"Back to basics"

To a hard core gamer, the mere mention of the word Treasure conjures up fond memories of Gunstar Heroes (MD/GEN), Guardian Heroes (SS), Alien Soldier (MD), and Bangaio (N64/DC), among many other gems. Treasure is a company that is, much like SEGA, seemingly dedicated to art over profit, and original content over slick marketing. Those of us lucky enough to be familiar with Radiant SilverGun (SS) have long awaited Treasure's next big shooter, and when Ikaruga hit the arcades about a year ago, we started praying for a DC version. We got our wish.

GRAPHICS: 10
In a word, outstanding. The backgrounds and vehicles are rendered in high resolution polygons and move along at a smooth 60fps. The projectiles and explosions display some excellent lighting effects and the attention to detail is unparalleled (the explosions leave a little puff of fading black smoke as they fade out!). In addition to the technical excellence of the graphics, Treasure's typical flair for design is on parade here as well. The color choices, the design of both the characters and vehicles, everything blends into a sci-fi world so detailed, so fully realized, that it's reminiscent of the Panzer Dragoon series.

SOUND: 10
The sound effects are great and add to the atmosphere, and the music is some of the best I've heard this side of ShenMue. Intense in parts, hypnotic in others, the score perfectly matches the onscreen action. Especially memorable for me is the first boss music.

CONTROL: 10
Simple is indeed best. One button fires and the other turns your ship from white to black or vice versa. Hitting both buttons at once (or a third button of your choice) releases the energy you've stored up from contact with same colored projectiles in a pyrotechnic display. The speed and responsiveness of the ship also deserve kudos. In a shooter like this, precise movement is a must, and the Ikaruga control scheme is perfect for this (try it with the SEGA arcade stick for an unforgettable experience!).

STORY: 10
A shooter doesn't need a story this well fleshed out, but Treasure goes the extra mile and weaves a tale of a strange world where a twisted form of Buddhism reigns over a decaying, technological society. A pilot is shot down and is given a captured enemy fighter by villagers. This enemy fighter has the ability to absorb power from like colored projectiles, giving the downed pilot (Shinra) a chance against the vast armada of the enemy. An unlockable gallery even gives detailed descriptions of all the characters.

GAMEPLAY: 10
I love 2D shooters, but even I was beginning to tire of the pattern of simply dropping all your bombs, dying, and dropping all your bombs again that is so prevalent in all other shooters. Also incredibly frustrating is accumulating mass amounts of power-ups only to die making a stupid mistake and losing what you've worked for stage after stage in a single second. How does Treasure deal with this issue? They simply eliminate both bombs and power ups. This is a shooter that goes back to the roots of what a shooter is about: memorization, dodging, and firing back. An article in a recent issue of Famistu called this basic gameplay ''stoic.'' I couldn't agree more. Though this may seem overly simplistic, the other aspects of the game engine more than make up for any lack of traditional shooter conventions. By adding the black/white system (reminiscent of Silhouette Mirage - another Treasure classic) the developers have merged to seemingly different genres: the shooter and the puzzle game. While your ship is white, it can absorb power from white enemy shots and it's own shots are doubly effective against black enemies. Turn black, and the opposite is true. This adds a certain element of strategy not present in any other shooter. The chain system, wherein the player is awarded huge bonuses for destroying chains of enemies of the same color adds a new layer to the scoring system, and deepens the gameplay. This entire system is pure genius. There hasn't been a shooter this ingenious and original in a long, long time.

OVERALL: 10
The only thing I want to add is that I'm incredibly grateful for Treasure for limiting the credits in this game (don't worry, you get an additional one every hour). This, along with unlockable extras adds life to what could have been a simple affair. Bravo.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/08/02, Updated 09/08/02