Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps - Kotaku Comments

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

peteer02 — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:01:05 MDT

@Bichatse: How the game handles lag is up to the developers. It's truly unplayable over Xbox Live. If they allowed collisions with your teammate and each person played with zero lag while seeing their teammates lag, that might not be a perfect solution, but it'd be playable. As it is now, it's not playable.

peteer02

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

peteer02 — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:57:20 MDT

I was loving--Loving--Ikaruga on XBLA Arcade until I decided to watch the videos of the highest individual levels and the highest full game video.

I've lost my will to play. I can't even watch some of that stuff without getting a headache.

(Real conversation between my Japanese wife and I:

Her "Are you sure it's not a computer? What kind of person can do that?"
Me "Japanese people.")

peteer02

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Cactuar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:17:11 MDT

Kicking the bloody daylight out of me this game does. And I still love it.

On a separate note, can anyone recommend some good shooters for me? I'm kinda new to the whole genre really. a couple of years ago I just thought they were okayish games to pass time if I had nothing else, but the arcade on Xboxlive, and VC on wii have shown me the light!

You can recommend titles on the VC, Live Arcade, psn, any of those consoles, ds, psp, ps2, gamecube and PC. Though my pc is shitty, so if it has some crazy demands for graphics or memory, dont bother.

Cactuar

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Voltron — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:43:14 MDT

I'm bit sick of people saying this game isn't so hard, just learn the patterns etc.

If so, post your name, because anyone can download the videos.

For a real achiever, go to the leaderboard and download the video from the highest ranking player

"ga key"

He got more than 29 million points (1 Player Arcade, Hard) , I doubt anyone can beat this guy for a long time if ever.

I guess around 30 million points is the limit for this game on Hard mode.

PS: And yes, he is apparently from Japan.

Voltron

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Bichatse — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:04:08 MDT

@EdwinJ85: Lag's usually nothing to do with the developer at all, though - and everything to do with how good or bad your Internet connection is, how far away the other player is, and how much other traffic there is between you and them.

Complaining at the developer for lag is like complaining to Honda because there are too many cars on the road to properly enjoy the motorcycle they sold you. Maybe they knew there'd be cars in the way and they sold the motorcycle anyway, but ultimately they didn't put the cars there.

Unless they're Civics and Accords and stuff. I guess then it's probably their fault. And sometimes, the developer doesn't optimise their network code properly and doesn't get good performance. But usually, it's out of their hands.

Bichatse

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Heinrad — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:51:49 MDT

@PirateThom: I haven't found that problem. Placing my thumb half on the A then rocking it to B generally allows me to change polarity without stopping firing. But if you're used to playing with the triggers now, I guess its a moot point.

Heinrad

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

CyberSkull — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:59:53 MDT

Ikaruga kicked my ass hard on easy difficulty in the first level.

CyberSkull

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

CordableTuna — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:47:50 MDT

Based on the demo, it looks like the GUI and control rotation are not available in the XBox version. With those, you could use the whole screen estate without turning your tv on its side and just pretend the game was always a side scroller.

CordableTuna

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

残心 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:40:29 MDT

"requiring nearly a week of playtime to finish all five chapters"

Does that mean beating all five stages without continues? Because if not, you cannot claim to have beaten it.

残心

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

ThisCharmingMan — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:32:35 MDT

I simply can not get through chapter 2 on normal. God I suck at this game :(

ThisCharmingMan

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Bunn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:17:15 MDT

Our frothing demand for this game increases

Bunn

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Eltigro — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:13:10 MDT

Would definitely have to rotate the screen and play in TATE mode. The "normal" screen orientation makes the playfield seem too small.

Eltigro

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Witzbold — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:48:00 MDT

@MeateaW: Most people who know Ikaruga have seen that vid. Not to mention it always usually pops up here in stories that involve ikaruga.

Good stuff that video is though!

Witzbold

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

MeateaW — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:51:00 MDT

I have been waiting for this game for a long time. My friend had this on dreamcast and it is all I ever wanted to do when I was over there when I was younger.
Didn't get much opportunity to play the GC version.
Am completely stoked it has come out on live arcade; never thought there'd be *anything* I wanted on arcade. Guess I was wrong :)
Something to scare you though; is the guy who played 2 player by himself at the arcade. (he loses one or 2 lives. But no credits). Can't find an adequate URL to the whole vid; but googling 'ikaruga one person 2 players' will find you atleast parts of the play-through. I find it hard enough to keep track of *my* player when playing 2 player; let alone 2 ships to myself.

MeateaW

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

PirateThom — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:41:32 MDT

The controller isn't too bad if you move the fire button to the right trigger and the polarity button to the left trigger.

The default set up doesn't work, you have to stop shooting to change polarity.

PirateThom

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

DaiMacculate — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:16:28 MDT

@Luv2Hate: Yes, I too long for an RS XBLA port. Vote with your MS pts and buy Ikaruga, that won't hurt the likelihood of more treasure games on XBLA.

Agree the controller is an issue, I need an Xbox Arcade stick even more than before.

DaiMacculate

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Strange Bedfellows — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:19:22 MDT

@Witzbold: I agree. I find this version of the game to be extremely difficult in comparison to the Dreamcast version(never played it in the arcade) because of the crappy D-Pad forcing me to use the analog stick which I don't think is conducive to this game.

Strange Bedfellows

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Pinhead — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:44:20 MDT

I was sorta bummed out by how you can rotate the image, but you can't keep the hud fixed. It would be cool to be able to play on my widescreen TV, the the ship going horizontally, and still have the Hud work like it does in vertical mode. I suppose that would give purists an aneurysm though.

Pinhead

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Pinhead — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:39:05 MDT

@Witzbold:

When you reach the space station thing in level 4, with the two polarity streams criss-crossing each other constantly AND being swarmed by enemies?

Come on! It's as awesome game though. I was pretty happy about getting a B at the end of the first mission. \o/

Pinhead

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

brimstoneh2 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:37:04 MDT

I found this game to be incredibly awesome when I got it for my Dreamcast (man it kicks my ass though).

On a helpful note to online lag issues one little solution me and a friend found that worked is if you are a chatty pair then set up a private chat rather than use the in game chat, which seems to cause a considerable amount of lag for some reason or another. Since private chat runs directly through Live and not the game itself, it takes away all the lag the game would receive from it. It also helps having a friend with a T1 connection hosting too. :P

brimstoneh2

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Spiffyness — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:23:17 MDT

@TearsandScreams: It's not as bad as you think. Sure, the requirements to get the good scores (anything better than a C+) are ridiculous, but I've never been too good at shmups and I'm faring pretty well. You don't have to be TERRIBLY good at it to enjoy it, just good enough to unlock all the levels and get better.

Spiffyness

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Spiffyness — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:21:48 MDT

@Wolfkin: lol, my friend Brian did the same thing. I recommended the game to him (basically said BUY IT RIGHT NOW IT'S AWESOME), and I talked to him a few hours later, asking if he'd played it; he said he'd played the demo but it was just okay. "It's nothing special; there's just like a million bullets everywhere"

I then casually explained the whole point of the game to him, and he did this hilarious "ooooooooooooooh! I should probably play it again" sort of thing.

Spiffyness

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

willyolio — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:19:25 MDT

still has nothing on touhou.

willyolio

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

TearsandScreams — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:55:30 MDT

@mdelcomyn: Shooters of this persuasion/Fighters have always lagged. It's what makes them ill equipped for online play. Try it on another system, same problem I guarantee it. Not such an issue in most online games.

Still can't decide. I feel compelled to BECAUSE of what it is, but know I will suck at it...

TearsandScreams

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Tiger-Fever — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:53:24 MDT

Love this game. It's so fun, it's even fun to watch!

Tiger-Fever

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Allen750 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:31:27 MDT

Trigger Heart!

Allen750

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

mdelcomyn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:25:33 MDT

I find it ridiculous that games available on (and sort of for) XboxLive have lag. All we hear about from MS mouthpieces is how their online experience is so great, but what we hear from gamers is that things lag.

mdelcomyn

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:25:26 MDT

I play this game weekly in my local arcade. I adore it.

Brian Ashcraft

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Homard Lobster — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:19:08 MDT

requiring memorization, strategy, twitch controls and genuine skill.

I bolded the ridiculous parts of this sentence.

Homard Lobster

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Bluecell — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:12:46 MDT

What interests me about the game is how hard it remains while being so lenient as to what actually comes into "contact" with your ship. A good example is Dot Eating chapter 2. Anyone who doesn't know what I mean can watch a replay, which is another awesome feature. I get as much joy out of the game watching replays as I do playing it.

For me though, the game is still crazy hard. I am still working on getting to the final chapter with all settings as easy as they go. After I get the achievement for killing the final boss, I'll worry about highscores and max chains.

Bluecell

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Luv2Hate — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:54:37 MDT

Great. Now can we get Radiant Silvergun, please?

Luv2Hate

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

hirostroud — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:49:51 MDT

Had the 'Cube version after much hunting down. As insanely difficult as it was, managed to finish it with decent scores...and will buy it again all the same (Mostly so I don't have to swap back to 'Cube just to play it)

hirostroud

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

HayamaAkito — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:49:43 MDT

One of the best games EVER... really, is that perfect.

HayamaAkito

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Heinrad — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:45:47 MDT

I had the Gamecube version, played it that much that I unlocked infinite continues and used to play it through to completion all the time.

Now I've downloaded it on XBLA and am trying to chain properly, its so much damn harder. But still I go back. Ikaruga, you are such a cruel mistress!

Heinrad

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Mezodon — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:39:20 MDT

I was interested in getting the GCN version, but not for the eBay premium. I don't doubt that it's a good game... but only $10 good. I know the Wii can play GCN discs, but it'd be nice to see them added to the VC as well for titles like this that are hard to come by and don't take up too much space.

Mezodon

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

hfabulous — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:32:19 MDT

Ikaruga's version of "bullet hell" demands intensely pleasurable perfection.

I love how it taunts me, punishing me with its punishing onslaught; how it pouts at me when I put down the controller.

I love how during a good run, I am at my most calm and focused.

Dozens of games, a few consoles and computers are within spitting distance and this is the only game I make a date with.

I hope my work will pay off in the rankings someday. It's 2001 all over again.

hfabulous

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Petezah — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:26:25 MDT

@Krytha: And now you don't even need YouTube. Just go onto the XBLA leaderboard and download the replays of the best players. Very entertaining and inspiring. It's almost worth buying the game just for that feature.

Petezah

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Sunjammer — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:22:29 MDT

i don't know why people say it's one of the hardest games ever. It's pretty much par for the course for the genre; It's nowhere near as hard as Triggerheart Exelica, but that game is borderline unfair most of the time anyway.

It is however one of the most tactically demanding.

Sunjammer

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Sunjammer — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:21:14 MDT

The thing about these games that drives me to just worship them is that they aren't so much about beating the game as they are about beating your score; to the point where beating the game on one credit is awesome because you get to build your score higher.

Ikaruga for me isn't about beating the game, it's about playing it as good as i can. Sometimes i beat the game, usually i don't, but it's always great to return to.

Nothing starts off a day like playing level 1 to an S rating before going to work

Sunjammer

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Wolfkin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:20:28 MDT

@parasiteartist: haha at the guy who doesn't read the manual.

Wolfkin

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

parasiteartist — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:16:58 MDT

Ah-ha! That is why I randomly die. Black and White absorb... Not stupid anymore :P

parasiteartist

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

GrimaceXL — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:13:40 MDT

I remember playing this with my buddy on the gamecube on my projector (no tate mode, lol) and it was the imported version. At the end of the level you have like a performance grade, like good, bad or whatever, but it was in kanji, the only differentiation being the color of the reward green or red. So we called them
"garbage" and "hot garbage", since we weren't any good at the game. So what my point is, that many fun memories were made from playing this for a retarded amount of hours, and I'm totally going to get it for the 360

GrimaceXL

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Wolfkin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:05:31 MDT

heck Maddox likes it what more endorsement do you need?

Wolfkin

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

darvos — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:04:32 MDT

I love this game. I think this is the first game where I don't feel annoyed when I keep dying and replaying the same level over and over again.

darvos

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

AsauPrime — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:53:19 MDT

@EdwinJ85: Some would say better to try and fail than to not try at all.

AsauPrime

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

EdwinJ85 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:43:23 MDT

Good point about the lag, it makes the game unplayable.

If they couldn't fix the lag they shouldn't have put online in the game. Better to do nothing than to do something wrong.

EdwinJ85

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

GundamAC197: Proud new Wii60 Owner! — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:38:24 MDT

Downloaded the demo, it made my brain hurt. Not directly because of the punishing difficulty, so much as the fact that I repeatedly got my ass handed to me but couldn't stop hitting "start" again once I dropped back to the main menu. I'm pretty sure the first day, this continued for around an hour (even after I managed to finish a few times). I HAVE to unlock the full version.

GundamAC197: Proud new Wii60 Owner!

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

PlasmaMachine — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:34:42 MDT

This game is Nucking Futs.

PlasmaMachine

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

fuchikoma — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:24:24 MDT

I always thought the polarity switch thing was a really cool idea...

But even easy bullet hell shooters are impossible, so this one's right out of the realm of possibility.

fuchikoma

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Zeliard — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:24:02 MDT

@jayntampa: I tell myself they're freaks of nature with inhuman reflexes and the ability to see ahead in time. And that actually does make me feel better.

Zeliard

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

vandals856 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:22:48 MDT

really fun game

vandals856

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

vandals856 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:22:10 MDT

check out this crazy video some guy plays ikaruga with 2 players at once by himself and i am just amazed on how good he is.
check out the link below to see video
[www.poetv.com]

vandals856

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

jayntampa — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:20:13 MDT

@Vexorg: I'll still live in my fantasy and believe that they are cheating ... no visual evidence will be able to convince me otherwise :P

jayntampa

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Zeliard — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:17:33 MDT

I will say that as difficult as I think Ikaruga is, it's still a very rewarding type of difficulty. And no more how many times I die, and I die a lot, it never stops being fun. And gorgeous. The game tends to make you want to keep playing it no matter how much you die. That's the mark of excellence.

Zeliard

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Project Thanatos — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:17:15 MDT

I love Ikaruga.

I hate the 360 d-pad.

Project Thanatos

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

qbix — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:16:35 MDT

I love the fact that replays are under 20kb each. Seeing the top players go through levels is a wake up call to remind me of how mediocre I am at videogames like this. But then again, I haven't spent days upon days trying to master it. This game is bliss.

qbix

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

tankintheair315 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:14:40 MDT

I love this game but it is just so damn hard.

tankintheair315

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Spiffyness — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:12:10 MDT

@DARTH_TIGRIS: Dude, it's not JUST one of the hardest games ever; it's ALSO one of the best. And I'm not even a huge shmup fan.

The 1st level's good and all, but just make a leap of faith and buy it, 'cause it doesn't become "BEST GAME EVAR" until the second level.

Spiffyness

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

russtophiles — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:11:42 MDT

Honestly I'm pretty bad at shooters, but with persistence Ikaruga was the first I ever actually beat (on easy mind you). I found the fact that it stripped out all the collecty aspects and simplified things down to a easy to understand but deep polarity concept something that really fueled my desire to keep playing. I have the GC version and turned my old CRT TV sideways to play it vertical style, though it made the colors on the screen screwy after a while. Definitely my favorite Treasure game and my favorite shooter.

russtophiles

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Spiffyness — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:11:03 MDT

@Phlycheez: Nah, I'd say the best is to have the fire set to A and the polarity switch to X. That way you just control the fire with your thumb joint and keep the tip on the polarity button. Missile can rally go anywhere.

Spiffyness

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Vexorg — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:11:03 MDT

@jayntampa: Yeah, right up until you see the YouTube videos that show that they actually ARE playing both ships at once and still managing S++.

Vexorg

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Phlycheez — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:57:40 MDT

The best control set up I found was to map the polarity switch to the trigger buttons and have the missile attack as B. This makes more sense to me for some reason.

Overall, love the game and after playing it a couple times, my shmup skills have waned in the past few years.

Phlycheez

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

DARTH_TIGRIS — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:55:16 MDT

Played the trial and, honestly, I don't know if I'm enough of a sadist anymore to do this to myself. Its no badge of honor for me anymore and is more of a chore to play games of such EXTREME difficulty.

DARTH_TIGRIS

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

demonknightinuyasha — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:49:48 MDT

it sucks that this is only on xbla. i would buy this in a heartbeat on the psn :( i have a dreamcast copy but my dreamcast is on the other side of the fucking country right now :(

demonknightinuyasha

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

aphex242 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:47:46 MDT

Yeah I found it terribly difficult as well, and I have no patience at all for it. I appreciate that it's a fantastic game, but I missed it the first time around and really can't spend the time on it now hehe.

aphex242

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

jayntampa — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:45:47 MDT

@Zeliard: Just tell yourself that they're cheating ... it always makes me feel better ^_^;

jayntampa

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Witzbold — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:44:18 MDT

@Pinhead: Parakeets 4 u for buying the game.

Just keep practicing and learning the patterns.

Witzbold

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

t0yrobo — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:43:47 MDT

I'm not surprised at all that online isn't all that great. These games require millisecond timing and pixel perfect accuracy. It's a damn shame there aren't many arcade stick around for the 360. Why Hori hasn't made a RAP for it yet is totally beyond me.

t0yrobo

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Zeliard — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:42:26 MDT

@Scazza: "Best feature by far however, is the ability to download ANYONEs replay and see just how much better people are than you."

That's the worst feature. I was getting my ass kicked all over the place, so I downloaded one of the top overall scores and watched them go to work, and my already-fervent feelings of utter inadequacy at Ikaruga deepened to unmeasurable depths.

Zeliard

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

silkylove — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:41:02 MDT

This is a great game. I'll stick with my cube version though.

silkylove

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

J. Kyle — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:40:49 MDT

I've been playing Ikaruga since it was released on the Gamecube and I still can't get an A on Chapter 1. And getting past the boss of Chapter 3 without continues? No way. Watching the replays from the top-ranked players on XBLA is humbling.

It's still fun despite my suckitude, though. It's one of the most polished, well-made shmups I've ever played, and it's aged fantastically.

J. Kyle

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

JesusBuddhist — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:39:35 MDT

I loved the GameCube version, I think I should give this a try.

JesusBuddhist

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Zeliard — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:37:21 MDT

This game makes me want to take my Ninja Gaiden Black and laugh at it. Laugh at it for thinking it's even remotely difficult.

Zeliard

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

sand — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:37:20 MDT

@DELICIOUS BUNNY: Best 800 points you'll ever spend!

sand

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

DELICIOUS BUNNY — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:35:34 MDT

I tried the Xbox demo version, and I'm honestly TERRIBLE at shoot-em-ups, and of course I died before I even passed the first stage on EASY-MODE. But I must say the music and grpahics were top notch. Too bad I won't flip my 40 inch LCD on TATE mode to take up more use of the screen estate space. I might consider picking it up for 800 points - which will be my first MS Points purchase ever.

DELICIOUS BUNNY

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Scazza — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:35:22 MDT

So i have my 360 hooked up to my 40" HDTV, but decided to run a line to my 20" monitor just so I could play in verticle mode. It is BLOODY amazing. I love how it warns that you might rape your TV if you try it. It just is stunning and fun as hell to play like this.

However, it dosn't help that I suck ass at the game. I can barely make it to the end of the 2nd level before I run out of continues on the "default" (read: hard) mode.

Best feature by far however, is the ability to download ANYONEs replay and see just how much better people are than you.

Scazza

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Pinhead — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:30:47 MDT

I just don't get it! How do you beat this game?! I'm getting owned in level 4! ARGH!

Pinhead

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

sand — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:29:57 MDT

@_Perp: Of course. TATE mode is available just like Michael McWhertor said in the review.

sand

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Pombar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:29:10 MDT

I did some online co-op with a mate. He complained of slight lag in places, especially key hard moments in each level (though that may have been his stock excuse for messing up). I, however, suffered none of this lag. Weird.
The game itself is epic. I hardly play Shmups besides a few free Mac ones and Aegis Wing last year, but this has really given me a passion for the kind of deep game design you can put forward within such a simplistic concept and genre.

Pombar

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Pezdispenser — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:28:54 MDT

@Darthearl:

This, definitely.

Pezdispenser

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

_Perp — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:28:32 MDT

does this feature the option to turn your widescreen monitor sideways and play it like that? the gamecube version offered this which i though was cool but i didnt have the ability to do at the time.

_Perp

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live. — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:27:14 MDT

Got the GC version, I'm straight. I'd love Radiant Silvergun through...how about that on PSN and Sin and Punishment 2 on Wii?

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

JustJake — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:25:56 MDT

One of the best games I have ever played. I played for months and got an A on chapter 4. Can't wait to try the XBLA version of it.

JustJake

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

ph15h HATES ph15h — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:25:11 MDT

:( Just playing Ikaruga on the GC just reminded me of another GREAT game that had polar attributes: Silhouette Mirage :( When will you come back to me instead of making me scrounge ebay for you?

ph15h HATES ph15h

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:24:20 MDT

Fell in love with this game the first time I played it.

Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Darthearl — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:23:58 MDT

gahhhh..this or new halo maps...

Darthearl

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Maldron — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:23:55 MDT

@AnEternalEnigma: I also don't have a 360.

Maldron

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

jayntampa — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:23:54 MDT

I still think Rez has the best visual design of any shooter ever, but Ikuruga is quite awesome. I played it a ton on the Dreamcast ... and, you're right, HD makes a huge different.

jayntampa

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

code.monkey — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:23:48 MDT

Let me just say, if you ever have a chance to play the game with the Dreamcast controller, do so. While the Gamecube (and I'm guessing 360) controls are totally competent, nothing can beat the pixel-perfect control of the DC controller.

code.monkey

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

hollowfreak — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:23:18 MDT

TATE mode ... lying on the couch :)

hollowfreak

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

ServiceMaster — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:22:46 MDT

I screamed with glee the day I beat this game. So many continues....

ServiceMaster

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

sand — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:22:14 MDT

yah, I own both the Dreamcast import AND the Naomi gd-rom. Still I coughed up 800ms points for this game. This game is the only game I've bought trice, Radiant Silvergun being the only one I've bought twice and since there's no port in sight I guess it will stay at two.

Seriously, 800 ms points? I would have paid 2000 easy.

sand

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

William "Killer" Shatner — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:22:11 MDT

anyone have 800 extra ms points they can give me?

William "Killer" Shatner

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

DorkimusPrime — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:21:01 MDT

Does it really look that much better than my Dreamcast + VGA cable setup? I mean, sure, it's only $10 and I just got my 360 back from refurb, but dammit I'm cheap!

DorkimusPrime

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

DasKonstruct — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:18:46 MDT

wonderful port and its one of the best arcade purchases I've ever made. If you never played it you must buy it because its pretty much the pinnacle of the genre. I've yet to say "damn they need to improve on this part of the game." Every death is your fault and yours alone and almost never because of some issue.

DasKonstruct

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

ArmyofJuan — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:17:45 MDT

I dunno. People said Omega 5 was going to be hard but i got through that pretty well after a try or two.

but i do love a good schmup so i'll be getting this soon. And i'v never played it before so it'll be even more amazing im sure

ArmyofJuan

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Iceking5 — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:17:16 MDT

@Krytha: Hehe yeah.

I also heard the default controls are a bit iffy.

Iceking5

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

SuperFox — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:17:14 MDT

I remember having the first two chapters memorized for the Gamecube version, and then always having a heck of a time even making it through Chapter 4. Good times.

SuperFox

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Pezdispenser — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:17:13 MDT

I can pretty reliably beat parts 1 and 2 without dying, but I usually foul up in part 3. Part 4 is just a credit sink...

I think I'll pop my cube disc into my Wii and reminisce...

Pezdispenser

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

ph15h HATES ph15h — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:17:11 MDT

I Loved this game... on the Gamecube. Damn you Treasure box. VC or PSN too plz.

Man, I remember playing this for hours a day only to have my girlfriend call me and hang up because I'd scream "Dot Eater..."

Good times... Good times. The XBLA version looks cool too.

ph15h HATES ph15h

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Eschguy — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:16:50 MDT

This game is ridiculously difficult...however it's also one of the most fun and most enjoyable games to hit the Arcade. Be ready to be frustrated, but the sense of accomplishment after beating a stage is exhilarating and only drives you to play more...regardless of the number of deaths you toll up.

Eschguy

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

StormTec — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:16:50 MDT

I have a masochistic penchant for agonisingly difficult Japanese schmups.

I only had brief attempts of the 'Cube version, but bought it when it came on Live anyway. I can't get past halfway through chapter 2 though XD

StormTec

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

canchegundam — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:16:23 MDT

Love this game, it really brings me back to the days when I was a little boy and would play shooters in the arcades. Definitely not for everybody you have to have a mild interest in the genre to appreciate the complexities and get pass the difficulty level.

canchegundam

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

AnEternalEnigma — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:16:08 MDT

@Maldron: BUT ACHIEVEMENTZ!

AnEternalEnigma

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

DugDawg — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:15:36 MDT

I downloaded the trial and thought the gameplay was unique, but I'm too much of a wuss to take the kind of self-flagellation necessary to master this game.

DugDawg

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

NeoNess — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:14:53 MDT

I have the Gamecube version, and I still bought this.

It is just that good.

NeoNess

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Maldron — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:14:12 MDT

I have the gamecube version. I'm golden.

Maldron

Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps

Ashurahori — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:14:02 MDT

@Spoony Bard: I used to be terrible too. Ikaruga helped me be good at it. Whether you're good or bad at this, there are also several difficulty levels to choose from (on easy, the enemy ships don't shoot you) as well as credits to pick on the beginning of the game.

Ashurahori