Blew me away back in the day, and I still think it's pretty impressive now. A classic game. I found the soundtrack to be pretty catchy, and this was the moment I fell in love with orchestra hits.
Good review! I remember GameFan posting so many screenshots in issue after issue and I was always blown away. The game came out not long after Star Fox. You could invite friends over and say "Star Fox is for children, check this out!" Of course we all know now that Star Fox is a FAR better game. Like many here in the comments, I'm STILL impressed by the visuals on most of the stages. It really amazes me what they accomplished. No graininess at all, except in the planetary stages. I was disappointed at how choppy that one daytime planet stage is, but boy did it look good in magazines. AS a game it's really nothing special to me. In fact I don't care much for top-down angled shooters like this or Raystorm, etc. But I'll forgive it this time because of what it did on the platform. I also agree about the music. They could've made some really nice chip tunes using the Ricoh inside the Sega CD, but instead they didn't. I noticed... and frowned. Well one or two tracks are halfway decent I guess, but you could tell it was their first outing with the chip.
This is still my favorite game for the Sega CD. I remember playing dialog clips in the sound test for my friends and laughing at all the cursing. That aside, the OST really suits the action and I still find myself humming it to this day.
@@Nestalgba92023 why is it baffling? It would increase the cost of the system. They were already taking a loss on hardware, no point in making it more. Maybe if it was an add on...but they were probably wary of add ons after the failures of the 32x and SCD.
I distinctly remember walking into Funcoland and seeing this playing on the tv in the back of the store. I was blown away and had to have it!! It really was stunning for its time and is still pretty fun!!
This was a fun one. Loved the music. Just seeing Stage 1 and all the on screen visuals move with the music going and your teammates' chatter. Good stuff.
This was one of the first games that changed my mind about the Sega CD. Having never tried one as a kid, I hated on the platform because of its high price and poor public opinion. Later in college, I liked to use emulators to try games I missed out on as a kid. It was around this time that Sega CD support was added to Gens. I booted up the ROM for Silpheed and was soon drawn in. Then after playing other games like Lunar Eternal Blue and Final Fight CD, I realized I had been completely wrong about the Sega CD. I even liked the platform so much that I eventually bought a Model 2 Sega CD off of Ebay so that I could experience the real thing. The Sega CD remains as one of my favorite systems today, and I picked up a Mega SG as soon as it came out.
Sega Lord X - Just wanted to say, thank you for still making these videos. Life gets busy, my interests and flavor of the month to watch changes, but I always come back to this channel. Good to eat to, good to laze around, just good ol' fashioned comfort food and quality videos. I hope you're doing well, and that you're still enjoying making these and still feeling that passion for Sega and video games at large. I'll keep coming back as long as you do.
This is still impressive, even today. I do wish, however, that we could get a port of Project Sylpheed from the Xbox 360. That was a really fun game too. Reminded me of Colony Wars in a way.
I remember as a kid how 3d graphics just fascinated me. I had Star Fox but no real hardware. Now I'm playing Skyrim in VR, how far we've come! But the early console 3d games and various perspectives is still so charming to me.
You are absolutely crazy. Did you meditate today? This music is absolutely incredible. And you showed me batman music dude. Love you. Have a good day man!!!
This game blew my mind when I first played it...and yea I'm 48 and have declining hand eye with this game as well. It's still visually impressive for its time tho.
Nice to see you do this one, it blew me away as a kid and still to this day it makes me shake my head at the Sega CD, if only more companies took as advantage like Silpheed did. I LOVE this game, my favorite Sega CD game
I remember seeing screenshots of this game in magazines. I really believed they were polygons! Even knowing that they were FMVs, it still looks impressive.
The visuals on Silpheed absolutely blew me away back in 1993 when I first played it on Japanese import. It looked so good and so much better than anything else at the time. It's really aged quite well for me and is definitely one of the best Sega CD games out there too 👍
In my early 20's when this was in every gaming mag I had a subscription for had me drooling, I just could not wait until this game was in my paws. Still to this day it is jaw dropping as it was back then for what the hardware was. Thanks Lord keep up the great memories.
I really wish this game would get some sort of re-release. I recently picked up a copy of Silpheed: Lost Planet for PS2 (also by Game Arts and Working Designs), and it would be nice to experience both that one the original game on a modern console.
Sega CD needed more releases like this; games that really could demonstrate how the console could provide a unique visual presentation and dazzle with special effects, and would further distinguish it from game on the Genesis. Now granted I don't like this game and level designs nearly as much as the original Starfox on the SNES but it still works as a nice response to it, and nothing wrong with enjoying both.
@@Carsonj13 Actually they were released in a close time-frame to one-another, have a similar aesthetic, and were frequently compared. Even Game Sack just chimed in and the first thing that he mentioned was Star Fox, because the two games being linked in a comparative sense is very relevant and that is what gamers from back then recall.
@@andrewfreel8721 it was hilarious how ed's score for starfox (an 8) seemed tailored such that there was room to rate silpheed higher (he gave it a 9). this was almost as inconceivable to me than when anyone would rate the original sonic higher than super mario world. i was sure he was taking money or favors from sega for his silpheed review
@@shiningphantasy1393 That's the problem. They get compared frequently despite having very little in common. People act like Star Fox is the first (console?) game to use flat shaded polygons or something. If anything, Star Fox, the "masterpiece that every other rail shooter ripped off" according to the majority of gamers, should be compared to something like Namco's Starblade. Not trying to be rude, just sayin'.
@@SuperGaknar Sonic-Mario Starfox-whatever comparisons aside, let's be real. EGM was absolutely not taking bribes from Lega. They couldn't have been. I mean, if they were, and STILL consistently lost to the SNES in the annual Console Review scores? They got the short end of the stick. As a matter of fact, "Ed," the supposed SEGA Shill, would go on to rate the SNES TWO WHOLE POINTS higher than the Genesis in his 1994 year-end review. The whole team gave the 3DO a higher average score than the Genesis, which may seem laughable in hindsight, but you have to remember that the average consumer (and by proxy reviewers) tends to favor flashy gimmicky visuals over gameplay depth. This is why Sonic 1 for all its flaws managed to score higher than Mario World back in the day at some outlets, and attract more people at the CES tradeshow.
It took months of working an after school job to eventually afford my Mega CD and I still remember booting up Silpheed for the first time and being absolutely blown away.
I still don't understand how they made those FMVs so damn clean, like I think most of us were tricked back then into thinking it was realtime 3D... I sure thought it was, although when the intro shows like ALL the ships at once, that was when I was like "hmmm, that's a LOT of polygons, something isn't right, this thing isn't *that* powerful".
Funfact: the very first laserdisc game, Astron Belt, was made by Sega and was in this exact same format: shmup gameplay plopped on top of video being played back.
Great review SLX, I was looking forward to this game being released and have been enjoying it off and on ever since launch. Simply a fantastic shoot 'em up! 😄👍🎮
It's 2022 and I'd still love to have an original Mega Drive and Mega Cd setup. I never owned the CD system back in the day so thanks for allowing me to see what I missed.
Ahhhh this game was my showpiece for my Sega CD when my friends game over. To this day I still play it and featured this in a SHMUP video I did last year. Great video as always Sega Lord. And yes, Robo Aleste stands as one of my all time favorites too.
I loved this game. Had it when it first came out. Wasn't until years later that I learned the backgrounds were pre-rendered FMV. I actually thought the Sega CD was pushing a ton of flat shaded polys. It's a nice illusion, though and blends seamlessly.
A really good review, I liked the way you honestly captured the excitement around it while also being perfectly up front about its shortcomings. It really is impressive especially when you see it side by side with all the original computer versions (that PC-88 version you showed is one of the better ones).
Recently picked up a Model 1 Genesis, 32x and Model 1 Sega CD off Ebay. Drive Belt needed replacing but then fired up Silpheed. I already liked the game in the first 2 minutes of play. It's like a mix between Zaxxon and 3D Asteroids. Definitely a step above Genesis in Graphics and Sound.
Interesting what you were saying about the sound. I love the sound, but I think it may be using the audio chip in the Sega CD unit itself opposed to CD audio tracks. Just a hunch but this may be how they were able to fit in such high quality video backgrounds. They porbably took up all the space on the disc so they relagated audio to the Ricoh sound chip.
I like the music. MIDI forever! Man, I LOVED that MSDOS Silpheed. It was probably 7th grade and our technology/typing class said that we could showcase our favorite computer games in the next class, and show how to install them if we had the software. MSDOS and Windows 3.11. Most people were showing BOWEP titles (if you know, you know), but I brought Silpheed with me to install. It blew everyone's minds at the time. Great game. ❤👍🏼
Great review! I've only heard of this game by name, and I knew it was a schmup other than that I knew nothing else about it. I already own Sol-Feace for my Sega CD, and now will be on the lookout for Silpheed to add to my Sega CD game collection!
When I first got a Sega CD way back when, Silpheed was one of the games that came with the system, and it’s remained one of my favorites. The things it did graphically are still amazing, and the music used in the first stage will always be one of my favorite tracks ever.
I had this back in the day, instantly became an all time favourite still play it to this day, simple pure shooter gameplay, amazing atmospheric visuals and sound, and that music (stage v being my favourite) great review!
I played the hell out of this game on PC Back in the Day, released by Sierra. Was an extremely fun and unique shooter at the time, and it has a fantastic soundtrack.
If there were more Sega CD games like this, the whole reputation of the console would be so different. I remember playing this at my cousins shortly after it came out, and I was blown away by the scale and density of the action. The voiceovers were really memorable as well. We'd always laugh and mimic the way it said "Game Over". Happy to say this is one of the few Sega CD games I own.
I used to use the hyper space level sound track "sub space" as my intro for my channel - even tho im not a gaming channel bar a few retro streams... silpheed was a big part of my childhood. Clever idea....(the game i mean) "LOOK AT THAT HUGE SHIP!!!" Tiny boss shows up. As for gameplay. Im 40... I completed it as a kid....just. but I play it regularly on my phone via emulation and my 8botdo and it kicks my ass too... so i feel ya lol
I am a big fan of yours, I loved playing silpheed back in the day, I remember, like you mentioned, thinking this would change everything, and truly was next gen. The only thing I disagree with is, the music department, I love most of the tracks and think they’re epic! I even have some of them in my favorites to play for long trips. Other than that, thank you again for the trip down memory lane! Cheers!
I remember this game blew me away too! I remember the music and speech were awesome. When the background ship moved up and hit me for the first time I remember the hair on the back of my neck standing up. Holy crap that was huge!
Oh man!!! This was such a great game. Still holds up great today! I disagree about the music though. I loved the soundtrack, and combined with the background visuals, it was mind-blowing! Thanks for putting this together.
Some of the music seemed to made for the stages visual background. The fleet vs fleet battle has a section where music is in sync with a ship opening fire next to you, the music for the lunar stage starts off with an eerie, yet majestic feel to it, and the subspace music is absolutely made to accompany the visual of warping though space.
Not a bad game. Average gameplay? yes, but you can tell this game was made with its visual presentation in mind, they wanted a working game to go with the background spectacle, nothing more, and they delivered it. Sure a great game with great visuals and music could have been a better option, but for what it is I love it.
To this day, one of my fondest video game memories was hooking up my Sega CD for the first time, jacking it into my home stereo, and blasting the volume while playing Sol Feace
The first game I ever noticed vulgarity in. My friend and I were sitting there going through the sound test and we lost our minds and were laughing like crazy when we got to the voice sample that said "shit...they got the carrier!"
I completely agree, Silpheed is a a great technical accomplishement and an absolute showcase for the hardware but as a shmup I was never really sold on its barebone gameplay.
I think Final Fight CD is the most impressive game on the Sega CD. Huge sprites, all the arcade content. Couldn't have been done on any other system (aside from the Neo Geo).
I loved this game. My favorite thing about it was the intro. I had a box subwoofer hooked up to my, at the time, sound system. Pre home theater days. I loved how the intro sounded. I would just leave it looping the intro, so much that in my apartment, my upstairs neighbors would bang on my ceiling, indicating it was too loud. I had the same issue with tomb raider, when pushing boxes, or boulders around.
Very nice review, Silpheed is definitely really interesting technically. It's still stuck in '86 with its gameplay, not really that much of a surprise though certainly a shame. Do love the soundtrack though and a shame that you didn't. Definitely one of the few games to more heavily use that Sega CD Ricoh chip in the music, wish we could've gotten more use out of it on the system.
I still don't understand how they did the backgrounds. There are zero compression artifacts that's normal with FMV. Even the dithering patterns are pixel perfect. Shit, 4K TH-cam videos don't look that clean.
I remember being blown away by the intro cinematic and voices/sound FX. I don't recall ever getting far into the game but I would just boot the game and watch that intro. At the time it was like you had a Sci-Fi movie as a game, it was groundbreaking. I actually forgot about it until I saw that intro again a few years ago and it all flooded back to me. I bought the game again last year :) Re the soundtrack: I agree that the quality is subpar but I love the composition.
I had this on Saga Ced back in the day and I can understand where you coming from about the music but I have mine hooked up to a 5.1 Dobie home theater system and it sounded awesome on that thing
Another excellent review! Your assessment is spot on, it was impressive and beyond anything I had seen for home console upon release. The FMV background just blows everything out of the water (Star Fox!), but the gameplay wasn't that much fun as you noted all the problems. Still, it is good to revisit once in a while and I am nowhere near as good as you, I never make it out of stage 2 nowadays.
This was definitely a game to brag about having the console for. The asteroid field in stage 2, the hyperspace jump (with rematches of two previous bosses) in stage 5, the space armada... So many awesome moments. Personally, I love the soundtrack. Stage 5 - "Subspace" - is again the real standout for me. Lots of fond memories with this game. Been playing it on and off for about 15 years, and still can't beat it. For all of its faults, at the very least it certainly hit a lot harder than the PS2 sequel, which could best be summed up as a dull thud by comparison.
nice review! Always loved this series! I got both MDCD version and it's PS2 sequel plus a model kit of SA-77 by PLUM! (it's based on Lost Planet version btw)
Hey i know what you mean by your reflexes not being what they used to be on gaming. Im 49 and i can tell too but i still have fun trying. Another impressive title is Soul Star! Just to let you know after watching this video I purchased this game. Thanks for the video and reccomedation!😊👍
I was 14 when this came out. I had the same jaw dropping sensation others have described. I would let the Sega CD play the intros over and over, in awe of what I was seeing. To this day, I wondered why we didn't see any more 3d games on the platform, given the available features, horsepower, and storage medium.
The backgrounds for this are actually pre-rendered, they're not being drawn in real time using polygons. Your ship and the enemy ships are real time polygons.
@@hikermicefrommars.2724 The video was pretty clear about how that worked. :) I marvel(ed) at this because the playfield was done in 3d at such a smooth/high framerate while also rendering that background video at the same time. That's what really impresses me and also what I mean by untapped potential. If you look at the work gasega68k has done with his 3d demos with only the genesis 68k, it begs the question - throw in the SCD's 68k and sprite scaling resources, what could have been, in the hands of the right developers and support from Sega.
It can’t use redbook CD audio and stream video at the same time. That’s why the sound is the way it is. They can stream some kind of recorded audio and video together but the bitrate was likely pushing the limits already (only possible with the limited colors).
I wonder if the background FMV contained metadata to describe what parts would damage you, or if there was some sort of "gameplay map" that was run alongside the FMV, and it was what actually determined where you could move to safely or not...
The control is good and the gameplay model is decent but sometimes wish it behaved more like a traditional 2D shmup experience which is kind of what we got with32-bit polygon shmups later. The soundtrack isn't bad but it's nothing to write home about. It certainly is a good example of less is more with the FMV approximating flat shaded polygon rendering we wouldn't see for a long time, even Wolf Team's work to clean up hand drawn animation didn't look this clean. Other than Starblade we probably could have used more games like it on SCD and covering more subject matters besides spaceships. Like the Area 51 arcade game operates like this so light gun titles would have worked, as would FPP dungeon RPG games.
The graphics of this game actually turned me off for years until I went on a bit of a Mega CD buying spree last year and realised how great of a shmup this actually is. The graphics grew on me. The raw polygonal look has aged well and because it's all pre-rendered the controls and gameplay remain silky smooth. You're right on the money about the chaotic nature of the visuals and enemy projectiles getting lost in the shuffle though. All in all this is still definitely a gem in the Mega CD library.
One of my top ten games for the Sega-CD. They did a very good job making the pre-rendered and real time graphics look seamless!
I've never even seen this game mentioned in a top 10 but it looks awesome
@@justnature1900 It's an excellent remake of an already excellent game. Deserves more notice.
@@SomeOrangeCat I'm gonna have to try it out
@@SomeOrangeCatSilpheed for me is like combination of Raycrisis + Raiden III + Radiant Silvergun.
@@justnature1900for me is top 4 best.
Blew me away back in the day, and I still think it's pretty impressive now. A classic game.
I found the soundtrack to be pretty catchy, and this was the moment I fell in love with orchestra hits.
The soundtrack is as catchy as playing Raycrisis.
Good review! I remember GameFan posting so many screenshots in issue after issue and I was always blown away. The game came out not long after Star Fox. You could invite friends over and say "Star Fox is for children, check this out!" Of course we all know now that Star Fox is a FAR better game. Like many here in the comments, I'm STILL impressed by the visuals on most of the stages. It really amazes me what they accomplished. No graininess at all, except in the planetary stages. I was disappointed at how choppy that one daytime planet stage is, but boy did it look good in magazines. AS a game it's really nothing special to me. In fact I don't care much for top-down angled shooters like this or Raystorm, etc. But I'll forgive it this time because of what it did on the platform. I also agree about the music. They could've made some really nice chip tunes using the Ricoh inside the Sega CD, but instead they didn't. I noticed... and frowned. Well one or two tracks are halfway decent I guess, but you could tell it was their first outing with the chip.
we need that GS x SLX collab!
The soundtrack sounds almost like a SNES game, but a little less muffled and reverbed.
This is still my favorite game for the Sega CD. I remember playing dialog clips in the sound test for my friends and laughing at all the cursing. That aside, the OST really suits the action and I still find myself humming it to this day.
I'm still baffles that Sega had No Any Saturn hardware versions that can backward neither Sega CD nor Genesis/MD games.
@@Nestalgba92023 why is it baffling? It would increase the cost of the system. They were already taking a loss on hardware, no point in making it more. Maybe if it was an add on...but they were probably wary of add ons after the failures of the 32x and SCD.
I distinctly remember walking into Funcoland and seeing this playing on the tv in the back of the store. I was blown away and had to have it!! It really was stunning for its time and is still pretty fun!!
I remember the 1st time I played Silpheed on my shiny new Sega CD. I was so impressed with the intro and graphics. Still love it to this day.
The graphics looked like from 2010s Arcade Sega game.
Great combination of FMV background and enemies and flat shading ships. This is a real fmv video game.
This was a fun one. Loved the music. Just seeing Stage 1 and all the on screen visuals move with the music going and your teammates' chatter. Good stuff.
I grew up playing silpheed on PC circa 1988. When I got my Sega CD. This was one of the first games I got. This and silpheed for ps2
This was one of the first games that changed my mind about the Sega CD. Having never tried one as a kid, I hated on the platform because of its high price and poor public opinion. Later in college, I liked to use emulators to try games I missed out on as a kid. It was around this time that Sega CD support was added to Gens. I booted up the ROM for Silpheed and was soon drawn in. Then after playing other games like Lunar Eternal Blue and Final Fight CD, I realized I had been completely wrong about the Sega CD. I even liked the platform so much that I eventually bought a Model 2 Sega CD off of Ebay so that I could experience the real thing.
The Sega CD remains as one of my favorite systems today, and I picked up a Mega SG as soon as it came out.
Sega Lord X - Just wanted to say, thank you for still making these videos. Life gets busy, my interests and flavor of the month to watch changes, but I always come back to this channel. Good to eat to, good to laze around, just good ol' fashioned comfort food and quality videos.
I hope you're doing well, and that you're still enjoying making these and still feeling that passion for Sega and video games at large. I'll keep coming back as long as you do.
This is still impressive, even today. I do wish, however, that we could get a port of Project Sylpheed from the Xbox 360. That was a really fun game too. Reminded me of Colony Wars in a way.
That game was really cool! I wonder if it works on the Xenia emulator. Guess I know what I’ll be trying tonight :)
I've been trying to find something that scratches the same itch as project sylpheed for ages. Beautiful graphics and fun dogfights.
@@muntdouken9841 Check out Chorus! Came out a few months ago on PC, Xbox and Playstation! It's a freaking blast!
I loved Project Sylpheed. The main reason I even played that game was gawking over the screen shots of Silpheed on the Sega CD in game mags as a kid.
I loved Project Sylpheed so much I bought both the Japanese and English versions!
Been watching your sega cd and Saturn vids for a few hours now and all of a sudden you drop this one.....wow.
I remember as a kid how 3d graphics just fascinated me. I had Star Fox but no real hardware. Now I'm playing Skyrim in VR, how far we've come! But the early console 3d games and various perspectives is still so charming to me.
You are absolutely crazy. Did you meditate today? This music is absolutely incredible. And you showed me batman music dude. Love you. Have a good day man!!!
This game blew my mind when I first played it...and yea I'm 48 and have declining hand eye with this game as well. It's still visually impressive for its time tho.
Nice to see you do this one, it blew me away as a kid and still to this day it makes me shake my head at the Sega CD, if only more companies took as advantage like Silpheed did. I LOVE this game, my favorite Sega CD game
I remember seeing screenshots of this game in magazines. I really believed they were polygons! Even knowing that they were FMVs, it still looks impressive.
Something that I love of this game besides its graphics is the music.
This game is in my top 5 of Sega CD games.
Nice video, Sega Lord X.
The visuals on Silpheed absolutely blew me away back in 1993 when I first played it on Japanese import. It looked so good and so much better than anything else at the time. It's really aged quite well for me and is definitely one of the best Sega CD games out there too 👍
In my early 20's when this was in every gaming mag I had a subscription for had me drooling, I just could not wait until this game was in my paws. Still to this day it is jaw dropping as it was back then for what the hardware was. Thanks Lord keep up the great memories.
Great review. I remember playing it as a kid in 88 on my IBM compatible PC. Even back then I was floored by the polygon graphics.
I really wish this game would get some sort of re-release. I recently picked up a copy of Silpheed: Lost Planet for PS2 (also by Game Arts and Working Designs), and it would be nice to experience both that one the original game on a modern console.
@retro game fan Silpheed was made by Game Arts, not Sega.
Unfortunately, Game Arts no longer exists.
Silpheed Lost Planet is a good 1 too. I still have it.
@@pixelpoppyproductions I think Working Designs is gone too.
@@pixelpoppyproductions which is a darn shame. Loved the Lunar games they released back then.
@@IslandBoy-808 a big lost. They bought over countless classic JRPG games to the west.
The part that impresses me is that it is not really a slow shmup, it looks great and plays fast!
Thanks for the review SLX!
Sega CD needed more releases like this; games that really could demonstrate how the console could provide a unique visual presentation and dazzle with special effects, and would further distinguish it from game on the Genesis. Now granted I don't like this game and level designs nearly as much as the original Starfox on the SNES but it still works as a nice response to it, and nothing wrong with enjoying both.
Star Fox and this game are completely irrelevant to eachother.
@@Carsonj13 Actually they were released in a close time-frame to one-another, have a similar aesthetic, and were frequently compared. Even Game Sack just chimed in and the first thing that he mentioned was Star Fox, because the two games being linked in a comparative sense is very relevant and that is what gamers from back then recall.
@@andrewfreel8721 it was hilarious how ed's score for starfox (an 8) seemed tailored such that there was room to rate silpheed higher (he gave it a 9). this was almost as inconceivable to me than when anyone would rate the original sonic higher than super mario world. i was sure he was taking money or favors from sega for his silpheed review
@@shiningphantasy1393 That's the problem. They get compared frequently despite having very little in common. People act like Star Fox is the first (console?) game to use flat shaded polygons or something. If anything, Star Fox, the "masterpiece that every other rail shooter ripped off" according to the majority of gamers, should be compared to something like Namco's Starblade. Not trying to be rude, just sayin'.
@@SuperGaknar Sonic-Mario Starfox-whatever comparisons aside, let's be real. EGM was absolutely not taking bribes from Lega. They couldn't have been. I mean, if they were, and STILL consistently lost to the SNES in the annual Console Review scores? They got the short end of the stick. As a matter of fact, "Ed," the supposed SEGA Shill, would go on to rate the SNES TWO WHOLE POINTS higher than the Genesis in his 1994 year-end review. The whole team gave the 3DO a higher average score than the Genesis, which may seem laughable in hindsight, but you have to remember that the average consumer (and by proxy reviewers) tends to favor flashy gimmicky visuals over gameplay depth. This is why Sonic 1 for all its flaws managed to score higher than Mario World back in the day at some outlets, and attract more people at the CES tradeshow.
It took months of working an after school job to eventually afford my Mega CD and I still remember booting up Silpheed for the first time and being absolutely blown away.
I still don't understand how they made those FMVs so damn clean, like I think most of us were tricked back then into thinking it was realtime 3D... I sure thought it was, although when the intro shows like ALL the ships at once, that was when I was like "hmmm, that's a LOT of polygons, something isn't right, this thing isn't *that* powerful".
The Sega CD needed more games like this!
These graphics are beautiful dude!
I'm digging these Sega CD and 32x reviews! Great job
Funfact: the very first laserdisc game, Astron Belt, was made by Sega and was in this exact same format: shmup gameplay plopped on top of video being played back.
Picked this game up cause it looked fun and really enjoyed it despite never seeing much about it prior. Glad to see it get some love on this channel.
Great review SLX, I was looking forward to this game being released and have been enjoying it off and on ever since launch.
Simply a fantastic shoot 'em up! 😄👍🎮
It's 2022 and I'd still love to have an original Mega Drive and Mega Cd setup. I never owned the CD system back in the day so thanks for allowing me to see what I missed.
Ahhhh this game was my showpiece for my Sega CD when my friends game over. To this day I still play it and featured this in a SHMUP video I did last year.
Great video as always Sega Lord. And yes, Robo Aleste stands as one of my all time favorites too.
Happy to say I am the owner of a CIB copy of this one
Same here :) unfortunately not my copy from my childhood.
@@dougkaplan1449 a game is a game regardless
So I got into the Sega CD around 2002 and my friends thought I was crazy to be talking about how this game was really good.
I loved this game. Had it when it first came out. Wasn't until years later that I learned the backgrounds were pre-rendered FMV. I actually thought the Sega CD was pushing a ton of flat shaded polys. It's a nice illusion, though and blends seamlessly.
A really good review, I liked the way you honestly captured the excitement around it while also being perfectly up front about its shortcomings. It really is impressive especially when you see it side by side with all the original computer versions (that PC-88 version you showed is one of the better ones).
This was one of my most played Sega CD games back in the day. It totally blew me away and was super fun to boot!
Your videos are awesome. One of my fav channels. Keep doing you man, you're doing a fantastic job.
I appreciate that. Thank you.
Recently picked up a Model 1 Genesis, 32x and Model 1 Sega CD off Ebay. Drive Belt needed replacing but then fired up Silpheed. I already liked the game in the first 2 minutes of play. It's like a mix between Zaxxon and 3D Asteroids. Definitely a step above Genesis in Graphics and Sound.
Interesting what you were saying about the sound. I love the sound, but I think it may be using the audio chip in the Sega CD unit itself opposed to CD audio tracks. Just a hunch but this may be how they were able to fit in such high quality video backgrounds. They porbably took up all the space on the disc so they relagated audio to the Ricoh sound chip.
i've just picked up the PS2 remake of Silpheed for $4 and was shocked to see Treasure's name come up on the intro, its really good!
I like the music. MIDI forever! Man, I LOVED that MSDOS Silpheed. It was probably 7th grade and our technology/typing class said that we could showcase our favorite computer games in the next class, and show how to install them if we had the software. MSDOS and Windows 3.11. Most people were showing BOWEP titles (if you know, you know), but I brought Silpheed with me to install. It blew everyone's minds at the time. Great game. ❤👍🏼
Great review! I've only heard of this game by name, and I knew it was a schmup other than that I knew nothing else about it. I already own Sol-Feace for my Sega CD, and now will be on the lookout for Silpheed to add to my Sega CD game collection!
This video is awesome. This was one of my favorite SegaCD games back then. I remember buying it shortly after it came out.
This channel is insanely good. Regarding the music there were a couple of tracks I liked
When I first got a Sega CD way back when, Silpheed was one of the games that came with the system, and it’s remained one of my favorites. The things it did graphically are still amazing, and the music used in the first stage will always be one of my favorite tracks ever.
I had this back in the day, instantly became an all time favourite still play it to this day, simple pure shooter gameplay, amazing atmospheric visuals and sound, and that music (stage v being my favourite) great review!
I played the hell out of this game on PC Back in the Day, released by Sierra. Was an extremely fun and unique shooter at the time, and it has a fantastic soundtrack.
If there were more Sega CD games like this, the whole reputation of the console would be so different. I remember playing this at my cousins shortly after it came out, and I was blown away by the scale and density of the action. The voiceovers were really memorable as well. We'd always laugh and mimic the way it said "Game Over".
Happy to say this is one of the few Sega CD games I own.
Completely agree.
More games using fmv this way would have benefited SCD greatly!
Sega really needed more games like this the following years instead of more fmv and sorry genesis like games.
@@maroon9273
Bad decisions is why Sega is even out of the arcade industry sort of..
@@mxggo9046 really sad, I wanted to go there arcade in Japan. Now sega has to rely on software and online service.
I used to use the hyper space level sound track "sub space" as my intro for my channel - even tho im not a gaming channel bar a few retro streams...
silpheed was a big part of my childhood. Clever idea....(the game i mean)
"LOOK AT THAT HUGE SHIP!!!"
Tiny boss shows up.
As for gameplay. Im 40... I completed it as a kid....just. but I play it regularly on my phone via emulation and my 8botdo and it kicks my ass too... so i feel ya lol
So Sipheed was the answer to StarFox, and it did a pretty damn good job at representing Sega at the time. Nice work on the video.
I am a big fan of yours, I loved playing silpheed back in the day, I remember, like you mentioned, thinking this would change everything, and truly was next gen. The only thing I disagree with is, the music department, I love most of the tracks and think they’re epic! I even have some of them in my favorites to play for long trips. Other than that, thank you again for the trip down memory lane! Cheers!
I remember this game blew me away too! I remember the music and speech were awesome. When the background ship moved up and hit me for the first time I remember the hair on the back of my neck standing up. Holy crap that was huge!
Oh man!!! This was such a great game. Still holds up great today! I disagree about the music though. I loved the soundtrack, and combined with the background visuals, it was mind-blowing! Thanks for putting this together.
Some of the music seemed to made for the stages visual background. The fleet vs fleet battle has a section where music is in sync with a ship opening fire next to you, the music for the lunar stage starts off with an eerie, yet majestic feel to it, and the subspace music is absolutely made to accompany the visual of warping though space.
This is like if Galaga when they wanna try a most advanced game in the 90s. I love it
This game blew my mind, my brother got it when it was new. It was a cinematic experience!
Not a bad game. Average gameplay? yes, but you can tell this game was made with its visual presentation in mind, they wanted a working game to go with the background spectacle, nothing more, and they delivered it. Sure a great game with great visuals and music could have been a better option, but for what it is I love it.
To this day, one of my fondest video game memories was hooking up my Sega CD for the first time, jacking it into my home stereo, and blasting the volume while playing Sol Feace
thanks for keeping the sega cd legacy alive! Saludos from Argentina!
The first game I ever noticed vulgarity in. My friend and I were sitting there going through the sound test and we lost our minds and were laughing like crazy when we got to the voice sample that said "shit...they got the carrier!"
This was my go to game to show off to my SNES friends.
I wait for these videos 😀
I completely agree, Silpheed is a a great technical accomplishement and an absolute showcase for the hardware but as a shmup I was never really sold on its barebone gameplay.
I was worried the review might just be ripping on it and calling it a crappy FMV game, but I should have known better. You nailed it as usual.
I think Final Fight CD is the most impressive game on the Sega CD. Huge sprites, all the arcade content. Couldn't have been done on any other system (aside from the Neo Geo).
Final Fight CD was a winner. But outside of that soundtrack, the Genesis could have done it just as well with a decent meg count.
I loved this game. My favorite thing about it was the intro. I had a box subwoofer hooked up to my, at the time, sound system. Pre home theater days. I loved how the intro sounded. I would just leave it looping the intro, so much that in my apartment, my upstairs neighbors would bang on my ceiling, indicating it was too loud. I had the same issue with tomb raider, when pushing boxes, or boulders around.
Very nice review, Silpheed is definitely really interesting technically. It's still stuck in '86 with its gameplay, not really that much of a surprise though certainly a shame. Do love the soundtrack though and a shame that you didn't. Definitely one of the few games to more heavily use that Sega CD Ricoh chip in the music, wish we could've gotten more use out of it on the system.
Ricoh chip is better than the 32x q sound. Cleaner and better quality.
Great review, loved that game back in the day.
I still don't understand how they did the backgrounds. There are zero compression artifacts that's normal with FMV. Even the dithering patterns are pixel perfect. Shit, 4K TH-cam videos don't look that clean.
I'm reliving my childhood! Thanks Sega Lord X. I loved playing this game
Great review!
I remember being blown away by the intro cinematic and voices/sound FX. I don't recall ever getting far into the game but I would just boot the game and watch that intro. At the time it was like you had a Sci-Fi movie as a game, it was groundbreaking.
I actually forgot about it until I saw that intro again a few years ago and it all flooded back to me. I bought the game again last year :)
Re the soundtrack: I agree that the quality is subpar but I love the composition.
I love the Game Arts logo screen...always sounded like the voice was saying,"GAME FARTS!"
Great vid, been meaning to give this one a shot!
I had this on Saga Ced back in the day and I can understand where you coming from about the music but I have mine hooked up to a 5.1 Dobie home theater system and it sounded awesome on that thing
Another excellent review! Your assessment is spot on, it was impressive and beyond anything I had seen for home console upon release. The FMV background just blows everything out of the water (Star Fox!), but the gameplay wasn't that much fun as you noted all the problems. Still, it is good to revisit once in a while and I am nowhere near as good as you, I never make it out of stage 2 nowadays.
Working Design nailed it. Thank you for a great review!
This was definitely a game to brag about having the console for. The asteroid field in stage 2, the hyperspace jump (with rematches of two previous bosses) in stage 5, the space armada... So many awesome moments. Personally, I love the soundtrack. Stage 5 - "Subspace" - is again the real standout for me. Lots of fond memories with this game. Been playing it on and off for about 15 years, and still can't beat it.
For all of its faults, at the very least it certainly hit a lot harder than the PS2 sequel, which could best be summed up as a dull thud by comparison.
Silpheed is truly a hidden gem of shoot em up games alongside Gradius Gaiden and Salamander 2.
Lets go!!!
I've always read this game's title as "Slipheed." I'm an idiot.
I'm questioning the last 30 years of my life now...
I always used to say Robo Alestee. 😂
Sliphead is what I understood at first glance of the video thumbnail 🙈
man, i love silpheed so much
nice review! Always loved this series! I got both MDCD version and it's PS2 sequel plus a model kit of SA-77 by PLUM! (it's based on Lost Planet version btw)
Blazing Lazers and Thunder Force II FTW!!
Such a cool game! I stil have it in my collection!
Hey i know what you mean by your reflexes not being what they used to be on gaming. Im 49 and i can tell too but i still have fun trying. Another impressive title is Soul Star! Just to let you know after watching this video I purchased this game. Thanks for the video and reccomedation!😊👍
I was lucky enough to have a SEGA CD upon release.
This was probably one of my favorites for the system.
Silpheed is one of my favorite Sega CD games. I bought it back in 2010 at the Berryessa Flea Market and it kicked ass.
I loved this game and the music. One of my favorite Sega CD games to this day
I was 14 when this came out. I had the same jaw dropping sensation others have described. I would let the Sega CD play the intros over and over, in awe of what I was seeing. To this day, I wondered why we didn't see any more 3d games on the platform, given the available features, horsepower, and storage medium.
The backgrounds for this are actually pre-rendered, they're not being drawn in real time using polygons. Your ship and the enemy ships are real time polygons.
@@hikermicefrommars.2724 The video was pretty clear about how that worked. :) I marvel(ed) at this because the playfield was done in 3d at such a smooth/high framerate while also rendering that background video at the same time. That's what really impresses me and also what I mean by untapped potential. If you look at the work gasega68k has done with his 3d demos with only the genesis 68k, it begs the question - throw in the SCD's 68k and sprite scaling resources, what could have been, in the hands of the right developers and support from Sega.
It can’t use redbook CD audio and stream video at the same time. That’s why the sound is the way it is. They can stream some kind of recorded audio and video together but the bitrate was likely pushing the limits already (only possible with the limited colors).
I wonder if the background FMV contained metadata to describe what parts would damage you, or if there was some sort of "gameplay map" that was run alongside the FMV, and it was what actually determined where you could move to safely or not...
Thanks man! Being 43 now, I also get absolutely destroyed by any of the shmups I used to love back then... We are getting old I guess...
The control is good and the gameplay model is decent but sometimes wish it behaved more like a traditional 2D shmup experience which is kind of what we got with32-bit polygon shmups later. The soundtrack isn't bad but it's nothing to write home about.
It certainly is a good example of less is more with the FMV approximating flat shaded polygon rendering we wouldn't see for a long time, even Wolf Team's work to clean up hand drawn animation didn't look this clean.
Other than Starblade we probably could have used more games like it on SCD and covering more subject matters besides spaceships. Like the Area 51 arcade game operates like this so light gun titles would have worked, as would FPP dungeon RPG games.
Sega dropped the ball not porting morr fmv/3D games.
I've never seen this game before now I really wanna play it lol
Wow! Just wow! This game looks crazy advanced
The graphics of this game actually turned me off for years until I went on a bit of a Mega CD buying spree last year and realised how great of a shmup this actually is. The graphics grew on me. The raw polygonal look has aged well and because it's all pre-rendered the controls and gameplay remain silky smooth. You're right on the money about the chaotic nature of the visuals and enemy projectiles getting lost in the shuffle though. All in all this is still definitely a gem in the Mega CD library.
I had boxed Sierra games int he late 80's and 90's and in the brochure in the box I saw Silpheed and was always curious about it.