"Sorry, I don't buy flowers from homicidal flying fish.

[Zeta]

Score, bitches!

I got a copy of Silhouet Mirage at a DRUG STORE today. Brand new! 9 bucks! I've been looking for this game for years! And it lives up to my expectations.

People, you need to play this thing. It looks like a cross between Gunstar Heroes and NiGHTs into dreams. The gameplay is fantastic. See, you're fighting two groups of enemies with different powers. You've got both powers. To destroy enemies, you need to be the opposite attribute. To reflect shots, you need to be the same attribute.

And man, the story and characters are FUCKING INSANE!

On one side - you've got the Mirage. Physically weak but brilliant red creatures. And very violent. It's populated mostly with Polly Peepers. These are small, cross-dressing men who look like rag dolls. They have machineguns and shoot bombs from their crotches.

On the other side, you've got the Silhouet. Savage and wild monsters blue creatures. ALSO very violent. Populated by Spectres. Green pumpkin men who try to squash you with mallets while throwing their explosive heads at you.

So, to do damage to the Mirage, for instance - you need to switch to your blue side and fire away. But you can use your red side to reflect their shots and absorb weapon energy.

It gets really confusing and hard REALLY fast - when the Mirage and Silhouet start stealing eachother's weaponry. You've got Polly Peepers riding in Silhouet tanks, for instance.

And things get really weird really quickly, too. Stage two's boss is a giant flying fish with claws and the head of a little girl. She flies through the air asking you to buy flowers from her while trying to crush you. And screaming out "MOMMY! MY LEG ITCHES!" She's fast so you have to decide what you're going to do by looking at the reflections of her in the glass skyscrapers.

Also in the same stage, a miniboss is a giant pistol. Silhouet and Mirage both dress up in bullet costumes, pour into the six shooter, and shoot themselves at you. To defeat it, you need to remember the order the creatures climbed in and reflect the shots accordingly. Sounds simple till the thing starts pulling off TRICK SHOTS - firing 3 bullets at once, for instance.

Man, this game kicks ass. And I haven't even gone into the depths of detail and insanity it has to offer.

[Baba O'Reily]

To destroy enemies, you need to be the opposite attribute. To reflect shots, you need to be the same attribute.

Sounds sort of like Ikagura. Except on crack

[Green Gibbon!]

This was years before Ikaruga. In fact, it was the first game I ever imported for the Saturn (actually, it was the first game I imported ever). I'd love to play it again if my old converter cart still worked.

And you found this at a drug store?

[Light Speed]

Was there ever a US version?

[Zeta]

I think there was only a US version for the PSX. Which is the one I have.

And you found this at a drug store?

I know! It was buried behind some crappy DVDs! Ain't I lucky?

[Dache]

Silhouette.

[Esrever]

I'm sure that I read somewhere that the PS1 version of the game is very different from the Saturn original, but I can't remember how it was different or where I read it. :)

[Zeta]

I'm sure that I read somewhere that the PS1 version of the game is very different from the Saturn original, but I can't remember how it was different or where I read it. :)

They actually TELL you right in the instruction booklet in an interview with the designers. How fucking awesome is that?

* Difficulty has been increased.

* Cost of weapons has increased.

* Monsters do more damage.

* Parasites use spirit power when used. Player can now steal spirit power from enemies by shooting enemies with weapons of the same attribute.

* Now loading screens now have art from the opening anime displayed.

* The font of the in-game text was changed.

* Dual-Shock support was added.

* Title screen greatly changed. Options and Status added.

* Status was added so players could check their progress to see if they've finished all the branches and extras of the game. There's an extra US surprise for unlocking all the story events.

* Dual Memory card support added.

* Closing credits made interactive

* Songs re-recorded in English lyrics.

* All animations remastered to look better and clearer.

* LUNAR 2 preview added.

[Locit]

I played the old Saturn version awhile back in game shop in austin. It was (and may still be) in an old, decrepit, dying shell of a mall. I completely forgot where I was, and played for thirty odd minutes. I would like to see the different title screen, though.

[Segaholic2]

GameFellas, Northcross Mall?

Or GameFellas in any of the malls here?

[Green Gibbon!]

Zeta, I wager most of those changes were made by WD. They do that sort of thing with all their games, and their favorite goddamn thing to do is up the difficulty level. (As if Silhouette Mirage especially wasn't difficult enough.)

I remember reading that there were a couple of extra bosses or something added in the PSX version, but some layers of parallax or something had to be sacrificed in the port.

[Locit]

GameFellas, Northcross Mall. That place is depressing.

[Segaholic2]

It's also gone.

That entire mall is depressing to begin with. GameFellas is awesome, though. They've moved all their locations to one big location downtown, which I haven't actually been to yet. I really need to go. That place always had lots of cool old stuff. The guys at the LakeLine location knew me as "the Sega guy" because I'd always get a couple Genesis games whenever I went.

[Locit]

Damn, I loved that place. I suppose its good that I don't have to go through that mall anymore, though. I was planning on picking up some Saturn imports when I went down to Austin in the next couple of weeks.

[Double-S-]

All the GameFellas have moved to a centralized location that's not even in a mall anymore.

Plus, the arcade at Lakeline (the one that had Sonic Championship) just disappeared sometime between the 5 months I didn't visit the mall a while back.

[muke]

Any place near the North Shore in Massachusettes that still has a Sonic Championships machine? I've always wanted to play a round.

[G.Silver]

The difficulty increase was pretty minimal (I actually didn't notice it). The main thing that was getting people was the increased weapon cost, which just means you have to think before you buy things and plan ahead a bit more, and causes players to experiment with different weapons rather than going straight for the laser (I admit, I always went straight for it too). The spirit guage changes added a bit of extra depth, and with added incentive to deplete boss enemies' spirit guages it actually makes them easier since they can't use their stronger moves. I personally thought the changes were well-chosen on WD's part.

On Treasure's side, I was disappointed by the new bosses. Go figure.

[Green Gibbon!]

But you're a masochist. We all know you like being beaten up by small children, you fucking deviant. Real men aren't afraid to always use the laser, because... why would you use anything else?

[G.Silver]

Variety? I think the flame thrower and boomerang are more powerful, actually, though you do need to be closer.

[Zeta]

Variety? I think the flame thrower and boomerang are more powerful, actually, though you do need to be closer.

There doesn't seem to be a flamethrower. I've got gun, homing laser, big laser, bomb, poison gas, boomerang, and angel wings . . .

[Bo]

Historical tidbit: Sillhouette Mirage was one of the games reviewed in the Sega City section of the original incarnation of The GHZ.

[Locit]

I'm a better person for knowing that.

[G.Silver]

I meant the wings. Short range and vaguely "burning."