History VideoGame / Ikaruga

* BelatedHappyEnding: To ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' - [[spoiler:whereas that story ends with the revelation that the events of the game are all a GroundhogDayLoop, ''Ikaruga'' ends with the heroes destroying the entity that was causing it]].

* NotActuallyCosmeticAward: Only if you're playing the Xbox 360 port and also have ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' on the same platform - unlocking any achievement in ''Ikaruga'' unlocks its scoring system for use in ''RSG''.

Don't worry, we will understand each other some day.\\

* ChainReactionDestruction: Most of the bosses do this when killed, with parts of them breaking away and blowing up with smaller accompanying shockwaves just before their central part explodes violently.

* ThemeNaming: The levels are named after the stages of enlightenment in Buddhism.

* 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.

* KaizoTrap: When the boss of Chapter 2 dies, the second plate-like object that protects its weak points gets blown off. If your ship is directly below it, you can still die from getting hit by it, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RFxlMnxPkQ&t=08m56s like so]].

* BossWarningSiren: In the same vein as ''Radiant Silvergun'': "'''WARNING:''' The big enemy is approaching at full throttle. According to the data, it is identified as 'Butsutekkai'. ''' NO REFUGE'''"

* BelatedHappyEnding: To ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun''. [[spoiler:Whereas ''RSG'' ends with the revealation that the events of the game are all a GroundhogDayLoop, ''Ikaruga'' ends with the heroes destroying the entity that was causing it.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Shinra and Kagari [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu destroy the Stone-Like]], breaking the cycle from ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'', but [[TheHeroDies they die]] [[HeroicSacrifice in the process]]]].
* BossInMookClothing: Subverted in Chapter 5 with the huge ships that fire massive sprays of bullets... except the bullets are all in ''one color'', allowing you to safely rapidly soak up bullets for a counterattack.

** Contrary to [[UrbanLegendOfZelda popular belief]], that message never changes; "Butsutekkai" is referring to something else and is not the name of a boss. Eboshidori (the chapter 1 boss) gets misnamed frequently.
* BottomlessMagazines: Averted in the console-exclusive Prototype Mode. Firing a shot uses one bullet, and firing your HomingLasers uses 120. [[EmergencyWeapon If you run out of bullets, you'll be downgraded to a short-range attack.]] Bullets can be replenished by absorbing enemy bullets, and you can store up to 999 bullets.

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

* KaizoTrap: When the boss of Stage 2 dies, the second plate-like object that protects its weak points gets blown off. If your ship is directly below it, you can still die from getting hit by it, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RFxlMnxPkQ&t=08m56s like so]].
** If you defeat the final boss but [[spoiler:fail to survive the [[PostFinalBoss Stone-Like]], whose battle takes place ''after'' the final chapter]], you get NoEnding.
** Inverted with the [[spoiler:[[PostFinalBoss Stone-Like]], which is destroyed by the last volleys from your ships after your own self-destruct]].

* LighterAndSofter: The story is somewhat more positive in tone, and ends with [[spoiler:a BittersweetEnding rather than one where [[StableTimeLoop nothing]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog gets fixed]]]]. The game is also [[SequelDifficultyDrop easier]].

* {{Minimalism}}: In contrast to ''Radiant Silvergun''[='=]s complex weapon scheme and weapon levels, ''Ikaruga'' only gives you a basic rapid-fire blaster with constant firepower and a {{homing laser|s}} ChargedAttack.
* MilesToGoBeforeISleep: Kagari, although this is not apparent beyond the backstory. After meeting Shinra, as well as the villagers who gave him the Ikaruga and outfitted her Ginkei with the same ReversePolarity technology that exists on the Ikaruga, she found their idea of "freedom" to be something that could possibly surpass Horai's goal of conquest, and wants to see it for herself before she dies.
* 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, ''Ikaruga''[='=]s scoring 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.

* NotActuallyCosmeticAward: Only if you're playing the Xbox 360 port and also have ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'' on the same platform: Unlocking any achievement in ''Ikaruga'' unlocks its scoring system for use in ''RSG''.

* OneWordTitle

* PowerLimiter: The Ikaruga and Ginkei have these to prevent their ships from blowing up from storing too much excess power. [[spoiler:Turning this off allows the pilot(s) to use the DangerousForbiddenTechnique and destroy the final boss in a HeroicSacrifice.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: The chapter titles — Ideal, Trial, Faith, Reality, and Metempsychosis — represent Man's struggle towards enlightenment, with the aura-enveloped Ikaruga craft symbolising the human soul. Apparently.
* ScoringPoints: The game uses ''RSG''[='=]s chaining system, 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.

* SequelDifficultyDrop: The game, as notorious as it is for difficulty, is still easier than ''Radiant Silvergun''. The game is shorter, your weapons do not require scoring well ([[PacifistRun or even at all]]) to maintain effectiveness throughout the game because ''they don't power up'', and even if you do play for score, you can now change enemy color after each chain, allowing you to play for score and still destroy most of the enemies.

** SpiritualAntithesis: Simultaneously. Silvergun featured a large assort of weapons and power-ups, Ikaruga only has fewer simple weapons. 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, Ikaruga's confined mostly to red/blacks and white/blues and uses much more realistic character designs. Silvergun's story starts comical but swiftly becomes an impossible struggle against an omnipotent godlike entity [[spoiler:which ends with everyone's death and the cycle beginning anew]], Ikaruga's story starts with the sole survivor of a failed resistance movement 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:The game seems to be simply a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Radiant Silvergun'', but then the Stone-Like appears at the end of the final chapter, implying that both games are set in the same continuity.]]

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* DeconReconSwitch: [[spoiler:''Ikaruga'' deconstructs the gameplay and story elements in bleak detail, and reconstructed later on at the same time as {{Minimalism}} kicks in, giving players [[BittersweetEnding an (unusually bittersweet) good ending]] they should deserve.]]

* LighterAndSofter: {{Reconstruct|ion}}ed [[DeconReconSwitch in a way]]. The story is somewhat more positive in tone, and ends with [[spoiler:a BittersweetEnding rather than one where [[StableTimeLoop nothing]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog gets fixed]]]]. The game is also [[SequelDifficultyDrop easier]].

* NotCompletelyUseless: In [[ArrangeMode Prototype Mode]], if you run out of bullets you'll be switched over to [[EmergencyWeapon emergency bullets that have barely any range]]. However, given that the game's scoring system relies heavily on precision shooting, it is very useful for picking off specific enemies without accidentally hitting other ones, and indeed many superplays of Prototype Mode rely on this weapon in places.

* GoodColorsEvilColors: Averted, as the heroes switch between LightIsGood and DarkIsNotEvil, while the villains switch between LightIsNotGood and DarkIsEvil, befitting the game's polarity mechanic.

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 {{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.

* PacifistRun: It is perfectly possible to complete ''Ikaruga'' without ever firing a single shot. Doing so for an entire level earns you the rank of "Dot Eater!"

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 {{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.

* CoresAndTurretsBoss: Stage 4 boss and MiniBoss.

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Click [[DarthWiki/{{Ikaruga}} here]] to switch polarity.
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* BittersweetEnding: Shinra and Kagari [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu destroy the Stone-Like]], breaking the cycle from ''VideoGame/RadiantSilvergun'', but [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies they die]] [[HeroicSacrifice in the process]]]].