To start this thing out, I couldn't have summed it up better than this picture right here. Any non-gamer that happens to have stumbled upon this nerd-fest (sorry! There are other blogs for tweens and people who love Radiohead on here too, I promise) has probably looked at that picture and thought...WTF? No seriously, WTF. Because probably the best known thing about this game, and I'd like to think it's pretty well known by now since it first came out about 8 years ago back on the Japanese dreamcast (may that wonderful system R.I.P.), then to Gamecube (my copy is often on display when I bust it out on a yearly basis), and perhaps the best way to get it to the masses, on XBOX Live Arcade - but the best known thing about this shooter, or what people "in the know" simpy call shmups (a moniker I'm not a big fan of, I might add), is that it is completely, 100%, insane. All those little white dots on the screen? Yeah, those are bullets. That tiny little thing at the bottom with the piddly little shield about to get his crap all kinds of ruined? Yep, thats you.
So why is this game a classic, you would probably ask. First a bit about the name - to most nerds, Ikaruga usually means some sort of ninja. While everyone in their right mind should know that ninjas are certainly awesome (and under represented in video games for the most part, I must say. I mean, Pirates vs. Ninja Dodgeball for the wii? Seriously guys? Ninjas don't throw dodgeballs, ninjas rape peoples faces off!), this game doesn't have any ninjas. Ikaruga is just a pretty cool name that those crazy Japanese developers over at Treasure thought would be a good title for their sequel to another equally insane shump, called Radiant Silvergun. Obviously, these dudes were all about having cool names for their games, something I support (especially after hearing generic names today like "X-Blades", "Mercenaries", "Madden 2010"...whoops, I mean, sports games are great!) fully. Radiant Silvergun is a still hard to find game (at least here, you go to Japan and copies of it are likely to fall on you in any store because they have so many, even still today) that pretty much broke the mold about what a shump could be. Over time, much like the 2D fighting genre, things started to get a bit stale. You'd either have a top down scroller (like the old arcade game Raiden) or a side scroller (like the old game R-Type was) shmup with some sort of space ship and it could get a few powerups and it would basically have to save the galaxy. Blah blah blah. Much like that old RPG chesnut of the hero having amensia or a young boy and girl who start out young but eventually grow on their magical quest to save the world from the big darkness and also happen to fall in love, we've seen it a thousand times in the video game world. Well those psychopaths over at Treasure wanted something different when they made Radiant Silvergun. Level ups for your weapons? Sure why not. An actual *gasp* storyline to your shump? Can they even DO that?! Well do that they did, and that masterpiece was formed. But I'm not here to ramble on about that game (which I STILL don't own a copy of, by the way! *shakes fist*), I'm here to talk about Ikaruga. But we wouldn't have Ikaruga had Radiant Silvergun been a failure, so there.
But failure it was not, that game is about ten years old now and still highly sought after - go check the current prices on ebay if you think I'm kidding. So Treasure had a massive hit on their hands, and they obviously loved making completely insane games (see: Gunstar Heroes on the Genesis, Sin and Punishment on the 64, goofy ass games like Silhoutte Mirage on Psone, Bangai-O on dreamcast...yeah, definitely that last one), so they set out to make their coup de grace (an underused term, if I do say so myself) in the form of Ikaruga.
Even the box art for this game was awesome and told you you were probably gonna get your face kicked off as soon as you booted this game up. Ok, so the story of this monster goes something like this - you have this piddly little ship, and you have to save the galaxy. Uh oh! The basic shmup crap story right? Doesn't matter. Whereas Treasure broke the mold with what a shmup could be with Radiant Silvergun, they went back and said "hey, you know what? All those previous shoot em up games were lame. There weren't enough bullets flying around, all those games were too easy, we need to make something that will actually make someone NERVOUS when they play it". And thus, Ikaruga was born. It took all those other old, "classic" shmup games and chucked them down the street. This game was going to kick your ass, and you know what? You were going to enjoy every freakin' second of it.
So we got no story. After five minutes of playing this game, you won't care at all. Because Ikaruga did something totally different, by introducing your ship that had two different sides: the light side and the dark side. Not the most original names for sides of course, but if you want to borrow something from the holy trilogy (for non nerds - that means Star Wars!), might as well be that. But this is where the gameplay twist comes in - when you are the "light" side, you can absorb the ridiculous mass of white bullets that will be constantly flying at you, and you'll do more damage to the "dark" enemies. And same with the "dark" side - more damage to light, etc., its not rocket science. But it IS freaking awesome. Because heres where Treasure actually implements some strategy into a dying genre (one that is sadly pretty much all but dead these days) - during the later stages (and there are only 5, but you won't care), you have both kinds of bullets flying at you, and both times of enemies. You'll be switching back and forth all the time, and you can play this bad devil with another person (a staple of the shump genre), but even with two of you its not gonna be easy. Check this out, loyal blog followers: I have never beaten this game. Never. It hasn't happened. Oh I've gotten to the end boss alright, but usually I'll limp up to him with one or two lives left and he'll laugh as he fends off my chump bullets or my absorb attacks and then when the tears start to come at yet another failed attempt at this game, he laughs even harder. Like I said, this game will kick your ass. And you will love every second of it.
Theres a shot of the "dark" side of the ship, and you'll notice that I mentioned absorb attacks up there. That's your one and only other defense against this ridiculous onslaught of bullets and enemies, you can spit all of those jerks bullets right back at them (in the form of missles), assuming you are just absorbing one color, of course. That's what that little bar on the left of the screen is for. It's a pretty sweet trick that will get you out of some tough situations, but its not going to save your ass all the time. Why? Because this game is completely nuts. I think I've covered that. Since we are talking about a bit of an older game here, of course the graphics aren't going to completely blow you away. But unlike FFIV, I'll tell you that this is still a very pretty game, even played today. Especially by shmup standards. A good shmup is VERY few and far between anymore these days, but to be honest, there didn't need to be many more after Ikaruga - its by far and away the best in its class, people still talk about it today, and its well worth the $50 or so bucks you'll pay for the gamecube one. Or just get it on 360 Arcade, I don't care, just play it sometime, if only to be humbled. Oh, and if you have a few minutes, check this out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LES0bAg0dBk which is a video of some freakshow playing the first stage on hard mode, and pretty much obliterating everything. This man is a god. This video was made in 2006, and I'm fairly convinced that he was probably playing the game every day since 2001 in order to put this video on youtube. Like I said, I have never once beaten this game.So why do I love it? Because, like other classics, like most of the games I've reviewed on here so far, it broke the mold. We've had shmups since the days of Nintendo (anyone remember that game Burai Fighter? That game sucked!) and really since the days of Space Invaders, you could probably call that one the first shmup. Ikaruga makes all those games look like Barbie Horse Adventures. It has a punishing difficulty, but for some reason, you'll keep coming back for more. Because with this punishing difficulty comes an awesome sense of accomplishment. When you finally destroy that fourth boss (hes the biggest bastard of em all, in my opinion) after trying 20 times or so, you will cheer. You will remember why you like playing video games in the first place. And that is why this game is and always will be a classic. And look at me, getting misty before I even mention the freakin' soundtrack! Hows about we just stick that in the review scores?
I only include this last picture because its the most tame one that I could find of this game. That's the first boss, someone you'll kill so fast you'll think "that Clev was an idiot, this game is tough, but its not THAT tough". And then Stage 2 comes around....Anyways:
Graphics - 7/10. They aren't gonna change your world or anything, but for a shmup thats almost 8 years old now, they are still pretty. Theres some 3D stuff going on in the background, and all the enemies, especially the bosses are cool looking, and the later bosses could very well make you poop your pants.
Sound - 10/10. This is something I forgot to mention in my ramblings up there - its amazing. This game is why surround sound speakers exist. Awesome explosions and bullet effects of course, but the jams on the title screen, as well as the stages, are awesome. Lots of rock and or roll music here though, so if thats not your thing, maybe bump it down a few points. But still, great stuff, especially for a shmup, where sound usually takes a backseat to everything else.
Challenge 456/10. This game does NOT mess around. Like I said, I've never beaten it. Why can I review it then, you may ask? Because I've enjoyed every time this game has handed my ass to me and said "thank you, come again!" It has limited continues, and the version I have (gamecube) never lets you have unlimited. That's probably how it should be. Get good at this game, or you suck, you'll never see the end. Not that it matters much anyways - you don't play this game for story, you play to have a damn good time getting your butt whooped. Oh and did I mention yet? If you can, play it with a friend. Misery loves company.
Fun - 10/10. Do I need to get into it anymore? This game is great. Fun is what this game is all about. They could have probably just cut through all the BS and just called this game "Fun", but I think Ikaruga is a much cooler name, personally.
Overall - 9/10. Like every game I've reviewed on here so far, it might not be for everyone. The challenge may keep some people away, but honestly, if you don't try it at least once you are missing out. Come for the cool tricks this game has that no other one has tried before. Stay for the awesome challenge and the immense sense of accomplishment you'll have the further you get into the game.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to my closet to go dig this bad devil out and maybe fire up my wii for a change...
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