One of those super early polygonal 3d games, it's a bit like the original star fox but with a bit more going on. More of a shmup than a rail shooter.

Some wild stuff going on around you, most of it comprehensible.

honestly just fun to play.

I talk in my Thunder Force 5 review about coolness, and how that’s distinct from goodness. Little did I know I was so soon going to be playing yet another game that is so cool it just completely blew me away.

Every moment of this game had me just giggling and laughing out loud and saying “oh my GOD” because of how just rad it is. There’s always stuff going on in the background and the ships are SO NEAT and it’s just an absolute freaking joy to play.

I love that the HUD shakes when you’re in hyperspace!!

This game is an all-timer; it is essential playing.

There should really be two separate pages for Silpheed -- the PC-88 version (also ported to DOS and Apple II) is the original, while the Sega CD version is an entirely different game, and could be considered a sequel.

I played both, and I think they kind of rule! For 1986, the PC-88 Silpheed is incredibly impressive--I might like it more than any '80s shmup I've yet tried. There are mechanics in there that I wish more games in the '90s would've stolen! (The ship having a damage counter, repairable with health items or at the end of a level; selectable right and left weapons; invincibility items; etc.). The fortress levels are very cool.

The Sega CD Silpheed is also impressive in its own right -- it uses pre-rendered video underneath the game assets to make these incredibly dynamic, cinematic backdrops for the action. Gameplay is simple, but smooth!

They both feel dated, certainly, and the oblique perspective can be frustrating, but honestly I can't find a whole lot to complain about beyond that. I had a good time with them.

(played Sega CD version)
The hardest I've been impressed with the visuals of a game in years, some of these stages and their tunes are absolutely exhilarating. That sprint across the beehive maze space station ooooh mama. For real implore anyone to dive in blind if at all possible.
What drags Silpheed down is the lack of boss variety, as you're facing up against increasingly annoying variants of the same three ships ad nauseum. Lots of projectiles that get camoflaged by the background and damage that rarely ever feels fair, made worse by the weird 3D tunnel boundary you're supposed to navigate. The final boss is insanely demanding and I respect the nerve of it all.

Visually stunning, the use of FMV is jaw-dropping and seamless. There's literally zero artifacts in the background video, compositionally indistinguishable from the pre-rendered sprites on top, I don't know how they achieved this on Sega CD. If nothing else, this is a mandatory experience for the stellar cinematic energy.

It could be better as a shmup, there's often a feeling of being underpowered from enemies once they get close to the backside of the screen. With the viewpoint they've selected, it feel like you're doing something wrong when you move to the front of the screen to speed-kill enemies - it's no different than any other shmup, but the Z-axis depth makes you feel like you're breaking the rules. It's also hard to keep track of things and you get hit by a lot of unpredictable stuff because enemy fire can seem indistinguishable from the explosion VFX in the background. This also happens a lot with environmental hazards, it's hard to judge their perceived distance from the interactive playfield.

I didn't mind the re-use of bosses, but I DID have a giant bone to pick with the final boss, which screen-nukes you if you can't kill it in time AND sends you back to the prior stage. Evil and pretty experience-ruining imo. If you don't get right up in this guy's face and plaster him with bombs and rapid fire, you WILL be timed out.