Moot_Geeza wrote:

Sorry to bring it back to mortalmans chat, but what's Ikaruga like for an as-many-C's-C-as-you-like? I had it on Gamecube but I only played it a couple of times, had no patience for games at that a point. Been tempted with the Switch version a couple of times as I've got a Flipgrip.

You need to play for a while to unlock unlimited continues IIRC. After that you can just brute force through it. Keep dying, keep going.

But I wouldn't have thought there's much point. I was crap and couldn't do more than the first couple of levels on a credit even after plenty of practice. But you have to at least have a go at what's it's trying to get you to do to get much out of it.

Seems I'm wrong thinking survival might be easier then.  Not surprised. I remember the game making my head hurt dealing with the polarity.

When I had it on GC I didn't really know much about the chaining, certainly didn't try to chain much (this was pre youtube); I cleared it I think but using continues and such, it's certainly do-able, maybe even fairly easy outside of the level 3 boss and the level 4 wheel-o-death.

But, the game actually gets easier, in a way, the more you chain; chaining give you points, and points give you lives, so the better you get, the more slack you get in terms of lives. You also get different patterns of enemies depending on how fast you clear some bits. It's fantastic in that sense, the more you play and better you get, the more the game gives you to play with.

When I was going hard on it, I was living with a mate who also got really into it, and we were both spurring each other on (something I really miss about not living with someone). He wasn't 7337 at all, decidedly average in fact (apologies Stu if you're reading this), but Ikaruga is a puzzle game as much as a shooter (it's certainly not a bullet hell game), and he knew how to handle each 'puzzle' segment; he could get to level 4 on 1 credit, which is no mean feat.

Another great thing about Ikaruga is that you can 'nope out' of the puzzle part at any point, blast until you're safe and comfy, then start chaining again. Case in point, my 1cc run that I mentioned above - I didn't really try to chain level 4 at all, just wanted to survive it, but then you can start chaining again. It's genuinely one of the best games ever and I need to go amend my GOT90s list.

In short, you can totally play it just blasting, and see the end credits, but trying to chain even parts of levels will reap rewards, be immensely satisfying, and help you progress further (not just score higher).

Ah fuck you're right, it doesn't make the 90s; I've had a few games I've added then had to remove for that reason :picardfacepalm:

I found Gradius V much harder m8.

If you ever come round my yard we can boot up Ikaruga for an hour or so for the shits etc. Genuinely, knowing how you're meant to 'solve' each bit makes it much more fun, and you'd be surprised what you can achieve.

Ikaruga is objectively the best shmup. Maybe. But Mushi Futari is my personal fave.

hylian_elf wrote:

Sealed copy of Gradius V would be worth a few Bob, I reckon.

Sold it ages ago, probably for £10ish, can't remember. If so I made a penny on it.

Sounds like a plan Nick, you'll have to show me Beatmania at some point too, never seen it.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

hylian_elf wrote:

Sealed copy of Gradius V would be worth a few Bob, I reckon.

Sold it ages ago, probably for £10ish, can't remember. If so I made a penny on it.

Sounds like a plan Nick, you'll have to show me Beatmania at some point too, never seen it.

Beatmania's my dirty secret mate, no one is interested and it's an unwelcoming (yet seductive) mistress.

Jesus - just gave Ikaruga a try there. I had forgot about the suicide bullets which makes switching polarity pretty hazardous. Playing it on hard would be nightmarish as it ups the difficulty of the suicide bullets.

Trial mode is a good way of easing in though.

I don't think Gradius V is that expensive still - but yeah - there's a game that is soul destroyingly difficult as well.

My favourite is still Futari - but I think original DoDonPachi is the best thing ever built - esp. considering when it was made. Just such a clever game that can be played on multi-levels - survival - then chaining - then max bomb bonus - then bee hunting. Layer upon layer - then the 2nd loop for savants.

Milking

What is considered the best version of Ikaruga then? The DC original is the most accurate I'm guessing.

I think that was GC, which is one reason I preferred that version, but more likely my preference would have been because stick was better on the GC and I think it had a progressive scan mode for less jaggies

For comparison here's my lvl3 from my run, complete with chickening out of the bonus balls and last second death on the boss

https://youtu.be/jzyLePm2ocM

Is there a more satisfying thing in games than one-shotting those clusters of enemies in the opening section tho? I don't think so. My god Ikaruga level 3 is a work of art, absolutely incredible.

I had both but played GC more, which was strange as at the time I had PS3 as main console with GC and DC both plugged into telly, but DC got a lot more play than GC

hylian_elf wrote:

Sealed copy of Gradius V would be worth a few Bob, I reckon.

Have one.