There is a lack of good shooters in the US on the new generation of systems. Ikaruga is probably the only side-scrolling shooter for the GameCube worth mentioning here. But I think that the game is highly over-rated. In the game the strategy is instead of dodging the enemie's fire, you can change your ship color from light or dark to absorb the enemie's shots. Frankly, I do not really enjoy switching back and forth from dark to light from the enemie's fire which is the core strategy throughout. I rather just shoot and blast the enemies and get cool power-ups and explore awesome levels like R-Type Final. In comparison to R-Type Final for the PS2, there is no comparison, as R-Type Final is the king of kings of shooters. Gradius V surprisingly is rated a tenth higher by the reviewers than R-Type Final which goes to show that some people here are clueless. There is absolutely no way that Gradius V is remotely better than R-Type Final in quality or depth. Ikaruga is more like a puzzle shooter where you have to juggle between the dark and light. There are no power-ups except that after you absorb enough of the enemie's same colored energy you get a measely one power-burst shot. This game being the only side scrolling shooter for the GameCube is highly recommended but over-rated.
Ikaruga comes from the same team as the ill-fated Radiant Silvergun on the Saturn, which some have claimed to be “the greatest shooter of all time”. With that kind of heritage, it should be expected to have some impressi... Read Full Review
Chances are, you fall into one of two categories. Either you imported the Dreamcast release of Ikaruga last year and are already hopelessly addicted, or you’ve never heard of it before. For those of you who fit into the ... Read Full Review
