Ikaruga

[Moonpie2]

So, who picked this up for PS4?

Great memories from playing it on the Gamecube back in the day, but man, I can't believe how cruel age has been to my SHMUP playing skills.
Hahah
I used to be able to perfect the first 2 stages before it all fell apart. Not sure I'll get back there.

And here's a massive negative for the game.

Not having a fast way to "restart level" without having to back out to the main menu and re-select all your options again is unforgivable.
Especially in a game where score-attack and getting perfect chains is so integral.

I hope they add this in a future update.

 

[Plainsong]

Been tempted to pick it up on the Switch but I absolutely suck at bullet hell games. I like how you can turn the console on its side (tate) and play it full screen but I would still suck!

 

[Moonpie2]

Well, I guess it is kinda bullet-hell-ish, but the polarity switching of your ship kinda negates that.
If anything it's actually quite like a puzzle game in a weird way.
Still.... I'd say to maybe wait and pick it up cheap, but it's already less than a tenner

 

[ricky1981]

The switching adds an extra layer for sure but it is very definitely a bullet hell game once you get past the first introductory levels.

 

[malachi]

Nice to see this is on the PS4 now, I want it for the Switch but wait for it to become cheaper. I have the Dreamcast version somewhere, I need to bust it out again at some point.

 

[Earth[Tera].bin]

I had this back in the day when I was collecting arcade gear, used to put some hours into it and improved somewhat but not on the level some folk get to. Enjoyed playing it though, and loved the boss introductions.

 

[malachi]

I had this back in the day when I was collecting arcade gear, used to put some hours into it and improved somewhat but not on the level some folk get to. Enjoyed playing it though, and loved the boss introductions.

Capcom was involved with the arcade version?

 

[Earth[Tera].bin]

No, that was just a capcom information board I used to layout pcbs, gdroms,kits etc on for snaps.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I am thinking getting it on the Switch...

 

[kinger8938]

I am thinking getting it on the Switch...

Same but the price difference is just silly, makes no sense classic switch tax think it's 7.99 on ps4 and £13.50 on switch

 

[Moonpie2]

Double the price on Switch?
That's cray cray !!

I haven't got all my skills back yet, but this playthrough of Lv1 isn't too shabby.
Still haven't re-figured out how to do the middle bit right.

 

[Raymond Lin]

So what's the trick? is it white ship is immune to white bullets? and vice versa? So you don't need to dodge white bullets if your ship is white?

 

[Hedge]

Yep pretty much that.

 

[Moonpie2]

So what's the trick? is it white ship is immune to white bullets? and vice versa? So you don't need to dodge white bullets if your ship is white?

Yep, that's the mechanic that everyone bangs on about, but it's a bit more involved than that.
Absorbing bullets and beams fills your 'smart bomb' attack meter, so you'll want to be absorbing as much as possible (it also ups your score)

The 2nd mechanic you don't hear as much about is having to kill stuff in groups of threes to keep your chain building (bigger chain = more score)
So, kill 3 white, then 3 black, then 15 white, then 6 black etc etc etc.... as long as it's multiples of 3 each time and your chain will continue to grow.

Of course you could say **** it to all that and just keep your finger held down on fire and kill everything indiscriminately and see how far you can get

 

[Raymond Lin]

Yep, that's the mechanic that everyone bangs on about, but it's a bit more involved than that.
Absorbing bullets and beams fills your 'smart bomb' attack meter, so you'll want to be absorbing as much as possible (it also ups your score)

The 2nd mechanic you don't hear as much about is having to kill stuff in groups of threes to keep your chain building (bigger chain = more score)
So, kill 3 white, then 3 black, then 15 white, then 6 black etc etc etc.... as long as it's multiples of 3 each time and your chain will continue to grow.

Of course you could say **** it to all that and just keep your finger held down on fire and kill everything indiscriminately and see how far you can get

Thanks, and you can still kill a black enemy ship with a white ship yourself? So if you can dodge like a ninja in theory you don't need to switch at all.

 

[Moonpie2]

Thanks, and you can still kill a black enemy ship with a white ship yourself? So if you can dodge like a ninja in theory you don't need to switch at all.

That is true, however shooting an enemy with the opposite polarity does more damage than shooting it with the same polarity, so you can kill stuff faster, and actually you get extra waves of enemies if you kill the preceding wave quickly.
And more enemies means more chain which means more score

 

[Zatoichi.uK]

Good game and played it on 360. If you like this please check out nex machina. Such a damn good game.

 

[Moonpie2]

Nex Machina is the worst twin stick shooter that Housemarque have done by a country mile

 

[Zatoichi.uK]

That goes against pretty much every reviewers opinion but okay. The main criticism of it was that it's too hard, which if you like Ikaruga shouldn't be a concern.

 

[Moonpie2]

Nex Machina just bored me senseless and lacked the usual quality polish Housemarque has. It felt like a rushed cash-grab.
When stacked up against Super Stardust, Resogun, Dead Nation and Alienation, it's not in the same league.... hell, it's not even the same sport it's so far removed from what they're capable of doing.

Still.... like you mentioned "opinions". Everyone has them, and that's mine