Ikaruga is one of the finest examples of hidden gems out there, and this one is exclusive to the Dreamcast and more importantly the GameCube! I remember watching the Electric Playground and seeing that the developer said "You can play this game with your TV upside down!" and indeed you can! The game features various screen settings and control matches to let you play how you want. There are also slow-motion modes so you can learn the exact movement of each enemy in each stage before trying to top your own high score. Now this game offers two "games". Noraml game consiting of all 5 chapters, and Trial Game, consiting of only 2 chapters. There are also three difficulties, the difference being that on easy mode when an enemy is shot down they don't fire back at you, on normal only ones the same color as you fire back, and on hard all enemies fire back. This can get confusing as the main part of the gameplay is the changing of colors to match the situation. The game keeps it simple by having you tap a button to change between white or black (even though the black is sometimes mistaken as red due to the red outline) Both colors are exactly the some other than the fact that white ships can "eat" white bullets, and black ships "eat" black ones. Speaking of eating, by not firing a single shot through a level you can achieve Doteater rank, a rare and preestigious honor indeed! The graphics are top notch same for the sound, the soundtrack is the perfect compliment to the style of the game. You will be playing this game in five years, the replay value as with any other arcade style game is imense though a lack of unlockables you will find yourself easily enjoying the game, if you dont mind the great deal of difficulty. If you have this you know what I mean if you don't, you better pray they re-release it on your favorite next-gen system. 9.6/10!
Ikaruga comes from the same team as the ill-fated Radiant Silvergun on the Saturn, which some have claimed to be “the greatest shooter of all time”. With that kind of heritage, it should be expected to have some impressi... Read Full Review
Chances are, you fall into one of two categories. Either you imported the Dreamcast release of Ikaruga last year and are already hopelessly addicted, or you’ve never heard of it before. For those of you who fit into the ... Read Full Review
