Silpheed on MegaCD is a visual revolution. Polygonal 3D backgrounds animated as backdrop with a sprite ship on top. Breathtaking technical performance, spectacular shoot'em up. A technical masterpiece.
Your verdict
Category
Shooter1 player7+
Description
The Silpheed ship battles space armies in this vertical shooter with spectacular pre-rendered 3D polygonal scenery. Published by Sega, released in Europe in October 1993. Vertical shoot'em up with FMV pre-rendered 3D polygonal scenery, upgradeable weapons, narrative cutscenes, titanic bosses. Multilingual version.
Japanese Game Arts edition from June 1993, the first CD shoot 'em up to leverage pre-rendered CG backgrounds at high density scrolling beneath 2D sprites, a technique unprecedented at the time. The Japanese cardboard packaging includes an illustrated technical sheet on the SA-77 Silpheed fighter and a booklet signed by Hiroya Hatsushiba, an archival document prized by Game Arts enthusiasts beyond the game itself.
Is Silpheed still worth playing in 2026?
A shoot by Game Arts using the Mega CD's graphical capabilities to offer pseudo three dimensional prerendered backdrops, Silpheed delivers a visually impressive experience for its era. The varied missions, multiple weapons and redbook soundtrack work admirably. More contemplative than a pure shoot, the title remains a fascinating technical showcase that still deserves discovery for anyone wishing to understand what the CD support brought to the Sega machine even today truly here in this catalogue indeed.
