XBLA Deal of the Week: Ikaruga 400 points

[quote name='allyourblood']what's odd is that Ikaruga is sort of an anomaly when it comes to Treasure's other (non-licensed) games; it lacks much of the bizarre, off-the-wall, downright insane qualities which most all of their other titles seem to share. that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it might certainly make Ikaruga seem tame and almost mundane in contrast.

i'd wager a guess that what makes Ikaruga so popular vs. other shooters is that it exhibits unique play mechanics that are likely to lure in players who might not normally invest in "yet another top-down, save-the-galaxy space shooter". in fact, most people i know that own Ikaruga in some form or other don't own any other shooters![/QUOTE]

Ennh... I kinda wanna agree with you on some of those points. Ikaruga isn't too different from most shooters with chaining, for starters.

And, yeah, Treasure always seems to have a certain style to their games, and I can see the same design philosophy at work in Ikaruga, albeit aesthetically toned down. Funny thing, I don't think I could call any one of Treasure's games the best example of their genre. They all have an over-the-top, flashy style that I think manages to create the sort of fandoms you might find in games like Touhou; people who try only the Treasure game because it has the most pizzazz and ignore everything else in the genre. Or, hell, people who like a few of their games I found so bad that I could not even conceive of a universe where such a game was not reviled (Biggest example is Bangai-O DS. What a stinker.).

Of course, Ikaruga doesn't even benefit from Treasure's typical "throw as many bosses in as you can" habit, which hurts it considerably.
 
Boo, the discount is only for Gold members.

Oh well, I guess that Microsoft doesn't want any of my money.

I'll just play it on the GameCube instead.
 
[quote name='RollingSkull']Or, hell, people who like a few of their games I found so bad that I could not even conceive of a universe where such a game was not reviled (Biggest example is Bangai-O DS. What a stinker.).[/quote]

i own Bangai-O on the DS, but i've not played it yet. i have played the DC version extensively though, and that version i really like. Sin and Punishment, Gunstar Heroes, and Dynamite Headdy are also personal faves.

Of course, Ikaruga doesn't even benefit from Treasure's typical "throw as many bosses in as you can" habit, which hurts it considerably.
Click to expand...

yeah, this seems to be the polarizing debate (no pun intended) amongst fans: some seem to love the "boss every 60 seconds" type of game, while others prefer their games to be a bit more traditionally-hewn, with longer stretches of pawns and mini-bosses between. i tend to reside mostly in the latter camp, as i feel that the boss-after-boss-after-boss thing can ultimately make the game feel like a hyper-challenging demo; cases in point: Alien Soldier and Stretch Panic (boss, boss, boss, boss, boss, game over, you win...?).

for me, Ikaruga is refreshing: it retains the uniqueness and left field thinking that i've come to expect from Treasure, while eschewing some of their more debatable design choices (absurd, non-sensical character dialogue and bosstastic levels).

what i'd really like to see is a new vertrical shooter from Treasure. no "spiritual successors", no ports... something completely new. here's hoping...!
 
As per Major Nelson's blog, Ikaruga is 400 points, originally 800.
signature_deepthakur.jpg
:)
 
Some months ago, I was about to buy it,
but I didn't. My friend had a copy, which I played
with them at their place. To play by myself,
$10 seemed sort of step, but $5 is a good
price. I don't know. Maybe I'm too much of
a cheap ass gamer.
 
[quote name='eastx']This game is indeed way too hard... But can't you unlock unlimited continues like the GameCube version? At least I could have fun with it on GC after doing that.[/QUOTE]

Yes after a certain # or hours of play you keep adding on continues til it's infinite

This game was great on the Gamecube and more of the same on XBLA. I bought this day one for 800 pts and sold my GCN copy when I first heard it was coming to XBLA.
I admit that I haven't played this game on XBLA near as much as I played it on the GCN(in GCN era I had no online play, so it makes sense).

But for $5 everyone should buy it. It's one of few great shooters. XBLA is killing it with some of the XBLA deals. I already purchased N+ and would've bought this if I didn't already have it.
 
Glad to see I'm not the only one meh on Ikaruga. I wasn't a big fan of the polarized colors thing when Treasure did it in Silhouette Mirage and Ikaruga didn't change that for me. Like Radiant Silvergun, I feel Ikaruga gets too heavy into the puzzle aspect (figuring out what weapon/polarity to use at what time) than the actual shooting. Still, worth the $5 if you want to see what the fuss is about, but yeah, I'd rather see some Cave or Raizing on XBLA. :D
 
To those wondering about the difficulty:

If you just play for survival, don't care about your score and don't mind using continues, it isn't so hard that you won't finish. You get an extra credit for every hour you play, and will get Free Play after you play for an hour with 9 credits.

If you want to learn how to play for score, then it is TOUGH. You cannot use continues (anything you do after you continue doesn't count, so there's no point). It will take memorization, practice and patience. I've gotten as far as stage 4 but just can't handle it at that point...maybe someday...
 
bought this last night (thanks CAG) but man am i rusty at shmups. so far seen the third level but havent made through it. anyone know how many levels are in this game?
 
[quote name='dc_fortythree']bought this last night (thanks CAG) but man am i rusty at shmups. so far seen the third level but havent made through it. anyone know how many levels are in this game?[/QUOTE]

five levels.
 
I already own this on GameCube, but I've never gotten around to playing it. I think I'll probably pick this up, since 400 is still a steal for a game like this (so I hear, haha). It's kind of like how I bought Symphony of the Night on 360 while owning the PS1 version, and I've never played either of those yet. I wonder why I do these things.
 
[quote name='Rave Child']I already own this on GameCube, but I've never gotten around to playing it. I think I'll probably pick this up, since 400 is still a steal for a game like this (so I hear, haha). It's kind of like how I bought Symphony of the Night on 360 while owning the PS1 version, and I've never played either of those yet. I wonder why I do these things.[/QUOTE]

Dude, it doesn't matter what retail games just came out or how much attention your girlfriend needs. Turn on your 360 and play Symphony of the Night now! Did I mention I wrote the FAQ for that game?
 
[quote name='Edge']
Also not specifically for Ikaruga, but remember that you can buy 400MS Points on the Zune marketplace so that you have exact change for the game, rather than being stuck with an extra 100+ points when you buy them from the Xbox marketplace. Just go to the zune.net site, enter the liveID that you use for your Xbox Gamertag, and choose to buy 400 points for $5. It will instantly appear on your Xbox Live profile.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tip. I hate how the minimum points you can buy on Live is 600, so I was going to spend $20 on a points card today.

Read this and got them on Zune marketplace instead. And while I was going over my payment info, I saw I had a $8.62 credit from Microsoft that has been sitting in my account for almost 3 years. Used that towards the points so Ikaruga was free! :)
 
i have vowed never to buy anymore digital downloads, but i'm making an exception with this game since i already own in on the GC in disc form. and of course i've only got 200 points sitting in my account. i'd rather let the points sit there than have to buy 400, which would still leave me with 200 useless points at the end of the day.

any way to buy just 200 more?
 
[quote name='eastx']Trade some food stamps for them maybe?[/QUOTE]

why would you even post that? i was asking for help, and you're either trying to make some sort of slight or a really lame joke, neither of which is constructive.

for the record, i have a 1600 point card (it's on my trade list now), but i dont' want to "spend" the whole thing, and am just looking for someone or a website that'll let me pick up just a couple hundred.
 
[quote name='Rusty Ghia']Boo, the discount is only for Gold members[/QUOTE]
No wonder I couldn't get the discount to show up. Well, I guess the 48 hours Gold Live promo code won't cut it neither.
 
i kinda regret buying it. i know i wont devote enough time to get decent at it. i cant get passed stage 3 :[ its punishingly hard
 
I remember spending so much time on this in the game cube days. This game has been sitting my box waiting for this sale. Couldn't justify paying full price when I already have a huge backlog. And yes, it is very hard (even on easy), for me that is.
 
I own it on gamecube, and I remember after you played for a few hours- you unlock a mode with unlimited lives. This is how I eventually beat the game, because it is rediculously hard.

I am not sure if I want to double dip....
 
srsly people, its $5. People are paying $40 for the GC version and more for the DC version. Its by far one of the greatest SHMUPs ever made. $5.
 
This game rocks. So fun and so deep. People saying its too hard just need to relax and practice. 1 hour had me to lvl4. However once at lvl 4 I amn wondering how in the hell im ever going to get past it but im sure that will click in time.
 
[quote name='safire']Is it easier than Radiant Silvergun? I can't beat the first level of that game.[/QUOTE]

i thought it was considerably easier; once you get the polarity switching dialed in, you're on your way.
 
[quote name='chuckywang']I want to buy this, but after reading comments, now I'm kinda scared lol...[/QUOTE]

Yeah... I loved the demo... but I'm not sure I want to be induced into a foamy rage... :bomb:

Plus, I know my friends won't be joinin' me on this... :cry:
 
That's even less likely to attract people who are turned off by the difficulty, JJJJJJJ. But for people who don't have the time to memorize every bit of every level as the developers would like players to do, at least the unlockable unlimited continues make the experience more bearable.
 
[quote name='breakin2']Are the unlimited continues unlockable in the XBLA version too or is that just for the GC version?[/QUOTE]
Yes, every hour of playtime you unlock an extra credit, until after 8 hours where you simply get unlimited credits. You can also unlock Prototype mode (limited ammo).
 
Got it, tried it, like it so far. For the price, and the fairly rare chance to play a shmup, it's not too bad a deal.
 
I got a copy of Shadownrun PC, and it came with a one month Games for Windows Live cd key. Well, GFW live is now free, but the key gave me a free month of XBL gold when I entered it.
So I decided to pick this up. Anybody know the upcoming XBLA deals for the month?
 
The previous months were known from OXM printing the Deals of the Week in an article, but last magazine didn't say anything, so we only know by either the developers giving us the heads up (as in the case of N+) or just waiting until Monday morning when Major Nelson updates his blog thing.
 
[quote name='eastx']That's even less likely to attract people who are turned off by the difficulty, JJJJJJJ. But for people who don't have the time to memorize every bit of every level as the developers would like players to do, at least the unlockable unlimited continues make the experience more bearable.[/QUOTE]
Lol true. That is what turned me off from the game. I didn't want to invest the time in it to get very good and go for a high score, so I just lost interest rapidly. The GC version allows (don't know if it still does) you to post your name and high score on a website.
 
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