Ikaruga Appreciation

jclast

So, I got a Wii for Christmas. Then I got myself some Wii points and went nuts in the Shop Channel. Thankfully, one of the gems I picked up was Gradius. It's extremely hard, but I love it. Then, frustrated with the Easter Island statues, decided to look through my library for something else to play. That something else is Ikaruga. Even with the wussiest settings possible, this game kicks my ass. I've made it to the beginning of level 4 on easy, and I've beaten the Trial mode to unlock the first art gallery. Other than that, I die. A lot.

As a further testament to how much I suck at this game, here are two videos of other people kicking ass and taking names at it.

• 1 person playing 2 player
• Chapter 5 Hard

Eventually, I'll see the ending due to earning (by playing for X hours) unlimited continues, but it will be a cheap and hollow victory. Is normal the way to go? Even though there is additional bullet spray? The world may never know, and for a game with only 5 levels, this baby has immense replay value and longevity.

Lach

I wish I didn't suck at this game. It's taunting me from the shelf it sits on.

Deusfaux

dude, just change your title, nobody likes the "____ON" bs


edit: appreciated

ToadTheMushroom

Deusfaux wrote:

dude, just change your title, nobody likes the "____ON" bs

NickTheNewbie

I appreciate ikaruga.

Tuoma

Doesn't the game always "say" things like "Keep trying, eventually you will get it!" when you play and die? I might remember incorrectly...

I kinda suck at this too but that is correct, after playing for 15 hours or so i can get to that damn satellite in 1 life/continue (easy) depending on my current state but damnit if i don't get raped every time from there on.

Edit: Oh and i don't try and chain very much, maybe the first levels but it just get hard on a supersilly level trying to do that.

No Great Name

I appreciate Ikaruga and people that don't get their panties in a bunch over thread titles.

scrivenerjones

frothing.

Chen

I could never chain for shit after chapter 1 which makes me sad. Apparently, my best C1 score is 3,242,520 with 102 chains.

JLM-AWP

This game just has a ton of energy to me. When I play it, especially the first level and the bosses throughout, it gives me goosebumps quite often. I have been hoping for a sequel for quite a while now, since I have no Saturn with which to play Radiant Silvergun (which is a badass name for a game).

Treasure, I love you.

Variable

I played it for a few hours one day and remember being blown away. I never went back just cause that's what I tend to do, but I remember feeling impressed with the balance between INTENSE difficulty and yet a feeling of "I can do this, it's definitely possible"

That's how you know it's a well made game. You never just go "fuck THAT!"... it's always your own fault, which means with practice you know you can win.

I think I may play it tonight. I wanted to get some gamecube on anyway.

Stormwatcher

99,9999999% of humankind suck at Ikaruga.
The rest is that guy on the video.

but the game is SECHS!

BlackDog85

A game that, to this day, beats the shit out of me.

Hats off to you, Treasure.

NickTheNewbie

So apparently an ikaru (斑鳩 ) is a type of bird. I'm not sure what the "ga" is for though. Maybe it's a sentence fragment? ikaru ga fly shimasu!

Tuoma

Pretty shure i read "spotted dove" as a translatio...

Daedalus

NickTheNewbie wrote:

So apparently an ikaru (斑鳩 ) is a type of bird. I'm not sure what the "ga" is for though. Maybe it's a sentence fragment? ikaru ga fly shimasu!

The title translates as "Spotted Dove".

Lunker

One of my personal crowning achievements in gaming is being able to beat this game before unlocking unlimited continues.

I haven't gotten back into the game hard-core like I was before, but I pick it up every so often and it's just amazing how much depth there is to the game. You can just kind of plow through it, but if you actually focus on high score and chaining (and watch videos and the tutorials that show you how), it's beautiful.

In case anyone didn't know, those video tutorials of how to "beat" individual stages actually change depending on the screen size/ratio option you pick. They vary from "normal" to "expert" to "dot eater," I think. It's been ages.

This isn't my top pick for a twitch shooter, but if you want something with depth, it dances the line betwene hard-core and mainstream.

EDIT: Oh, and fuck 4-2. Fuck 4-2 up its circular-patterned ass.

LewieP

I bloody love this game, the game that seriously got me into shmups.


see title.

drhazard

It's fun, but I've never unlocked unlimited continues, and I can't figure out where to position myself during the second chapter to evade the moving blocks to get a Bullet Eater ending.

Icewing

I just couldn't beat this, no matter how hard I tried. I looked up tutorial vids, the works. I think I'll go play something more my speed.

*looks over at Oblivion*

*hangs head and sobs*

smallmouth

drhazard wrote:

It's fun, but I've never unlocked unlimited continues, and I can't figure out where to position myself during the second chapter to evade the moving blocks to get a Bullet Eater ending.

Here's a video on Hard, but with dot eating it shouldn't be any different than Normal.

drhazard

See, I've seen that video, and that's how I know I can do it. There's literally just a pixel's worth of space that I can do that in, though.

bruin

I want to buy this game but I'm just not sure it's worth the $40 it goes for on eBay to me. Is there a cheaper way to get it?

smallmouth

drhazard wrote:

See, I've seen that video, and that's how I know I can do it. There's literally just a pixel's worth of space that I can do that in, though.

I see. Sorry, I thought you couldn't find an example. I probably couldn't do it either.

But I still Ikaruga.

drhazard

I can't get past the second chapter, but it doesn't make me mad. Something about this game makes me go, 'yeah, I suck. I can't get very far in this game. But it's very pretty going through, and I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile. So I don't get angry.'

Gilder

I couldn't chain at all in this game beyond level 1 because on every other level I was way too busy trying to survive. I could actually get all the way to the last level without dying but I would always die a few times on the boss and be forced to use a continue. I don't even know why considering that it wasn't really that hard. I guess I would just get nervous and mess up.

LockeCole

What systems was this game on? I seem to remember playing it on a friends dreamcast. I wonder if they could put it out on VC or XBLA... hmmmm

Lunker

LockeCole wrote:

What systems was this game on? I seem to remember playing it on a friends dreamcast. I wonder if they could put it out on VC or XBLA... hmmmm

Yeah, it was DC and GC.

jclast

Lunker wrote:

LockeCole wrote:

What systems was this game on? I seem to remember playing it on a friends dreamcast. I wonder if they could put it out on VC or XBLA... hmmmm

Yeah, it was DC and GC.

It's also an arcade game.

Sixfortyfive

This is probably my favorite video. Click the link at the top of the page to download it.

It's a clip of RNA playing against the Chapter 5 boss on hard mode and taking him down to the very last second before finishing him off. This is where the Dreamcast version's slowdown really comes in handy.

LockeCole

jclast wrote:

Lunker wrote:

LockeCole wrote:

What systems was this game on? I seem to remember playing it on a friends dreamcast. I wonder if they could put it out on VC or XBLA... hmmmm

Yeah, it was DC and GC.

It's also an arcade game.

:shock:

Arcade machine that mints quarters right there.

I didn't know it was a GC game too, I should see if I can get a copy.

smallmouth

I know it won't happen, but if Nintendo were to release it on VC I'd buy it despite owning the Gamecube disc just so I could play it using the classic controller. I would also have their manbabies. Many, many manbabies.

Using the Hori stick is pretty cool, though.

Lunker

LockeCole wrote:

jclast wrote:

Lunker wrote:

LockeCole wrote:

What systems was this game on? I seem to remember playing it on a friends dreamcast. I wonder if they could put it out on VC or XBLA... hmmmm

Yeah, it was DC and GC.

It's also an arcade game.

:shock:

Arcade machine that mints quarters right there.

I didn't know it was a GC game too, I should see if I can get a copy.

The GC version is now absurdly rare. I picked it up before supply started drying up, luckily.

Torso Boy

There is a side of me that wants to buy this now that I have a Wii.

I am convinced this "side" wishes me harm.

TrenchMouth

bruin wrote:

I want to buy this game but I'm just not sure it's worth the $40 it goes for on eBay to me. Is there a cheaper way to get it?

GameStop used to have them for $20, but that was a while ago. I haven't seen any for a bit.

On that note, Ikaruga is totally worth $40.

Sixfortyfive

Fanworks and whatnot:



rogner5th's art




can'tHUE's webpage

This guy published a bunch of Ikaruga doujins at comiket in the past, some of which go for an absolutely absurd amount of money today. I managed to snag an art CD of his from Yahoo Japan a while back. Some samples:




Opus.XERO's webpage

Various remixes of VG tunes, including a mix of Metempsychosis + Stone Like + Spirit Being. Search the page for "IKARUGA."

Purgatory Kabuki

This is a yet-to-be-released comic from Ikaruga's character designer and main artist, Yasushi Suzuki. Surprisingly enough, it's going to be published in English and by a North American company.

Duchess Prozac

I finally tracked down a copy of Ikaruga for the dc only to have it snapped in half after keeping it storage for a few months.

I was a very sad little panda.

bruin

TrenchMouth wrote:

bruin wrote:

I want to buy this game but I'm just not sure it's worth the $40 it goes for on eBay to me. Is there a cheaper way to get it?

GameStop used to have them for $20, but that was a while ago. I haven't seen any for a bit.

On that note, Ikaruga is totally worth $40.

Yeah, I've checked out the EBStops near me and never seen a copy. I might just end up paying $40.

Eggplant Wizard

My local EB has a used copy. It taunts me every time I enter. But, it's $40 and beaten all to hell, and I think I can do better.

LockeCole

If I really decide I want a copy I'll probably shell out the 60-70 bucks it'll cost to get it from someone on the amazon marketplace

I've had horrible luck on ebay sales (even with sellers with good ratings, go figure)

nademagnet

I wish i could find this game again... I had it for a few months last year before my "great gaming purge"

and now I wish I still had it... I want to just slip inside my dirty little wii and hook my wave bird up to it