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It's the only game in the Saturn
library said to challenge Radiant Silvergun for the title of
the system's best shooter. But does it really deserve
such high praise? Is it truly a match for Treasure's
outstanding and brilliantly original shoot 'em up? No,
not quite. However, Soukyugurentai comes close enough to
Radiant Silvergun's high standards to make the designers of
the latter game extremely nervous.
 Soukyugurentai
has no trouble outperforming any of the other shooters on the
Saturn, however. It takes the lock on targeting system
first pioneered by Taito's Galactic Attack to a whole new
level. Your laser sight's range is greatly improved,
allowing you to lock onto nearly any onscreen enemy. It
doesn't matter if they're above you, below you, or even
staring you right in the face... there's no place they can
hide from your wrath. Simply hold down the fire button
and a targeting laser sweeps across the screen, locking onto
all threats within its range. Let go and the targeted
foes are chased down and obliterated by everything from swift
homing lasers to explosive fireballs.
Every one of the game's three
pilots are armed with two targetting systems. None of
them are ideal for every situation, so you may want to switch
between the two depending on the current situation. Find
yourself swarmed by tiny, bullet-spitting fighters?
Switch to the All-Range mode to increase your targetting
range, and blast every last one of them to bits before they
start causing you grief. Need extra firepower for a
single, heavily armored target? Switch back to Pinpoint
mode to concentrate your firepower on its weak
point.
The targetting system even
affects the way bombs are used. You can always use a
bomb as a panic button, clearing the screen of weaker enemies
and their bullets, but if you're feeling more confident and
need to focus the bomb's strength on one of Soukyugurentai's
powerful bosses, lock onto them with the targetting laser,
then let 'er rip with the bomb. You'll send out nearly a
dozen homing grenades, which streak toward your hapless victim
and explode on contact, turning guns and thrusters into
charred debris.
But enough about the targetting
system... how are the graphics and sound? I'm happy to
say that they're both spectacular. The graphics are a
fantastic combination of hand-drawn, polygonal, and computer
rendered artwork. Normally, I don't get too enthused
about computer rendering in video games, but Raizing really
made this style of presentation work, with some of the most
state of the art character models you'll see on the
Saturn. They're a quantum leap ahead of the plain,
sparsely detailed vehicles in Data East's lackluster Skull
Fang, that's for sure.
Great special effects, fiery
explosions, and clever camera work make Soukyugurentai even
more appealing, but the designers were very careful to make
sure that the sizzle didn't take precedence over the meaty
gameplay. The game's constant assault of bullets, bombs,
and beams are rarely obscured behind loud, flashy text
messages, so you never have to worry about low visibility
robbing you of your lives. And speaking of bullets,
bombs, and beams, there's enough enemy weaponry to keep your
thumbs dancing on the controller, but never enough to choke
the screen or restrict your movement. Unlike many of the
recent shooters on the Dreamcast, Soukyugurentai is pure
bullet heaven, not bullet hell.
Finally, there's the
soundtrack. Would you believe that it's even better than
Radiant Silvergun's? Well, believe it. The two
games actually sound a lot alike, but Soukyugurentai's
background music is less pretentious and noticably more
urgent. It's just more fitting that the music in a
shooter leaves you sweating bullets as you're frantically
dodging them.
Despite Soukyugurentai's many
strengths, Radiant Silvergun ultimately comes out on
top. It's got brighter, cleaner graphics than Souky, and
there's more variety thanks to the six basic weapon types
available. Furthermore, the Silversword system which
forces players to earn their screen-clearing super attacks is
preferable to Souky's bomb stocks, which are more easily
abused by less skilled players.
Radiant Silvergun may take the
gold medal in the competition between vertically scrolling
Saturn shooters, but in Soukyugurentai's case, there's no
shame in coming in second place. |
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Soukyugurentai
EA/Raizing/Eighting
Vertical
Shooter
 
Give the 3D Pad a try with this
game. It's not like you've been using it for
anything!
It's surprisingly high for a
shooter... nearly everything in the options screen is in
complex, indecipherable Kanji. Luckily, the actual game
is a cinch to play.
The only thing between you and the
next round is a brief wait of two to three seconds.
Soukyugurentai is a mouthful for
English speaking gamers... which is why it's also known as
Terra Diver and Blue Sky, Crimson Warriors outside the land of
the rising sun.
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