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Ikaruga Review

First of all I'd like to say that Ikaruga has great gameplay. I'm sure you all know what it is by now, and yeah, the white and black switching is genius and really revolutionizes the good ol' 2D space shooter. Based on gameplay alone I'd give Ikaruga a 9/10, and its graphics and sound aren't bad either (not especially great, but I never let graphics or sound affect my reviews unless they're either really great or really bad), so why do I hate the game? Read on...

First of all, Ikaruga has a major longevity problem. The game is only 5 levels long and each level takes about 3-4 minutes to complete. So once you finally do beat it you can see the entire game in 15-20 minutes. Not cool. But it will take you longer to beat the game. Significcantly longer in fact due to Ikaruga's atrocious continue system.

You start the game out with 3 continues making it next to impossible to beat, even on easy mode. And for every hour you play you get another continue. And after you've played 6 hours instead of getting 9 continues it just gives up on you and gives you unlimited continues. What is wrong with this picture? The game gains its longevity through unfair repitition. Sure in any game you'll spend most of the time getting a game over and doing stuff over again, but in Ikaruga it ensures that this will happen to you whether or not you're a good player. And even at 8 continues the game is VERY difficult even on easy mode. Going through the same 3 levels for 6 hours until you can "earn" more continues is not my idea of a good time. And it gets worse...

Once you do get unlimited continues your goal is to beat your own high score. Yes, the game uses points. Really arbitrary ones which do nothing except inspire boasting and competition amongst die hard gamers. A friend of mine tried to justify Ikaruga's saving system by saying that the first 6 hours are "practice" for the unlimited continues and that the real goal of the game was to get a good score. That's bullshit. I tried playing the game once with unlimited continues and gave up due ot boredom. I had no motivation to do well. When your reward is simply a high number it does little to inspire you. Especially when points do nothing and continues are based on wasting your time. Here's an idea: points earn you continues as you play!

But imagine this for a moment: what if Ikaruga was a game consisting of 5 episodes, each episode consisting of 3 levels, and you could play any episode you wanted after beating it. And instead of continues you could start each episode with 3 lives and earn extras by getting points. Then Ikaruga could've been a great game. If repitition and arbitrary points are your cup of tea maybe you'll like Ikaruga. But for everyone else I can only recommend it as a rental. It was $40 for a long time and has now gone down to $20, but even at that it's still for die-hard gamers only. Check out Tumiki Fighters instead as a free download. Your wallet will thank you.

5/10

you can turn off "unlimited continues " in the options screen

quit whining just because you're to lazy to do so

its an arcade space shooter. Take it for what it is. All those types of games are based on repetition and a high level of skill

I found it to be very fun even though I tend to not even like the genre.

I think I need to pick a copy up again

I disagree.

Originally Posted by minx you can turn off "unlimited continues " in the options screen quit whining just because you're to lazy to do so

Minx with the PWN! Sweet!

Where have you been for the past 20 years? Almost every shooter (and arcade and pinball game in existence) has rated you by a high score points system.

As for the episode idea, it is a good idea, but when it comes down to it, that's the decision the developers made. It doesn't affect the fact you're just flying around shooting things.

In other words, listen to minx.

Hell, I for one dig games where you compete for high scores, it inspires you to do better and get the high score! Of course games today don't concern themselves with things like high scores too often. If you don't think competing for high scores can be fun you need to pick up a copy of Midway Arcade Treasures on Xbox and cry at the high scores on Xbox Live. Even with "unlimited continues" on games like Smash TV, there are still people out there who'll make you their bitch.

All I can say is don't let Ginkei read that review.

Speaking of Ikaruga, whatever happened to the ikaruga contest? Was a winner ever announced?

ikaruga is a lot more fun with 2 people....

I beat Ikaruga without wasting one life on the easy mode, and I suck at games.

As for your longevity comment:
Stage 1 is about 5mins long
2, 3, and 4 are about 10 mins long
Stage 5 is roughly 20

Total playtime is about an hour or so, played straight. For a shoot-em-up that's fairly good.

And yes unlimited continues is a bit cheap, but without em you would've probably never beat Ikaruga, so you should be thankful for that feature ^_^;

Im suprised Ginkei hasnt jumped all over your back about this topic...He'll find out sooner or later...

Originally Posted by -Never4ever- I beat Ikaruga without wasting one life on the easy mode, and I suck at games. As for your longevity comment: Stage 1 is about 5mins long 2, 3, and 4 are about 10 mins long Stage 5 is roughly 20 Total playtime is about an hour or so, played straight. For a shoot-em-up that's fairly good. And yes unlimited continues is a bit cheap, but without em you would've probably never beat Ikaruga, so you should be thankful for that feature ^_^;

Are we talking about the same game here? I never clocked it, but there was no possible way it took over a half-hour. And are you talking about novice, or easy? I've heard novice is pretty easy, but easy isn't.

And also... who the hell is this Genkei guy and why should I fear him. If anyone wants to write an in depth review on why a game i love sucks then go right ahead. I'd much rather read a review by someone who disagrees with me than read something preaching to the choir. I just had to write this because it seems every critic on the planet went crazy over Ikaruga, so I had to voice my opinion on why it's overrated.

O wow, minx is back?

Originally Posted by Mr Durand Pierre Are we talking about the same game here? I never clocked it, but there was no possible way it took over a half-hour. And are you talking about novice, or easy? I've heard novice is pretty easy, but easy isn't. And also... who the hell is this Genkei guy and why should I fear him. If anyone wants to write an in depth review on why a game i love sucks then go right ahead. I'd much rather read a review by someone who disagrees with me than read something preaching to the choir. I just had to write this because it seems every critic on the planet went crazy over Ikaruga, so I had to voice my opinion on why it's overrated.

No, regular easy, as in all 5 stages. I apreciate you giving your opinion and all, but this game IS NOT overated.

I think the problem with Ikaruga is that "today's gamers" (gross generalization) are so used to playing a game to complete it, they don't know what to do with Ikaruga. Simply put, it's a shooter and shooters are generally based on high scores.

I beat Ikaruga once. ONCE! and I've clocked in at least ten hours of gameplay. The only reason I did that was out of curiosity. The other nine hours and forty minutes were spent trying to beat my old score, never moving past stage three.

My current score, by the way, is 5,215,340 on chapter 3.