Review
Release Date: 09.05.2002
Platform:
Sega DreamcastDeveloper:
TreasurePublisher:
Entertainment Software Publishing (ESP)Reviewed by
Brian J. Balsan on 4.22.2003
| Review Rating: 10/10 | User Rating: 8.79/10 |
You gotta love Japan.
Long after systems have done their time, companies in Japan are still churning out games for them. While people were busy playing Metal Gear Solid in 1999, one brand new game for the PC-Engine (Turboduo) was released in Japan.
So it still comes as a surprise that, a year after the Dreamcast's sad goodbye, action gods Treasure decide to release their second (and quite possibly final) game for the system, Ikaruga.
What makes it so surprising is that they waited this long, a good 8 months after the Naomi arcade release, and debunking some highly publicized rumors only to announce it themselves shortly thereafter.
Well, it's out now, and it doesn't disappoint.
The story is about a man who is battling a potential universal threat and is injured greatly. When he comes to he's in a land called "Ikaruga", and the people there offer him a powerful ship named after the land itself to battle the godlike evil.
...Okay, so most shooters aren't really about the storyline, and this is about as much of the story as you're going to get in this game. But, like any good game, the play's the thing.
First off, the main gripe. The game is short. Shorter than Radiant Silvergun. There's only 5 stages to talk about here. With that said, what's seen here is spectacular. You can tell that Treasure was pushing limitations with the Naomi arcade board, and it's nice to know that every bit-and-byte of this immense blast-fest was converted for home enjoyment. This game looks beautiful, and the graphics are on par with even today's power-systems. Only during big boss explosions does slowdown even appear, but I like to think of it as Treasure doing their darndest to give us a lot of pyros on a considerably aging hardware. When you see the blaze of glory these bosses are reduced to, it'll be pretty easy to forgive and forget.
But of course, Graphics are nothing without gameplay, and it's here in strides. Gone are the multiple weapons of Silvergun, replaced by one simple blaster, a Silhouette Mirage-style polarity system, and a more thought-out chain combo system. The polarity's the big draw here; your ship can change from black to white to black, and will be affected accordingly; the black side can fire black shots to do twice the damage to white ships, and will absorb black bullets for a special power-attack, but white bullets can kill you instantly.
The chain combo system is simple yet very effective. In order to make successful chains you need to shoot down 3 same-colored ships. After every 3 ships you can alternate the color, just so long as you shoot 3 of that same color. Skilled shooters can rack up high combos and, ultimately, high scores. It's all about memorization; if you know which colored ships are coming when and where, you can dodge and change accordingly and get that high score.
Even then, the game is brutally tough. When you begin the game you only have 3 credits, and even on the easy mode this won't last. Thus is where the 'replay' comes in. Much like Silvergun, you are given a gameplay clock, and the more you play (Pausing stops the clock. No cheating!) the more time you accumulate. After every hour, you're given another credit to do your thing.
The extras doesn't stop there. There are four 'appendixes' which can be opened either by extreme skill or lots of gameplay time. Either way, hard devotion will eventually open up picture galleries, a sound test, and ultimately, a 'prototype' mode.
Music is simply amazing. To think that this is a direct arcade-to-console port is mind-boggling. The synthesized audio is so close to instrumental you might mistaken it as such at first. And if that wasn't enough, the score is synched with what you see on the screen. You'll understand as you rocket into the first stage.
Graphics, gameplay, music, replay...The only thing this game is missing is a fleshed-out story mode and maybe an exclusive boss or two. As it stands, Ikaruga should pride itself for being the spiritual sequel to Saturn's best shooter. And, just like the Saturn in '98, it's a great way to say goodbye to yet another Sega system in '02.
Treasure, we love you.
