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ikaruga review entry

One greets a new Treasure game with a sort of metaphorical (in some cases quite literal) down-on-the-knees reverence. The day I saw what Treasure, a rogue group of gamemakers that deserted from Konami during its heyday, could twist out of the Sega Genesis with Gunstar Heroes, I knew that they were special. This was on the system that was designed to be a graphical powerhouse, but technology soon left it far behind. It took the wizardry of developer’s like Treasure to make the Genesis do things Sega hadn’t even thought of when it was initially designed. (One could argue it was a greater feat making use of that old sound-chip. Ha!)

Since then, the perpetually stubborn Treasure (they simply refuse to go completely "modern," whatever that means) has made some of the most hard-core, adrenaline-pumping, shockingly addictive and downright fun games the world has ever seen. They don’t mind torturing 21st century gamers with teeth-shattering difficulty levels, and they still believe in the thrill of demanding that gamer’s learn to be skillful with each new game.

Within their new classic-shooter Ikaruga, their philosophy not only lives, but thrives.

Ikaruga is the spiritual successor to the mythic "Radiant Silvergun," a little-played Sega Saturn title that was Japanese-only. To this day, years after release, the game has a following approaching madness. The game is incredibly difficult to find, and your best bet is literally a bet: you can try for it at auctions like eBay, but be prepared to pay *ahem* hundreds of dollars for it.

Luckily, Ikaruga is a bit more easily found. So, with the help of a favorite online import shop (like NCSX.com) and my sacred DC-X converter disk, I oh-so-gently (come on, you know you’re insanely careful with your import games, too!) placed the long-awaited Ikaruga into my now-defunct Dreamcast. Very soon I saw the classic Treasure logo, an opened box, which always brings a smile to my face, then the title screen replete with an English menu. Yes, Treasure loves you.

At the outset, you have the option of two main paths, one which offers a practice through the first two levels, and the other which opens the full game’s five levels. Your next choice involves the all-important difficulty level. Choosing Easy, limits the game’s length, so you might as well start with Normal Mode. It is at the difficulty screen that you get one of the few glimpses of your hero, a tall, spindly fellow who looks like he’s come from the Castlevania universe via Final Fantasy’s Yoshitaka Amano. Within seconds, the game was fast-loading me to bliss.

Ikaruga is a game that is very visually appealing, and this is apparent from the first moments. If you are a fan of what I call “classic shooters,” then you already know what to expect. A tiny ship maneuvers (or tries to) itself between tens of thousands energy bullets, lasers, and, in this case, huge gushing streams of liquid electricity. The genius of Ikaruga lies in its twist of the genre which is that the point of the game is to NOT avoid all of the bullets.

You see, in Treasure’s twisted world, the simplest idea that no one ever thought of before becomes a cornerstone of the company’s gameplay. A similar game mechanic can be found in Treasure’s "Silhouette Mirage" on Saturn and PSX. The object is of course simple, but only in theory. Your ship, with the flick of button, can swap colors, from light to dark. The enemies, likewise, fire one of two kinds of projectiles: light or dark, and sometimes both. As your ship changes color, so does your weapon-fire. Any attack of yours harms any enemy, but light attacks do double damage to dark foes, and vice-versa. Absorbing the enemy’s attack energizes your "super attack." You absorb the attacks of like-colored enemies. Your gauge fills up as you absorb, and with a press of the right shoulder button, a death-dealing Panzer Dragoon-style attack lashes out, seeking the enemy.

For instance, say you are fighting a boss, a Treasure trademark, and it sends out a wave of literally HUNDREDS of bullets (Remember Bangai-O?) in alternating layers of dark and light colors. You have to swap back and forth through the colors AS YOU ATTACK THE BOSS. It's THRILLING and the best addition to a top-down shooter in probably a decade.

It gets even juicier, and nastier. Treasure upped the ante by creating a chain engine. Destroying any three enemies of the same color in a row creates a link and racks up your bonus points for the end of the level (remember when games were about points?). Points begin at 100 and plateau at 25,600. Your grade of A through F is based on how well you play, not just on whether you survive or not.

Some have complained about the lack of analog control, but I don’t miss it. Call me old-fashioned, but I much prefer to play these sorts of precision-based games with the digital pad. One quick tap just isn’t really possible for me with an analog stick, and I don’t think I could give up the d-pad for games like this where I rely on taps rather than smooth, flowing movements. Even the words "smooth" and "flowing" don’t belong anywhere near the frenetic gameplay found in Ikaruga, which isn’t to say that the game doesn’t flow smoothly, because it does.

Graphically, the game is on par with any in the genre, and is certainly still attractive in the face of any competition. That doesn’t mean that it has absolutely top-tier graphics, but among shooters and games of this kind, it’s certainly the most impressive I know outside of Einhander. The industrial-tinged orchestral soundtrack is perfectly fitting and, like a good, solid film score, it isn’t distracting in the least. That it sometimes goes by unnoticed isn’t something to be particularly proud of, but it’s hard to fault it (even if it isn’t close to the masterful score for Treasure’s Guardian Heroes.)

All in all, if you own a Dreamcast or GameCube and enjoy shooters, this is an absolute must-buy, and no self-respecting Treasure fan, or gamer in general, should be without this masterful, mind-numbingly hard game. The gratification you get when you pass a level that stumps you for a week is worth the $60 import price. Don’t pass it up.

Final Verdict

Basically, as I said above, buying this game is a no-brainer for shooter fans. It’s thrilling, ingenious, graphically beautiful, and so lovingly and precisely put together that its five levels will keep you busy for weeks and even months, depending on your skill level. Love a good challenge and the craft of Treasure’s games? Buy without hesitation.


Rating 
Gameplay

10.0

This is where Ikaruga shines. The color-swapping is flawless, and the chain linking will keep you up nights. You will close your eyes and break the patterns down in your mind. Insane.

Presentation

6.0

Competently produced, of course, but very bare bones. This is, after all, nearly a direct port of the arcade version. A few option screens, some goodies for playing and beating the game, and that’s it.

Graphics

9.5

The non-stop barrage of gunfire will leave you wishing someone else were playing so you could enjoy the gorgeous, smooth-scrolling backgrounds. The boss designs are everything I expect from Treasure. They will remind you a bit of Katsuhiro Otomo’s work, at times.

Sound

8.0

The music is fitting, but sometimes goes unnoticed, which is both bad and good. Crank it up in stereo to get the most out of it, but don’t expect "Panzer Dragoon" audio.

Lasting Appeal

9.0

This is truly a personal judgment. A shooter like this, as short as it is, can keep me occupied for quite some time by just demanding that I get better and better. Oh, and by the way, you probably won’t beat it any time soon.

Overall

9.5

Sean Campbell - GameCubicle Reader


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