I’ll never be a great Ikaruga player, and that’s fine. I’ve come to terms with that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t stand at a safe distance and appreciate it from afar. While some people would claim that most 2D overhead shooter worship comes from a very pretentious place that’s usually reserved for wine snobbery, you don’t need to be some high-falutin’ games-as-art nerd to appreciate Ikaruga.
Though, I feel it’s necessary to say up front that Ikaruga certainly isn’t for everyone. You may hear people go on and on about how it’s an amazing, museum-worthy masterpiece. But if your brain isn’t wired to appreciate a top-down shooter, no amount of praise is going to make this game seem as special as many claim, and it’s likely that most people will find it completely impenetrable. Consider that your last warning on the subject.
OK, so Ikaruga? It’s an amazing, museum-worthy masterpiece. Though when you break it down and start to talk about it in a mechanical fashion, it might not seem as immediately impressive. It’s a five-level top-down shooter with no power-ups. The trick is that you can flip the polarity of your ship from white to black and back again with the press of a button. This is the game’s key mechanic, as you can safely absorb same-colored enemy fire, which charges up a homing laser attack. Also, every enemy is colored white or black, as are your shots, depending on your current polarity. You can do double-damage to enemy ships by attacking them with their opposing color. It helps your score and end-of-round rating if you attack same-colored ships in a row, as you can chain together these kills for combo points.
Enemies and bullets come at you at a pretty constant rate, and there’s a very maze-like quality to certain portions of the game, where you’ll have to analyze the pattern of incoming fire, make sure your ship is the right color, and carefully maneuver your way through safely. This gets pretty hard. At the end of each stage, you encounter a boss, and even more bullets head your way, making you think faster to survive the hail of bullets while dealing damage of your own.
It’s the chain combos that separate Ikaruga from your average shooter and elevate it to some kind of weird art-form. Watching replays of expert players achieve S rankings has an elegant, poetry-in-motion feel that makes you realize that your pathetic C+ ranking is the equivalent of a caveman banging on rocks with an Xbox 360 controller.
In fact, that might be reason enough for some people to pick up the 360 version, as it has the option download and show the highest-ranking replays from the leaderboards. So at any point you can go watch someone else play and realize how pathetic you truly are. The catch is that replays can only be saved using the game’s default settings, so if you finally stumble your way through the fourth level, you won’t be able to show your friends until you can do it without continuing. Yes, by default, continuing is disabled. But you can turn it on for three continues, and you’ll earn additional credits as your overall playtime increases, just like the Dreamcast release.
The game looks great and crisp running in HD, and if you’re so equipped (or are really good at playing games while laying on your side), you can rotate the view for a vertical view, much like the arcade version.
If you’re a crazed Ikaruga purist, you should know that the top player on the leaderboards has come out and complained about the accuracy of the 360 version, saying that some enemy placement has changed. And after watching his replay, well… he would know. But chances are you won’t notice. The only real negative I can see comes from the online play, which can get stuttery on some connections, making an already-hard game practically unplayable.
The only serious obstacle, however, lies with you and your own personal taste for top-down shooters. Just because it’s great doesn’t mean it’s accessible. So keep that in mind as you weigh your options for this $10 XBLA download.
30 Comments
Nah, doesn’t look like my kind of game.
Nice review, netherthelesss.
Ikaruga looks really nice. It sure as hell is no Galaga, though.
Not what I was expecting from a title like Ikaruga. Looks like I may have to check this out. Nice Review as always Jeff.
Never liked this kind of games with lil’ spaceships or aircraft. But i love playing Alien Swarm Mod for UT 2004. It’s pretty much the same (killing aliens with your guy, and this is killing spaceships with your plane).
I think giantbomb is getting some grade inflation mainly because you’re only review games you’re interested in. That said, there is something to be said about a game that doesn’t even get you excited enough to try it.
Is there anyway you guys could invent a “6th” star or something. Kind of like the “9.6″ at GS, only one or two games get it a year. I just always got super excited when a game got a 9.6 back at GS. I get the sense 5 stars will be somewhat common, like a “9.0″, which is fine, but I just like rare rating, but not stupid rare like 10s.
Not really my thing, but some people are nuts at this game.
I started playing this when it came out, and have grown to love it. It is hard, man. Really hard. I’ve had to start dialing back the difficulty settings more and more to advance, but there’s something hypnotic about it.
It reminds me of Paperboy in some ways, although I’ve come to decide that Paperboy just isn’t fun, while this really is.
Now if only I could get the Paperboy to switch polarity when I hit the B button.
On second thought, that’s probably an M for Mature game right there.
I love hardcore games, but not necessarily top-down shooters.
I’ve always liked the look of it, ever since I first saw it on Button Mashing, but the demo was enough for me.
There aren’t many games which are more fun to watch someone play than actually play yourself, but Ikaruga’s one of them. Watching someone who knows how to chain the whole level makes you appreciate just how amazing the design of this game is.
It definetly seems like reviews of Ikaruga are definetly divided on the issue of aproachabillity. Sites like Destructoid say, in effect, that “If people are driven away by (Ikaruga’s) difficulty, they don’t deserve to play it.” That seems, to me, a mite EXTREME.
I definetly go with the Bomb on this one. Ikaruga seems like a gorgeous, wonderfull top-shooter, but I can’t even reach the end of the demo, so I’m a tad wary about plugging down 10 bucks for it.
Out of curiosity, what makes Ikaruga one of those “Game as Art” games?
Matt, that kind of “games as art” beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think in this case it has something to do with the precision and balance with which the game was crafted. You might like checking out this appreciation of the game which touches on its artistry:
http://donpachi.blogspot.com/2008/04/beauty-of-ikaruga.html
And I agree with the review, one of the big selling points of the game for me (as I mentioned in my blog not long ago) is the ability to download replays. It’s amazing to watch experts glide through seemingly impossible sections unscathed, racking up tremendous combos all the while, and it really makes you realize just how much you suck.
Heh, I saw the title and thought that you were reviewing an old PC games. Well colour me mistaken
i would play this but at an arcade.
I really suck at Ikaruga but damn, if it isn’t fun!
I love the game. And now I’m actually good at it because I got to lvl 4 before I stupidly realized I could have the entire time, been using the homing laser or continues. The same thing happened to me when I went an entire Mass Effect playthrough before I realized the Mako has a Gauss gun.
Not quite the same, as it only has you fighting Boss battles, but IKA mode in rRootage (http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/rr_e.html) is based on Ikaruga, and might give you and idea of what it’s like, at least.
A great game, there are many levels of understanding and expertise with it. I love a game that reveals layer after layer of complexity the more you play.
Dammit Jeff, I thought there was a new Black and White you Peter Molyneux you! (that rhymes >_>)
This game is getting frustrating real fast. Ive been trying to grind out to the 3rd level for about a week now. Haven’t had any luck doing so. Why did they make this game so damn hard?
http://www.warp9gaming.com
-Game Hard-
I do really enjoy top down shooters. I had this for PS2, and like an idiot i traded it in years ago. Damn you EB!!!! I would say this game it definitely worth 10 bucks. Easy. I never made it past the 4th level but, damn it if we don’t all NEED a really challenging game every now and then. I only wish it where also on the PSN.
-Damian
Love the game and would love to support it, but I already bought it on the gamecube for 29.99 the day it came out!
I absolutely love Ikaruga! The game really tests your reflexes and hand-eye coordination! On the Easy mode I can make it up to the 4th level on a single credit before biting the big one.. My goal is to make it to the final level on a single credit. I don’t foresee myself ever completing the game on a single credit (with the default settings), but I think reaching the last level is definitely doable for me with a bit more practice.
I’m not sure putting the name of a different game as the title of your review is the smartest move.
I bought it, its definitely Ikaruga but I’ve only made it through the first stage. I really need to practice up.
This much is clear.
Ikaruga is better than Smash Bros.
I just got a raise so I went ahead and bought it. Gives me another reason to get rid of my GameCube. Sadly, I was dumb enough to import the GC version just prior to the announcement of the US release. If only I could get rid of it.
Very good review, sir! I love Ikaruga. I’m not particularly good at it, but I loved it on the dreamcast and I’m loving it all over again on the Xbox.
Great review, though you’re definitely right that the game is (ugh) polarizing. Some of us are actually crazy enough to enjoy the long, painful grind towards perfection though!
One thing that people might want to know is that Conquest mode from the GameCube version is gone. This let you practice small chunks of the chapters instead of restarting from the beginning each time. It wasn’t terribly useful for most sections, but it was a godsend for a couple of them.
Oh, and I miss the Restart option from the pause menu
Sounds really cool! I haven’t played a top-down shooter in a long time. I just might have to pick this one up.