History VideoGame / Ikaruga

** ''Radiant Silvergun'' has a bright, colorful environments with an {{anime}} artstyle, and an engrossing plot throughout the game (in the Saturn/Story Modes of its home ports at least), while ''Ikaruga''[='=]s environments are confined mostly to red/blacks and white/blues, uses realistic character designs, and the story beats are left to the manual and (in the later home ports) in-game documentation. The story of ''Radiant Silvergun'' starts off comical, but swiftly becomes an impossible struggle against an omnipotent god-like entity [[spoiler:which ends with a EternalRecurrence]]; ''Ikaruga'' begins with the SoleSurvivor of a failed LaResistance charging off to face an unstoppable army's entire force ''alone'' [[spoiler:and ''winning'', even managing to destroy the entity from ''Radiant Silvergun'' in a DyingMomentOfAwesome]].

* NintendoHard: Good ''Lord'', though this is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the console versions give out more credits as you log in more game time, and that even on the harder difficulties, it is relatively tame when compared to its predecessor, ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun''. Good luck unlocking most of the secret content, though, which usually requires 1-credit clears of different game modes.

Released as an arcade game (using the Sega NAOMI platform) and on the [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] in Japan in 2001, it was later ported to the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] around the world in 2003. In 2008, it was ported to UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} via UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade. In 2013, a port of the game was released for {{UsefulNotes/Android|Games}} smartphones. In the same year, an arcade rerelease of the game was released on Creator/{{Taito}}'s [=NESiCAxLive=] digital distribution platform. A Windows PC port based on the Xbox 360 version of ''Ikaruga'' was [[http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=183195387 greenlit]] for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, and consequently released on February 18, 2014. A version for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch was released on May 29, 2018, followed by a UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 port on June 29 of the same year.

* NecessaryDrawback: ''Ikaruga'' is one of the few shmups where, in a two-player game, the player ships cannot overlap each other. Why? Because if this was possible, one player could stay in white polarity and the other in black, then stay close together so that their shields will intercept enemy attacks before they can reach either ship's hitboxes, which are smaller than that of their shields. At that point the only hazards would be damage from [[CollisionDamage colliding with enemies]] and [[DeadlyWalls walls]].

* NecessaryDrawback: ''Ikaruga'' is one of the few shmups where, in a two-player game, the player ships cannot overlap each other. Why? Because if this was possible, one player could stay in white polarity and the other in black, then stay close together so that their shields will intercept enemy attacks before they can reach either ship's hitboxes, which are smaller than that of their shields. At that point the only hazards would be damage from {{collision|Damage}}s and [[DeadlyWalls wall contact]].

* NecessaryDrawback: ''Ikaruga'' is one of the few shmups where, in a two-player game, the player ships cannot overlap each other. Why? Because if this was possible, one player could stay in white polarity and the other in black, then stay close together so that their shields will intercept enemy attacks before they can reach either ship's hitboxes, which are smaller than that of their shields. At that point the only hazards would be damage from {{collision|damage}}s and [[DeadlyWalls wall contact]].

* NecessaryDrawback: ''Ikaruga'' is one of the few shmups where, in a two-player game, the player ships cannot overlap each other. Why? Because if this was possible, one player could stay in white polarity and the other in black, then stay close together so that their shields will intercept enemy attacks before they can reach either ship's hitboxes. At that point the only hazards would be damage from {{collision|damage}}s and [[DeadlyWalls wall contact]].

* MisbegottenMultiplayerMode: 2-player mode is overall a worse experience than 1-player. First, players don't overlap each other's ships, they will push one another, potentially into an object and killing each other. Second, the game's scoring system heavily emphasizes precision shooting, and chains are separated by player, meaning that both players will have a very difficult time trying to score well due to accidentally [[{{Griefer}} or otherwise]] shooting each other's targets. The only real reason it exists is to allow the second player slot to be filled on an arcade cabinet (and thus allow the operator to make more money).

** ''Radiant Silvergun'' featured a large assortment of weapons that can be leveled up through scoring, while ''Ikaruga'' has two and eschews the leveling system altogether.

** ''Radiant Silvergun'' was developed using an in-house engine that features a mixture of 2D sprites with occasional use of 3D models, whereas ''Ikaruga'' uses a fully 3D game that was co-developed by Creator/GrevLtd.
** ''Radiant Silvergun'' is displayed on a TATE (horizontal) screen, whereas ''Ikaruga'' is diplayed on a YOKO (vertical) screen.

* ScoringPoints: The game uses the chaining system from ''Radiant Silvergun'', but with a few twists to make it more beginner-friendly - after every three enemies, you are allowed to change enemy color, and the chain bonus maxes out sooner at 25,600 points for your 9th chain and above, meaning screwing up once won't completely wreck your score. Additionally, since scoring is not tied to your ship's firepower, it is possible to complete the game in a reasonable timeframe without any regard to scoring.

* SpiritualAntithesis: ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' featured a large assortment of weapons and power-ups, while ''Ikaruga'' has two. ''Silvergun'' '''requires''' learning how to score in order to keep weapons powered up, but ''Ikaruga'' can be reliably completed without learning how to score and, in fact, recognizes {{Pacifist Run}}s. ''Silvergun'' has a bright, colorful environment and {{Anime}}-esque cutscenes, but ''Ikaruga'' is confined mostly to red/blacks and white/blues and uses much more realistic character designs. The story of ''Silvergun'' starts off comical, but swiftly becomes an impossible struggle against an omnipotent god-like entity [[spoiler:which ends with a EternalRecurrence]]; ''Ikaruga'' begins with the SoleSurvivor of a failed LaResistance charging off to face an unstoppable army's entire force ''alone'' [[spoiler:and ''winning'', even managing to destroy the entity from ''Silvergun'' in a DyingMomentOfAwesome]].

''Ikaruga'' is a modernized take on the "BulletHell" school of [[ShootEmUp Shoot 'em Ups]], developed by Creator/{{Treasure}}. It's widely regarded as one of the best examples of the genre, and a follow-up to ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun''.

Released as an arcade game (using the Sega NAOMI platform) and on the [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] in Japan in 2001, it was later ported to the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] around the world in 2003. In 2008, it was ported to UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} via UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade. In 2013, a port of the game was released for {{UsefulNotes/Android|Games}} smartphones. A Windows PC port based on the Xbox 360 version of ''Ikaruga'' was [[http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=183195387 greenlit]] for UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, and consequently released on February 18, 2014. A version for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch was released on May 29, 2018, followed by a UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 port on June 29 of the same year.

* AGodAmI: Horai Tenro and her followers, once they found the [[ArtifactOfDoom Power of the Gods]] and started calling themselves the Divine Ones.* GoodColorsEvilColors: Averted, as the heroes switch between LightIsGood and DarkIsNotEvil, while the villains switch between LightIsNotGood and DarkIsEvil (in fact, the bosses use ''both tropes'' simultaneously), befitting the game's polarity mechanic.

That's all there is to the game: no other gimmicks, no other features. Just five levels of careful design, switching polarity, and more bullets than you can shake a stick at. ''Ikaruga'' is a work of art that way: it takes a simple idea and plays that idea to its most logical extreme. All five levels are ThatOneLevel in one way or another, but there is something to be said for elegance.

* SpiritualAntithesis: ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' featured a large assortment of weapons and power-ups, while ''Ikaruga'' has two. ''Silvergun'' '''requires''' learning how to score in order to keep weapons powered up, but ''Ikaruga'' can be reliably completed without learning how to score and, in fact, recognizes {{Pacifist Run}}s. ''Silvergun'' has a bright, colorful environment and {{Anime}}-esque cutscenes, but ''Ikaruga'' is confined mostly to red/blacks and white/blues and uses much more realistic character designs. The story of ''Silvergun'' starts off comical, but swiftly becomes an impossible struggle against an omnipotent god-like entity [[spoiler:which ends with a KillEmAll and EternalRecurrence]]; ''Ikaruga'' begins with the SoleSurvivor of a failed LaResistance charging off to face an unstoppable army's entire force ''alone'' [[spoiler:and ''winning'', even managing to destroy the entity from ''Silvergun'' in a DyingMomentOfAwesome]].

** The [[http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Ikaruga/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258410878 XBLA version]] is no slouch either; for a game enhanced for 720p, it squeezes by at fifty megabtyes, which is saying more than other shooters on the service enhanced for high-definition.

* AGodAmI: Horai Tenro and her followers, once they found the [[ArtifactOfDoom Power of the Gods]] and started calling themselves the Divine Ones.

* GoodColorsEvilColors: Averted, as the heroes switch between LightIsGood and DarkIsNotEvil, while the villains switch between LightIsNotGood and DarkIsEvil (in fact, the bosses use ''both tropes'' simultaneously), befitting the game's polarity mechanic.

* HeelFaceTurn: Shinra is attacked by Kagari in the prologue. After he defeats her ''and'' stops her from committing suicide, [[DefeatMeansFriendship she decides to help him out instead]].

* MeaningfulName: Ikaruga is the name of the Japanese Grosbeak (and a village where said birds are found). All the mooks, the bosses, and the Ginkei (Player 2 ship) are also named after a bird in Japanese. The Sword of Acala and [[spoiler:the Stone-Like]] are references to Vajrayana Buddism.

* OneHitPointWonder: The Ikaruga and Ginkei can absorb unlimited hits from shots of the same color as their current polarity. Take one hit from a shot of the opposite color, however, and...'''''[[StuffBlowingUp boum]]'''''.

* SeeminglyHopelessBossFight: After defeating Tageri, [[spoiler:the Stone-Like emerges from the remains]] and attacks you with several different patterns of bullets for 60 seconds. You can't even shoot, much less damage it. After you dodge and absorb the BulletHell, your ship [[spoiler:performs a HeroicSacrifice BeamSpam with the energy charged up during that time. Shinra [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends to a higher plane of existence]] according to the storyline in the Japanese version]].

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun''. Tageri's very definitely final form, and [[AllThereInTheManual what happened to those who came across it]], is extremely similar to what happened to the researchers in ''Silvergun''.
** SpiritualAntithesis: Simultaneously, ''Silvergun'' featured a large assortment of weapons and power-ups, while ''Ikaruga'' has two. ''Silvergun'' '''requires''' learning how to score in order to keep weapons powered up, but ''Ikaruga'' can be reliably completed without learning how to score and, in fact, recognizes {{Pacifist Run}}s. ''Silvergun'' has a bright, colorful environment and {{Anime}}-esque cutscenes, but ''Ikaruga'' is confined mostly to red/blacks and white/blues and uses much more realistic character designs. The story of ''Silvergun'' starts off comical, but swiftly becomes an impossible struggle against an omnipotent god-like entity [[spoiler:which ends with a KillEmAll and EternalRecurrence]]; ''Ikaruga'' begins with the SoleSurvivor of a failed LaResistance charging off to face an unstoppable army's entire force ''alone'' [[spoiler:and ''winning'', even managing to destroy the entity from ''Silvergun'' in a DyingMomentOfAwesome]].
* StealthSequel: [[spoiler:While the game was simply meant to be a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Radiant Silvergun'', the appearance of the Stone-Like as the PostFinalBoss implies that both games are set in the same {{Continuity}}, albeit ''Ikaruga'' occurs in the final cycle of the EternalRecurrence set-up from ''Silvergun'']].