Silpheed

[Gabriel]

I hadn't played Silpheed for the Sega CD in a while, so I hooked my Genesis/CD/32X unit up to my TV and gave the game a spin.

 

Silpheed holds a very special place for me. It was a game I eagerly anticipated for my new SegaCD. In fact, I had bought the attachment largely because of Silpheed. I got the game on release day and played it fanatically. Silpheed is not just one of my favorite games for the Sega CD, but one of my favorite games of all time.

 

I love Silpheed. But I'll also be the first to admit I have a hard time looking at it non-nostalgically. Everything about the game drips nostalgia to me. The opening "Ready for taxi-ing..." has been used hundreds of times in my group's Robotech RPG games. The peculiar way the game says "Game Over" is something of a catchphrase with my friends. The corny voice acting never fails to please. "There's a HUGE one approaching!"

 

In the game's day, I could get to the final boss with regularity. I never could beat that boss, but the trip was always more important than killing it, and I got to see the ending due to the stage select code anyway.

 

I still remember the first time I saw the opening movie. It absolutely blew my mind. You know, Silpheed isn't stunning in it's pre-rendered visuals anymore, but I do think the scene framing is still top notch. This was another advantage Silpheed had. Silpheed was cinematic in a way that other Sega CD games just couldn't compare with. This is proved somewhat by the more modern remake of the Silpheed opening cinematic in the PS2 Lost Planet game. Largely, that game just replaces the primitive models with more advanced ones, keeping almost all the shots as they originally were. It still looks great.

 

Anyway, I got slaughtered on level 2. Good lord I'm out of practice. I want to see the cool 4th level again dammit!

[Tempest]

IIRC I decided to try this a few months ago and made it almost to the end before I died. It was fun, but kind of hard towards the end. It would require some practice to beat. Definitely a better use of the Sega CD technology than those stupid FMV games.

 

Tempest

[tugboat450]

I bought this game for a few bucks awhile back at a flea market, not knowing anything about it. I haven't really played it yet, I think I'll pop it in this weekend.

[darthkur]

I've been meaning to get the Sega CD version. From the screenshots I've seen it looks pretty good. The only ones I do have are the Tandy CoCo cart and the much updated PS2 game.

[+Cafeman]

Gabriel, I also remember playing this in its 90's era context. I have played it recently as well and find it is still quite fun though (as you said) obviously dated. I always thought it played a bit like Galaga with 3D backgrounds. I stage layouts are awesome at times, like avoiding the giant polygonal asteroids or the turrets over the surface of the station. Part of the strategy for me was figuring out which weapons to pick. For the hyperspace level I always pick at least 1 of the short-range guns along with the ship-surrounding shield as the extra weapon, because so many ships appear right next to you.

 

I got the PS2 Silpheed sequel last summer. For some reason it got panned (its by Treasure too!) but I loved it and felt it to be a great homage to the SCD version.

[Tempest]

I think Slipheed was also released for the Apple IIgs. That's the version I played before I got the Sega CD one.

 

Tempest

[Gabriel]

Gabriel, I also remember playing this in its 90's era context. I have played it recently as well and find it is still quite fun though (as you said) obviously dated. I always thought it played a bit like Galaga with 3D backgrounds. I stage layouts are awesome at times, like avoiding the giant polygonal asteroids or the turrets over the surface of the station. Part of the strategy for me was figuring out which weapons to pick. For the hyperspace level I always pick at least 1 of the short-range guns along with the ship-surrounding shield as the extra weapon, because so many ships appear right next to you.

 

I got the PS2 Silpheed sequel last summer. For some reason it got panned (its by Treasure too!) but I loved it and felt it to be a great homage to the SCD version.

 

I think I'd choose to arm both sides with the guns that fanned fire from the front to the sides during the hyperspace level.

 

I think I had a strange quirk on the ship dockyard level where I'd have a forward firing shot on the left side of my ship and a fan shot on the right side.

 

As for the PS2 sequel, it just isn't as good. It's not a trainwreck. It's a servicable shooter. It just has a lot of problems.

 

I really wish the Sega CD Silpheed could be remade. Just giving it updated visuals (and some better sound effects) would work wonders for it. Anyone else agree, or is that just the nostalgia talking?

[NE146]

Silpheed is actually one of my favorite games.. but I've never gotten good enough to get very far in the game, so you guys are better men than me if you can get to the final stages

 

However it is one of the games that mysteriously "dissapeared" over the years. So if I want to play it these days, it's on the xbox.

[nonner242]

I agree on the "old" style remake...the Xbox360 thing was ok.....but the original rocks to me.

[Gabriel]

Anyone have any favorite levels?

 

My favorite is definitely the multi-leveled hexagon tiled space fortress.

 

Stage 8, the space fleet battle, is another awesome looking stage. Raystorm has a stage very, very similar.

 

Stage 10 (Earth surface) is another standout. It manages to be enjoyable despite being a boss gauntlet style level.

 

But really all the levels of Silpheed have something special about them. This is something I don't like about more modern shooters like Ikaruga and Triggerheart Excelica. It seems that bland, lifeless backdrops are becoming the norm.

[mbd30]

Was anyone into the original PC game that came out in the late 80's? I played the original as a kid, but never tried the other versions.

[Mord]

Was anyone into the original PC game that came out in the late 80's? I played the original as a kid, but never tried the other versions.

 

If you're talking about the one that could run on a Tandy, then yes. I tried a few of the later ones but it didn't hold as much appeal to me for some reason.