ign.com. Maybe the closest thing we'll ever get to Ikaruga 2.
It's taken over eight years for it to happen, but somebody finally wised up and decided to bring Nintendo fans a successor to the sensational Ikaruga. GameCube owners remember that game well, as it was the boldest, most challenging, most innovative shooter ever released for the console – and served, for a time, as a Nintendo exclusive that loyal Big N followers could point to with pride.
IGN even offered the game its infamous box quote for its 2003 release – "Our frothing demand for this game increases." A brilliant bit of writing, no question.
IGN even offered the game its infamous box quote for its 2003 release – "Our frothing demand for this game increases." A brilliant bit of writing, no question.
It was one core mechanic that made Ikaruga so memorable, and that same core mechanic is copied now by Kyotokei – on-the-fly polarity switching. You control a character who can switch colors at will, from black to white and white to black, back and forth as many times as you like. When you're black, you can absorb black bullets from foes with no damage – but one touch of something white will kill you. When you're white, it's the reverse – white bullets are no worry, but black attacks will knock you out of the sky.
Kyotokei starts off slowly, allowing you to get the hang of the mechanic through its first few minutes. But then, quickly, all bullet hell breaks loose. The screen fills with shots of both shades, interwoven and mixed together in increasing complex patterns – navigating through these screen-covering sheets of imminent death tasks both your reflexes and your brain, as you have to both dodge the bullets and simultaneously pay attention to what color you're supposed to be dodging.
Kyotokei starts off slowly, allowing you to get the hang of the mechanic through its first few minutes. But then, quickly, all bullet hell breaks loose. The screen fills with shots of both shades, interwoven and mixed together in increasing complex patterns – navigating through these screen-covering sheets of imminent death tasks both your reflexes and your brain, as you have to both dodge the bullets and simultaneously pay attention to what color you're supposed to be dodging.
It's brutally difficult (in a good way), and just as fun today as it was years ago when Ikaruga first arrived. Kyotokei also goes the extra mile and offers three difficulty settings and two-player co-op play, which makes things even more hectic on-screen.
The art style isn't the greatest here, and I've got no good clue why they've decided to brand such a hardcore shooter with the image of a schoolgirl and some dude wearing an ascot – which is why I've been shamelessly tossing around the Ikaruga comparison so much, to hopefully help this title fight back against its own poor marketing. The game is also on the short side, with only five levels to fly through and conquer. (Though Ikaruga was short, too, and the difficulty level that'll send you back to the title screen more than once makes up for some of the lacking length.)
The art style isn't the greatest here, and I've got no good clue why they've decided to brand such a hardcore shooter with the image of a schoolgirl and some dude wearing an ascot – which is why I've been shamelessly tossing around the Ikaruga comparison so much, to hopefully help this title fight back against its own poor marketing. The game is also on the short side, with only five levels to fly through and conquer. (Though Ikaruga was short, too, and the difficulty level that'll send you back to the title screen more than once makes up for some of the lacking length.)
Closing Comments
Overall this is a solid spiritual sequel to the GameCube great it's copying, and at just five bucks anyone who enjoyed that older polarity shifter should seriously consider downloading this new one.
IGN Ratings for Kyotokei (Wii)
Overall this is a solid spiritual sequel to the GameCube great it's copying, and at just five bucks anyone who enjoyed that older polarity shifter should seriously consider downloading this new one.
IGN Ratings for Kyotokei (Wii)
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