Ikaruga get!

[Kumebahn]

*plays zelda item get jingle*
now Im off to go turn my tv on its side

[I'm Alec]

right on, i just got mine in about a week ago or so. just waiting on my jp dreamcast console. used to have this back in the day, I really enjoyed it back then.

[MX7]

Nice one. You'll either love it or hate it.

[Kaede]

My advice to anyone starting out at this game for the first time is this:

Don't watch any videos on the 'net. This game has a huge puzzle element and half the fun in the game comes from working out how to chain sections by yourself.

[crithit5000]

Nah, the best way to approach Ikaruga is to play it a few times and encounter some of the more difficult sections (I suggest Chapter 2-1 and the swarm) it hands you. At this point you exclaim, "No way, that's utterly unchainable". Then you go watch some expert videos and say, "NUH-UH that looks somewhat possible." Then you try to emulate what you just watched, and fail spectacularly at it. And I mean fucking spectacularly. Then you cobble some lame strategy that includes lots of broken chains and/or lots of missed chains. It's fun, give it a try!

[spadgy]

My advice to anyone starting out at this game for the first time is this:

Don't watch any videos on the 'net. This game has a huge puzzle element and half the fun in the game comes from working out how to chain sections by yourself.

I agree completely. I got years out of it on the GC, long before I knew about Youtube and it's forefathers...

[MR_Soren]

Nah, the best way to approach Ikaruga is to play it a few times and encounter some of the more difficult sections (I suggest Chapter 2-1 and the swarm) it hands you. At this point you exclaim, "No way, that's utterly unchainable". Then you go watch some expert videos and say, "NUH-UH that looks somewhat possible." Then you try to emulate what you just watched, and fail spectacularly at it. And I mean fucking spectacularly. Then you cobble some lame strategy that includes lots of broken chains and/or lots of missed chains. It's fun, give it a try!

That is a very good description of 2-1 and closely matches my experience.

Very good game though. I just introduced a buddy of mine to Ikaruga and gave him a copy after he expressed interest in it.

[boagman]

Now, see, I love Ikaruga, but even after having watched the videos, it really doesn't matter: there's no way I could ever *hope* to be good enough to chain all the way through the game, much less past Stage 2 or so. It's already impossible for me to simply stay a-stinking-live during the absolute mind-bogglingness of Stage 4. With the reversed spiraling of the different colors of shots, coupled with the enemies that come onstage *and* the natural barriers, *all* of which Insta-Kill me, I'm happy just to be able to plow through to the end.

How people can live through that stuff, much less think about *chaining* it, is beyond me.

[kengou]

Now, see, I love Ikaruga, but even after having watched the videos, it really doesn't matter: there's no way I could ever *hope* to be good enough to chain all the way through the game, much less past Stage 2 or so. It's already impossible for me to simply stay a-stinking-live during the absolute mind-bogglingness of Stage 4. With the reversed spiraling of the different colors of shots, coupled with the enemies that come onstage *and* the natural barriers, *all* of which Insta-Kill me, I'm happy just to be able to plow through to the end.

How people can live through that stuff, much less think about *chaining* it, is beyond me.

Practice, plain and simple. I 1CC'd easy mode (with 5 stock and quickest extend) after about 25 cumulative hours of play. Just play through the game again and again. Chaining helps net you extends, so try to work out the chains as much as possible. It's also important not to break your chain. If you miss some enemies in order to not break your chain, that's fine, because a max chain (8th chain and beyond) is worth a LOT more than a single one.

Chapter 4 still gives me problems, as well as some parts in 3 that I die stupidly on. 2, however, was a major breakthrough for me. I played 2-1 and worked out a way to survive it, but I couldn't conceive how anyone could chain it. I watched a video, and practiced that section over and over (practice mode is good for that). Now I can net a 38 chain just about every time on 2-1. It's possible to get more than that, but I don't know that method yet. The survival in the game comes with practice. The chaining is more like a puzzle to figure out the correct path through the game, and that's what I love about it. It's probably best to try to work it out yourself.

[DirtyMonk]

I blame Ikaruga for putting me on that path to becoming an anal scorer, but what crithit5000 wrote accurately reflects the kind of fun I had with it.

For me, the beauty of the game became apparent once I was able to chain entire sections properly, even when I messed up a section, I would just continue on and try to pick up that chain again based on what I knew. That was a lot of fun. But it took a lot of practice in conquest mode (GC version) and studying replays before I got to that point.

[Pirate1019]

I blame Ikaruga for putting me on that path to becoming an anal scorer

Oh fuck yes.

Since it has no "bombs" in the traditional sense, it also ruined my ability to use the bomb button in other games. "I died with three bombs in stock." is my catchphrase.

Still a great game though. Love it to death even though I never play it anymore.

[Sonic R]

Move thread to off topic…shmups chat is for shooting games not puzzle games

I'm just telling jokes…enjoy your new game

[Kiken]

Now, see, I love Ikaruga, but even after having watched the videos, it really doesn't matter: there's no way I could ever *hope* to be good enough to chain all the way through the game, much less past Stage 2 or so. It's already impossible for me to simply stay a-stinking-live during the absolute mind-bogglingness of Stage 4. With the reversed spiraling of the different colors of shots, coupled with the enemies that come onstage *and* the natural barriers, *all* of which Insta-Kill me, I'm happy just to be able to plow through to the end.

How people can live through that stuff, much less think about *chaining* it, is beyond me.

In stage 4, the bullet spread patterns are fixed (they don't change from game to game). Same actually applies to stage 2.

Learning to chain well through these levels will help develop a reliable path through the various bullet formations. The level designs were built around chaining, so if you focus on methodic chaining the rest of the stage will simply fall into place.

[boagman]

In stage 4, the bullet spread patterns are fixed (they don't change from game to game). Same actually applies to stage 2.

Learning to chain well through these levels will help develop a reliable path through the various bullet formations. The level designs were built around chaining, so if you focus on methodic chaining the rest of the stage will simply fall into place.

Yes, I'm sure that's true. If I could stinking *survive* long enough to get through them with any efficiency, I could think of chaining. But I can't. Stage 4 = death for me.

[crithit5000]

I'm assuming everyone's talking about Chapter 4-2's "merry-go-round", which is probably the most distracting part of the game. It's way too easy to zone out here if you're focusing on chaining and screw up badly. Someone was nice enough to put together a decent survival video on YouTube which might come in handy for those who just want to survive that section.

[boagman]

I'm assuming everyone's talking about Chapter 4-2's "merry-go-round", which is probably the most distracting part of the game. It's way too easy to zone out here if you're focusing on chaining and screw up badly. Someone was nice enough to put together a decent survival video on YouTube which might come in handy for those who just want to survive that section.

While I appreciate the video you provided, you're incorrect about the portion I'm referring to. It's the very start of the stage that vexes me the most.

[crithit5000]

Really? It never occured to me that 4-1 could be a stopping point for someone, as it's actually pretty straightfoward compared to the rest of that chapter, or even the entirety of Chapter 3. But once you do get 4-1 down, you'll be able to do it in your sleep.

[boagman]

Really? It never occured to me that 4-1 could be a stopping point for someone, as it's actually pretty straightfoward compared to the rest of that chapter, or even the entirety of Chapter 3. But once you do get 4-1 down, you'll be able to do it in your sleep.

Yeah, I think it's probably a sensory overload or something. Just too much to keep up with. One color of shot continuously spiraling in one direction, the other color of shot continuously spiraling in the opposite direction, along with moving walls, an incredibly small amount of space, *and* enemies that take up a good bit of that space coming from different directions.

Don't get me wrong: it's an *inspired* level design...I just can't for the life of me (HA!) negotiate it with any skill. I actually find the boss of the level to be far more forgiving. Heck, I find *all* the bosses in that game to be more forgiving than that part of the game.

[Regulus]

Urgh, it does the same thing to me. The rest of the stage is much more manageable, but that part... sensory overload is almost definitely the culprit.

[tassian]

One more advice maybe: it's perfectly ok to train Ikaruga either by watching videos or by solving it by yourself -- but do yourself a favour and don't spend too long practicing only a single stage (like stage 1 for example). At some point you might get pretty fed up with that stage -- enough to spoil the game for months. It happened to me. Whenever you feel frustrated with a stage, give the other stages a go. It relaxes you considerably. And a final advice: I wish I hadn't started chaining/scoring so early. Maybe you should try to 1CC it first without paying too much attention to scoring. That way you'll unlock all practice stages (at least on DC). When you start chaining, the game gets exponentially harder IMHO.

[spadgy]

One more advice maybe: it's perfectly ok to train Ikaruga either by watching videos or by solving it by yourself -- but do yourself a favour and don't spend too long practicing only a single stage (like stage 1 for example). At some point you might get pretty fed up with that stage -- enough to spoil the game for months. It happened to me. Whenever you feel frustrated with a stage, give the other stages a go. It relaxes you considerably. And a final advice: I wish I hadn't started chaining/scoring so early. Maybe you should try to 1CC it first without paying too much attention to scoring. That way you'll unlock all practice stages (at least on DC). When you start chaining, the game gets exponentially harder IMHO.

I agree with this, and very rarely do practice stage runs in any shooter. Maybe I should start to try, but I find tackling the whole game far more productive (If playing games can ever be productive!)

[tassian]

I think that Ikaruga is one of those games that you can only master by practicing it on a "per stage" basis because some sections are so ridiculously hard to master (as crithit5000 pointed out) that they can ruin an otherwise good run. And that can become increasingly frustrating. I can hardly imagine that it would be motivating to try to play it from start to end without practicing particular parts to smooth out the run.

[spadgy]

I think in most cases I think you'd be right, but for some reason me and a good friend played one player together taking turns on a life for my entire time with the game on the month or two of GC release, and we got damn close to a 1CC.

I've never 'mastered' it though, so this weekend I might even try some stage practicing. It would be nice to revisit it now I have a permanent tate set-up. Feels like years since I played it though!

[Frederik]

This was one of the first shmups I ever played, and looking back at it it´s weird how different is looks from almost every other shmup out there. (In a good way, that is.)

[crithit5000]

One more advice maybe: it's perfectly ok to train Ikaruga either by watching videos or by solving it by yourself -- but do yourself a favour and don't spend too long practicing only a single stage (like stage 1 for example).

I agree with this statement a lot.

I think it's best to keep in mind what you can do in the game currently, and then set yourself some achievable goals. Something like, "Well, I can get 60 chains on Chapter 1 up until the zig-zag part of 1-4, then I break the chain and get maybe 20 chains after that part". So you start practicing the zig-zags, and eventually get it down. Then you try to pull it off in a full Chapter 1 practice run, and then in an actual game. I think after that, it's a good time to start working on another chapter or even another game.

Yeah, Ikaruga definitely isn't instant gratification, and the amount of time and practice it takes to get even decent at it is somewhat obscene (I believe my GC version of Ikaruga's timer has me at a little over 200 hours, and I still completely suck at it). Someone posted this comment on one of my Ikaruga videos at YouTube:

i think no game makes you feel more accomplished than ikaruga in the minimal improvement department.

And I echo that statement x100. I mean, even though I sort of hate the game in a way one could only hate a game he's played for roughly eight entire days of his/her life, the feeling of gratification that you finally do get when you achieve something that, maybe a month ago, you just thought was impossible to do is the most fantastic fucking feeling. Even if it's something as simple as fully chaining Chapter 1-1 and eating every possible bullet so that you hit that magic number of 418220...It just feels like everything, for once, is right in the world. I don't feel that with too many other games, and that's not just including shooters, either.

God, this all sounds too New Games Journalism-ish. I'll conclude this post by saying try not to give into the temptation to reset at every little mistake you do. I'm still not sure if it's a bad habit, but it definitely feels like it is. I'm sure there's a thread on the subject somewhere...

[kengou]

One more advice maybe: it's perfectly ok to train Ikaruga either by watching videos or by solving it by yourself -- but do yourself a favour and don't spend too long practicing only a single stage (like stage 1 for example). At some point you might get pretty fed up with that stage -- enough to spoil the game for months. It happened to me. Whenever you feel frustrated with a stage, give the other stages a go. It relaxes you considerably. And a final advice: I wish I hadn't started chaining/scoring so early. Maybe you should try to 1CC it first without paying too much attention to scoring. That way you'll unlock all practice stages (at least on DC). When you start chaining, the game gets exponentially harder IMHO.

I have to disagree with what you say about scoring. First off, playing Ikaruga without even trying to chain is really missing out on the fundamental gameplay experience that makes it so fun. The game is designed completely around chaining the stages. Playing it for survival is not nearly as fun. I'm also not sure it's easier, necessarily. The extends that you get from scoring is really helpful in 1CC'ing the game, at least for me.

[boagman]

Playing it for survival is not nearly as fun. I'm also not sure it's easier, necessarily. The extends that you get from scoring is really helpful in 1CC'ing the game, at least for me.

You must survive *first*, and then think about chaining. You're putting the cart before the horse, sir.

[tassian]

You must survive *first*, and then think about chaining. You're putting the cart before the horse, sir.

Exactly. Survive it, get to like and appreciate the wonderful music, level design etc. and then get to know the divinity of this game -- enter chaining and scoring!

[spadgy]

You must survive *first*, and then think about chaining. You're putting the cart before the horse, sir.

Exactly. Survive it, get to like and appreciate the wonderful music, level design etc. and then get to know the divinity of this game -- enter chaining and scoring!

Exactly again! Enjoy the game, play it through a whole load, gawp at the bullet patterns and clever ideas, and then dive into the deeper level of chaining.

Fun first; then obsession!

[Kumebahn]

This is possibly the best shmup I have played to date