Ikaruga

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Treasure

Twenty years ago or so, Ikaruga was one of the most sought after games for folks to import from Japan. There was a few reasons for this. First, you don't really need to know Japanese to succeed in this game. Second, this game is very stunning visually. Third, and most important, it's just simply a very fun vertical-scrolling shooter. The main gameplay mechanic here is that you're able to swap between a light weapon and a dark weapon at will. When firing with the light weapon, you're immune to any light attacks. When firing with the dark weapon, you're immune to any dark attacks. Enemies are also either light or dark. While light enemies aren't immune to light attacks and dark enemies aren't immune to dark attacks, to eliminate your foes in the most efficient way, you'll want to hit the light enemies with dark attacks and dark enemies with light attacks. To survive, you need to strategically swap out your attacks depending on the enemies that you're attacking and the bullets headed your way. The end result is a very solid scrolling shooter, and one that is just as fun (and challenging) to play today as it was back in 2002.

Review added: 06/01/2025