How do I unlock the options?
You must clear all 5 paths in the game to unlock a majority of the options.

I see the Char Resize and Game Speed options in the instruction booklet, but they don't appear on the options screen!
These 2 options are "hidden." First, clear all 5 paths in the game. Then, go to the title screen, highlight Options, and press start. Pressing any other button will not reveal them. You MUST press start.

NOTE: Char Resize and Game Speed are VERY unstable and may lead to the game crashing. It's also possible to get locked in animation loops or trapped in certain areas. It may be difficult or impossible to do a full run of the game with these options active.

What's the point of the Status screen?
This screen shows info about Shyna, as well as the number of paths you've cleared. Something might happen to it after you beat all 5 paths...

What happens to the Status screen after I clear all 5 paths?
You'll have to find out yourself, or just go check the Spoilers section.

THIS GAME IS TOO FREAKIN' DIFFICULT!
There IS a way to solve this: slam your controller into the floor, kick your PlayStation, and shriek at the top of your lungs. Actually, if you read the instructions, go through the tutorial, and just keep on playing the game, you'll get better at it!

How do I clear all 5 paths?
This can be pretty difficult. Here's a list to help you out:

1)Lose the 2 min. battle with Zohar, fight Serah, pick "Restore Edo"
2)Lose the 2 min. battle with Zohar, fight Serah, pick "Abandon Edo"
3)Win the 2 min. battle with Zohar, fight Cypher-Ha Zohar, pick "Abandon Edo"
4)Win the 2 min. battle with Zohar, fight Cypher-Ha Zohar, pick "Restore Edo"

The 5th path will be cleared when you fight the Reaper on any one of the above paths. You don't have to follow this list if you don't want to; you can clear each path in any order you like. If you want to make life "easier," you can fight the Reaper on your first time through the game; this will automatically clear 2 paths.

How do I fight The Reaper?
Get to the first fight with Megido without using ANY continues, then defeat him without dying. After that, you'll have to answer 3 questions before you fight The Reaper. If you answer one wrong, you won't get to fight him. Here are the answers (highlight past the * mark): *No, no, yes*

How do I beat [insert boss name here]?
Check the Walkthrough for an answer to that question. Or go on YouTube to find a video or two!

What are the best parasites to use?
It depends on the situation. I prefer using Surosa, Priday, and Envia all the time. You'll just have to try them all out and see which ones you like!

THAT VOICE ACTING IS VERRRRY IRRITATING!
Not really a question, but...yeah. Some of it is. I'm not sure why they made it louder than the music, either. Just turn the volume down on your TV and get some other tunes going, if you want. And maybe pray that Treasure Inc. will port the original game to Steam like they did with Ikaruga!

By the way, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME OF THE CHARACTERS ARE SAYING!
Yeah, it is a little hard. But, if you know what a line sounds like, it could help you avoid an attack.

When Gehena is talking to Shyna during the game, can other characters hear Gehena?
Not likely. Gehena mentions something about "mental holography" near the start of the game, so Shyna's probably the only one who can hear Gehena.

Is Armageddon REALLY a guy? How come he sounds like a girl?
I e-mailed Working Designs about this years ago, and yes: Armageddon is a boy. The girly voice and looks kind of throw people off, myself included. And to make things more confusing, his gender and true name are never brought up in the translation. It may have come up in the Japanese release, but I have no way of knowing for sure.

Is there ANY way to get all those credits from Delia?!
Sadly, no. That money is there to represent how rich he is. Or to just frustrate you to no end. The richest boss you can actually Cash Bash is The Reaper. He has 525 credits, though it may be dangerous to get them.

Is it just me, or does the game's difficulty level change constantly?
There are times when it seems to. One day, I'll be able to defeat a boss and come out of the fight without a scratch; the next time I fight that boss, though, I'll get the ever-living crap beaten out of me. I don't know why this happens, but it does. Just save before boss fights...if you're doing okay, that is.

Are there any cheat codes for SM that don't require a Game Shark/cheat device?
Sort of. There's the "hidden options" trick, and a full health cheat (which doesn't seem to work on my copy of the game). Here's the full health cheat:

During gameplay, pause the game, then press up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, X, [], triangle, O

Is it possible to play as Zohar or other characters throughout the game?
I don't know. I've heard of people using cheat devices to play as different characters while going through the game. It's possible to do things like this in other games, but the results can be VERY buggy. I've never seen it done in Silhouette Mirage, though, so it may just be a rumor.

Is it possible to get 2 or more of the same Lv.6 parasite?
Once, I managed to get two of the Lv.6 Rasti in my inventory. However, the 2nd Rasti's picture didn't show up in my inventory, just the Lv.6 part did. It was some weird glitch, I guess. If I can find a way to make it happen again, I'll let you know!

I heard Treasure might be making a sequel to Silhouette Mirage.
I WOULD like to say yes, but I really don't know. At one point, Treasure wasn't big on making sequels to their games. However, they made sequels to Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes, and Sin & Punishment. Silhouette Mirage didn't have as much of a following, so a sequel doesn't seem likely. At the very least, we can hope for a port to Steam or the English PSN stores.

You can fight that Spectre walker shown in the instruction book, right?
No. Lord Cyber's Silhouette Mirage site (now defunct) pointed out that "Spectre walker" was a character from Vanguard Bandits. Supposedly, the character was placed in the screenshot as a joke.

I heard it was possible to get Shyna to curse at Pablo.
I'm not sure this can happen. You can get Shyna to call him a "big cheater" or "the fuzzy wonder" depending on how he's defeated. Maybe she used harsher terms in the Japanese version, but I don't know of anything like that happening the English release.

I want to buy a copy of Silhouette Mirage. How much is it, and where do I buy it?
You can find new or used copies on Amazon or eBay for $10 - $30. Game stores might carry it in a bargain bin or get a used copy from time to time. Your best bet is to look online, though.

Are there two different versions of the game?
I know for sure there are two different discs: a Hal disc, and a Megido disc. Whether or not they're different from each other, I don't know. I've heard of people seeing things happen in the Hal disc that don't happen in the Megido disc. It's possible that there are two slightly different versions of the game.

What font is used in Silhouette Mirage?
I'm pretty sure it's Westminster. If you've got the Westminster font on your computer, set it to size 12 and bold for fun times!

Are there any spelling mistakes in the game?
As far as I can see, no. The game was translated quite well! However, there are some "errors" in the game. Check the Silliness section and look at the nit picks.

I don't really get some parts in the story. Were there things omitted from the North American release?
Yes. Though what exactly was omitted, I can't tell. Watching playthroughs of the Japanese game shows that some events were very obviously changed. For example, in the Japanese version, Shyna stutters A LOT when she first sees Pablo's werewolf form!

Why did Working Designs change parts of the game and storyline?
Most likely for cultural reasons, and to censor material we'd find unacceptable here. The Japanese version of Silhouette Mirage is FULL of Biblical references compared to the English version. That could offend some people, hence the changes. Certain mannerisms and puns in Japan don't really work in other languages, so they need to be completely changed for a translation.

As for the game mechanics themselves, I'm not sure why they were changed the way they were. They're not BAD changes, but they did drastically change the difficulty of certain areas in the game. For instance, some late game bosses are far easier to fight if your spirit meter is only drained by enemy attacks!

How do you know there are Bible references in the Japanese version? None of the other characters in the American version have names that resemble stuff from the Bible.
If you look at some of the Japanese websites out there, you can sometimes find the names of the characters. If you don't want to look/can't find them, here are some of the names: Moses (Bug), Delilah (Delia), Angerer (Angara), Lusty (Rasti), Gluttony (Grattoni), Slother (Surosa). These names had to be changed because they were all related to something in the Bible.

Where can I get the Japanese version of Silhouette Mirage?
The game is available for PS3 and PSP through the Japanese PSN Store for a little under $6.
An original Saturn copy will set you back AT LEAST $60, and may be more than $100! It'll also require a Japanese Saturn, or some not-so-legal mod chipping. Good luck with that!

Can the game disc be used in a CD player? Was there an official soundtrack?
Yep. Just skip past track 01, and you can listen to most of the game's music! The only songs not available are the ones from the intro and ending FMVs, and the omitted track "Is There Room for Trial and Error?"

Silhouette Mirage did have an official soundtrack release, but I have no idea where you can get it, or how much it would cost. A second soundtrack (Silhouette Mirage Premiere Revival Series) was released in 2007. This one is much easier to find, though it's not exactly cheap. The lowest price I've seen is $55.

The soundtrack can also be found on YouTube in decent quality.

Can I submit something for your site? How do I do that?
Nowadays, I'm too busy with other things to accept submissions anymore. Free site hosting doesn't give you much space to work with, either (20 MB is my limit here).

I typed in a URL wrong, and I found your site directories with pictures, etc. Why aren't those items on the site for everyone to see?
If something's not directly on the site, it's either not ready to be publicly displayed, or it's not going up.

You used to have a bunch of fanart on the site. What happened?
One day many years ago, I logged in, and found that A LOT of files had vanished. I think that might've been when Tripod reduced free hosting from 50 MB to 20 MB. I remember backing things up, but I have no idea what happened to those backups. A lot of that artwork is either gone for good, or sitting on a disc thousands of miles away from me (I moved a LONG way, and had to leave some stuff behind with family).

If you want to find some fanart to look at, Google is your best bet.

Can you send me the fanart, or repost it somewhere else?
No, because I have no idea if it still exists. If there comes a day that I can get all of the art back, I might look into getting some better or even paid space to use for this site to host fanart again.

I also WILL NOT send someone else's work (fanart or otherwise) to random people without the creator's permission, either. Sorry.

Why not just contact the artists and have them resubmit things?
I haven't talked to some of those artists for years, and I don't have contact info for several of them. They also have their own lives and personal matters to deal with, and a few of them have lost or shut down their Silhouette Mirage fansites.

If the artists still had their work and wanted to submit it again, they would. I'm not going to track them down and butt into their lives just to see if they still have Silhouette Mirage fanart or not.

If you're too busy, then I'll do it for you! Or maybe I'll just keep asking until I get my way!
In that case, I'll just have to change the subject or ignore you. Sorry.

Are you obsessed with Silhouette Mirage?
At one point, I was! Fanart, fanfics, fansite, groups, forums, custom characters in games...yeah. Not so much nowadays, but the game will always have a special place in my heart!

Who's your favorite character?
I'd have to say Shyna. Back when the game came out, seeing a female protagonist like her was a real treat for me. Awesome, non-revealing outfit? Check. Tiny and cutesy, but powerful? Check. Crazy hair? Yay! Add in the sass she gave some of her enemies, and I was happy!

Oh, and she was the easiest one to draw, heh.

Why did you put nit picks in the Silliness section?
Well, where else am I going to put them? In the walkthrough?

WHY did you put up nit picks in the first place?
I don't know. I just felt like pointing out the funny/odd errors that were in the game. I poke fun at stuff like that in other games, too.

How come you don't put your own screenshots on your site?
I'd like to, but I can't. I don't have the stuff to do that. You'll just have to take a look at the other sites with screenshots on them.

Are you really good at Silhouette Mirage, or did you just use codes and cheat devices to beat the game?
I did not use codes or cheat devices to beat the game. But, my first play of the game was god-awful. All my continues gone before I'd reached Machonom. And when I did get there, I had 0 money, 40 some life, and 100 some spirit. WHOOPS.

Restart. Get through one path of the game using all but 1 continue! Then find out those continues need to last for ALL 5 paths. WHOOPS AGAIN!

The third time, I cleared all 5 paths using 4 continues. Then I managed a no continue run! Good times for all!

Then I wrote a walkthrough with what I'd learned from my playthroughs, and from what others had said. I was pretty good at the time; but now, I'd probably be lucky to manage a 5 path run without using continues. I haven't played the game for several years (OOPSIES).

Who has the coolest hairstyle in SM?
Ooo, that's a tough one. I think it's a tie between Shyna, Megido, and Grigg.

Why does Delia inhale soup through his nose...?
Well, his TV show is called Stock Sniffers. Yeah, I know. It IS pretty weird.

Wait, you're asking about that, and not the giant fish girl, the Aussie frog, or the gender-swapping knight? Alrighty, then!