Developer: Treasure Publisher: ESP Release: 09/10/97 Genre: Action
No one does it like Treasure. After bursting on the scene with some of the most creative and technically accomplished games on the Genesis many looked forward to what they would do in the 32-bit era. And they did not disappoint. Guardian Heroes remains one of the greatest beat em ups of all time while Mischief Makers showed the Nintendo 64 was adept with 2d. But one of their greatest efforts did not leave Japan initially. Silhouette Mirage is one of the most creative 2d action games I can think of to this day. You have never seen anything like this, trust me. While the PlayStation did get an international release the Saturn original is the best way to play this game.
In the year 2XXX scientists create the Edo system to conduct experiments on mankind. The system fails and mutates the world’s population, leaving them with one of two attributes, Silhouette or Mirage. This event would be come to be known as Armageddon. War breaks out between the two factions with the world on the brink of chaos. Shyna Nera Shyna, the Messenger of Justice and a fail safe in case Edo fails awakens from hyper sleep to repair the Edo system. Unfortunately the years have left her with memory loss and she must find her way to Edo first.
Gamefan’s import coverage of Silhouette Mirage is what brought the game to my attention. At the time I assumed Sega would bring the game over like they did almost all of Treasure’s other titles. Unfortunately the failure of the Saturn means this one stayed behind. I still hold a grudge against Sega due to their handling of the Saturn’s end of life and phenomenal games like this being left in Japan is one reason. The PlayStation would receive a port of the game a year later that Working Designs would localize. But they did a number of changes that are divisive. If you want the pure experience as intended play the Saturn version, especially with the fan translation.
The words Silhouette Mirage is more than just a cool title. They are an allusion to the duality system of the game’s mechanics. Shyna has both attributes in her body and the direction she is facing determines which side she uses. All enemies have one of the two attributes and you must attack accordingly. Hitting enemies with the opposing element damages them while using the same will rob them of spirit. Spirit determines the power of attacks, both yours and the enemy and is a viable tactic to make enemies and bosses weaker. Completely draining spirit will make an enemy’s attacks fail which is hilarious to see in action. You really do not want the same to happen to you.
Mechanically the game is dense yet intuitive. Shyna can dash, triple jump, and grab enemies for a number of melee attacks that do not cause damage. But some like the throw can give you space and allow you to attack an enemy using the opposing element. This is probably the most important skill in the game. You can manually switch your polarity but it is slow and uses a ton of spirit. The game throws a ton of enemies at you and you need to manage the chaos as best you can. Grabbing enemies is also the key to cash bash for money. Lastly she can reflect projectiles; a considerable number of attacks even from bosses can reflect surprisingly.
Cash buys weapons and items to restore health and spirit. There are seven weapons called parasites that cover a wide gamut from a boomerang to a homing shot, remote bomb, or piercing laser. All weapons have six levels that increase with each new stage. You can only carry three and they are reasonably priced so that you can play around and find a favorite without grinding cash too much. But if you do not want to spend too much cash even the default Sarosa is effective as it tracks enemies to a degree.
The pacing in Silhouette Mirage is similar to Alien Soldier. Most levels only offer the briefest amount of platforming and such in between its many boss encounters. These are the weakest point of the game as they are dull despite the game’s often inventive scenarios. These are your opportunity to cash bash enemies to rack up much needed money. Killing enemies outright is not efficient to build up cash even though it is efficient to move the game along. I wish the game were better at making the time in between boss battles more interesting. Gunstar Heroes manages this perfectly and the game would be so much better if you spent a little more time in its beautiful stages.
That being said Treasure know bosses are their expertise and Silhouette Mirage excels in this category. The frequent boss battles call on every one of the game’s mechanics and are a master class of design. Stage four begins with a mad cap limo ride from hell as the driver pops out to throw you off in between switching viewpoints. This is followed by a battle where you do your best to “poison” the boss’s soup using opposing enemies to prevent him unleashing a massively powerful attack. You fight a revolver where the enemies are the bullets and must keep track of how they load themselves in the chamber to defend appropriately. And any battle with Zohar is epic as he has your same dual attributes and switches frequently. This is just a fraction too! How Treasure consistently manage to be so creative in this regard needs to be studied.
This is not an easy one as there is a lot to consider at any given moment. Initially you only face singular attribute enemies. But by the midpoint they mix and match the types in large groups and it is easy to get lost in the chaos. One of my grievances with the game is that you must pay to restore health. It does not refill your health between levels which is stupid in my opinion. Deciding between upgrading weapons or only restoring some life is bad design. You have a single life and nine credits overall. Some of the later boss battles require some trial and error to either deduce the mechanics or the best strategy. With limited continues you have little wiggle room before potentially starting over. Silhouette Mirage is not terribly long but they could at least meet you in the middle for a smoother experience.
In Closing
Silhouette Mirage is one of the most inventive 2d action games of all time and generally excellent all around. Some aspects such as weapon balancing and the tedious cash bashing could use some work. But as a whole Treasure nail the central conceit and provide another in a long line of import gems for the Saturn and continue their streak of excellence.
