Ikaruga: a vertical shooter
Noirit Mustapha
Generally when one thinks of a great story in video games, the first genres to come to mind would be adventure, role playing games, and sometimes even the episodic narrative format that Telltale Games have made famous recently. There are certain genres where people would have trouble imagining a plot for, as they were focused more on gameplay and bettering ones own skills than engaging them in an interesting story. Over a decade ago however, one daring man led a game studio to challenge the conventions and make a game in such a genre that could do both. That game is 2001s Ikaruga.
Ikaruga is a vertical shooter, a genre that would typically be found in arcades. However, it remains the most innovative game of its genre, and still one of the most overall even now. In addition to having to dodge more bullets than found in most games of this genre, the titular ship can also change its polarity with the press of a button. This would switch the colour of the shield and bullets of the ship between black and white, letting it absorb enemy bullets of the same colour while dealing greater damage to enemies of the opposite colour. Such a crazy, yet creative twist would make sure people remembered this game for long times to come.
The plot is rather minimal, with the player being the pilot of the Ikaruga battling as a one man rebellion against the powers that threaten the land. There are no cutscenes or dialogue either, as the game instead opts to show some quotes before a stage, meant to inspire the player. Despite that, they certainly do inspire with some immensely impactful quotes about believing in ones ideals and never stopping to achieve them. This is coupled with hands down one of the greatest soundtracks ever to grace players ears ever. Ikaruga stands as a testament of how it is truly the simplest of games that can have the greatest of impacts.
