Light and darkness
Ikaruga's reach has no bounds as someone that has barely got a toe into the shmup genre has heard it. For some godforsaken reason, I thought this would be a good entry into getting my bearings on the genre and build upon some muscle memory to use in the future for the genre, this game destroyed me on my first run through on unlimited lives on normal. I "beat" Ikaruga but I was battered and bloodied that it almost felt hollow, anyone can win with unlimited lives and I enjoyed my time but I had to go again until I got a victory that felt earned.
The heart and soul of Ikaruga is the gameplay and it might seem simple at first glance but there has never been a more betraying impression. The main mechanic is being able to switch polarities to eat bullet rewards timing with charging your special homing lasers and extremely important to survival as well. The game starts easy enough and then throws some disgusting patterns that almost feel hard to predict until you memorize them and it all finally seems possible. The game doesn't throw a lot of bullets at you more than gives you these unique situations that require you to remember what to do and how to do it while dodging those said bullets. First run, I was legit dying every 9 seconds and then very quick improvement on my second run as I was remembering where enemies come from and naturally figuring out what to do to the point it was starting to feel like a puzzle game. The game's extremely short run time lets you know that you have to come back, you will get your ass kicked but you can always return and do better.
Something that fascinates me about Ikaruga is the general art for the game, it's some of the most beautiful art I've seen for a game of this genre with pieces such as this and even this character piece. This is official art and despite not seeing most of it despite the imagery and themes. Games like these aren't as exciting without an amazing fast paced soundtrack to accompany them and Ikaruga is no exception, surprisingly my favorite theme is the one you hear at the very end with the credits rolling and the imagery I refuse to spoil feeling like a period to a very hectic experience.
Despite Ikaruga's devastating difficulty (can easily say this is a personal skill issue too), the game's very first poem tells you to not give up which I feel is very accurate to the experience. To never give up, being strong means you will have more obstacles you have to overcome and so forth. Don't regret living, don't regret not giving up and maybe we will learn to understand each other for who we really are. The achievement might never happen but I only hope existing within the people close to you is more than enough.
Ikaruga's reach has no bounds as someone that has barely got a toe into the shmup genre has heard it. For some godforsaken reason, I thought this would be a good entry into getting my bearings on the genre and build upon some muscle memory to use in the future for the genre, this game destroyed me on my first run through on unlimited lives on normal. I "beat" Ikaruga but I was battered and bloodied that it almost felt hollow, anyone can win with unlimited lives and I enjoyed my time but I had to go again until I got a victory that felt earned.
The heart and soul of Ikaruga is the gameplay and it might seem simple at first glance but there has never been a more betraying impression. The main mechanic is being able to switch polarities to eat bullet rewards timing with charging your special homing lasers and extremely important to survival as well. The game starts easy enough and then throws some disgusting patterns that almost feel hard to predict until you memorize them and it all finally seems possible. The game doesn't throw a lot of bullets at you more than gives you these unique situations that require you to remember what to do and how to do it while dodging those said bullets. First run, I was legit dying every 9 seconds and then very quick improvement on my second run as I was remembering where enemies come from and naturally figuring out what to do to the point it was starting to feel like a puzzle game. The game's extremely short run time lets you know that you have to come back, you will get your ass kicked but you can always return and do better.
Something that fascinates me about Ikaruga is the general art for the game, it's some of the most beautiful art I've seen for a game of this genre with pieces such as this and even this character piece. This is official art and despite not seeing most of it despite the imagery and themes. Games like these aren't as exciting without an amazing fast paced soundtrack to accompany them and Ikaruga is no exception, surprisingly my favorite theme is the one you hear at the very end with the credits rolling and the imagery I refuse to spoil feeling like a period to a very hectic experience.
Despite Ikaruga's devastating difficulty (can easily say this is a personal skill issue too), the game's very first poem tells you to not give up which I feel is very accurate to the experience. To never give up, being strong means you will have more obstacles you have to overcome and so forth. Don't regret living, don't regret not giving up and maybe we will learn to understand each other for who we really are. The achievement might never happen but I only hope existing within the people close to you is more than enough.