Publisher:
Treasure
Developer:
Treasure
Release date:
Apr 07 2008
Reviewed on:
XBOX360

Released to arcades in 2001, Ikaruga struck a strong chord for gamers that had been weaned on vertical shooters of old. Developer Treasure has a nearly spotless track record for taking an action genre and completely owning it. One of the highest peaks of their record is Ikaruga, a sort of sequel to Radiant Silvergun. Radiant Silvergun is considered to be one of the finest vertical shooters of all time. It is interesting to look at the development of the game seemingly at odds with the typical development of shooters. Featuring a very small development team, Ikaruga spent an eternity in development compared to most genre brothers; nearly 2 years. What was wrought out of this unique circumstance is an exquisitely paced personal experience. The tuning of the entire game is obvious from the start. Ported to two home consoles (Dreamcast and Gamecube), Ikaruga now sees perhaps it’s perfect nesting place in Xbox Arcade. Treasure has taken their tour de force of bullets, spiritualism, and wonderful music and transformed it into a high definition experience that is just as fresh as it was 7 years ago.

As is typical with a number of Treasure titles, Ikaruga heavily relies on a small tool set of abilities given to the player. In control of the ship Ikaruga, players will find a distinct lack of the typical power ups seen in shooters from both the past and present. Eschewing their almost overload of weapons from Radiant Silvergun, Treasure decided to give the players a different type of ship to command. Ikaruga fires merely two types of shots. Holding the attack button spews forth a steady stream of dual bullets, while rapidly tapping the attack button delivers a single stream of bullets which is useful for controlled fire. As the player navigates his way through treacherous corridors and enemy filled areas, he is in control of switching the ship between two colors; black and white. This dichotomy is important to the game; indeed it is crucial to game play as well as the seeded metaphysical overtones.

Swapping between black and white is unrestricted, allowing the player to pick his polarity at a moment’s notice. Each enemy in the game is represented in a color as well. Ikaruga fires bullets of the current polarity. Enemies fired upon by their own color suffer normal damage with the pay-off being Ikaruga will absorb like-colored bullets. After “eating” so many bullets, the player is able to send out a revenge blast of multiple lasers of whatever color they happen to be shifted into. The enemy ships, not to be shown up by this punk maverick, release their own blast of revenge bullets upon death but only if destroyed by a shot of their native color. Shots of an opposite color deal double damage to enemy ships but if Ikaruga is struck by an opposite color bullet it is instant destruction.

By stripping the game of power ups, removing what was once thought to be a standard of the genre, Treasure has crafted a game that is pure in it’s challenges. Gone are the days of having to avoid certain power ups because the player doesn’t want to lose his current weapon. Being destroyed right before that fast stage and have the ship reduced to its slowest speed is not a concern in Ikaruga. The player’s mind must be even more agile than his hands. The screen quickly fills with alternate fire and it is up to the player to successfully navigate the currents. Death must be dealt intelligently so as to not trap the ship in an unavoidable attack of a white and black bullet at the same time.

The slicing waves of attacking enemies and the almost poetry-like flow of the ship Ikaruga refutes the “pulsing” sensation that a great many shooters strive for. What the player will find in Ikaruga is a peaceful, yet exciting, experience as he is freed from the bonds of power ups and power downs. Certain stages drive the ship into trenches of opponents, presenting Shinra (the pilot of Ikaruga) with life and death decisions seconds apart. The same razor’s edge presents itself in other stages as a slow waltz encouraging the player to conduct his performance methodically but never slowly.

Director Hiroshi Iuchi once said in an interview concerning the Sega Saturn port of Radiant Silvergun: “A system’s specs have nothing to do with what’s needed for a person to enjoy a game.” I doubt even Iuchi would refute what the Xbox 360 brings to one of his defining creations. It is a triumph of the impeccable artistic design of Ikaruga to see that once rendered in high def the level of polish is the same as any currently released 360 arcade game. Most players ignorant of the age of Ikaruga will be surprised that it is a 7-year old game. The visual style of Ikaruga is much like it’s game play; it would seem that a game based mostly on two colors would be boring to the eye. Yet with extravagant explosions, beautiful wooded vistas, and a sense of scope unlike many blockbuster action games, Ikaruga delivers a feast for the eyes. Even the kanji lettering that is liberally sprinkled across structures and opposing ships is clear and vibrant offering clarity never before seen in the previous standard definition versions. Despite the difficulty, Ikaruga’s limited color scheme makes it a fine introduction to shooters as bullets, enemies, and obstacles are easily identifiable.

Acoustically Ikaruga has arrangement to savor. Avoiding the overload of most shooters (including at some points Treasure’s own Radiant Silvergun) Ikaruga carries perhaps one of the most fantastic sound tracks of any game. The music is epic and tightly woven with the action on screen. While some bosses share tunes each of the five stages offers a score that has been hand crafted for each and ever beat of gunplay.

Presented on a console touted for multiplayer experiences, Ikaruga features two player action locally and over Xbox Live. Treasure has decided to not allow the ships to overlap which may be frustrating at first but is essential to being able to survive; simply put if both player’s ships overlapped the bullet polarity game play would be in serious jeopardy. The game keeps it’s silky smooth frame rate with two players on screen. A much needed leader scoreboard is provided as well, so that the player can weep at his pitiful performance next to the world’s top players.

It must be stated that multiplayer in Ikaruga requires almost Zen like continuity between players. Unlike most shooters that follow the “Fire stuff twice as fast with two players” model, Ikaruga must be approached as a different beast. Simply blasting enemies in single player is dangerous enough, but adding a second player only heightens the need for precision and poise. However, it is due to the underpinnings of the game that results in some of the best co-op gaming around. A good run-through Ikaruga with two players requires almost a shared mind and when it happens, it is beautiful to behold.

There is no doubt; the Xbox Arcade version of Ikaruga is the version to own. With a fabulous facelift, access to what is the best controller for the game outside of an arcade cabinet (this reviewer found situations that were frustrating in the Gamecube version much easier with a 360 controller, namely holding steady against a pushing laser), and a rock solid multiplayer offering, Ikaruga for Xbox Arcade is the vertical shooter experience to imbibe. It is important for this reviewer to say that Ikaruga was the start of a love affair with Treasure, the first of their games and the first of the genre he every enjoyed. It is punishing but with a clever continue scheme (continues are earned per hour of game played) any player will eventually come to see the end of Ikaruga’s below 30-minute length. The ending is heartbreaking and the journey to get there filled with tense and thoughtful moments.

One huge disappointment hangs overhead though, which is hard to apply to this review score. The Gamecube version featured a very short cut scene during difficulty selection that showed Shinra entering into Ikaruga. Ikaruga still plays fantastically but taking away that initial scene of Shinra robs Ikaruga of a great deal of its emotional weight. It can be debated how that removal should affect a review where most people would not even know of the scene’s existence. This reviewer believes it is a needed entity though, that scene was the opening bookend more so than the brilliant launch sequence of the ship. It really served to bind the player to Shinra and it is sad to not see it’s inclusion in this version.

Grade: B