Ikaruga

"The game that separates the hardcore from the noobs. Do you have what it takes?"

Since you've clicked the link to this review, you're probably considering buying Ikaruga on the Xbox Live Arcade. As the reviewer, it's my honor to inform readers of this masterpiece. For those of you who may not know what it is, Ikaruga is a Japanese arcade shmup (shoot 'em up). Around the world, Ikaruga is known for its challenge and unique "polarity" system. It has recieved 2 previous ports to home consoles: on Sega's Dreamcast and Nintendo's Gamecube. Should you believe the hype or save your points?

Ikaruga is a shmup that separates itself from most games in its genre. In most shmup games, your ship is destroyed from any fire from your enemies. As mentioned earlier, Ikaruga has a unique "polarity" system. Your ship (eponomously named the Ikaruga) has the power to change from 2 different polarities (colors): black and white. While you're black, you are invulnerable from all black bullets, but vulnerable to white bullets. The opposite goes for your white polarity: you can absorb white bullets, but black ones will destroy you. However, there is a twist. If you are black and you shoot a white enemy (Keep in mind your attacks correspond with your current polarity) your shots inflict twice the damage, vice versa for white. Throughout the game, you are constantly asking yourself, "Should I be on the defensive, or do I want to inflict massive damage?" Besides protecting you from death, (Which you will experience plenty of. More on that later.) absorbing shots increases a meter in the bottom left hand corner of your screen. When full, you'll be able to pull the right trigger to unleash a barage of 12 homing missles. These things are powerful and very useful for taking down large swarms of enemies or taking a chunk of HP away from a tough boss. Another element in Ikaruga not found in other shmups is combos. When you destroy 3 same colored enemies, you get a combo. When you get larger and larger combos, you earn a lot more points than you would normally get. This is critical if you intend on getting extra lives, since they cost a whole lot of points, 3,000,000 to be exact.

Now that you know the special features of Ikaruga, let's discuss the gameplay. It plays similarly to any shoot 'em up game you may have played before. Your ship flies towards the top of your screen, enemies rush towards you, some fire at you, you fire back. At the end of a level, a boss appears who's harder than the normal enemies. If you've played any shmup before, this isn't anything new. However, this game is EVIL. Enemies come in huge swarms. They also come in both black and white polarities, so you'll be bombarded by bullets of both colors. It is very common to be in a situation where enemies and bullets cover the whole screen, so there are literally no safe spots unless you are the right color. EVen so, this game constantly forces you to stay on your toes. You have to learn when to dodge, when to absorb, when to switch your polarity, and when to return fire. Even the slightest error will cost you dearly. Keep in mind that your ship can take only one hit. That's right, one contact with the incorrect color will leave your Ikaruga in shambles. The default setting, which is the only way to record your score on the Xbox Live Leaderboards, requires you to be an Ikaruga GOD in order to survive. You only get 3 lives and no continues. That's right, only 3. If you don't give a hoot about recording your score, you can adjust the difficulty, your number of lives, and the ability to turn continues on in the settings menu. Personally, I play with 5 lives, which is your maximum amount of ships, and continues on the normal setting. There are 3 difficulties. On easy, enemies won't fire back. On normal, only enemies of your current polarity will return fire. On the hardest setting, (I haven't even looked at the title) both polarities will shoot. These difficulty titles are HUGE overstatements. In normal mode, the enemies are ruthless! Many hours of memorizing the patterns of the enemies are needed to rack up combos and more importantly, to live to see the next level. Easy mode, while definately being more forgiving than Normal, still packs a huge punch. While the description states enemies won't attack, the minibosses, bosses, and even some common enemies do attack. Even level hazards like turrets and lasers will have you using up all your Ikarugas and continues in mere minutes. This extreme difficulty will turn off casual gamers and those who don't like tough challenges. Gamers who don't mind being served humble pie by the handful will find this game a bit frustrating, but will step up to the plate and try their hardest to show the game who's boss.

Ikaruga has very nice graphics and sound. Although the last thing you'll be thinking of in a heated battle (Read: the entire game) are how pretty your ship looks, the graphics are crisp and nice to look at. Each level, no matter how chaotic, is dotted with well designed backgrounds and obstacles.Since this is an arcade game, the creators included a vertical mode to better simulate playing the game on an arcade cabinet. To use this, you'll have to tilt your TV on its side. The game does warn you certain TVs may catch fire or be damaged when turned on its side, so make sure you have the right set before attempting it. In vertical mode, the game looks even better and seriously does replicate an arcade machine's screen accurately. The sound is also amazing. While none of the songs are worthy on being on an iPod, they do match the mood of the levels and bettter the Ikaruga experience. While you can technically complete this game in about 30-60 minutes, you are very likely to experience hundreds of Game Overs before getting remotely close to doing so.There are only five levels, but they are so challenging, you can play and replay them again for hours. I've clocked in almost 6 hours of gameplay and have only made it 10 seconds into the final level...on Easy. I still can't beat the fourth level boss on Normal!

Ikaruga is truly a game created by a genius. It takes the fun of shoot 'em ups, a genre that hasn't shown much attention since FPSs have been getting the spotlight, and makes changes that truly reinvent what they are all about. Add unforgiving levels and you have a game meant only for the hardcore. If you like a relaxing game or a game that's not so tough, Ikaruga is not your game. However. those gamers who complain today's games are way too easy should buy Ikaruga and see how wrong they are. At only 800 Microsoft Points, this is the cheapest way to experience Ikaruga without searching in bargain bins and online auctions for days. Download it ASAP and experience for yourself one of, if not the best the shmup world has to offer.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/15/08

Game Release: Ikaruga (US, 04/09/08)