option of using a new high resolution HUD that occupies the sides of the screen and provides experience meters for the Vulcan, Homing, and Spread weapons.
72* FakeDifficulty: The Xbox 360 version introduced by outright removing credits for its Story Mode whereas the Sega Saturn version previously had them in the Sega Saturn Mode, which also carried into the later Switch and Steam ports. The latter versions however does mitigate this (somewhat) by giving players extra lives for every ten minutes of playtime in Story Mode instead of every hour in the Xbox 360 version.
73* {{Fireballs}}: Some of the enemies and bosses can fire these, such as AKA-O, the first boss in Stage 3.
74* FlashOfPain: Enemies, many objects and bosses flash white when hit.
75* FlunkyBoss: A lot of the bosses have normal enemies or enemies specific to them accompanying them. The first boss in Stage 5, "SBS-130", has the most of them.
76* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the opening animation, two scientists working on the Stone-Like discuss about using clones to speed up their work, which is usually done by Robonoids. [[spoiler:It’s exactly how C.R.E.A.T.O.R. manages to resurrect humanity]].
77* GameplayAndStorySegregation: If (or "when", while playing Saturn Mode) players go to Stage 2, the events of game becomes a {{Flashback}} to one year prior to the events of Stage 3 (the previously played stage). Somehow, the Silverguns weapon levels and lives remaining go back with players in time.
78* GhostPlanet: Stages 3 through 6, given that [[EverybodysDeadDave everyone except the crew of the Tetra dies when the Stone-Like goes berserk]] at the end of Stage 2.
79* TheGoomba: Drones are small, weak, don't attack much except on "Very Hard" difficulty, and appear on all stages. They're mainly used to get the chain meter high and to collect pink bullets.
80* GoOutwithASmile: [[spoiler:C.R.E.A.T.O.R., after having successfully cloned Buster and Reana, is shown to look at them with joy before it finally collapses and breaks apart for good]].
81* GratuitousEnglish: Used deliberately in the BossSubtitles to contrast the impeccable English of the Stone-Like.
82* HeroicBSOD: Reana has a breakdown at the end of Stage 5 [[spoiler:when Guy sacrifices himself and Tengai rams the badly-damaged Tetra on the Stone-Like]].
83* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Guy and Tengai sacrifice themselves to save C.R.E.A.T.O.R. and drive away the Stone-Like at the end of Stage 5]].
84* HighPressureBlood: When Buster was mocking Reana's theory about the identical C.R.E.A.T.O.R. robonoid found in the excavation site as its twin, [[BerserkButton she responds by]] [[MegatonPunch clocking him in the nose]], with an eruption of blood shooting through his nostrils while he collapses as a result. Buster is later seen on the floor unconscious with a pool of his blood from his injury.
85* HoldTheLine: The Stone-Like cannot be harmed at all in Stage 1; players have to survive its attacks for 60 seconds.
86* HomingProjectile: The Silvergun has three types of homing weapons - a standard homing shot that fires very fast, but deals low damage, plasma lasers that lock onto targets and repeatedly electrocutes them, and spreading lasers that strike enemies within range of the Silvergun. While rare, enemies also have access to homing projectiles and they tend to be some of the most dangerous attacks in the game.
87* HotBlooded: Guy, [[spoiler:to the point where he pulls a kamikaze against a beam weapon the Stone-Like tries to destroy the Tetra and the EDA headquarters with at the end of Stage 5]].
88* HundredPercentCompletion: When destroying bosses bit by bit, instead of hitting their weak spot first, players can receive an extra "Destruction Bonus" for destroying all parts before defeating the boss.
89* InvulnerableAttack: While launching the Hyper Sword, the player's Silvergun has invincibility frames for the duration of the attack.
90* ItsPersonal: Guy has a deeper conflict with the Stone-Like than the rest of the Tetra's crew, as [[YouKilledMyFather it killed his father]], EDA commander Secretary Igarashi, along with the rest of mankind.
91* KnightOfCerebus: The game starts off fairly lighthearted, with the pilots joking around. Once the Stone-Like is unearthed by scientists, the plot quickly turns upside down [[FromBadToWorse and it only gets worse from there]].
92* LaserBlade: The Radiant Sword, which extends out from the player's ship and swings to the opposite direction of the player's movement.
93* LastStand: The entire game is one against the Stone-Like. [[spoiler:It doesn't work; the best that happens is giving humanity another shot via StableTimeLoop [[GroundhogDayLoop again and again]]]].
94* LightningGun: The Silvergun's Homing Plasma weapon (A+B) locks onto two enemies that shoots a chain of lightning to locked targets.
95* LimitBreak: Hyper Sword, triggered by collecting enough purple bullets with the Radiant Sword, and then using the sword. It's a pair of {{BFS}}es that swing from back to front, doing massive damage to all enemies that they touch.
96* MachineMonotone: C.R.E.A.T.O.R. talks with monotone voice.
97* MarathonBoss: By failing to get combos to score higher points to upgrade the Silvergun's weapons, players will be fighting some of the later bosses, especially the FinalBoss, for a long time.
98* MarathonLevel: What the game lacks in terms of number of stages[[note]]In Arcade Mode, there's only four full-bodied stages, three of which a mandatory due to a mutually-exclusive choice, and two {{Boss Only Level}}s. Saturn Mode, on the other hand, makes Stage 6 much longer and makes players go through all six stages[[/note]], it makes up for by making them very long. For context, Stage 3, the first stage in the game, takes about ten minutes to complete, while the longest stage in the game, Stage 4, takes ''twice that long''.
99* MeaningfulName:
100** C.R.E.A.T.O.R.'s name is both a reference to [[spoiler:what it does at the end of the game]] and [[spoiler:that he's an AuthorAvatar of the game's director, Hiroshi Iuchi]].
101** Most of the boss names are slyly disguised as seemingly random letters and [[GoroawaseNumber numbers]]:
102*** AKA-O - ''Aka Ō'' ("Red King")
103*** [=UE2A-GAL=] - ''Ue ni Agaru'' ("Going Up")
104*** [=NASU=] - ''Aubergine'' (Eggplant)
105*** [=DAIKAI10=] - ''Daikaiten'' ("Giant Spin")
106*** [=DAN-564=] - ''Dango Mushi'' ("Pillbug")
107*** [=CA2-EKZO=] - ''Kani Ekzo'' ("Crab Ekzo")
108*** [=SBS-133=] and [=SBS-33KI=] - ''Space Battle Ship''
109* MercyInvincibility: Between respawns after taking a hit from the enemies or obstacles, the player has a brief period of invincibility as their Silvergun returns to the action.
110* MirrorBoss: [[spoiler:Penta and its Silverguns, which use modified versions of the Silvergun's weapons]].
111* MoodWhiplash: The opening of the game starts as one would expect some standard SuperRobot anime with everyone getting ready for whatever threat they are about to face. Cut to a bright light enveloping the Earth with the narrator stating in a somber tone that all of humanity has been wiped out.
112* NewGamePlus: Over the course of the game, the Silvergun's weapons level up as more points are earned. Saturn Mode in the Saturn version (or Story Mode in the HD versions) of the game saves these levels and lets players start the game over again with them. Eventually, one will be able to start the game from the beginning with maxed-out weapons. On the downside, there are limited continues (initially none at all), but more can be unlocked by playing Arcade Mode (the HD version changes this to no continues ''at all'', with playing Arcade Mode giving more lives on a single credit, instead).
113* NintendoHard: Oh ''lawd'', is this game TERRIFYINGLY hard. If one isn't a hardcore gamer, setting the difficulty to Very Easy is a must, and even then, the game shows no mercy. In most shoot 'em ups, players tend to use their first continue by the time they reach the second stage. In this game? By the time most players come out of [[AnachronicOrder Stage 3]], the digit in the score that tracks the number of continues used might already be maxed out! Let's not get started on the chain scoring system...
114* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Reana and Buster can only react with ardent terror as the Stone-Like unleashes a new wave of light after surviving their HoldTheLine in Stage 1, a terror that only gets worse as they desperately try to outrun it]].
115* OutOfOrder: InUniverse example - in the scene where the Stone-Like's explosion destroys the world, it occurs at exactly 9:38 PM according to one scene in the game. However, in Stage 2 (which takes place on the same day), the player does not reach the beginning of Stage 2E until 9:58 PM, exactly 20 minutes AFTER THE EXPLOSION SUPPOSEDLY TOOK PLACE. The player still has a little ways to go by this point until the end of the stage, too.
116* OutrunTheFireball: [[spoiler:After the FinalBoss, the Stone-Like once again unleashes the same bright light that annihilated humanity forcing Reana and Buster to try and outrunning it. [[SubvertedTrope Unfortunately, it catches up to them]]]].
117* ThePhoenix: One of the forms the Stone-like takes in Story Mode's Stage 6 is "Ohtrigen", a phoenix that attacks with bullets from its wings.
118* PinkGirlBlueBoy: The two playable pilots, Reana (Player 2) and Buster (Player 1), respectively pilot the red and blue Silverguns. Reana also has red accents on her clothes while Buster's clothes has blue.
119* PlotlineDeath: [[spoiler:At the end of Stage 5, Guy and Tengai sacrifice themselves to destroy the Stone-Like's beam cannon. At the very end, Reana and Buster are incinerated when the Stone-Like is defeated (Buster is vaporized onscreen)]].
120* PoorCommunicationKills:
121** The BossSubtitles actually ''do'' provide useful information about the boss you're about to encounter, but it's intentionally made so cryptic the average gamer won't figure it out before the fight...or even far after the fact, that is, until the FinalBoss, where its clues are three easy-to-follow hints:
122---> 1. [[SayYourPrayers Be Praying]]\
1232. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Be Praying]]\
1243. [[RuleOfThree Be Praying]].
125** As an example, take the boss [=DAN-564=], which is a giant pillbug. One of the items listed is a move name, "6464-q". The Japanese [[GoroawaseNumber often use numbers (and letters, here) to represent certain words or sounds]]: "64" is shorthand for "mushi" or "bug"; "q" in this case means "kyuu" or "ball". You know it's coming, but [[HappyFunBall do not taunt Bug Bug Ball]].
126* PostDefeatExplosionChain: Bosses spout fiery explosions and then implode into a tiny ball of light.
127* PreExplosionGlow: Before Stone-Like explodes in 2E, it emits beams out from it.
128* PrimaryColorChampion: The Tetra's Silverguns are blue (Buster), red (Reana) and yellow (Guy), and the ship itself is blue and white.
129* RecurringRiff: Almost every song in the soundtrack uses the same recognizable motifs; those of "Feel Invisible Matter" and "The Stone-Like".
130* {{Remaster}}: The HD ports of the game features optional high resolution mode with true alpha transparency effects, bloom lighting, and a new HUD that also keeps track of color chains and weapons experience. The anime cutscenes in the Story Mode was also remastered using higher quality sources.
131* RoarBeforeBeating: "[=NASU=]", the robotic snake, in Stage 2, roars before battle, while LUNAR-C, a trio of combining mechs, lets out a howl between its three segments.
132* SaveGameLimits: The Saturn/Story Mode of the game only offers three save slots with the option of "NO SAVE" to play without saving their weapon progress.
133* ScoringPoints: Killing three enemies of the same color results in "chain" bonuses, which get higher as players score more successive chains. However, unlike ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' and its mercy of allowing a change of colors between chains, shooting a single enemy of a different color will result in losing the chain entirely (unless players are attempting to hit the "secret" chain.[[note]]Hit one or more red(s), then a blue and a yellow in succession to earn 10,000 points; continue this chain with only yellow units to increase points by 10,000 until the maximum 100,000[[/note]] There are also other ways to earn extra points. Players can graze their ship's hitbox towards obstacles or oncoming fire (indicated by sparks flying off from the Silverguns) that rewards a steady stream of points overtime. Each of the Silvergun's seven weapons have a unique Weapon Bonus that rewards 10,000 points by performing certain feats with the respective weapons (e.g. 200 successful shots with the Vulkan, locking onto the same enemy for 10 seconds with Homing Plasma). Hidden throughout each Stage is MERRY, a hidden dog that rewards extra points of varying amounts (from 10 points to 200,000 points) when discovered by using the Lock-on Spread. Finally, the game grades players based on their ability to destroy the bosses and each of its destructible pieces, with a 100,000 points rewarded for a 100% "PERFECT" destruction rate. Ignoring this trope is ''not'' recommended as the Silvergun's weapons need points to level up; score poorly and damage output from its arsenal become underpowered by the later stages.
134* TheScourgeOfGod:
135** The Stone-Like, but it's also very close to a "[[GaiasVengeance Gaia's Avenger]]" because [[spoiler:after everyone else dies, C.R.E.A.T.O.R. tells the player that not only is the Stone-Like the guardian of Earth, it ''is'' the Earth]].
136** For those who think the Stone-Like's actions are [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]], keep in mind that [[spoiler:it's said to be the guardian of ''Earth'', ''not'' the guardian of ''humanity'']].
137* SentryGun: A few types of enemies are wall turrets.
138* SequentialBoss: Many! There's also different variations of sequential bosses, too. For example, all the components of [=UE2A-GAL=] except the core are sequential.
139* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler:The entire game was all for naught, given the story is nothing more than a StableTimeLoop with EternalRecurrence in play]].
140* ShoutOut: Most bosses in ''Radiant Silvergun'' are a reference to something else. [[spoiler:It goes hand-in-hand with the EternalRecurrence and {{Subtext}} commentary on the state of the gaming industry; some of these bosses are implied to both be man-made creations from previous cycles as well as other gaming titles]].
141** The Gallop you face off against in Stage 3C is a direct reference to the ''VideoGame/RType'' series. The name references ''Armored Police Unit Gallop,'' which is set in the series and takes place around ''R-Type Delta''. Gallop itself has three {{Attack Drone}}s that behave just like the Force Device and Bits (and that includes ''[[RammingAlwaysWorks launching the "Force" at you!]]''), as well as a WaveMotionGun like the R-Type fighters.
142** FinalBoss Xiga is, oddly enough, [[spoiler:''Series/{{Ultraman}}'']].
143** Guy has more than a passing resemblance to another [[spoiler:[[Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico hot-blooded similarly-named Gai who also gets himself killed]]]].
144* SinisterGeometry: The Stone-Like's particular perfect diamond shape is used to highlight how unnerving it is.
145* SkippableBoss: "W(--)W" in Saturn Mode during Stage 6[[note]]Yes, that's the boss' official name[[/note]]; however, beating it can reward the player with bonus points.
146* SmallNameBigEgo: Guy. This bit from the optional cutscene explains it all:
147-->'''Igarashi''': On other matters, I recall that today is the last day of your tests! Our superiors have placed a lot of expectations on these new models, so ''please'', do your best!\
148'''Guy''': *tsk tsk tsk* C'mon, pops, you don't need tests if you've got the guts!\
149'''Igarashi''': So, Tengai, just how ''is'' my son doing on the tests?\
150'''Tengai''': ... Heheh... '''HE'S THE WORST DAMN PILOT IN THE HISTORY OF THE ACADEMY!'''\
151'''Guy''': *screams in anguish*
152* SpectacularSpinning: The dodecagon [=DAIKAI10=], the centipede [=DAN-564=], the walking fortress [=CA2-EKZO=], and Xiga, the ''avatar of divine wrath''.
153* SpreadShot: A large part of your arsenal.
154* SpritePolygonMix: The Silverguns, smaller projectiles, smaller enemies and lots of background is rendered in 2D while the rest of the background, larger enemies, larger projectiles and bosses are rendered in 3D. In cutscenes, the Silverguns switch to 3D models.
155* StationaryBoss: Most of the larger bosses never move from where they first appear and only aim towards the Silvergun to attack.
156* StarfishLanguage: When the Stone-Like appears in-game for the first time, its "speech" is portrayed as a series of unintelligible noises.
157* SuperPrototype: Despite the Silverguns being experimental fighters, they still prove highly powerful with their wide weapon variety.
158* TankGoodness: Large tank mini-boss in Stage 2.
159* ThemeAndVariationsSoundtrack: The whole soundtrack has a recurring motif in almost all its songs.
160* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Every boss in ''Radiant Silvergun'' (well, maybe except for the first boss) is preceded by a warning screen with three pieces of cryptic advice. The advice for the FinalBoss is to simply ''pray'', repeated three times.
161* ThreateningShark: "Varas" in Stage 6 is a mechanoid shark.
162* TimeLimitBoss: Bosses will self-destruct if the player spends too much time fighting them, resulting in less points. See HoldTheLine for an inversion.
163* TransformingMecha: Second Golets can be seen transforming from a high-speed vehicle into a wider one. [=DAIKAI10=] seems to change itself between being a cross or being a dodecagon. There are also other bosses which change their shape.
164* {{Unwinnable}}: If you don't power up quickly enough in the early stages, don't expect to be able to win without exhausting all of your continues. If your weapons are low-leveled at the end, you'll just have to survive as long as possible against the bosses until they self-destruct, especially the FinalBoss.
165* UpdatedRerelease: The HD versions of ''Radiant Silvergun'' features the ability to play the game with the original ST-V/Saturn graphics (in nearest-neighbor scaling or bilinear filtering) or the remastered HD graphics (with optional bloom lighting) as well as using either the original mesh transparency effects or true alpha blending effects, an alternate HUD that keeps track of weapons experience and color chains, remastered anime cutscenes, a new Training Mode where players can practice previously cleared stages, online multiplayer, online leaderboards with shareable replays. In addition to the above, the Xbox 360 version also features ability to play the game with the scoring system used in ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' if the player has at at least one achievement unlocked in that game on the same account; the Switch versions also has it as an unlockable for beating the game, while the Steam version has it available from the start. The Steam version also offer the ability to play the game in either "CLASSIC" (11:7) or "MODERN" (4:3) aspect-ratios. Unfortunately, the secret Options+ menu (which let players make hitboxes visible or alter the Silvergun's speed) was lost in the mix. Another issue in the HD versions is the game being presented in a 16:9 pillarboxed screen; even on non-16:9 displays, this results in a significantly reduced game window -- a problem for players who don't have [=HDTVs=] or want to play on a CRT.
166* ViolationOfCommonSense: Common action game logic would dictate you kill every enemy you see. Not so in this game, where due to the system of rewarding destroying enemies of one color, you'll have to let roughly half of the enemies live in order to optimize your score and weapon levels. However, if playing with ''Ikaruga'' scoring, the player ''can'' destroy most enemies due to being able to switch colors after every chain, but they still need to be careful since they have to shoot groups of three same-colored enemies.
167* WakeUpCallBoss: Gallop in Stage 3C is the first boss where the player has to use weapons other than the basic Vulcan weapon, because its frontal pod blocks attacks from the front.
168* WarmupBoss: The first boss, [=AKA-O=] has relatively simple attacks, has relatively little health and is on a shorter timer than most other bosses. However, when playing on the hardest difficulty, in which case it's a WakeUpCallBoss and can easily kill any unsuspecting player.
169* WaveMotionGun: Many bosses have huge beam cannons whose shoots can cover a good chunk of the screen.
170* WeaponizedExhaust: Penta, a massive carrier ship, uses the fire from its engine jets as an attack partway through its fight.
171* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Stage 2 takes place one year prior and covers what happened leading up to the Stone-Like wiping out all of humanity.
172* WhereItAllBegan: Two instances:
173** The return to the Earth Defense Army Headquarters during Stage 5, where the Stone-Like unleashed its DepopulationBomb in Stage 2.
174** A ''broader'' one happens in [[spoiler:Stage 1, where the protagonists are sent back in time ''100,000 years'' by the Stone-Like. Not so coincidentally, this is roughly when modern humans, genetically speaking, first appeared]].

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