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How to Play Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun?

liminalcadet

liminalcadet

Member
First, I'd like to thank all the kind posters who gave me recommendations for shmups in this previous thread: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/best-system-for-shmups.1653545/#post-267666091

As for the thread title: I feel like I am playing these games incorrectly. Obviously, I should be attempting to better my scores, but it seems there is more going on than high scores. I have a better feel for Ikaruga: constantly switch polarity to create better chains and wipe out more foes with the missiles. However, it feels like I'm missing some nuance with the chains.

I'm just lost in Radiant. When should I use each type of weapon? Is the goal to use one weapon to power it up? But then I miss too many scoring opportunities. It seems I rarely can kill every enemy on screen, which limits my score. How do the RPG elements actually work?

Thanks for any advice.
 
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Kuranghi

Kuranghi

Member
I can only speak to Ikaruga, but I think you're on the right track with what you're doing, not sure what the min max method is though. I can't even beat the game just shooting everything and switching to the less effective colour to protect myself lol, good on you.
 
Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch

Member
Ikaruga - just focus on survival. Survival alone plays like a puzzle game - but going for score in Ika? Its a puzzle game on crack.
Going for Ikaruga score is reserved for the insane and months (years?) of practice required.

Radiant Silvergun - obviously chaining levels up your weapons - so it is required. However, if you play Story Mode/Saturn mode - you carry over your weapon levels to the next playthru - and you unlock 1 life per hour on the Switch/Xbox version (on saturn you unlock 1 full credit/continue). Story/Saturn mode has the full game - all the levels, all the bosses - which arcade mode does not. So with enough playtime - you can start the game with max weapon levels - which breaks the earlier bosses of course - but its how most players will see the full game.

Radiant Silvergun - takes tons of practice to get a feel when to use each weapon - lots of experimentation.
I have played the game so much over the past 20 years its like second nature which weapon to use when - similar to the way you learn throwing out light, medium, fierce moves in Street Fighter. The side blue laser shot is essential - as is the back fire. Dont sleep on the homing lasers to shred certain bosses and lightning to shoot thru walls. I have created a full playthru video which I would share thru pm if you want.

Please stick with Radiant Silvergun - seeing all the bosses and the full game in its entirety really needs to be experienced by all gamers serious about the shmup genre or game design in general to see how far developers can push the medium. Literally hundreds of boss patterns to learn and anticipate. RS is an all time masterpiece - but its exhausting when you think about what you have to go thru for a full playthru.
 
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SF Kosmo

SF Kosmo

Al Jazeera Special Reporter
Ikaruga is very elegantly designed where there are more rudimentary and more advanced chaining opportunities. Start out playing for survival and chaining where you can and you will pretty naturally start finding those opportunities.

Radiant Silvergun is pretty challenging to chain. It isn't actually a requirement for leveling up your weapons, they get leveled up just from use, so don't worry about that. But the breadth of options available to you at any given moment mean it's pretty hard to give advice on how to chain other than to try different things and see what works.
 
NeoIkaruGAF

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
Git gud.

Nah, seriously, these two games can be played casually and you can actually get far in them just playing them like any other old shooter, just surviving. But their deeper puzzle game mechanics are seriously hardcore. I could only get moderately good at chaining in Ikaruga by watching and rewatching pro players videos - still some of the most spectacular gaming performances you can watch. Silvergun, though? I love the game, but I still don’t know how you’re supposed to really play it. Too many weapons, too much stuff moving around, one color too many, so many patterns. If you know what you’re doing you can level up weapons so fast it’s insane.
 
Knightime_X

Knightime_X

Member
As far as radiant goes, I don't worry about chains as much as I do learning when to use the appropriate weapon.
Basically, just use whatever makes sense.
Like, if there are enemies left and right ahead of you, use the torpedo bombs that attack in a V pattern. etc.
Don't ignore any weapon, level it when ever possible, it can be beneficial in later levels.

Check out the story mode in RS. You can level up as well as gain additional MUCH NEEDED lives to push forward.
 
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cireza

cireza

Member
These are two very difficult shmups to chain. I would suggest playing casually and have fun. That's already a good achievement in my opinion haha.

You can always check out a video to see how a player that has practiced a lot does the chains. There are secret chains as well.
 
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Big Baller

Big Baller

Al Pachinko, Konami President
Video Games Shrug GIF by Xbox
 
liminalcadet

liminalcadet

Member
Kuranghi said:
I can only speak to Ikaruga, but I think you're on the right track with what you're doing, not sure what the min max method is though. I can't even beat the game just shooting everything and switching to the less effective colour to protect myself lol, good on you.
Click to expand...
Oh, I never said I beat it--just that I understand Ikaruga better. lol

And awesome tips everyone; I truly appreciate the responses. And to several comments--it does seem like Radiant is one of those games that takes years to truly master. I also appreciate the reminder of just surviving--I get too worried about how to play them correctly that I lose sight of the fucking basics.

Happy shooting everyone!
 
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M

Meicyn

Gold Member
In Radiant Silvergun, killing all enemies onscreen is something you don’t want to do because of the chaining system. You will want to pick a color, and kill those in sets of three to keep the chain going. Or alternatively, you kill one red, one blue, one yellow, and then keep killing yellows and only yellows to keep the chain going.

Think of the regular stage enemies as a means of leveling up your weapons. You aren’t meant to kill everything.

For bosses, it’s important to get 100% destruction on them for maximum score. This requires destroying every part. It’s usually pretty easy to kill a boss outright, a good example being the very first boss where you can slaughter him in seconds. The parts will highlight as you shoot them. The boss’s health meter does not deplete as you’re hitting their parts, so use that as a gauge for what to shoot, or not shoot. Many bosses have multiple phases, and additional parts to blow up will be unveiled as you blow things up, so long as you don’t kill the boss as fast as possible.
 
TintoConCasera

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
You should try to chain at least in the first 3 stages. Otherwise it'll be impossible to get those sweet extra lifes.

Stage 1, easy chains.
Stage 2, for me the beggining is impossible, but it becomes easier once the stage slows down and you start shooting at boxes.
Stage 3, it's more complicated, but you can still pull out some easy chains in some sections.
Stage 4, I call this one the laundry machine. Good luck.
Stage 5, I have seen it like 2 or 3 times in my life so I don't know.
 
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Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch

Member
Another cool tidbit about Radiant Silvergun that I didnt even realize until recent years - is that many of the bosses are homages to those of other shmups thru gaming's history.
In the first stage at the end of the narrow zig zag tunnels - that boss literally IS the player ship from R-Type - complete with the indestructible detachable front bit.
The 2nd to last RS boss, the mechanical bird, is from the PCE game Sylphia - it even uses the same sound effects. Pretty wild.
Im sure the game is loaded with way more homages too.
 
SkylineRKR

SkylineRKR

Member
RSG is the more complete package, but I think Ikaruga is the better shmup and also more suited for arcade play. RSG chain system wasn't fun to me, but in Ikaruga its rather fun. Ikaruga is kept to 2 different colors, and you can switch to those colors yourself too. Its not needed, but you kill quicker if you hit the opposing color.. you are also vulnerable though. I think its the most perfect form of risk/reward.

RSG is absolutely great, but this game used 8 buttons. You can get by with just the main fire, the backwards fire, and side fire. Use those the most and they will level up. Levels are persistent in RSG, at least in its console mode. RSG is as I said a very complete package.
 
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