| Ikaruga | |
|---|---|
 Japanese Dreamcast cover art |
|
| Developer(s) | Treasure, G.rev |
| Publisher(s) | Treasure, Sega, ESP, Atari |
| Designer(s) | Hiroshi
Iuchi Director, BG Graphic Design, Music Atsutomo Nakagawa Co-Director, Main Programmer Yasushi Suzuki Character, Object Design Satoshi Murata Sound Effect, BGM Data Edit Masato Maegawa Executive Producer |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox Live Arcade |
| Release date(s) | Arcade JP December 20, 2001 Dreamcast JP September 5, 2002 GameCube JP January 16, 2003 NA April 15, 2003 PAL May 23, 2003 XBLA April 9, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer (2 player cooperative), Online multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ELSPA:
11+ ESRB: E OFLC: G8+ |
| Input methods | 8-way Joystick, 2 Buttons |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | Sega NAOMI |
| Display | Raster (Vertical) |
Ikaruga (斑鳩, lit. Japanese Grosbeak) is a shoot 'em up video game developed by Treasure. It was released in the arcades in 2001 on the Sega NAOMI, subsequently released on Dreamcast in Japan and then worldwide to the Nintendo GameCube, and was released on Xbox Live Arcade on April 9, 2008. It is a spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun.
The gameplay consists of shooting enemies who come in one of two polarities: either black or white. The player's ship can be either polarity, and can be switched at will. Treasure previously experimented with colors and polarity in the Sega Saturn title Radiant Silvergun as well as Silhouette Mirage, released for both the Saturn and the PlayStation. Ikaruga was well received by critics.
Contents |
Ikaruga's gameplay centers primarily around the polarity mechanic. Only bullets of an opposite polarity can kill the player. Same-color bullets are absorbed and converted into energy for the game's special weapon, a homing laser. Switching the ship's polarity also changes the color of the ship's bullets, and shooting an enemy using opposite-polarity bullets will cause double damage. Thus, much of the challenge of Ikaruga comes from careful polarity-switching, choosing between high damage and (relative) invulnerability. This is especially true when fighting bosses, as they often fire bullets of both colors in overlapping patterns. The game also presents navigational challenges where the player must maneuver through continual streams of weapons fire, using their shields to absorb one color while avoiding the others.
Adding an extra layer of gameplay, skillful players may also perform combination "chains" for points. A chain occurs when three enemies of the same polarity are destroyed consecutively. The more sets of three enemies that are dispatched in a row, the more points are acquired, eventually rewarding the player with an extra chance/life. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the entirely original "bullet eater" or "dot eater" strategy, wherein the player does not shoot enemies, including bosses, which retreat after a set period.
Despite the fact that only four people are responsible for its creation, Ikaruga features full three-dimensional landscapes and a soundtrack. The home console releases also feature TATE mode - the ability to rotate the game's display by ninety degrees while the player's monitor rests on its left side, for full-screen arcade size. This same mode can be used without rotating the monitor by configuring the controls, in essence changing the game from a vertical scrolling shooter to a horizontal one. When the game is played with the display in a normal orientation (YOKO mode), the sides of the screen are blank because the game field itself is taller than it is wide. If it is turned on its side, it can take up the whole screen and still have the same aspect ratio. An interesting feature of the arcade release, which is also included in the home formats, is the 'Trial Game' mode, where infinite lives are awarded for a single credit on the first level, but only the first two chapters of the game can be played, offering a good way to practice.
In addition, Ikaruga features a two-player simultaneous mode, an in-depth slow-motion tutorial mode, with stage tutorials becoming accessible to players who reach them in the main game, and an in-game art gallery featuring character and mechanical designs by Yasushi Suzuki, who did designs for Treasure's Sin and Punishment: Hoshi no Keishōsha for the Nintendo 64.
Several years ago in the small island nation of Horai, one of the most powerful men of the nation, Tenro Horai, discovered the Ubusunagami Okinokai—the Power of the Gods. This energy emanated from an object he dug up from deep underground and granted him unimaginable powers. Soon after, Tenro and his followers, who called themselves "The Divine Ones", began conquering nations one after another. "The Chosen People" carried out these conquests in "the name of peace".
Meanwhile, a freedom federation called Tenkaku emerged to challenge Horai. Using fighter planes called Hitekkai, they fought with the hope of freeing the world from the grips of the Horai - but all their efforts were in vain. They were no match for the Horai and were eventually almost completely wiped out. Miraculously, however, one young man survived. His name was Shinra (森羅).
Shot down near a remote village called Ikaruga, inhabited by elderly people who had been exiled by the Horai's conquests, Shinra was dragged from the wreckage and nursed back to health. Shinra regained his health and pledged to defeat the Horai, and the villagers entrusted him with a fighter plane that they had built themselves, called the Ikaruga.
The Ikaruga was no ordinary plane, designed by former engineering genius Amanai (天内) with the help of Kazamori (風守) and the village leaders. Hidden in a secret underground bunker and launched via the transportation device called the "Sword of Acala", it is the first fighter built that integrates both energy polarities, and is capable of successfully switching between the two.
In a two-player game, Shinra is joined by Kagari (篝), a mercenary of Horai defeated by Shinra. After Shinra spared her life, she decided to change sides and join the resistance. Her ship, Ginkei, is modified by the people of Ikaruga to give it identical capabilities to Shinra's ship.
Ikaruga was developed by a core team of only three people at Treasure Co. Ltd led by lead game designer, BG graphic designer and music composer Hiroshi Iuchi, along with programmer Atsutomo Nakagawa, and illustrator and character/object designer, Yasushi Suzuki.[1] G.rev, then an upstart company attempting to raise funds to develop Border Down, provided several supporting team members on a contract basis. Development was long by arcade shooter standards, with over two years spent in development.
Ikaruga was the first game for which Treasure released an official Superplay video, the Ikaruga Appreciate DVD, before Konami released the Gradius V "Options" and "Perfect" DVDs. The print run for the Dreamcast version was a very limited 50,000 copies, distributed only in Japan. For this reason, the Dreamcast version is considered rare and fetches high prices on internet auctions.
An Xbox Live Arcade version was released on April 9, 2008, and included online multiplayer co-op, leaderboards, and two screen modes (horizontal/letterboxed and vertical/tilt) supported.[2]
Although it garnered modest sales, it is among the most successful and recognized arcade shooter ports of the 2000s. GameRankings places the average review score for Ikaruga at 85%.[3] Metacritic gives the Gamecube version a metascore of 85/100.[4]
In its first week (2002/9/2–8), the Dreamcast version of Ikaruga debuted 5th on the Weekly Famitsū Magazine Top 30 selling about 18,596 units. The following week it dropped off the chart. In its first week (2003/1/13–19), the Gamecube version of Ikaruga debuted at number 20. It sold about 6,916 units. By the next week, it dropped off the chart.
Though the official online scoreboard is now defunct, players to this day exchange high scores and gameplay videos in online forums.[5] However, with the release of the Xbox Live Arcade version, a leaderboard is now available online, complete with the ability to upload, download and play replays.
The twin polarity concept of Ikaruga lived on in a playable minigame called "Duality" in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
In World of Warcraft, during the Twin Val'kyr[6] encounter on Trial of the Crusader raid, the twins uses the same polarity concepts of Ikaruga. Eydis Darkbane has a dark buff and Fjola Lightbane has a light buff. The Twins share a health pool and will die simultaneously without any special coordination on the raid's part. The Twins and four portals spawn: two portals near the Twins, and two on the opposite side (near the NPC and the door). The four portals - two light, two dark - are the central element of the encounter. Using one of them gives the player either a light or a dark buff. This buff reduces damage against same-color targets by 50%, but increases the player's damage against opposite-color targets and makes the player immune to same-color damage. Also, during the fight, light and dark orbs spawn from the walls at regular intervals and move randomly around the room. If they touch an opposite-color player, the player takes damage. If the orbs touch a same-color buffed player, the player receives a stacking speed and damage buff.
ScrewAttack voted Ikaruga the 2nd greatest 2D shooter of all time [7], while IGN voted it the 3rd greatest[8]. ScrewAttack also declared it #9 on Top Ten GameCube Games, along with Gametrailers rating it #5 on Top Ten Most Difficult Games.[[1]]
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Ikaruga is a 2001 arcade shoot-em-up game by Treasure for the Dreamcast, later ported to Gamecube and Xbox Live.
Contents |
"I will not die until I achieve something. Even though the ideal is high, I never give in. Therefore, I never die with regrets."
"Alas, Ikaruga is going . . . Undesired, unwanted them, What makes them go? It is nothing else than the principle of the man who has the reason for being."
"The stronger will you have, the more your face various trials. Although you can choose to escape, "Trial" has the message for you to conquer yourself."
"There is no "absolute" in this mundanity. Occasionally you get lost facing unreasonable burdens. In order to overcome, you need a firm conviction, penetration, and the ability to take action."
"And "Reality" is unveiled. What did it want . . . What did it see . . . What did it hear . . . What did it think . . . What did it do . . ."
"Finally, Karma returns to the place once belonged. It recalls the genesis of consciousness carved for abyss of memories.
Hence Ikaruga is going. . ."
Ikaruga | Table of Contents |
Walkthrough
| Ikaruga | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Treasure |
| Publisher(s) | Atari, Infogrames |
| Japanese title | 斑鳩 |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Shooter |
| System(s) | Arcade, Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox Live Arcade |
| Rating(s) | |
Ikaruga is a 2D vertical scrolling shooter made up of 3D sprites. Ikaruga is famous for its high paced action, its original shooter gameplay features and the massive amounts of projectiles on the screen.
In this title, you are the pilot of a vehicle called the Ikaruga (斑鳩, named for the Japanese Grosbeak) that has the special ability to switch elements between white and black (light and dark). As one element, you're invincible from that same element while being able to deal double damage to an enemy of the opposite element. Thus by switching to the opposite element of an enemy you increase the difficulty of the game, the speed at which you can defeat your enemy and thus your overall score.
Several years ago in the small island nation of Horai, one of the most powerful men of the nation, Tenro Horai, discovered the Ubusunagami Okinokai—the Power of the Gods. This energy emanated from an object he dug up from deep underground and granted him unimaginable powers. Soon after, Tenro and his followers, who called themselves "The Divine Ones", began conquering nations one after another. "The Chosen People" carried out these conquests in "the name of peace".
Meanwhile, a freedom federation called Tenkaku emerged to challenge Horai. Using fighter planes called Hitekkai, they fought with the hope of freeing the world from the grips of the Horai - but all their efforts were in vain. They were no match for the Horai and were eventually almost completely wiped out. Miraculously, however, one young man survived. His name was Shinra.
Shot down near a remote village called Ikaruga, inhabited by elderly people who had been exiled by the Horai's conquests, Shinra was dragged from the wreckage and nursed back to health. Shinra regained his health and pledged to defeat the Horai, and the villagers entrusted him with a fighter plane that they had built themselves, called the Ikaruga.
The Ikaruga was no ordinary plane, designed by former engineering genius Amanai with the help of Kazamori and the village leaders. Hidden in a secret underground bunker and launched via the transportation device called the "Sword of Acala", it is the first fighter built that integrates both energy polarities, and is capable of successfully switching between the two.
| Ikaruga | |
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Treasure Co. Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) | Infogrames |
| Release date | Arcade, Dreamcast: 2000 GameCube: 2003 XBox 360: 2008 |
| Genre | Shmup |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Two player |
| Age rating(s) | ESRB: E ELSPA: 11+ |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Dreamcast, GameCube, XBox 360 |
| Media | Dreamcast: GD-Rom NGC: GameCube Optical Disk NGC: XBox Live Arcade |
| Input | Controller |
| System requirements | GameCube: 4 Memory card blocks |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
Ikaruga is a top-down shmup by Treasure. First released in arcades in 2000, it used Sega's NAOMI hardware. In the game, the player pilots a ship which can alternate between two polarities, represented by the colors black and white. While the ship is white, only black bullets can destroy it, and vice versa. This provides an interesting challenge as enemies shoot out mesmerizing patterns of black and white bullets through which the player must navigate.
Contents |
The basic concepts are easy to pick up, but Ikaruga is very difficult to master. By switching between the two polarities the player can absorb bullets of the same color, while the opposing color destroys you. You also do more damage against enemies of the opposing color. If enough bullets are absorbed, they can be launched again in a hail of homing laser beams that do immense damage.
The scoring is primarily based on chains. To perform a chain, three enemies of the same polarity must be killed in a row. Each unbroken chain after the first increases the score.
There is little randomization in the game—enemies always appear in the same patterns. Some have critizised it as requiring more of a player's memory than reflexes in order to gain the most points, because all of the enemies and chains appear exactly in the same place and time every time the game is played, with a few exceptions.
Despite this it still takes a large amount of skill and practice to be able to perform a complete, uninterrupted chain across an entire level.
Another technique is the bullet eater. In this variant, you complete the levels without firing a single shot and simply absorb the bullets the enemies fire at you.
The game uses its high production values well, with full three-dimensional landscapes and a strong soundtrack. It also has a TATE mode—the ability to rotate the game's display by ninety degrees while the player's monitor rests on its left side (for full-screen arcade size). When the game is played with the display in a normal orientation, the sides of the screen are blank because the game field itself is taller than it is wide. If it is turned on its side, it can take up the whole screen and still be taller than it is wide.
The GameCube release of Ikaruga is a very faithful port of the arcade version, with lots of additional modes. These include a training mode where you can replay individual sections of completed levels, optionally at half speed; replay movies of playthroughs that complete the game flawlessly, and more.
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This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Ikaruga. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Wikia Gaming, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (unported) license. The content might also be available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. |
   | Ikaruga fanpage run by a couple of the world's top players - IKARUGA . CO . UK |
| | Ikaruga - Ikaruga for GameCube - GameRankings |
| | Ikaruga bound for Xbox Live Arcade - Ikaruga bound for Xbox Live Arcade |
| | IGN: Top 10 Tuesday: 2D Space Shooters - IGN: Top 10 Tuesday: 2D Space Shooters |
| | Gametrailers.com - ScrewAttack - Top Ten 2-D Shooters - ScrewAttack Video Game, Top Ten 2-D Shooters | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com |
| | KLOV Entry for Ikaruga - Ikaruga - Videogame by Treasure (2000) - The International Arcade Museum and the KLOV |
| | Microsoft's Pre-TGS Presser - Microsoft's Pre-TGS Presser - Microsoft Tokyo Presser - Kotaku |
| | GameFAQs entry for Ikaruga (Dreamcast) - Ikaruga Release Information for Dreamcast - GameFAQs |
| | GameFAQs entry for Ikaruga (GameCube) - Ikaruga Release Information for GameCube - GameFAQs |
| | ''Ikaruga'' - Ikaruga - Videogame by Treasure (2000) - The International Arcade Museum and the KLOV |
| | GameFAQs entry for Ikaruga (GameCube) - Ikaruga Release Information for GameCube - GameFAQs |
| | GameFAQs entry for Ikaruga (Dreamcast) - Ikaruga Release Information for Dreamcast - GameFAQs |
| | Ikaruga Argentina - HOME :: IKARUGA - ARGENTINA (Website por mooho78) |
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