Ikaruga

"Radiant Silvergun 2?"

What a game! The moment I played this and witnessed the first level it immediately reminded me of Radian Silvergun (Saturn). Though it's said not to be a ''true sequel'' to RS when you start up the game you will see ''Project RS2'' and that makes me happy just reading that.

Graphics: Some of the best graphics on DC. Treasure went with Naomi which is one of the most used arcade boards for many of great games and Treasure knows to how to make graphics looks good! The lighting, scrolling, textures, graphics, boss explosions, the amount of firepower and enemies on screen is all amazing because all of this is happening with NO SLOWDOWN! This is one of those few games where a company really pushed the Naomi hardware to it's limits. 10/10

Music: Music in this game is very rememberable. The music fits the chapters very well and get's you sucked in the games atmosphere. Very well orchestrated. Something that has to be heard while playing to truly understand why they choose this music. 10/10

Control: Control for this game is great. You got the D-Pad to move around and you got your 2 main buttons...fire and change color...changing your ships ''color'' is probably one of the most important things in the game and you also have the right trigger as a weapon when you powered up. 10/10

Presentation: This game at arcades was on a screen which was was vertical. It was very different than anything most people have seen and when you go to play the console version you will notice the screen will be boxed vertical with black boarder. This is the only way to make the game arcade perfect without Treasure reprogramming the game because this is a vertical shooter and the screen was full screen vertical when played at arcades. You can also select different screen sizes also choosing the proper arcade screen ratio though the screen will be turned and the most comfortable way to play this way is to tilt your T.V screen which is highly not recommended!

When you first start to play the chapters the level doesn't really start. Enemies might come at you and are firing at you but at a certain point of the level your airship will be controlled automatically while the screen will the show what chapter you are on and your ship does some really cool speed burst with a cool flare explosion which is awesome. 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/20/02, Updated 09/20/02