By Elias Dounis on May 2nd, 2003

Ikaruga is a 2D shooter in the spirit of Radiant Silvergun or R-Type. Actually, in a way it is a sequel to Treasure’s own Radiant Silvergun, but Treasure has always had this motto, and that has been to never develop a sequel to any game. If that’s the case, then why does one of the opening title screens in Ikaruga read “Project RS-2” (Radiant Silvergun-2)? Those tricky bastards, but don’t worry I’ll get them. I’ll get them good! Sorry, I got caught up in the heat of the moment there... Ahem, seeing how Ikaruga is a simplistic looking 2D shooter, many of you fools reading this review will probably be thinking that scratching your balls would be more entertaining than playing a game which looks like it belongs in a generation that died many years ago. Well, if you heathens know what’s good for you, you’ll put down those wicked games with those tasty, voluptuous, huge hootered women playing beach volleyball, and give Ikaruga for the GameCube some time and consideration.

Presentation:

Games like Ikaruga don’t need anything too flashy. It’s an arcade game at heart; with that said, there’s only one thing for you to do, and that is pick up and play. The load times are quick, the menus are simple, yet the game itself, though simple in concept, is much deeper than you could possibly imagine. That’s the traditional gaming route I spoke of in the previous section, and to truly understand you must experience it first hand.

Gameplay:

Ikaruga is a true test of one’s gaming skill. A blink of an eye can mean your untimely end. To succeed in the game

In Ikaruga, black and white lasers beams are being fired at your ship constantly, and usually, with most shooters, it would be in your best interest to avoid any kind of enemy fire. But Ikaruga takes that formula and throws it out the window.

Like I mentioned above, black and white colored beams will be fired at you constantly, sometimes in overwhelming amounts, even to the extent where the whole screen is consumed by them. However, you can change the color of you ship. So, if you change your ship’s color to that of enemy fire, their attacks will have no effect on you. For instance, you might have to change the charge of your fighter to white, as hundreds of white lasers are being fired at you, and at the same time you must dodge the black colored beams that also appear onscreen. Though, the laser blasts of the same color get absorbed when you come in contact with them. The absorption of that energy builds up and eventually, because of this, you will be able to unleash a devastating homing attack, which destroys nearly everything on the screen. However, enemy ships won’t be able to do the same; they won’t be able to absorb your attacks of the same color attribute. No matter what color blast you fire at them, they will be hurt. But if you really want to deal with them quickly, then you’ll have to change you color attribute to the opposite color of your foe. Doing this does twice the damage of a blast of the same color. Other than the homing attack mentioned above, there aren’t any other kinds of attacks except for the standard rapid fire attack. That’s right. There aren’t any power-ups, special missiles, bombs, or anything else of that sort. Ikaruga slaps you with just the basics. It’s basically you against an army of foes. Sorry, I’m mistaken. Not only are you up against an army of enemy ships, the design of each of the game’s 5 levels are an obstacle in itself. There are just so many obstacles to keep an eye out for, whether it’s moving blocks, or columns spiraling towards the center of the screen, with only a few tiny crevices for you to maneuver through.

At times the game can seem just downright impossible, but most likely you haven’t seen the worst of it. Like any good ole traditional shooter, Ikaruga’s stages feature a thrilling boss battle at the end. Often, these level bosses can take up more than half of the entire screen, if not the whole damn thing, and they require everything you learned from the game in order to defeat them. However, you don’t need to necessarily have to beat them in order to progress to the next level. They’re only there for a few extra points. Oh, did I say a “few extra points”? Sorry, I meant a shitload. But there are other ways to accumulate a high score. In Ikaruga, you are rewarded for shooting down a chain of 3 enemies of the same attribute color in a row. The more chains, the more points, and if you get enough points, you’ll earn those much needed extra lives.

You better believe me when I say you’ll need those extra lives… because Ikaruga is one of the most difficult game you’ll ever put your hands on, no matter what difficulty setting you have it on. Even though it may be only 5 levels long,

Ikaruga is easily one of the game’s you will come back to often just for the hell of it, and as an added bonus Treasure has included a password system that allows you to post your highest scores at their official site.

Visuals:

IT BURNS US! IT BURNS US!!!

With all insane amount of flashing colors, and the speed of an already intense game, I couldn’t help but get teary eyed when playing Ikaruga. Honestly, you can always thank the Japanese to come up with some game or anime, which can cause one to get a seizure. Maybe, that’s why Ikaruga is only 5 levels long! Because, playing the game for more than an hour can possibly leave a man in a hospital bed promising that they won’t touch a game like this or a Marvel Vs Capcom game ever again. Seriously though; Ikaruga is a beautiful game. This is thanks to the 3D visuals incorporated into the game, despite the game being played in a 2D plane, and the fact that an unfathomable amount of enemies, enemy fire, and obstacles is thrown at you all at once with the game staying at a rock solid framerate.

Audio:

I had once thought that the days when robotic voices plagued videogames was over. Sadly, I was wrong…

Playing Ikaruga gives me flashbacks of old arcade classics such as Berserk and Robotron 2084. Classics indeed, but filled with these cliché robotic voices which would scream out phrases such as “Die Human!” or “Get the Humanoid!” Even though I’ve haven’t actually heard phrases in Ikaruga that are similar to those, the robotic voice used to announce your successful combos and whatnot, is a dead ringer to the voices featured in those gaming classics.

Now, enough of my weird quarrels with that trivial audio aspect of the game. How does the music and sound effects stack up?

Actually, it stacks up pretty well. The musical score in the game has this epic feel to it. Unfortunately, it will never become familiar enough for it to get stuck inside your feeble brain. However, that can be blamed on the game’s over abundance of ear popping sound effects, such as rapid laser fire, and the always enjoyable floor rumbling explosions when defeating those huge level bosses.

Final Thoughts:

Sales in the millions do not justify a great game, only time can…

Twenty years ago, all games shared one simple concept. They tested a person’s skill. Games like Robotron 2084, Berserk, Donkey Kong, Popeye, Zoo Keeper, and even Frogger, assaulted the player with so many obstacles, that they had no time to think. To succeed in getting the highest score or just reaching the end of the level, required for one to react in a split-second’s time. Any later would mean Game Over, and a wasted quarter. Yet, people would keep coming back for more and more, emptying out hundreds of dollars worth of quarters into coin-ops, until they were either broke, or reining as champion with the highest scores. With all of that said, Ikaruga is no different and because of that, Ikaruga establishes itself as one of the best games you could ever purchase for the Nintendo GameCube.

*GamersMark.com reviewed this game with a copy of the title purchased from retail