The Silvergun (Japanese: シルバーガン Shirubāgan) is a fighter ship in Radiant Silvergun. It is the namesake of the game.
Details
The Silvergun is a Hyper Vehicle developed by the EDA. Three prototype ships were manufactured, and were undergoing testing as of July 2520 by the crew of the Tetra space cruiser.
The ship comes armed with an powerful array of seven different weapons that "level up" and become stronger from extensive use;
- Vulcan: Fires a rapid-fire stream of bullets forward from the front end of the ship. Shots become stronger and more numerous as the weapon levels up.
- Homing: Fires double energy blasts that home in on enemies. Shots become larger and stronger as the weapon levels up.
- Spread: Fires two explosive warheads from the sides of the ship at a 22.5 degree angle. Shots become more powerful as the weapon levels up.
- Back Spread: A variation of the Vulcan. Fires a spreading shot from the rear of the craft and a single-bullet-wide stream from the front. Range of the rear-firing shot increases as the weapon levels up.
- Homing Plasma: Two tracking line markers swivel at acute angles in front of the ship. They would lock onto enemies and fire a stream of plasma to destroy them. Range increases as the weapon levels up.
- Lock On Spread: Expands a circle of targeting markers from the ship. Anything caught within the circle would be targeted with homing lasers. The range of the marker circle increases as the weapon levels up.
- Radiant Sword: A sword-type weapon that can deal high damage up close. Once the button or button combination is pressed, the blade swings in a full circle around the craft, and will then trail in the opposite direction to which the craft is moving. It can be used to absorb pink bullets, which fill a gauge at the top left of the HUD. When this gauge is full, the next time the button is pressed, a pair of massive swords will appear on both sides of the ship, and swing round before converging directly in front. This attack maneuver, known as the Hyper Sword, can also make the ship temporarily invincible, and the fragmentation of the swords can also cause damage to nearby enemies.
According to the concept art (see Gallery), the Silvergun's control systems feature two pedals, three instrument panels with avionics, and a left-hand control stick with right-hand throttle quadrant. The throttle quadrant has three colored buttons on it labeled "A" (green), "B" (yellow), and "C" (blue). These buttons are used to operate the Silvergun's advanced weapons systems.
In addition to that, the frontal cockpit hatch swivels forward in a downward angle, allowing the pilot to enter and exit the cockpit.
Unit 01
Unit 01 is the blue Silvergun prototype, piloted by Buster. It is controlled by player 1.
Unit 02
Unit 02 is the red Silvergun prototype, piloted by Reana. Asides from being the player 2 ship, Reana has some personal touches on it; In particular, the seating is wrapped in plastic and has a cushion with cat paws on it, along with a cat-themed headrest cushion.
Unit 03
Unit 03 is the yellow Silvergun prototype, piloted by Guy. It is not playable in the game, but it is seen in certain points during Saturn/Story Mode.
Penta's Silverguns
Asides from the three prototypes, the Penta, which is fought in Stage 4D, also has its own Silverguns, which are black in color and are tethered to the Stone-Like-controlled space cruiser. These Silverguns have highly enhanced variants of the original's weapon systems, even the Hyper Sword. When the Penta is on its last legs, the enemy Silverguns will break from their tethers and fly at the player in an explosive kamikaze attack.
Known Ships
- Silvergun Unit 01 (Player 1)
- Silvergun Unit 02 (Player 2)
- Silvergun Unit 03 (Unplayable)
- Penta's Silverguns
Known Pilots
13B/Specter's model kit
Sometime in 2008, 13/B Specter's released high-end resin model kits of Silvergun Units 01 and 02. Three professionally assembled and painted models were first showcased at the 2008 Winter Wonder Festival in late February/early March at the 13B/Specter's booth; one of Unit 01, another of Unit 02, and the third of one of the Penta's black Silverguns, complete with a tether.
Gallery
Gameplay Screenshots
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Cutscenes
CG Art
Concept Art
13B/Specter's resin kit
No images yet
Trivia
- The weapon buttons on the Silvergun's throttle quadrant are a reference to the buttons on the Japanese Sega Saturn HSS-0101-S control pad, whose A, B, and C face buttons are colored green, yellow, and blue, respectively.
- It is possible that the black Silverguns that fought alongside the Penta were also prototypes that were stationed on it before the events of the game, and that they were also revived along with the Penta.
- However, another possibility is that with the Stone-Like's ability to create man-made machines from previous cycles of life, the Penta's Silverguns were also creations of the Stone-Like.