Ikaruga

"Fantastic."

Introduction

Ikaruga was released in 2002 on the Dreamcast and was made by Treasure, a company with an almost cult-like following. I'm not really up on all of the lingo for this specific genre of game. It is a shoot 'em up, but not side-scrolling, it goes up instead (an Up-Scrolling Shoot 'em up?).

It was hugely anticipated because it used a fantastic, but yet very simple idea for the whole concept of the game, that and because it was made by Treasure. Anyhow, on with the review...

Gameplay

The main factor (as I have just said) of why Ikaruga stands out from all of the other games in it's genre is it's gameplay. It uses a simple concept based around the colours black and white, and their effects on eachother. In the game you have a ship, and this ship has the ability to change it's colour with a press of a button. When the ship is white it shoots white bullets, and it absorbs white bullets that are shot at it. When the ship is black it shoots black bullets, and it absorbs black bullets that are shot at it. Also, the enemies of the game use this idea too (Though they do not absorb bullets). If your ship is black, and you shoot black bullets at a black ship it will still do damage, and you will be able to absorb the black bullets that it shoots at you. If you change your ship colour to white though you will inflict much more damage on the enemy, but you will not be able to absorb the black bullets shot at you. When you absorb bullets that are the same colour as your ship a meter on the left hand side of the screen gradually fills up with the amount absorbed which when you press the R-trigger releases a burst of homing bullets at the enemies on-screen, the amount that is released depends on how many bullets you have absorbed. A nice idea which works fantastically well in the game.

Also, to add a little bit more difficulty to the game you have the ability to do combos and combo chains to get a much higher score. To achieve a combo you simply have to destroy three ships of the same colour concurrently, to get a combo chain you do the same again! Simple, though it can be quite hard to do in the game.

The level design is really well done, and you have to use the colour changing ability to get through the game. So rather than just being a neat little gimmick it is actually essential to the game, and very fun to do. The bosses are also designed well and in an interesting manner, as you have to do all sorts of little tricks with changing ship colour here and there to beat them.

Story

I'm afraid to say though I have played through the game numerous times, I haven't got a clue what the story is! Something about some guy and some spaceship or something... blah! It's not the story that matters in this game!!! It's the gameplay!

Graphics

Ikaruga is a top down scrolling shoot 'em up with 3D graphics, but 2D levels... and it looks bloody great! The visuals in this game are really top notch even two years after it's original release and just the entire presentation of it is excellent.

Sound

The sound for Ikaruga is... good. It suits the game. It isn't noticeably fantastic or noticeably terrible. The sound effects are nice and the music is good too. Not much to say about this area really, it's just... good.

Play Time

On your first play through of Ikaruga... you probably won't beat it. I didn't, not for a few times. Though, luckily for me, with each hour you play the game it time releases an extra continue, which is helpful! I couldn't really say how long it would take from beginning to end, but it isn't really long. Though some people say that is one of the problems with the game, I see it as a good point as it is more enticing for me to have a quick play through it and actually finish it, rather than start up a game and turn it off part of the way through.

In summary, the game is pretty short... but very, very sweet.

Replayability

Due to the short play time and extremely addictive gameplay Ikaruga has absolutely fantastic replayability value, you can just play it again and again and again and it doesn't get boring. You constantly find new ways to play through the levels and to better your combos, and the game itself is just an absolute treat to play.

Final Recommendation

Buy this game. Buy it now! If you can't get it on the Dreamcast, get it on the Gamecube. Whatever you do... play this game! It is an experience that nobody should miss out on. A true classic. I never usually give 10/10s for games, but this one I feel deserves it, of course it isn't a perfect game - no game ever will be. But a 10/10 shows how really excellent it is! (That and my contributor recognition page was looking a bit silly with only 9/10s >_>)

10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/04