Ikaruga bound for Xbox Live Arcade

47 Comments by Ludwig Kietzmann Feb 14th 2007 9:15AM
Filed under: Arcade, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

CVG has the scoop: Treasure's hypnotic, crushingly difficult and strikingly beautiful shoot-em-up, Ikaruga, is headed for Xbox Live Arcade. An early build of the game was spotted on the debug version of Xbox Live, which is only accessable through an Xbox 360 debug unit. Though the code wasn't functional yet, we imagine that Live co-op would make for an excellent addition to this particular version.

For those who missed out on Ikaruga's previous console ports on the Dreamcast and Gamecube, know that the game is one of the genre's best -- at least if you're willing to accept the irremediable psychological damage caused by the game's never-ending sea of pulsating bullets. Let the torturous wait for further details begin!

Tags: Dreamcast, Ikaruga, MSFT, Radiant Silvergun, RadiantSilvergun, Shmup, Shooters, Treasure, XBLA, Xbox Live, XboxLive

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

Pip: Feb 14th 2007; 9:21AM

I got this for the Gamecube when it came out, and it's both amazing and frustratingly hard. I'll be buying this again if the price isn't too high.

kevinski: Feb 14th 2007; 9:23AM

Are all Xbox Live Arcade games in 720p? Just curious. I already have this on Dreamcast, but I'm planning to get an Xbox 360 pretty soon. The increased resolution would probably be worth the small cost, in my opinion.

nsolo1717: Feb 14th 2007; 9:25AM

this is excellent news.....i had ikaruga on my GC but i lost it so this would most likely be a purchase from me........plus i can't wait to rag on my friends for not switching to the right color over co-op

benjamin: Feb 14th 2007; 9:26AM

Let me be the first to say :head asplodes:

RYAN: Feb 14th 2007; 9:31AM

now i want an xbox :(

this is too expensive to get for my dreamcast..

Striderhayasa: Feb 14th 2007; 9:37AM

Cool, game is hard as hell though....what's up with Radiant Silvergun though? Can I get that? How about Sin and Punishment on VC?

Myke: Feb 14th 2007; 9:37AM

Man, that was a fantastic game, the only shmup that challenges Raiden 2 for sheer enjoyment and time spent beating it.

Andrew Yoon: Feb 14th 2007; 9:38AM

Ikaruga is one of my favorite games of all time--it really is that good. To be able to support Treasure again on the Xbox 360 sounds awesome.

32_Footsteps: Feb 14th 2007; 9:47AM

Is it safe to say that 360 owners' frothing demand for this game increases?

Sanchez: Feb 14th 2007; 9:59AM

Awesome news! Oddly enough I was thinking to myself the other day how great it would be if Ikaruga was on XBLA.

sheppy: Feb 14th 2007; 10:04AM

Good and bad news...

Good news because, hey, it's fucking Ikaruga! Huzzah Huzzah Huzzah!

Bad news because, this officially confirms the project the Ikaruga team was working on for 360 Arcade was a port and not a sequel to either Ikaruga or Radiant Silvergun...

I can just imagine the achievements though.

"Just ******* Beat It!" -200 points

Diskoboy: Feb 14th 2007; 10:12AM

Oh - hell yes!

Lunker: Feb 14th 2007; 10:16AM

Everyone and their mother deserves a chance to play Ikaruga, although I don't know if my mom could handle the bullet-hell madness.

I already have this for GC, but Live Arcade is quickly stacking up to be one of the biggest selling points of a 360, IMO.

Denbowski: Feb 14th 2007; 10:29AM

I always meant to pick this game up for the GCN, but never got around to it. Sooooooo....Woo Hoo!

Hello: Feb 14th 2007; 10:43AM

Is it going to have the pre-stage text like in the DC version? The GC version didn't have it.

Killer: Feb 14th 2007; 11:05AM

I have a feeling it will be the DC verison. It is called Xbox Live ARCADE. That means old games (or new types), Not last gen like the ps2, gc and xbox games. Last, last, last gen. Ps1 games, DC and all the way back to the 80's like paperboy.I don't know about you but, I'm waiting for Tetris Hd. fun times if that comes out. lol

samfish: Feb 14th 2007; 11:08AM

You 360 owners would be completely crazy not to pick this game up. I finally found it on the GC a few months ago and it's as hard to beat as it is to find!

It's completely worth every scream, punch and hurled controller, though.

Hell, if I didn't already own it, this game would actually be the one that would've finally pushed me over the edge and get my to buy a 360. It's THAT good.

Je2037: Feb 14th 2007; 11:08AM

Seriously, these games are perfect when you need something to hold you over for the next biggie.

Pete C: Feb 14th 2007; 11:11AM

I'm pretty sure all XBLA games are upscaled to 720p and 1080i.

Pete C: Feb 14th 2007; 11:16AM

Now then, if they want to really make some noise, release Radiant Silvergun! I would also love to see Guardian Heroes. This first XBLA Treasure release give me hope!!

Xanto: Feb 14th 2007; 11:21AM

oh wooooooooooow, awesome

Supino: Feb 14th 2007; 11:32AM

Now they need to actually RELEASE games!! They must be starting to pile up by now.

GET A GRIP MICROSOFT

Knoxximus: Feb 14th 2007; 11:33AM

One word, a hyphen, and a vowel.

Two syllables.....BANGAI-O!

C'MON TREASURE! The 360 dual analog sticks are SCREAMING for Bangai-O!

Chuma: Feb 14th 2007; 11:33AM

If there is an XboxLive owner in the world who doesnt have this game on Gamecube or Dreamcast, you HAVE to buy this. One of the best shoot'emups ever.

Knoxximus: Feb 14th 2007; 11:33AM

Sorry, 3 syllables....YIKES!!

ZenGaijin: Feb 14th 2007; 11:41AM

It doesn't matter that this game is coming to LIVE arcade because they would rather release a billion retro games that nobody gives a shit about.

Fucking Paperboy......god that game sucks.

Jonah Falcon: Feb 14th 2007; 11:42AM

If there's a verticle shooter on XBLA, though, I still want Xevious. :o

James: Feb 14th 2007; 12:18PM

Great news. I have the game for DC somewhere and it's really fun. I just wish they would stop announcing great games and start releasing them.

polar: Feb 14th 2007; 12:18PM

Now rotate it 90 degrees and make it take advantage of my widescreen TV.

The Wolfkin: Feb 14th 2007; 12:26PM

talk about an insanely hard game. i got it for my cube and I've never made it past level 3 of 5. The funny part is they have all these tutorials and practice runs you can do.. but only on levels you've beat.

here's another achivement for you. bulleteater mode. It's too depressing to think of how far I wouldn't get to even try that.

B33b3s: Feb 14th 2007; 12:27PM

Just last week I was looking up good shootemup games and wishing I had the proper consoles to play them on.
Ikaruga + Castlevania + XBL Arcade = Me not needing to press the eject button on the 360 for a long time

Zen: Feb 14th 2007; 12:31PM

This is fantastic news. The XBLA keeps straddling the fence on whether I want to look at it as a failure or as success. Ridiculously priced retro titles make me bleh ... but then re-releasing rare games like this and Symphony, that is the most noble of actions.

Thomas: Feb 14th 2007; 12:38PM

Only two days *after* I finally decided to pay the grossly overblown price to buy the GCN version through eBay! And now the prices will probably start to fall, so there's no use selling it again. Oh well.

One more reason I'd consider getting an Xbox 360.

comtar: Feb 14th 2007; 1:15PM

...I might just have to buy one of these X-box 360s. I already got it on Gamecube, but hey, I support any company that helped develop Axelay.

Jeff: Feb 14th 2007; 1:39PM

"Now rotate it 90 degrees and make it take advantage of my widescreen TV."

The original version has such a mode.

Remains to be seen if that's retained in the XBLA release. Kinda doubt it.

Honestly, I'm a purist. I doubt I'm ever gonna buy any of these games on any of the new systems. I'd rather own the originals (and in the case of Ikaruga, I own both the DC and GameCube releases). But, I guess it's a good thing for those who otherwise wouldn't have the chance to play them.

Vexorg: Feb 14th 2007; 2:03PM

This ought to give all the pottymouthed 14 year old FPS kiddies something to explain to them just how much they truly suck at video games. I managed to pick up the Dreamcast version before the prices went through the roof, and had the Cube version (but sold it) and haven't ever been able to clear act 3. Hopefully this means more Shmups will make it to XBLA (I'd love to see Raiden Fighters or Radiant Silvergun.)

rhork.: Feb 14th 2007; 2:25PM

a little off topic, but damn it- when's geometry wars getting ported to vista? ... it's seriously the only reason that's got me interested in installing vista right now. ... until then, the ISO sits on my harddrive.

Mike: Feb 14th 2007; 2:38PM

Crap, I just spent $50 for a used Gamecube copy not too long ago.

Mike: Feb 14th 2007; 2:58PM

Well, remember that there's a 10 year wait from when a game gets announced and when it gets released. With 9 of those 10 years being the Microsoft certification process. Truman was President back when Alien Hominid was announced.

shadowfamicom: Feb 14th 2007; 3:33PM

meh. good luck playing the game with the 360 D-pad. im gonna be sticking with my DC version. im up to 8.2 million and i can get to the last level on one credit. ive spent about 65 hours (the game keeps track) playing that game and perfecting my skills....... and I'm still playing it...........

i also have the Ikaruga Appreciate DVD. its dual layered and contains 3 hours of video with run throughs/perfect games.

i dont no how good the 360 port will be. there where some bugs in the GC version.

its gonna totally suck with the 360 d-pad. And don't even think about saying your gonna use the analogue stick......... that would be just stupid

i doubt it will support Tate mode.....

DOCTOR DEEP N U: Feb 14th 2007; 3:48PM

Treasure needs to release their version of yu yu hakusho on xbox live. Since rare cannot remember that they have a gauranteed million seller within Killer instinct someone needs to pick up the fighter slack.

Vidikron: Feb 14th 2007; 5:06PM

Lots of people whine about the Xbox d-pad, but I've never had any issues using it.

silkylove: Feb 14th 2007; 5:49PM

Fuck! I'm a collector. Way to decrease the value of my super rare game treasure:( I actually bought it when it first came out for the GC. Anyway, it’s a great game and for those of you who get it on XBLA, if you aren’t an old school gamer and if your reflexes suck then prepare to be owned.

d-dove: Feb 14th 2007; 7:32PM

Tate Mode.....hahahaha. not. still gonna pick it up tho. excellent news.

What: Feb 14th 2007; 7:38PM

...Wait, "crushingly difficult"? Did we play the same game?

The whole switcheroo logic makes Ikaruga ridiculously easy compared to some other shooters.

Strider_J: Feb 15th 2007; 12:53AM

is this for real??

FINALLY. a decent XBLA title. this is what I consider "arcade"; unlike the other stuff on XBLA's lineup.

I had this game on the Gamecube, but never got the chance to really get into it.

awesome title. XBLA needs more stuff like this. now.. about the release date...

mike k.: Feb 15th 2007; 10:22AM

I never had a GC or DC. But I always have loved Shooters like this, and have been pining for a game system that I own to have a port of this series of games. Yay for XBLA getting some really great ports.