Ikaruga

"Another treasure from Treasure"

Ok, to start off, I would like to say that this game is good. Very good. Very very good. Worth every penny. Ok, you get the picture. But I don't think this game is for everyone, as it is very hard and takes many hours of practice to get good at, even on easy mode. If you like a challenge, you would love this game. Alright, on to the review:

Gameplay: 10
This game is possibly the most innovative and fun game I have ever played. Your ship has two polarities: white and black. You change polarity at the touch of the button. There are two kinds of enemies: white and black. White enemies shoot white bullets, and black enemies shoot black bullets. When your ship is white, it absorbs white bullets and is killed by black bullets, and when it is black, it absorbs black bullets and is killed by white bullets. When you absorb bullets, they add up and the more bullets you absorb, you store up more energy. When you save up some, you can release a homing missile attack. When you shoot an enemy of the opposite color than you, you do double the damage that you normally do. Now there's chaining. when you destroy 3 enemies of the same color in a row, you get a chain bonus. Destroy another 3 enemies of the same color in a row, and you get double the bonus you got previously. so, if you destroy ships in this order:WWWBBBWWWWWWBBB, you get a lot of points. if you interrupt the chain, like this: WWWBBBWWB, your chain is reset. There are 3 difficulty levels, and the rules basically change between them. on easy mode, the game works basically as I have described it. On normal, all enemies of the same polarity as you shoot bullets at you when they are destroyed. On hard mode, all enemies shoot at you when they are destroyed.
There is also a practice mode, where you can play any level you have unlocked with unlimited continues. There is another mode, called conquest mode, where you can play individual sections of levels you have unlocked, and play them at slow speed or normal speed, or watch a slow-motion demo of an expert (who pretty much perfectly chains that section)

Controls: 9
The normal controls in this game are fine, B is shoot, A is switch polarity, and R is to release missiles. You can either use the control stick or the D-pad for movement. The only slightly annoying thing is that you have to click down the R button the entire way for it to register, but it's not that annoying. If you don't like it, you can map the controls to any configuration that you like.

Graphics: 10
The graphics in this game simply blew me away. Everything is beautifully animated at a solid 60 FPS. The only slowdown comes when you beat a boss, you get a HUGE explosion(which is really cool to watch). If you have an HDTV, turn on progressive scan mode and get ready for a visual orgasm.

Sound: 9
the sound is pretty good, the explosions sound nice and your bullets have a real-sounding noise. When you shoot enemies of the opposite color, it makes a different sound while hitting it. Whenever you chain, a cool-sounding robotic voice announces the chain number you're on.

Story: 7
Not a bad story, but since this game was originally an arcade game, I wasn't expecting much. It takes place on the small island nation of Horai.You are Shinra, a member of a freedom federation called the Tenkaku, a faction who opposes the ''Divine Ones'', led by a man named Tenro Horai, who found the Ubusunagami Okinokai, the power of the gods. Tenro and ''The Chosen People'' began to conquer other nations with their power in ''the name of peace''. The Tenkaku fought back in intention of freeing the world from the Horai conquests with fighter plains called Hitekkai.
The Tenkaku fought in vain, losing battle after battle, but Shinra survived. Refusing to accept defeat, Shinra went back to Horai to challenge Tenro. He was shot down and crashed in a small village named Ikaruga, inhabited by aged people who were exiled there from Horai's conquests. They rescued Shinra from the wreckage of his plane and nursed him to health. Shinra was definitely not going to let Tenro get away with this, and announced his determination to keep fighting. The villagers trusted Shinra with a fighter plane they built themselves, called the Ikaruga. The game pretty much starts off after that.

Replay: 10
Now, this is what you'll really love about this game. The game has only five levels, but the fun doesn't come only from beating them, it comes from getting better at the game. It is pretty exciting to find out new strategies of chaining a group of enemies or anything else in the game. I haven't been playing this long enough to know for myself, but some people have 100+ hours on this game and still have not gotten bored with it.

Overall: 10
I recommend you buy this game, and keep it. Besides, Treasure is an awesome developer, and they deserve to be paid for their efforts. This game will bring you a nearly limitless amount of enjoyment. You WILL not be sorry

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/20/03, Updated 04/20/03