Ikaruga is one of the hardest games I’ve ever played. 2D shooters are traditionally a difficult genre, but this game fits in with the likes of Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts. The first level is quite easy and lulls you into thinking that you’re actually good at the game. The second level turns that notion on its head, puts you over its knee, spanks you hard, and makes you ask for forgiveness for even entertaining the notion that you are better than Ikaruga. You’re not.

Luckily, the game’s options allow you to start out with five lives instead of three, and you can also change the point totals at which you earn continues. (You don’t start out with any continues.) There’s also a great two-player simultaneous mode, which is how I finally beat the second level. Even this feature is nicely balanced though, as the extra firepower is offset by the confusion of more particles on the screen.

Ikaruga’s gameplay is surprisingly simple. There are absolutely no power-ups, and playing the game only requires three buttons. Your spaceship has the ability to switch between light and dark modes, and this is the basic mechanic that the entire game is built around. While in light mode, you can absorb light shots, and your lasers will score extra points and build “chains” of hits when they hit dark enemies. Dark mode functions the same way, absorbing dark shots and scoring extra points against light enemies. Switching between the two modes is free, quick, and as easy as pressing a button. The ship’s lasers are continuously firing (no need to tap the button) and do not differ between modes except for color. Your only other attack is a set of homing lasers, which use up a meter on the side of the screen. The meter refills as you absorb like-colored enemy shots. In later stages, the meter is refilling at all times, if you get my drift.

The simple control and gameplay seem geared towards helping the player concentrate on improving his basic skills. When you can’t depend on helpful health pickups or weapon upgrades, you learn to rely on your reflexes. I definitely feel like I’m improving my skills as I play the game more.

Ikaruga’s level designs totally revolve around the light/dark mechanic. Squadrons of small enemies, not to mention the bigger guys and bosses, send carefully designed volleys of shots at you. After the first level, the shots are generally raining down nonstop, creating a continuous field of enemy fire on the screen at all times. Surviving starts to depend on your ability to ignore shots that can be absorbed and focus on the ones that are harmful, and of course, you have to be able to reverse those roles as quickly as your ship can change modes. It’s a simple but novel idea, and Treasure seems to take extreme pleasure in exploiting the mechanic to create seemingly impossible scenarios. If I haven’t already made it clear, the game is insanely difficult.

Adding to the challenge is the fact that the game is distractingly beautiful. The colors are vibrant, which happens to be necessary for the game’s design. Even the smallest enemies sport complex designs, and the bosses are even more impressive. Not that you would ever have a second to admire the backgrounds, but those look great too. It all runs at a very smooth framerate, which is critical for a game of this type. There is a strange bit of slowdown when a defeated boss is exploding, but I think it’s probably intentional.

To tell the truth, I can’t comment on the music because I’ve yet to notice it. The game diverts all of your attention to the visuals, simply by the nature of its gameplay. There is some funny Engrish voice-acting though, mainly in the menus.

Ikaruga’s unusual cabinet design at the arcades has been translated to the television pretty well, and there are several zoom and orientation options for the display. There is even an option to show the game sideways, for those gamers brave enough to turn their televisions sideways and play the game vertically, as it was meant to be played. This is unfortunately not a serious option for most of us, but its inclusion is admirable.

The Dreamcast version of Ikaruga became one of the most successful import titles ever, but those who waited for the GameCube version will be happy to know that it too is very easy to import. All of the menus (except the progressive scan option) are in full English, and aside from the hard-to-read font, you shouldn’t have any trouble setting the game up. There seems to be no story to speak of, and there is little or no screen text once you start playing. Ikaruga is the most import-friendly game I’ve played since Sin & Punishment on the N64, another Treasure game.

Let me make it clear that Ikaruga is not for everyone. It is very much an old-school shooter in the vein of Super R-Type and Gradius, and the level of difficulty is clearly aimed at Treasure’s extremely hardcore fanbase. It’s also a short game, with only five levels and a few modes that seem to offer up only very slight variations on the gameplay. However, games like these are rarely seen these days, so if you think you’ve got the skills and patience for it, Ikaruga is worth a look.