Perfection is what I'll call this side -scrolling shoot 'em up, the game was so awe inspiring ten years ago and hasn't lost a once of playability today!

An amazing action game that just might be the greatest shooter of all time. It's also hard as utter s***.

I’ve wanted Ikaruga ever since I saw X-Play review the Game Cube version, and I’m really glad Xbox Live Arcade picked it up. But when hard core gamers talk about how difficult a game is, I know that a more casual gamer such as I won’t have much of a chance. If it weren’t so difficult, I would probably give this game a perfect 10, because it really is a lot of fun, and the changing polarities is a nice, creative twist. But setting the difficulty to Easy honestly doesn’t make it any easier than Normal, so I just use the default Normal. You can set the game to give you five lives instead of three, but doing so doesn’t extend my play time by all that much, and it prevents my score from being recorded to the leaderboard, so I just use the default three. But even setting the game to five lives, it’s too hard for someone like me, and it’s hard to become proficient when the game ends so quickly. I am getting better, though. I’m able to survive over 3 minutes now, LOL, which is certainly an improvement over the 30 seconds I lasted when I first started playing it. That might be why I’m not frustrated with it yet, because I am showing improvement. One feature of Ikaruga I like is that you can record your games and replay them, apparently so you can go back later and see what you did wrong and try to figure out what you should have done instead. It has helped me figure out how to survive situations that I thought were impossible, so it’s well worth using. You can do a limited number of Continues so after you lose your last life you can restart the game where you left off instead of starting over from the beginning, but not only does that prevent you from making the leaderboard, but it also prevents you from recording the game for replay. I am able to make it to the beginning of the second level before the Continues run out, so I know a little of what I’m going to face in the future, and it looks pretty hard. I doubt I’ll ever complete this game, but I also think that every time I take a break from it, I’ll keep coming back to it over and over. Despite the difficulty it is fun, and I hope it doesn’t scare casual gamers away because it’s certainly worth getting.… Expand

Amazing game, the difficulty (even on the lowest setting, with the most lives/continues) is the key element that just makes me keep coming back to play this visually stunning, devil of a game. Played it back on the gamecube and rebought it on live, I would thoroughly recommend it to any gamer with the above average caliber of skill. Not quite 10, wish it was longer and got harder!

A true masterpiece! I can't remember any other vertical shooter that have been ported to so many systems (Arcade, Dreamcast, Gamecube, Xbox 360) and really deserved having been ported like Ikaruga. IMO this is a game wich people will still remember in 2018 (so will I)! I'm addicted to it since it came out for the GC in 2003. It's short but intense and genius. I mean I'M playing it every once in a while since 5 years now and every time I start playing it I just think: great! Even if you already have a Dreamcast or GC port: Download! (I think it isn't that hard to play through but to get a decent score -watch the replays of the top players- is very hard).… Expand

This game is to 2d shooters what Shadow of the Colossus was to the ps2. Unbelievable beautiful, brilliantly clever and with controls to match. However its difficulty is mindblowing and if not for that it would have been a perfect ten. This game is worth the money in the Live-arcade just to look at, let alone to play.

Not since Einhander have I played such a compellingly frustrating shooter of this quality. Not for the easily flustered.

best thing to happen to the xbox live arcade. the game is absolutely beautiful, the game is incredibly challenging, the concept is simple yet incredibly deep and complex. It's strange this game flew right under my radar 7 years ago considering I'm sort of a buff when it comes 2 the old-school shooter and this one is the best one ever made.

One of those rare, special games that's exhilarating when you succeed, and fills you with incredible self-doubt when you lose. And lose you will. A lot. If you're not good at shooters, do yourself a favor and don't even bother with Ikaruga, because you'll never see and play the best that it has to offer. If you're an above-average gamer, though, the highs will carry you through the lows just enough to make it essential, as the graphics, sound, and compellingly brazen approach of this title demand attention and respect.… Expand