History VideoGame / RadiantSilvergun

** 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]].

* 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.

* 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 6 by adding a gauntlet of bosses before engaging the FinalBoss, Xiga.

''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, is set for a late-2023 or early-2024 release by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for Platform/{{Steam}} was released on November 2, 2023.

''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 UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late-2023 or early-2024 release by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} was released on November 2, 2023.

** In the Saturn Mode added in the UsefulNotes/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).
** The UsefulNotes/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]].

* {{Fireballs}}: Some of the enemies and bosses can fire these, like the AKA-O, the first boss in Stage 3.

* 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. It's like Treasure tried to [[KillEmAll out-"Ideon"]] the [[Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon Ideon]]]].

** In the Saturn Mode added in the UsefulNotes/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 play-through. On the downside, there are limited continues (or, in the HD ports, none at all).
** The UsefulNotes/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]].

* 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]]). Ignoring this trope is ''not'' recommended as the Silvergun's weapons need points to level up; score poorly and weaponry become outdated by the later stages.

*** Makes you wonder about the BossSubtitles, doesn't it? "[[UnCanceled Anxious for return]]" of the R-Type series?

* 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" (22:15) 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.

* HighPressureBlood: When Buster was mocking Reana's theory about the identical C.R.E.A.T.O.R. robonoid found in the excavation as its twin brother, [[BerserkButton she responds by]] [[MegatonPunch clocking him in the nose]], with a 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.

''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 UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late-2023 or early-2024 release by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} will be released on November 3, 2023.

** The Stone-Like, but it's also pretty 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]].

* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler:Pretty much the entire game was all for naught, given the story is nothing more than a StableTimeLoop with EternalRecurrence in play]].

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooting game by developed by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late-2023 or early-2024 release by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} will be released on November 3, 2023.

The gameplay 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, you'll 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 breaking the chain. Failure to do so results in a near {{unwinnable}} scenario against the FinalBoss, as underleveled 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. The bosses in the game 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 the 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 the player.

The story is rather bleak and depressing: On July 14, 2520 A.D., a strange crystalline object called the Stone-Like was found in the ruins of an ancient city, which it then proceeds to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt kill everyone on Earth]]. The player takes 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]].

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: The events of the game take place on July 13, 2521, the year following the destruction of mankind on Earth from the Stone-Like.
* ActionBomb: Kamikaze ships that hurl towards the player in stage 5A, [[spoiler:not to mention the Silverguns on the Penta after exhausting all their other attacks on the player]].
* 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 6 by adding a gauntlet of bosses before you even engage Xiga.
* AdamAndEvePlot: [[spoiler:After the complete annihilation of humanity and the Stone-Like goes dormant, Creator 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]].
* AfterTheEnd: The game begins with the Stone-Like causing the apocalypse, with only 4 people managing to survive.
* AirborneAircraftCarrier: Tetra [[spoiler:and its sister ship Penta]].
* AllThereInTheManual: There's additional backstory in Igarashi's journal, which put more focus on the researchers' findings. As it turned out, in addition to the Stone-Like and Creator 00104's fossilized torso, the prehistoric layer contained what appeared to be ruins that seemed too technologically advanced for the time period. [[spoiler:Coincidentally, the EDA HQ is built ''right on top of it.'']]
* AnachronicOrder: The game starts you off on Stage 3 (Return), then after that you have the option to go to either Stage 2 (Reminiscence), which occurs prior to the events of Stage 3, or Stage 4 (Evasion), set after Stage 3. Then the game continues to Stage 5 (Victim) and Stage 6 (The Origin), culminating in [[spoiler: Stage 1 (Link), the ''first'' stage chronologically.]]
* 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.]]
* ApocalypticLog: [[spoiler:All of the ship's logs are this after the ending.]]

** In the Saturn Mode added in the UsefulNotes/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. On the downside, there are limited continues (or, in the HD ports, none at all).
** The Xbox 360 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]]
* AttackDrone: A few bosses are supported by drones that can move around freely while firing at the Silvergun. Whether they can be destroyed or not depends on the boss.
* BigBad: The Stone-Like is ultimately the prime motivator and obstacle for the heroes, though it is not really evil in the traditional sense.
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:The Stone-Like ultimately succeeds in eradicating humanity, though Creator resurrects the species via cloning in a StableTimeLoop.]]
* BattleshipRaid: Stage 5, "Victim", involves two of these.
* 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 HUD 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.
* BossBonanza: Generally speaking, ''half the entire time spent'' in a typical playthrough is made up of boss fights, but Stage 6 is particularly loaded with bosses.

** Stage 6 (in the arcade version) is nothing but a fight against [[spoiler:Xiga]]. Stage 1 (in ''every'' version) is [[spoiler:a [[HoldTheLine "fight"]] against the Stone-Like, where you have to endure its attacks for a full minute]]

* BulletHell: It has its moments, but the pace is somewhat slower than your typical shooter of this level.
* ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts: The Tetra and its crew were 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 had exhausted their food and energy supplies.
* 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.

* 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 full stage starts.
* 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 for the boss.

* CombiningMecha: LUNAR-C boss is composed of 3 different parts which join after some time.
* ContinuingIsPainful: Continuing preserves your score and weapon levels... however, this will invalidate your score when you go to the ranking screen.
* CoolShip: Silverguns are equipped with a total of seven weapons. ''At all times''. You're gonna need them.

* DesperationAttack: After [[FinalBoss Xiga]] 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 all of humanity.]]

* DiscardAndDraw: The Ikaruga chaining mode in the HD versions lets you switch enemy colors every three kills, but caps the chain bonus at 25,600 points instead of 100,000 as a counterbalance.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The home console version's [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080419104927/http://www.emuxhaven.net/~silver/Link%20Stage%20Explanation.html Stage 1]] dialogue is intentional symbolism for [[spoiler:ExecutiveMeddling between game retailers, developers, and publishers, with hardcore gamers caught in the middle]].

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:All of humanity dies, and the GroundhogDayLoop the Stone-Like enacts is implied to be more of an EternalRecurrence.]]
* DualBoss: Golets brothers; when flying through tunnels at high speed, the second one will periodically join in.
* 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.
* EnemySummoner: The Walker mid-boss in Stage [=4E=].

* EvilElevator: [=UE2A-GAL=], the boss at the end of Stage 2. It has the ability to replace its parts as soon as you destroy them.
* 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. It's like they tried to out-Ideon [[Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon Ideon]]]].

* EvolvingAttack: The crux of the gameplay involves leveling each of the three weapons through scoring and chaining enemies effectively. The weapons and their respective combinations not 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).
* ExcusePlot: Unusually [[AvertedTrope averted]] for a Creator/{{Treasure}} game. 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]]?
* 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 oh the HUD. 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.
* {{Fireballs}}: Some of the enemies and bosses can fire these. For an example, AKA-O, the first boss in Stage 3.

* FlunkyBoss: A lot of the bosses have normal enemies or enemies specific to them accompanying them. The first boss in Stage 5 has the most of them.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the opening, the 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 excatly how Creator manages to resurrect humanity.]]
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: If (or "when", if you're playing Saturn mode) you go to Stage 2, you flash back to 1 year before the events of Stage 3 (the previous played stage). Somehow, your weapon levels and lives remaining go back with you in time.
* GhostPlanet: Stages 3-6. [[EverybodysDeadDave EVERYONE except the group on the Tetra dies when the Stone-Like goes berserk]].
* TheGoomba: Drones: they're small, they're weak, they don't attack much, except on very hard difficulty, and they're everywhere. They're mainly used to get the chain meter high and to collect pink bullets.
* GoOutwithASmile: [[spoiler:Creator, after having successfully cloned Buster and Reana, is shown to look at them with joy before he finally collapses and breaks apart for good]].
* GratuitousEnglish: Used deliberately in the BossSubtitles, to contrast the impeccable English of the Stone-Like.
* HeroicBSOD: Reana has a breakdown at the end of Stage 5, when [[spoiler:Guy sacrifices himself]] and [[spoiler:Tengai rams the badly-damaged ''Tetra'' on the Stone-Like.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Guy and Tengai sacrifice themselves to save Creator and drive away the Stone-Like at the end of Stage 5]].
* HoldTheLine: The FinalBoss cannot be harmed at all; you have to survive its attacks for 60 seconds.
* 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 zap 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.
* HotBlooded: Guy [[spoiler:to the point where he Kamikaze attacks the beam weapon the Stone-Like tried to destroy the Tetra and the EDA Headquarters with.]]
* HundredPercentCompletion: When destroying bosses bit by bit instead of hitting their weak spot first, you'll get an extra destruction bonus.

* 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 Igarashi, along with the rest of mankind.
* KnightOfCerebus: The game starts off fairly lighthearted, with the pilots joking around. Then once the Stone-Like was been unearthed by scientists, the plot quickly turns upside down [[FromBadToWorse and it only gets worse from there]].

* 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.]]]]

* MarathonBoss: When you fail to get combos and upgrade your weapons, you'll be fighting some of the later bosses and especially the FinalBoss for a long time.
* 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 you go through 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 you go through all six stages.[[/note]], it makes up for by making them very long. Stage 3, the first stage in the game, takes about ''ten minutes'' to complete. The longest stage in the game is Stage 4, which takes ''twice that long!''
* MeaningfulName: Creator's name is both a reference to [[spoiler:what he does at the end of the game]] and [[spoiler:that he's an AuthorAvatar of the game's designer, Hiroshi Iuchi]].
** Most of the boss names also mean something, slyly disguised as seemingly random letters and [[GoroawaseNumber numbers]]:

* MirrorBoss: [[spoiler:Penta and its Silverguns, which use modified versions of your own attacks]].
* 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. Then cut to a bright light enveloping the earth with the narrator stating in a somber tone that all of humanity has been wiped out.
* 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 you start the game over again with them. Eventually, you'll be able to start the game from the beginning with maxed-out weapons. On the downside, you have limited continues (initially none at all), and have to unlock more by playing Arcade Mode. (The HD version changes this to no continues ''at all'', with playing Arcade Mode giving you more lives on your single credit instead.)
* NintendoHard: Oh ''lawd'', is this game TERRIFYINGLY hard. If you're not a hardcore gamer, setting the difficulty to easiest is a must, and even then the game carries no mercy. In most shmups, 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 is already maxed out! And let's not get started on the chain scoring system...
* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Reana and Buster can only react with ardent terror as the Stone-Like unleashes a new wave of light, a terror that only get's worse as they desperately try to outrun it]].
* OutOfOrder: In-universe example. In the scene during which the Stone-Like's explosion destroys the world occurs at exactly 9:38 PM according to one scene in the game. However, in Stage 2 (which took place on that 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.
* 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]]]].
* ThePhoenix: One of the forms the Stone-lke takes in Story Mode's Stage 6 is Ohtrigen, a phoenix that attacks with bullets from its wings.

* 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).]]

** 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 you hit the FinalBoss, where you get three easy-to-follow hints:

* PrimaryColorChampion: The ''Tetra'''s Silverguns are blue (Buster), red (Reana) and yellow (Guy), and the ship itself is blue and white.

* RoarBeforeBeating: [=NASU=], the robotic snake, roars before battle. LUNAR-C, a trio of combining mechs, lets out a howl between its three segments.
* ScoringPoints: Killing 3 enemies of the same color results in "chain" bonuses, which get higher as you 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]]). Ignoring this trope is ''not'' recommended as the Silvergun's weapons need points to level up; score poorly and weaponry become outdated by the later stages.
* TheScourgeOfGod: The Stone-Like, but it's also pretty close to a [[GaiasVengeance Gaia's Avenger]] because [[spoiler:after everyone else dies, Creator tells the player that not only is the Stone-Like the guardian of Earth, it ''is'' the Earth]].
** For those who thought the Stone-Like's actions [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]], keep in mind that [[spoiler:it's said to be the guardian of ''Earth'', ''not'' the guardian of ''humanity'']].

* ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler:Pretty much the entire game was all for naught.]]
* 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]].

** Xiga is, oddly enough, [[spoiler:''Series/{{Ultraman}}'']].
** Guy has more than a passing resemblance to another [[spoiler:[[Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico hot-blooded dead Gai]]]].

* SkippableBoss: W(--)W in the Saturn version.[[note]]Yes, that boss' official name is W(--)W.[[/note]] However, beating it can reward the player with bonus points.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Guy. This bit from the option cutscene explains it all:

* SuperPrototype: The Silverguns are experimental fighters, but still prove highly powerful with their wide weapon variety.

* ThreateningShark: Varas, a mechanoid shark.

* 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; the Switch versions has it as an unlockable for beating the game, while the Steam version has it available from the start. Unfortunately, the Options+ menu (which let players make hitboxes visible or alter the Silvergun's speed) was lost in the mix: even after ninety hours of play, players haven't been able to make it appear. Another issue is that the game is 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. The Steam version also offer the ability to play the game in either "CLASSIC" (22:15) or "MODERN" (4:3) aspect-ratios.

* UpdatedRerelease: One of Microsoft's Tokyo Game Show 2010 announcements was an Xbox Live Arcade version.
** Among other obvious additions, there was an extra option thrown in for those that had the Xbox Live re-release of ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' and unlocked any achievement in it: the ability to use the latter's multi-color chaining system instead of being forced to always hit the same color to sustain a chain in ''Radiant Silvergun''. To compensate, the maximum chain will be 25,600 points as opposed to 100,000 that is possible normally. The Switch version changes this requirement to simply beating the game at least once.
** Unfortunately, the Options+ menu (which let players make hitboxes visible or alter the Silvergun's speed) was lost in the mix: even after ninety hours of play, players haven't been able to make it appear. Another issue is that the game is 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.

The story is rather bleak and depressing: On July 13, 2520 A.D., a strange crystalline object called the Stone-Like was found in the ruins of an ancient city, which it then proceeds to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt kill everyone on Earth]]. The player takes 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]].

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: The events of the game take place on July 13th.

* DesperationAttack: After [[FinalBoss Xiga]] 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 humanity.]]

* EveryTenThousandPoints: Lives can be gained by getting 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.

* 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 oh the HUD. 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 Shots.
* {{Fireballs}}: Some of the enemies and bosses can fire these. For an example, the first boss.

* FlunkyBoss: A lot of the bosses have normal enemies or enemies specific to them accompanying them. The first boss in stage 5 has the most of them.

* RoarBeforeBeating: [=NASU=], the robotic snake, roars before battle.

* TankGoodness: Large tank miniboss in Stage 2.

* 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.

* WhereItAllBegan: Two instances

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silvergun.png]]

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late-2023 or early-2024 release by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} will be released on November 3, 2023.

The gameplay is rather unique, allowing various combinations of three buttons to fire any of ''seven'' weapons at any time, as well as a charged attack. Weapons gain 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, you'll need to use a variety of attack methods to level up evenly, as well as NOT destroying enemies of other colors so as to not break the chain. Failure to do so results in a near {{Unwinnable}} scenario against the FinalBoss, as underleveled weapons are ineffective and rendered useless. The game is designed so that there is almost always a 'right' weapon for any situation. Like previous Treasure games, ''Radiant Silvergun'' concentrates heavily on boss battles. The bosses in the game are designed so that they have multiple 'sections' which, if all destroyed before the 'core' of the boss, will award the players with point bonuses. Being able to apply the right weapons on any different boss 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 the player.

The story is rather bleak and depressing: In July 14 of 2520, a strange crystalline structure called the Stone-Like is found in an ancient ruined city, and then proceeds to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt kill everyone on Earth]]. The player takes control of a pilot in a small crew that escaped the Stone-Like's blast, 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]].

* 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 6 by adding a gauntlet of bosses before you even engage Xiga.
* AdamAndEvePlot: [[spoiler:After the complete annihilation of humanity and the Stone-like goes dormant, Creator 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]].
* AfterTheEnd: The game begins with the Stone-like causing the apocalypse, with only 4 people managing to survive.

* ApocalypseHow: The game ''[[DownerBeginning opens up]]'' with a ApocalypseHow/{{Class 6}} example by the Stone-like. Four humans manage to survive it. [[spoiler:Until the end of the game.]]

** The Xbox 360 and Switch ports has an unlockable "''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' mode" which switches up the scoring system to that game to more resemble it; the Steam version 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]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: The Stone-like ultimately succeeds in eradicating humanity, though Creator resurrects the species via cloning in a StableTimeLoop.]]

** Stage 6 (in the arcade version) is nothing but a fight against [[spoiler:Xiga]]. Stage 1 (in ''every'' version) is [[spoiler:a [[HoldTheLine "fight"]] against the Stone-like, where you have to endure its attacks for a full minute]]

* ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts: The Tetra and its crew 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 had exhausted their food and energy supplies.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:All of humanity dies, and the GroundhogDayLoop the Stone-like enacts is implied to be more of an EternalRecurrence.]]

* 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. It's like they tried to out-Ideon [[Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon Ideon]]]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the opening, the 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 excatly how Creator manages to resurrect humanity.]]

* 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 Igarashi, along with the rest of humanity.
* KnightOfCerebus: The game starts off fairly lighthearted, with the pilots joking around. Then once the Stone-Like is unearthed, the plot quickly turns upside down [[FromBadToWorse and it only gets worse from there]].

* RecurringRiff: Almost every song in the soundtrack uses the same recognizable motifs; those of "Feel Invisible Matter" and "The Stone-like".

** In the Story Mode added in the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn port, 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. On the downside, there are limited continues (or, in the Xbox 360 port, none at all).
** The Xbox 360 and Switch ports has an unlockable "''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' mode" which switches up the scoring system to that game to more resemble it[[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]].

* BorderOccupyingDecorations: The HD ports of the game feature decorative wallpapers to occupy the borders of the screen and the option to replace original pixel art HUD 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.

* 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]].

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late-2023 or early-2024 release by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} was announced for 2023.

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late-2023 or early-2024 release by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} was announced on an unspecified release date.

* EveryTenThousandPoints: Lives can be gained by getting a lot of points.

* 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 oh the HUD. The HD version 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 Shots.

* 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 XBLA version) of the game saves these levels and lets you start the game over again with them. Eventually, you'll be able to start the game from the beginning with maxed-out weapons. On the downside, you have limited continues (initially none at all), and have to unlock more by playing Arcade Mode. (The XBLA version changes this to no continues ''at all'', with playing Arcade Mode giving you more lives on your single credit instead.)

* {{Remaster}}: The HD ports of the game features optional high resolution mode with true alpha transparency effects, bloom lighting, and 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.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Guy. This explains it all:

** Among other obvious additions, there was an extra option thrown in for those that had the ''VideoGame/{{Ikaruga}}'' Xbox Live Arcade re-release and got any achievement in it: the ability to use the latter's multi-color chaining system instead of being forced to always hit the same color to sustain a chain in ''Radiant Silvergun''. To compensate, the maximum chain will be 25,600 points as opposed to 100,000 that is possible normally.

* BorderOccupyingDecorations: The HD ports of the game feature decorative wallpapers to occupy the borders of the screen and the option to replace original pixel art HUD with an HD one that also keeps track of color chains. In single player mode, the right side of the screen also features an in-game reference sheet for the buttons and their corresponding weapon.

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late-2023 or early-2024 release by Limited Run Games. Finally, a PC version for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} will be released on August 18, 2023.

* WarmupBoss: The first boss, [=AKA-O=]. Well... except when playing on the hardest difficulty, in which case it's a WakeUpCallBoss and can easily kill any unsuspecting player.

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late 2023 or early 2024 release by Limited Run Games. A PC release was also released in August of 2023.

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late 2023 or early 2024 release by Limited Run Games. A PC release was also released in August of 2023, finally bringing the game to an easily accessible platform.

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late 2023 or early 2024 release by Limited Run Games.

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022; a physical-copy edition, including limited editions thereof, is set for a late 2022 release by Limited Run Games.

''Radiant Silvergun'' is a vertical scrolling shooter by Creator/{{Treasure}}, [[NoExportForYou released exclusively in Japan]] for the arcades (on the Sega Titan-Video hardware) and on the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn in 1998. It was [[UpdatedRerelease ported to]] UsefulNotes/XboxLive [[RemadeForTheExport internationally]] on September 14, 2011. Roughly 11 years later, a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the HD version was released on September 13, 2022.