The Mega-CD version is a fantastic game that blew everyone's mind back then and remains one of the most impressive shooters out of the 4th generation of video games. So futuristic and edgy! Game Arts was one of the finest Japanese developers at the time.
@GP No need for this. Some games are more interesting and impressive within a specific context and also benefit from the particular, distinctive specs that some systems have. It's the case here with Silpheed which is a superb showcase of the Mega-CD capabilities and a very impressive game within the 4th gen. What could have been cool though is a *sequel* released either on Saturn or PS1 (or even N64 or Dreamcast). I do know that there's a sequel called Silpheed the Lost Planet which was released on PS2 but for some reasons I'm not much into the PS2 and, sadly, said sequel seems to be disappointing (although I'd still like to give it a go).
@@TheGeoffers08 Well, it could have always been done and it could have been nice but, like I said, the game reached a certain climax with the Mega-CD version and it would have been more interesting to see a sequel from then.
Yay, Silpheed. I owned this along with Thexder, Firehawk and the other games that Sierra imported to the US knowing they were popular in Japan. I remember being super excited for the Mega CD release as well and I was not disappointed, it's still impressive for its time.
Mega CD takes the lead to a ridiculous extent. the use of FMV is understandable there wouldn't be any consumer level home hardware that could push enough filled polygons to replace sprites and backgrounds at an acceptable frame rate until near the mid 90s the ST, and Amiga would struggle to keep in the 12-15fps range. Omega Boost gives us some idea of what a 60fps Playstation version might have been like.
I never understood why the Mega CD was not properly advertised by Sega, it completely outclassed Star Fox and the great majority of arcade games of it's time.
Mega CD version is easily a top 5 in the system. A truly masterpiece. I have the PS2 versión too, called The Lost Planet, and it's amazing and difficult as hell. I enjoyed a lot this BotP!!
Wish this series was a lot more popular in the west. The original would've made everyone's face melt with those graphics back in those days running on that kind of hardware. The DOS port surprised me, but the mega CD version is a monster.
This is a great example of how FMV should've been used for games during those days. Not something like Sewer Shark or even Corpse Killer. I will give Night Trap a pass since it's basically the precursor to Five Nights at Freddy's and that its use of FMV was admittedly pretty clever. Other than that though, FMV was rarely used to good effect in games back then but Sipheed on Sega CD is definitely one of the best examples of an FMV game done right. It blends into the background flawlessly to the point you wouldn't even notice it and even presents active hazards while playing. It's honestly too bad that it only got one sequel on the PS2, but to it's defense the sequel itself (Silpheed the Lost Planet) is actually a great shooter in its own right as well. Once again, you did a great job presenting these ports, thanks! :)
@@RetroCore That's is when you know a soundtrack is good. I've a few myself such as Out Run (C64 version), Microprose F1 GP, Speedball 2, Sensible World of Soccer and a fair few others. It's amazing how much better a game or film can be with a good soundtrack, even if it's only present during the intro.
Oh, something to note about the DOS version, was a second revision was released that added digital sound via Sound Blaster and compatible sound cards. So not only could you still get excellent music (Adlib, MT-32, GameBlaster/CMS, or IBM Music Feature), but improved sound effects and clear speech (including Xacalite's opening declaration). Still, definitely one of my favorite original shooters for DOS, given its age, it ranks up there for me with Tyrian.
Wait, the Mega CD's background graphics was all pre-rendered fmv? I too thought it was generating those graphics in real time! I thought it was using some kind of built in hyped up Super-FX chip or something, oh well, still leagues better than StarFox.
I suspect this is the same approach taken by Out of this world/Another World, but with a CD-ROM spin to it (pun not intended): streaming lists of 2D shapes to the Mega CD to draw. It just happen that those 2D shapes were originally 3D and were processed into 2D by a graphics workstation for a couple of weeks.
I never played any of the computer versions, but the Mega CD version was easily one of my favorite games for that console. Thanks for showing us the other versions as well!
Silpheed was back in mid 90s one of the games that makes me buy a sega CD... I remember when I saw for the first time and as Mark said I thought that the background was real 3d polygon... Greetings from Brazil!
Hi ms1980. Yeah, I think we were all fooled back in the day. That doesn't matter though because the game pleased us and that's what matters. Hi to all my Brazilian viewers👍
Regarding ports. The original game was already very nice for its time and even now with two great ports to back it up. Why Apple II GS increased HP on the pickup things though is beyond me. TRS port is just your typical bare bones port. And the Mega CD.... HOLY SHIT. What an impressive game! They really took the Mega CD its fullest with this port. It's perfect!!! Great show again!
Recently picked this game up at a flea market for the Sega CD. Never knew this game got its start on older hardware. Very impressive game and I'm surprised how good of a shmup it is. Definitely feels like a must-play Sega CD game worth every penny.
I remember playing this great game at my friend's house, on his Mega CD. What I found most impressive - even to this day, is the use of FMV for the background graphics. Not because it is FMV per se, but for the Mega CD was notoriously poor when it came to compressed video. I don't understand how it seems crystal clear on the screen, as if it were rendered in real time!
One of my favorite shmups of all time on the Mega CD, right alongside Thunder Force IV, Super Aleste (my no.1 favourite!), Raiden, UN Squadron, Axelay, Thunder Force III, Phalanx, and MUSHA!
Good taste in games my man. I love Super Aleste too. It has to be the Japanese version though. Yeah, it has worse speech in most peoples opinion but it has more content.
@@RetroCore yeah, especially in the Settings menu were there's Super-Deformed versions of the pilots/protagonists. And let's not forget S. Aleste's lovely music.
It’s weird how none of the wireframe intros use the same colours on each port! Out of curiosity, what speed is the emulated CPU for the MS-DOS version? I’m wondering if the smoother frame rate is down to a Pentium speed CPU or whether it would have been that smooth on a 386 (or whatever was current in ‘89).
@@RetroCore Wing Commander 1 run on my PC (286/12Mhz)it with a humble rate , still playable and better then the Amiga or SfC port, ruling until Super Wing Commander appeared on the 3DO. . Silpheed did run OK, but I have to dig very deep into my brain memory archive. Link to Silpheed running on 8086/7,16Mhz ruclips.net/video/RXofU2RnXaY/видео.html
The NEC and Fujitsu versions use the very-rarely-used AM "speech synthesis" mode of the Yamaha FM chips which can be heard in the beginning of their respective sequences. While the PC "Adlib" FM series of cards could also do that, Sierra did not port over the AM-mode speech, instead opting for the bizarre and unintelligible speech through the PC Speaker. There was a later release of Silpheed specifically for the IBM PS/1 audio card that used human voice samples for the speech and other samples for sound effects for a huge improvement, but as the PS/1 audio card had a terrible music/sound chip, the music suffered.
until a few days ago I started playing the SEGA CD version and it really was a great graphic leap for its era in consoles; I love the dialogues between the pilots during the fight, it is imersive and it makes you feel that you are in a more complex story than a movie. What surprised me is that, on SEGA CD, they are true polygons and not Sprites that use the Scaling effect.
Top notch botp. One of the few games that I was proud to own for the Sega CD. Music is good in all the versions! A well crafted space shooter in every way. NASA is even credited in the game!
Now you got me into discovering the Sega CD. I knew only about Snatcher, Sonic CD, Jaguar XJ220, but this looks awesome ! Oh wait I forgot about Desert Bus
Haha, desert bus. Yeah, there's so much more on the Mega CD than the typical stuff people show. I suggest checking out my Mega CD dedicated video. You can find it in the Retro CORE 5 playlist.
Another great episode. Thanks! This made me appreciate the AMAZING Mega CD/Sega CD version even more. Games Arts really went above and beyond. This game is one of the reasons why I still own a Sega CD today.
Game Arts were really something on the Mega CD. They were the first company to use video on it, the first to use Polygons and the first to do real hardware powered animation.
As battles go this is just ace thank you Mark. I've never seen the home computer versions and they really would have blown my mind back then. I imported the mega cd version pretty much day one after drooling over the previews in Gamefan. They really knew how to capture the action shots in that magazine. My Mega CD at the time was the Japanese version but the megadrive was Pal causing all sorts of issue's with the sound skipping and being out of sync. I had to update my setup to full Japanese to get the game running correctly.
Yoh can thank Silpheed for introducing you to the world of NTSC 👍. It was Super Shinobi that did it for me. Real spiderman, Godzilla, Batman, Rambo and Terminator while our PAL version had only look-a-likes. To be fair, so did later prints of the Japanese version.
Gotta have that Mega CD version... I'm a great fan of top down and side scrolling shooters and I honestly did not hear about this game( the original game was released when I was a year old so yeah😅) Thanks for another great video... I keep on learning classic games that I would love to play (first game that I discovered through your channels is Breaker's Revenge 😉)
Never been such a clear winner when it comes to ports. Mega CD version all day, didnt know about the western release getting censored, but not surprised. Nice vid.
The PC-88 original, FM77AV and IBM PC versions seem to look and play almost identical, the only real differences being between sound hardware. The Apple ][ GS version looks nearly identical as well, but unfortunately has issues in terms of gameplay and sounds. The Tandy TRS-80 version was cut back quite a bit, though I'm not sure how good they could have done on such a limited computer. And, as to be expected, the Mega CD port is the absolute best. It's the strongest system in this video and it shows.
Argh! What MIDI emulator are you running the DOS port with? Silpheed was designed to have Roland MT-32 music, and it sounds absolutely sublime when played correctly. The instruments are all off in the video - did you use Dosbox with Timidity or something similar?
I played this a lot back in the day, in fact on an Amiga with a pc bridgeboard inside. Later on when I had a proper pc I still played this. Which tells me: oh my, the MT-32 music in the intro in your setup is really off! What config did you use? DOSBox I presume? What version?
@@RetroCore I've been testing a bit. I guess you are running Dosbox ECE or something, which has MT32 emulation built in. However, you'll need the MT32 ROM files for them to work properly. Also, in your dosbox config, change 'mididevice = default' to 'mididevice = mt32'. With default, it uses the atrocious Windows midi driver. The difference is astounding. The Silpheed intro is amazing on MT32. Note that some games (most Sierra but also some LucasArts) send some nice messages to the MT32 display, which can be read in the Dosbox console-screen. While I do use DosBox ECE I still like DosBox Daum the most, as it has a GUI that allows changing settings on the fly. I which someone would implement that in a recent build...
Never realized this got so many releases? I was only aware of the Sega CD port but I always did think back in the day if Sega CD had more games like this it would've done so much better than it did?
the thing is, the mega-cd is such a complex and powerful add-on that it's more like mid gen stuff meaning harder and more time-consuming to develop for whenever people want to use it to its fullest hence why there aren't that many games that do so BUT there are still a significant amount that do and not necessarily "just" via the more obvious, standout visual effects (scaling; rotation; etc.) but it can also be via the sound (with the mega-cd hooked in, the mega drive reaches a whopping amount of 20 sound channels), the FMV quality (when using the best video codecs and even when having fullscreen FMV gameplay, something that only the mega-cd can do compared to competiting systems), the amount of graphic assets/animation frames (helped by the CD media)... one day, when I'll have more time, I'll go into more details about this, with articles, videos and all I also wish that people start develop mega-cd games again... that would be awesome
I didn't realise this was an 80s computer game before the Mega CD release, very interesting. I've heard so many people on RUclips pronounce this game's name with a hard P sound, very odd!
So - the MS-DOS is the best port. Then you mention the MEGA CD - and it is a whole new game. Basically this: MEGA CD SILPHEED: "Allow me to introduce myself..."
I remember playing the dos version a bit way back when. I was absolute rubbish at the game, but that MT-32 music kept me coming back anyway. Definitely in my top 5 best sounding dos games ever. Quite a pity about the CoCo. Not sure what happened there.
There is something off on your MT-32 audio in this video. I also have and play this game often with an actual MT-32 connected and the grand piano instrument shouldn't be playing like that in the music. My guess is that you were hit with the dreaded memory buffer error on the MT-32 and not all of the instrument patches made it to the MT-32 properly. It is still an excellent video overall, but just be aware that for as excellent as what you demonstrated in this video, it actually sounds even better!
Yeah, sadly with PC stuff there are many issues that can crop up. Sadly with this being a weekly show it's not always possible to review or fix errors 😔
I remember when I read the first review of Silphed (for Sega CD) in a magazine back in 1993, I was truly impressed. The review stated that it was full 3D game too. It's still an impressive version IMO.
Yeah Mark. It was Konami's early title and help start their amazing journey in the industry. So only 2 ports and the arcade only. But a great game that is quite a pester complete the stages. 8^) Anthony..
I remember that in the 90s i wanted to have a Sega CD only to play this Game, my dad ended up not buying the SCD for me, but nowadays thanks to the Holy Emulator Iican play it 😎
I accidentally won a copy of the NA Sega CD version recently and was pleasantly surprised. Lol. Also: on top of the Tandy port being boring to play, it was boring to watch as well.
Hi Mark, Roc N Rope was ported to the Colecovision and the Atari 2600. So three all together including the Arcade. Fun title that I love from Konami. Sound great mark, I love the Atari computer line, so this will be fun for sure. 8^) Anthony..
a great comparison video as usual, Mark! I have the mega CD version; I also have project sylpheed for the xbox360 but it's not the same gameplay unfortunately but looks amazing! nothing to do with the original as the game is spelled differently :)
Seems pretty unfair for the TRS-80 but it was also great to own this version back in the day. The TRS-80 is such an under-powered system. No sprite support in the machine itself. Despite this, people have been able to pull off Mario 3 style graphics.
Yeah, it is odd the game was ported to the TRS-80. The thing is, it's not the technical issues that ruin the game, it's the bad stage design. Whoever programmed this hadn't understood what made the original fun. The TRS-80 could have easily kept the enemies coming
Can the Mega CD version really be considered a port? to me it's more of a remake considering the graphical and audio upgrades (not that there's anything wrong with that)
Surprised it never came out on the Eurpoean Micro Computers. The Mega CD version is amazing, the FMV backgrounds are held back just enough to convince you that it is in-game. Shocked other Mega CD games did not pick up from where Silpheed left off. One of the best Use of FMV backgrouds. Great Job Gamearts
I played a lot on Sega CD! A LOT!!! I never had this game, but I got with a friend back in the day. Since Sega CD games nowadays are absurdly expensive, I assume this one should be a lot of money these days.
While it's probably a sequel there is the silpheed version for ps2. It's really good as well. I grew up on the Ms dos version and love it but also love the mega CD version as well
Silpheed: The Lost Planet was a sequel. And it was developed by Treasure. There was also an Xbox 360 game called Project Sylpheed. , which was kinda of a spiritual successor, though it was a fully 3D Space Combat game, not a shoot'em up.
The story for the original Silpheed says your ship is the SA-08. For the MEGA/SEGA CD version, it’s the SA-77. So... is it really a port? A sequel? A reboot? You decide!
The Mega CD version was a godsend for a lot of the UK Press at the time, attention grabbing headlines of it being a Starfox beater 🙄 and Previews littered with screens of the introduction sequence, when the game itself came in for review though and the basic gameplay became apparent, all mouth and no trousers syndrome. I sold my Mega CD at a great loss 😂 after discovering the game didn't live upto the press hype generated in Previews.
What!? I stopped after reading the warning to say, how dare you have an opinion! You must have my opinion all the time over everything or a Im'a lose it! Further, anytime my controller doesn't work it's always emulation or the button stuck...I mean, me lose in a game, perpostorous. ;) Great review and look at Silpheed. The Sega CD version was insane for its day. The first time I saw it running on a Sega CD my mind was completely blown.
9:12 - Did announcer had heart attack there? MEGA-CD version is really impressive looking, if only most games used FMV like that, perhaps system wouldnt bite the dust so fast?
I think the MegaCD version cheats the most because it uses a lot more pre-rendered FMV scenes and backgrounds than any other port ;) And holy cow did the PAL version run terrible. Especially the FMV sequences were a choppy mess and it also had some of the THICKEST PAL borders i have ever seen on any other game on the MegaCD. Still liked this game a lot and it is really a must have on the MegaCD.
The Mega-CD version is a fantastic game that blew everyone's mind back then and remains one of the most impressive shooters out of the 4th generation of video games. So futuristic and edgy! Game Arts was one of the finest Japanese developers at the time.
@GP No need for this. Some games are more interesting and impressive within a specific context and also benefit from the particular, distinctive specs that some systems have. It's the case here with Silpheed which is a superb showcase of the Mega-CD capabilities and a very impressive game within the 4th gen.
What could have been cool though is a *sequel* released either on Saturn or PS1 (or even N64 or Dreamcast). I do know that there's a sequel called Silpheed the Lost Planet which was released on PS2 but for some reasons I'm not much into the PS2 and, sadly, said sequel seems to be disappointing (although I'd still like to give it a go).
@GP btw man, how many times you change account per year? :DDD
@GP Im with you. Id like to have seen a Saturn version of the original.
@@ryzmaker11 No need "in your opinion".... 🙂...
@@TheGeoffers08 Well, it could have always been done and it could have been nice but, like I said, the game reached a certain climax with the Mega-CD version and it would have been more interesting to see a sequel from then.
Yay, Silpheed. I owned this along with Thexder, Firehawk and the other games that Sierra imported to the US knowing they were popular in Japan. I remember being super excited for the Mega CD release as well and I was not disappointed, it's still impressive for its time.
Thexder super sweet !
Mega-CD version is one of the greatest shooters on a Sega machine. A lost gem for sure.
Don't say Gem. You'll have Metal Jeasus talking about it as if he's known about the games all his life 😋
This was one of the first Mega CD games I had and I remember loving it! So it's cool to see all these other ports!
I played this to bits on the Mega cd back in the day. I still enjoy having a blast every now and then too.
@@RetroCore me too, whenever I dig out my Mega CD it's always the first game in!
So good to see Silpheed receiving some love. I think I will get my fansite back in the air.
The Sega-CD needed more games like Silpheed.
It sure did.
@@RetroCore Silpheed for MS-DOS was also one of the games that took advantage of the Tandy-1000. A surprising number of games of that era did.
Mega CD takes the lead to a ridiculous extent. the use of FMV is understandable there wouldn't be any consumer level home hardware that could push enough filled polygons to replace sprites and backgrounds at an acceptable frame rate until near the mid 90s the ST, and Amiga would struggle to keep in the 12-15fps range.
Omega Boost gives us some idea of what a 60fps Playstation version might have been like.
Mega cd version still looks good today.
That it does.
I never understood why the Mega CD was not properly advertised by Sega, it completely outclassed Star Fox and the great majority of arcade games of it's time.
I know. They focused so much on that FMV crap.
Mega CD version is easily a top 5 in the system. A truly masterpiece. I have the PS2 versión too, called The Lost Planet, and it's amazing and difficult as hell.
I enjoyed a lot this BotP!!
I keep meaning to pick up the PS2 version. I should jump on to Yahoo Auctions later to see how much it cost these days.
Maybe the best full motion video game ever. If we can even call it that. It's so good it really doesn't feel like an fmv game.
IIRC, Treasure were partly responsible for it too?
Wish this series was a lot more popular in the west. The original would've made everyone's face melt with those graphics back in those days running on that kind of hardware. The DOS port surprised me, but the mega CD version is a monster.
Whoa! What is this gem of a channel?? Just discovered this & happy that I did. This is great! New sub!
Tha ks for subscribing, Jerzy.
Had it on the Mega CD at the time but has no idea it was elsewhere. Great to see it all here.
I think many people thought this game was a Mega CD exclusive.
Didn''t realize that Star Fox basically stole Silpheed's intro
Good old Nintendo or Nitty as their loyal fan base call them.
Which Silpheed basically stole from Tron.
And it stole its opening level intro from Star Blade.
Fantastic BotP episode. I’ve always been kind of obsessed with this game even though I’ve never played it!
This is a great example of how FMV should've been used for games during those days. Not something like Sewer Shark or even Corpse Killer. I will give Night Trap a pass since it's basically the precursor to Five Nights at Freddy's and that its use of FMV was admittedly pretty clever. Other than that though, FMV was rarely used to good effect in games back then but Sipheed on Sega CD is definitely one of the best examples of an FMV game done right. It blends into the background flawlessly to the point you wouldn't even notice it and even presents active hazards while playing. It's honestly too bad that it only got one sequel on the PS2, but to it's defense the sequel itself (Silpheed the Lost Planet) is actually a great shooter in its own right as well. Once again, you did a great job presenting these ports, thanks! :)
Dune on Mega CD was another great example of how FMV should of been used, even made great use of the hardwares limited colour abilities.
By the time the video ended, i downloaded the rom for the Mega CD....Now i can have some fun!
Same. It's so fun, and very tough. I try to train myself not to use save states hehe.
Mega-CD version all the way, even just for the Soundtrack, awesome BOTP video Mark :)
When I was a kid I used to listen to the Mega CD soundtrack a lot. Loved it. Even went as far as recording it on to tape.
@@RetroCore That's is when you know a soundtrack is good. I've a few myself such as Out Run (C64 version), Microprose F1 GP, Speedball 2, Sensible World of Soccer and a fair few others. It's amazing how much better a game or film can be with a good soundtrack, even if it's only present during the intro.
@@RetroCore nice. I use to record games to tape as well. That way I can think about my games while at school on my walkman hehe
Oh, something to note about the DOS version, was a second revision was released that added digital sound via Sound Blaster and compatible sound cards. So not only could you still get excellent music (Adlib, MT-32, GameBlaster/CMS, or IBM Music Feature), but improved sound effects and clear speech (including Xacalite's opening declaration).
Still, definitely one of my favorite original shooters for DOS, given its age, it ranks up there for me with Tyrian.
Man, I wish I had know that.
Still have this beauty for my Mega CD:)
Wait, the Mega CD's background graphics was all pre-rendered fmv? I too thought it was generating those graphics in real time! I thought it was using some kind of built in hyped up Super-FX chip or something, oh well, still leagues better than StarFox.
Yep, it's all video. But the way it is done is very impressive.
Yep I don't blame you since the objects are interactive in that you can be smashed by an asteroid ect.. very clever how they pulled it off.
I suspect this is the same approach taken by Out of this world/Another World, but with a CD-ROM spin to it (pun not intended): streaming lists of 2D shapes to the Mega CD to draw. It just happen that those 2D shapes were originally 3D and were processed into 2D by a graphics workstation for a couple of weeks.
I never played any of the computer versions, but the Mega CD version was easily one of my favorite games for that console. Thanks for showing us the other versions as well!
Silpheed was back in mid 90s one of the games that makes me buy a sega CD... I remember when I saw for the first time and as Mark said I thought that the background was real 3d polygon... Greetings from Brazil!
Hi ms1980. Yeah, I think we were all fooled back in the day. That doesn't matter though because the game pleased us and that's what matters.
Hi to all my Brazilian viewers👍
Omg the mega cd version is freacking awesome!!!!!, the soundtrack is on another level
Regarding ports. The original game was already very nice for its time and even now with two great ports to back it up. Why Apple II GS increased HP on the pickup things though is beyond me. TRS port is just your typical bare bones port.
And the Mega CD....
HOLY SHIT.
What an impressive game! They really took the Mega CD its fullest with this port. It's perfect!!!
Great show again!
Recently picked this game up at a flea market for the Sega CD. Never knew this game got its start on older hardware. Very impressive game and I'm surprised how good of a shmup it is. Definitely feels like a must-play Sega CD game worth every penny.
A great BOTP Mark. Apart from the Tandy, all ports were good, but the Sega Mega CD took it to a different level. Very impressive.
The Sega CD needed a lot more games like Silpheed. Would have put that platform on the map
Congratulations! Awesome review and perfect game choise...
Thanks👍
I remember playing this great game at my friend's house, on his Mega CD. What I found most impressive - even to this day, is the use of FMV for the background graphics. Not because it is FMV per se, but for the Mega CD was notoriously poor when it came to compressed video. I don't understand how it seems crystal clear on the screen, as if it were rendered in real time!
They used exact colours that a Mega CD could reproduce. This removed dithering. A very cleaver solution.
One of my favorite shmups of all time on the Mega CD, right alongside Thunder Force IV, Super Aleste (my no.1 favourite!), Raiden, UN Squadron, Axelay, Thunder Force III, Phalanx, and MUSHA!
Good taste in games my man. I love Super Aleste too. It has to be the Japanese version though. Yeah, it has worse speech in most peoples opinion but it has more content.
@@RetroCore yeah, especially in the Settings menu were there's Super-Deformed versions of the pilots/protagonists. And let's not forget S. Aleste's lovely music.
It’s weird how none of the wireframe intros use the same colours on each port!
Out of curiosity, what speed is the emulated CPU for the MS-DOS version? I’m wondering if the smoother frame rate is down to a Pentium speed CPU or whether it would have been that smooth on a 386 (or whatever was current in ‘89).
That was do-able with a 286 /12Mhz
It was running at a pretty humble rate of a 286 / or low-end 386.
@@RetroCore Wing Commander 1 run on my PC (286/12Mhz)it with a humble rate , still playable and better then the Amiga or SfC port, ruling until Super Wing Commander appeared on the 3DO. .
Silpheed did run OK, but I have to dig very deep into my brain memory archive.
Link to Silpheed running on 8086/7,16Mhz
ruclips.net/video/RXofU2RnXaY/видео.html
Awesome more of your Battle of the Ports... I enjoy theze😉
That MegaCD version looks amazing! I've got to find a way to play it!
Mega-CD has fantastic music!
It sure does. It really gets you in to the mood.
Sega CD is just that damn good, and so glad I still have my copy! Great video Mark, now I gotta go play it again!
The NEC and Fujitsu versions use the very-rarely-used AM "speech synthesis" mode of the Yamaha FM chips which can be heard in the beginning of their respective sequences. While the PC "Adlib" FM series of cards could also do that, Sierra did not port over the AM-mode speech, instead opting for the bizarre and unintelligible speech through the PC Speaker. There was a later release of Silpheed specifically for the IBM PS/1 audio card that used human voice samples for the speech and other samples for sound effects for a huge improvement, but as the PS/1 audio card had a terrible music/sound chip, the music suffered.
Hmm, I'd think I'd rather have better music than a bit of speech.
had this on the mega cd back in the day and its now the default game on my homemade arcade build- twitch shooting at its best :)
Nothing wrong with that. It's far better done now too since you can interact with the background.
So nice to see this game get some love! Played the MCD version to death.
until a few days ago I started playing the SEGA CD version and it really was a great graphic leap for its era in consoles; I love the dialogues between the pilots during the fight, it is imersive and it makes you feel that you are in a more complex story than a movie. What surprised me is that, on SEGA CD, they are true polygons and not Sprites that use the Scaling effect.
That's right. All enemies are real polygons. Only the backgrounds are video.
I grew up with the Apple IIGS version. Even at 4mhz, it was the best game on the machine. Oh my God, the songs. Especially that intro song.
Top notch botp. One of the few games that I was proud to own for the Sega CD. Music is good in all the versions! A well crafted space shooter in every way. NASA is even credited in the game!
I'd love to know what NASA contributed towards the game.
@@RetroCore Yes, I wonder. Also Astronomical Society of Japan.
Now you got me into discovering the Sega CD. I knew only about Snatcher, Sonic CD, Jaguar XJ220, but this looks awesome !
Oh wait I forgot about Desert Bus
Haha, desert bus. Yeah, there's so much more on the Mega CD than the typical stuff people show. I suggest checking out my Mega CD dedicated video. You can find it in the Retro CORE 5 playlist.
@@RetroCore Id be sure to do it ! Sega CD was a big miss in my life, fortunately nowadays I can find info about it easily.
Another great episode. Thanks! This made me appreciate the AMAZING Mega CD/Sega CD version even more. Games Arts really went above and beyond. This game is one of the reasons why I still own a Sega CD today.
Game Arts were really something on the Mega CD. They were the first company to use video on it, the first to use Polygons and the first to do real hardware powered animation.
As battles go this is just ace thank you Mark. I've never seen the home computer versions and they really would have blown my mind back then. I imported the mega cd version pretty much day one after drooling over the previews in Gamefan. They really knew how to capture the action shots in that magazine. My Mega CD at the time was the Japanese version but the megadrive was Pal causing all sorts of issue's with the sound skipping and being out of sync. I had to update my setup to full Japanese to get the game running correctly.
Yoh can thank Silpheed for introducing you to the world of NTSC 👍. It was Super Shinobi that did it for me. Real spiderman, Godzilla, Batman, Rambo and Terminator while our PAL version had only look-a-likes. To be fair, so did later prints of the Japanese version.
Gotta have that Mega CD version... I'm a great fan of top down and side scrolling shooters and I honestly did not hear about this game( the original game was released when I was a year old so yeah😅) Thanks for another great video... I keep on learning classic games that I would love to play (first game that I discovered through your channels is Breaker's Revenge 😉)
I think almost all of the releases are impressive in their own right. But the Mega CD port is probably the most impressive release out of the bunch.
The Sega CD version is so damn good
Never been such a clear winner when it comes to ports. Mega CD version all day, didnt know about the western release getting censored, but not surprised. Nice vid.
Yeah, the Japanese one says shit and bastard a few times.
Masterpiece.
The PC-88 original, FM77AV and IBM PC versions seem to look and play almost identical, the only real differences being between sound hardware. The Apple ][ GS version looks nearly identical as well, but unfortunately has issues in terms of gameplay and sounds. The Tandy TRS-80 version was cut back quite a bit, though I'm not sure how good they could have done on such a limited computer.
And, as to be expected, the Mega CD port is the absolute best. It's the strongest system in this video and it shows.
Argh! What MIDI emulator are you running the DOS port with? Silpheed was designed to have Roland MT-32 music, and it sounds absolutely sublime when played correctly. The instruments are all off in the video - did you use Dosbox with Timidity or something similar?
I watch these now to see how many obscure conversions there are 😁
It's fun to find out about the Ports. This is why I started this series.
I'd love to hear the Mega-CD track on my CD-player while studying
@@filevans Its not CD audio, its all generated by the Mega CD's internal sound chip.
@@filevans But I did that in my school days
There's actually CD audio versions of the soundtrack on the disc which aren't used in-game.@@XtremeCoasters
Loved my MegaCD copy of silpheed, gorgeous game to play! Miss that fucker a lot.
Time to get back a copy before the price goes through the roof.
I played this a lot back in the day, in fact on an Amiga with a pc bridgeboard inside.
Later on when I had a proper pc I still played this. Which tells me: oh my, the MT-32 music in the intro in your setup is really off! What config did you use? DOSBox I presume? What version?
Yep, dos box. Not sure if the version number but from last year. Time to update it I guess.
@@RetroCore I've been testing a bit. I guess you are running Dosbox ECE or something, which has MT32 emulation built in. However, you'll need the MT32 ROM files for them to work properly. Also, in your dosbox config, change 'mididevice = default' to 'mididevice = mt32'. With default, it uses the atrocious Windows midi driver.
The difference is astounding. The Silpheed intro is amazing on MT32. Note that some games (most Sierra but also some LucasArts) send some nice messages to the MT32 display, which can be read in the Dosbox console-screen.
While I do use DosBox ECE I still like DosBox Daum the most, as it has a GUI that allows changing settings on the fly. I which someone would implement that in a recent build...
Loved this on mega cd...
Never realized this got so many releases?
I was only aware of the Sega CD port but I always did think back in the day if Sega CD had more games like this it would've done so much better than it did?
the thing is, the mega-cd is such a complex and powerful add-on that it's more like mid gen stuff meaning harder and more time-consuming to develop for whenever people want to use it to its fullest hence why there aren't that many games that do so BUT there are still a significant amount that do and not necessarily "just" via the more obvious, standout visual effects (scaling; rotation; etc.) but it can also be via the sound (with the mega-cd hooked in, the mega drive reaches a whopping amount of 20 sound channels), the FMV quality (when using the best video codecs and even when having fullscreen FMV gameplay, something that only the mega-cd can do compared to competiting systems), the amount of graphic assets/animation frames (helped by the CD media)...
one day, when I'll have more time, I'll go into more details about this, with articles, videos and all
I also wish that people start develop mega-cd games again... that would be awesome
Excuse me but you forgot to include the PS2 version of the game The Lost World and the 360 version of the game
0:19 he points that out
That I do.
I didn't realise this was an 80s computer game before the Mega CD release, very interesting.
I've heard so many people on RUclips pronounce this game's name with a hard P sound, very odd!
With a hard P sound? Man, that's bad. The real pronunciation is as I say it on this video.
Heya. There's a little error in the description that mistakens the original PC-8801 version with an arcade version. Do you mind fixing that?
Oops, I'll fix that now. thanks for the heads up.
So - the MS-DOS is the best port. Then you mention the MEGA CD - and it is a whole new game. Basically this:
MEGA CD SILPHEED: "Allow me to introduce myself..."
I remember playing the dos version a bit way back when. I was absolute rubbish at the game, but that MT-32 music kept me coming back anyway. Definitely in my top 5 best sounding dos games ever. Quite a pity about the CoCo. Not sure what happened there.
I guess the TRS-80 can't do polys.
There is something off on your MT-32 audio in this video. I also have and play this game often with an actual MT-32 connected and the grand piano instrument shouldn't be playing like that in the music. My guess is that you were hit with the dreaded memory buffer error on the MT-32 and not all of the instrument patches made it to the MT-32 properly. It is still an excellent video overall, but just be aware that for as excellent as what you demonstrated in this video, it actually sounds even better!
Yeah, sadly with PC stuff there are many issues that can crop up. Sadly with this being a weekly show it's not always possible to review or fix errors 😔
I remember when I read the first review of Silphed (for Sega CD) in a magazine back in 1993, I was truly impressed. The review stated that it was full 3D game too. It's still an impressive version IMO.
That's just it. many were fooled in to thinking it was truly a full 3D game. Even though we now know it isn't I still think it's mighty impressive.
@@RetroCore Agreed, it's still impressive.
6:30 - 6:37 That didn't actually sound like what a real Roland MT-32 would have sounded like when played with Silpheed.
Yeah Mark. It was Konami's early title and help start their amazing journey in the industry. So only 2 ports and the arcade only. But a great game that is quite a pester complete the stages. 8^)
Anthony..
Hey Mark, are there any shops or stores you know of that sell the Taito candy cab stools (either fabric or leather) ?
I'm afraid not. I did once see a few on Hard Off but this was many years ago. Sometimes they do appear on Yahoo Auctions.
@@RetroCore Dang! I feared that was the case. Thanks for the advice, tho.
I remember that in the 90s i wanted to have a Sega CD only to play this Game, my dad ended up not buying the SCD for me, but nowadays thanks to the Holy Emulator Iican play it 😎
Emulators are great. They allow us to play games we missed out on in the past.
great job Mark, I didn't know there so many ports. and I really hate when things get censored here in the USA.
Funny thing, these days it's Japan that gets the censored stuff. How times have changed.
I accidentally won a copy of the NA Sega CD version recently and was pleasantly surprised. Lol. Also: on top of the Tandy port being boring to play, it was boring to watch as well.
Hi Mark,
Roc N Rope was ported to the Colecovision and the Atari 2600. So three all together including the Arcade. Fun title that I love from Konami.
Sound great mark, I love the Atari computer line, so this will be fun for sure. 8^)
Anthony..
Hmm, 3 versions. I'll see what the game is like.
Isn't the background on the Mega Cd version pre-rendered?
It's full motion video, so yep.
The Coco Port is hilarious
I guess it's okay for the hardware but it really is dull to play.
mdcd version is considered as a reboot rather then a port
@GP it have a completely different world and settings, although both involves xacalite and Silpheed but with different model
Kind of but the actual level design is the same as the original. I like to think of it as the original with a new paint job.
a great comparison video as usual, Mark! I have the mega CD version; I also have project sylpheed for the xbox360 but it's not the same gameplay unfortunately but looks amazing! nothing to do with the original as the game is spelled differently :)
I've always wondered about Project Silpheed. I've heard bad things about it which has put me off buying it.
@@RetroCore I bought it cheap so I wasn't disappointed :)
I see. I'll look for a cheap copy 👍
Remember Thexder, reminds me of the wire graph intos
The music also has a slight resemblance. Not surprising really.
Seems pretty unfair for the TRS-80 but it was also great to own this version back in the day.
The TRS-80 is such an under-powered system. No sprite support in the machine itself. Despite this, people have been able to pull off Mario 3 style graphics.
Yeah, it is odd the game was ported to the TRS-80. The thing is, it's not the technical issues that ruin the game, it's the bad stage design. Whoever programmed this hadn't understood what made the original fun. The TRS-80 could have easily kept the enemies coming
Can the Mega CD version really be considered a port? to me it's more of a remake considering the graphical and audio upgrades (not that there's anything wrong with that)
Surprised it never came out on the Eurpoean Micro Computers.
The Mega CD version is amazing, the FMV backgrounds are held back just enough to convince you that it is in-game.
Shocked other Mega CD games did not pick up from where Silpheed left off.
One of the best Use of FMV backgrouds. Great Job Gamearts
Indeed. this is how Sega of America should have been using the FMV capabilities rather than all that crap film stuff they made.
The Sierra ports fixed the Engrish in the scroll.
Ah, I never bothered to read that. Good find though.
I played a lot on Sega CD! A LOT!!! I never had this game, but I got with a friend back in the day. Since Sega CD games nowadays are absurdly expensive, I assume this one should be a lot of money these days.
Can you imagine being the japanese kid with the FM77AV? I wonder if they got bullied during break time at school.
And then the English kid came along with his ZX Spectrum making the FM77 kid feel like a king.
While it's probably a sequel there is the silpheed version for ps2. It's really good as well. I grew up on the Ms dos version and love it but also love the mega CD version as well
I'll be featuring that one in a future video.
Silpheed: The Lost Planet was a sequel. And it was developed by Treasure.
There was also an Xbox 360 game called Project Sylpheed. , which was kinda of a spiritual successor, though it was a fully 3D Space Combat game, not a shoot'em up.
That Trash-80 version is really going for it, I can't imagine who thought that would have been a good idea
The story for the original Silpheed says your ship is the SA-08. For the MEGA/SEGA CD version, it’s the SA-77. So... is it really a port? A sequel? A reboot? You decide!
It's a reimagining 😁
Also sadly,the producer of the entire series had passed away
That's sad :( He couldn't ave been that old either.
you know i owned this game for the sega cd and could get to the 3rd lvl and but to his day i never exactly knew what was going on ........
It is a tough game that needs some practice. I loved it though. Always wondering what the next stage would show me.
Worst thing about the TRS-80 port: NO BOSSES AT ALL.
3:52 welcome to silpheed would you like to judge' em?
The Mega CD version was a godsend for a lot of the UK Press at the time, attention grabbing headlines of it being a Starfox beater 🙄 and Previews littered with screens of the introduction sequence, when the game itself came in for review though and the basic gameplay became apparent, all mouth and no trousers syndrome.
I sold my Mega CD at a great loss 😂 after discovering the game didn't live upto the press hype generated in Previews.
I liked it. Yes, it's quite a simple shooter but I looked at it as a flashy Galaga or the likes.
@@RetroCore 😊 Trouble was, I didn't spend £270 on the hardware to play simple games, I thought I was buying into the next generation.
What!? I stopped after reading the warning to say, how dare you have an opinion! You must have my opinion all the time over everything or a Im'a lose it! Further, anytime my controller doesn't work it's always emulation or the button stuck...I mean, me lose in a game, perpostorous. ;)
Great review and look at Silpheed. The Sega CD version was insane for its day. The first time I saw it running on a Sega CD my mind was completely blown.
9:12 - Did announcer had heart attack there? MEGA-CD version is really impressive looking, if only most games used FMV like that, perhaps system wouldnt bite the dust so fast?
Absolutely. This is how FMV should have been used rather than the crap Sega of America kept churning out.
The radio shack one was annoying LOL...we don't even have a radio shack anymore😄over here
Or Tandy either. The company has gone everywhere I think.
....How many ages hence, shall this our lofty scene be acted over. In states unborn and accents yet unknown.
Great Game! I wonder what the never released Atari Jaguar Version would have been like.
I really don't think this was coming to the Jag. It was probably just a rumour.
@@RetroCore Edit: You are absolutely right! The space shooter I meant was SoulStar, also looks fun though.
@@johanneshainer3460 sadly canned as Core Design was sold and development team split up.
I didn't even catch that this was SILPheed until the end of the video my brain just wants to see/hear it as SLIPheed, weird.
hehe. Never thought of it that way,.
I think the MegaCD version cheats the most because it uses a lot more pre-rendered FMV scenes and backgrounds than any other port ;) And holy cow did the PAL version run terrible. Especially the FMV sequences were a choppy mess and it also had some of the THICKEST PAL borders i have ever seen on any other game on the MegaCD. Still liked this game a lot and it is really a must have on the MegaCD.
ps2 version is a hidden gem
I'm going to look for that one.
I only clicked this to say that the Sega CD version is the best.
Yep, I think many people would agree with you on that.