Ikaruga Review
Game Review | March 6, 2010 10:44 am
Alas me piloty, the sky is a cruel mistress she is.
Ikaruga is the mutant offspring of Touhou and Mushihimesama. The game was made by Treasure games, notable for the games they made, such as Dynamite Heady and Gunstar Heroes. The game was originally released for Nintendo Gamecube. It was positively criticized by Game Informer, giving the game a 9 out of 10. The game is fairly decent, besides Treasure makes lots of good games and this one is no exception.
The game costs 400 mp, and has 200 total gamer score for all achievements.
Ikaruga is a shoot-em up, you know, one of those classic games like Gradius and Lightening Force. The game is played on a 2D plain, yet the game is in 3-D. You basically play as the spaceship Ikaruga (or Ginkei), which it is your mission to blow stuff up in 5 different levels and beat the final boss. What more could you ask for?
The game has a storyline.... or at least I think it does. The words of text go by so fast I have to replay a level 3 times in order to read all of it. And even if you do read it all, it doesn't sound like a story at all, just words of wisdom. Yeah, like I really need words of wisdom to beat the game. Not to mention all of them don't make any sense!
Game play revolves around using three buttons (A, B, and Right Trigger) plus the thumb stick to play. They just don't make enough games like this anymore; sometimes you don't need complicated controls to play a game. Aside from that, "A" is to shoot, and Right Trigger is homing missiles. The "B" button allows you to change the polarity (or shield) of your spaceship. A white shield absorbs white bullets but you can be killed by black bullets, and a black shield absorbs black bullets but you can be killed by white bullets. Changing polarity also changes your attack, for white and black bullets does more damage to foes of the opposite color. There's no limit to how much you can change your polarity. It's hard to picture, you'll be better off playing a trial of the game to see for yourself.
The music is good too, because it always matches the mood of the game play through every scene of a level you play through. Explosions sound good and look cool, so you'll see plenty of that.
Unfortunately, not every game is perfect (especially YOU Oblivion) cause there are things in this game that will torment you for the rest of your life.
Ikaruga is not a like other video games you've played. Other than the fact its title sounds like a honking cartoon horn, the game takes what's good about other games and etches them into the side of your brain with a soldering iron. Do you understand what I'm saying? This game is one HARD son of a bitch if you get my drift.
What's the big deal? You say you beat the last level of Call of Duty 4 on Veteran difficulty in only 4 tries? It is true, games like Modern Warfare and Halo 3, feature a suicidal difficulty setting that will kick your ass out of the front door. Ikaruga is different, for Ikaruga gang rapes your ass and throws you out the window onto a bed of used hypodermic needles. Ikaruga revolves around the concept of constantly changing your polarity in order to deflect enemy attacks. The game is damn near impossible to beat (ESPECIALLY ON HARD) unless you turn on the continues in the settings.
There is also the fact that the game offers no room for you to breathe. The game was programmed to shoot a constant endless barrage of bullets (hence the term "Bullet hell shooter") so you can't move two inches without constantly switching your polarity to save your sorry ass. There are even enemies coming from behind you that you can't shoot till they get in front of you unless you use homing missiles. Also the game relies on quick thumb reflexes and navigating through narrow corridors in order to beat each level. I don't know about you, but I'd like to say that you have a better chance at defeating Sir Lancelot at a jousting tournament with a crazy straw than this!
I know what your thinking. "Your wrong Super Hyper X, your just over-exaggerating!" Well you are kind of right. The game isn't impossible, I actually beat it. Despite there was tons of bullets on screen, the action kept me on my toes, and delivered a video game rush when I beat it. I've done some research, and Ikaruga was voted by Game Trailers the 5th hardest game of all time. It's like if the next level is twice as hard as the last one.
The game isn't the hardest I've ever played (Battletoads is still king in my book), but it will make you feel better that the game features prizes. The more you play the game, the more continues you are rewarded. For every 2,000,000 points or something, the game lets you start off with an extra continue. Remember the continues have to be turned on in the settings before you start playing. Throughout my entire play through, I got to start of with at least 7 continues. I have to say, this is one long game to beat for just 5 levels!
Of all the times I've attempted to get all the gamer score, I only got 50. There is an achievement for beating the game without using a single continue. It is worth 20 points. By the time I get that 20 points, I could've gotten the full 1000 gamer score in Call of Duty 2.............................. 4 WEEKS AGO! Getting these 20 points and the rest of the achievements is up to you. Needless to say, you'll probably have a better chance at getting on top of the Modern Warfare leader board.
Overall, I recommend you by this game. I give it an 8.9 of 10. Play it for fun, not for the achievements. I'd like to say that the game was fun, because it was classic and it was worth playing. The action, the bosses, the unforgiving difficulty, and reward after playing it will keep you coming back for more. Although, I say the achievements aren't worth it for such a hard game.
I hope I've described to you my experience with this game, and it answers any qualms you have with getting this game. The game is hard, but it's not unfair. This game is a blast to play and can be played with a friend. I strongly suggest you give this game a try. Well, that's all I have to say about Ikaruga. That's it to all there is to this game. Man, my backs killing me...
Oh and by the way, good luck beating this level.
Happy flying, and I hope you play the game and die unmercifully 1,000 times. BWA HA HA HA!
Ikaruga is the mutant offspring of Touhou and Mushihimesama. The game was made by Treasure games, notable for the games they made, such as Dynamite Heady and Gunstar Heroes. The game was originally released for Nintendo Gamecube. It was positively criticized by Game Informer, giving the game a 9 out of 10. The game is fairly decent, besides Treasure makes lots of good games and this one is no exception.
The game costs 400 mp, and has 200 total gamer score for all achievements.
Ikaruga is a shoot-em up, you know, one of those classic games like Gradius and Lightening Force. The game is played on a 2D plain, yet the game is in 3-D. You basically play as the spaceship Ikaruga (or Ginkei), which it is your mission to blow stuff up in 5 different levels and beat the final boss. What more could you ask for?
The game has a storyline.... or at least I think it does. The words of text go by so fast I have to replay a level 3 times in order to read all of it. And even if you do read it all, it doesn't sound like a story at all, just words of wisdom. Yeah, like I really need words of wisdom to beat the game. Not to mention all of them don't make any sense!
Game play revolves around using three buttons (A, B, and Right Trigger) plus the thumb stick to play. They just don't make enough games like this anymore; sometimes you don't need complicated controls to play a game. Aside from that, "A" is to shoot, and Right Trigger is homing missiles. The "B" button allows you to change the polarity (or shield) of your spaceship. A white shield absorbs white bullets but you can be killed by black bullets, and a black shield absorbs black bullets but you can be killed by white bullets. Changing polarity also changes your attack, for white and black bullets does more damage to foes of the opposite color. There's no limit to how much you can change your polarity. It's hard to picture, you'll be better off playing a trial of the game to see for yourself.
The music is good too, because it always matches the mood of the game play through every scene of a level you play through. Explosions sound good and look cool, so you'll see plenty of that.
Unfortunately, not every game is perfect (especially YOU Oblivion) cause there are things in this game that will torment you for the rest of your life.
Ikaruga is not a like other video games you've played. Other than the fact its title sounds like a honking cartoon horn, the game takes what's good about other games and etches them into the side of your brain with a soldering iron. Do you understand what I'm saying? This game is one HARD son of a bitch if you get my drift.
What's the big deal? You say you beat the last level of Call of Duty 4 on Veteran difficulty in only 4 tries? It is true, games like Modern Warfare and Halo 3, feature a suicidal difficulty setting that will kick your ass out of the front door. Ikaruga is different, for Ikaruga gang rapes your ass and throws you out the window onto a bed of used hypodermic needles. Ikaruga revolves around the concept of constantly changing your polarity in order to deflect enemy attacks. The game is damn near impossible to beat (ESPECIALLY ON HARD) unless you turn on the continues in the settings.
There is also the fact that the game offers no room for you to breathe. The game was programmed to shoot a constant endless barrage of bullets (hence the term "Bullet hell shooter") so you can't move two inches without constantly switching your polarity to save your sorry ass. There are even enemies coming from behind you that you can't shoot till they get in front of you unless you use homing missiles. Also the game relies on quick thumb reflexes and navigating through narrow corridors in order to beat each level. I don't know about you, but I'd like to say that you have a better chance at defeating Sir Lancelot at a jousting tournament with a crazy straw than this!
I know what your thinking. "Your wrong Super Hyper X, your just over-exaggerating!" Well you are kind of right. The game isn't impossible, I actually beat it. Despite there was tons of bullets on screen, the action kept me on my toes, and delivered a video game rush when I beat it. I've done some research, and Ikaruga was voted by Game Trailers the 5th hardest game of all time. It's like if the next level is twice as hard as the last one.
The game isn't the hardest I've ever played (Battletoads is still king in my book), but it will make you feel better that the game features prizes. The more you play the game, the more continues you are rewarded. For every 2,000,000 points or something, the game lets you start off with an extra continue. Remember the continues have to be turned on in the settings before you start playing. Throughout my entire play through, I got to start of with at least 7 continues. I have to say, this is one long game to beat for just 5 levels!
Of all the times I've attempted to get all the gamer score, I only got 50. There is an achievement for beating the game without using a single continue. It is worth 20 points. By the time I get that 20 points, I could've gotten the full 1000 gamer score in Call of Duty 2.............................. 4 WEEKS AGO! Getting these 20 points and the rest of the achievements is up to you. Needless to say, you'll probably have a better chance at getting on top of the Modern Warfare leader board.
Overall, I recommend you by this game. I give it an 8.9 of 10. Play it for fun, not for the achievements. I'd like to say that the game was fun, because it was classic and it was worth playing. The action, the bosses, the unforgiving difficulty, and reward after playing it will keep you coming back for more. Although, I say the achievements aren't worth it for such a hard game.
I hope I've described to you my experience with this game, and it answers any qualms you have with getting this game. The game is hard, but it's not unfair. This game is a blast to play and can be played with a friend. I strongly suggest you give this game a try. Well, that's all I have to say about Ikaruga. That's it to all there is to this game. Man, my backs killing me...
Oh and by the way, good luck beating this level.
Happy flying, and I hope you play the game and die unmercifully 1,000 times. BWA HA HA HA!
Reviewed: Ikaruga
Keywords: None
