[AC] [DC] [GC] [360] [PC] Ikaruga

[filterpunk]

After seeing both Rez and Triggerheart Exelica announced for XBLA, I can't say I'm too surprised to see Ikaruga added to the list. CVG seems to be the source, but the usual assortment of crap sites have their own blurbs.

[icycalm]

What I'd really like to know is whether they actually sat down to port it, or whether they developed a Naomi/Dreamcast emulator and are using that.

If it's an emulator it means that a shitload of Naomi/DC games could be brought over to XBLA with virtually no cost to the developers.

[burnsro]

I don't think it's an emulator because it says in the release that there is a slow-motion training mode option which was previously in the not emulated GameCube version. It would be awesome if we saw more Naomi games in some form though.

[filterpunk]

What I'd really like to know is whether they actually sat down to port it, or whether they developed a Naomi/Dreamcast emulator and are using that.

If it's an emulator it means that a shitload of Naomi/DC games could be brought over to XBLA with virtually no cost to the developers.

I'm curious about this myself. Triggerheart Exelica is also a NAOMI GD-ROM game, so it seems possible that they're just using an emulator for both titles to save on time and money...but I suppose if they're adding things to it, it might be a port.

I just hope I take to it better than I did Radiant Silvergun, as the screens I've seen of Ikaruga look very tasty.

[CosMind]

For surely they'd be scoring big if there were a solid Naomi/DC emulator for the 360. Nearly every DC game is already coded for VGA output -- therefore these fancy new "HD" monikers would be totally free/taken care of already.

Also, any solid news on what (if anything) they're adding to the game (and/or for Rez, as well)?

(I wonder if they'll pipe Rez's trance vibrator functions to the 360 pad's rumble -- I can't recall if they did that for the PS2 port. I'll have to give it another play tonight, indeed.)

Btw, sorry for dropping this out of nowhere... just joined up. I've been reading this forum after stumbling upon it about a month back, and I dig it too much to not get engaged.

[filterpunk]

Also, any solid news on what (if anything) they're adding to the game (and/or for Rez, as well)?

Nothing concrete has been announced that I'm aware of, other than that it's coming out, but I expect everything will run at 720p. Other than that, they don't typically do much unless the game is too large, as they did with SotN (removed cut-scenes, etc.)

Off the point, but I finally got play Ikaruga on MAME the other day and had a lot more fun with it than I did Radiant Silvergun. Downside is, I may decide to sell my 360, so that might be my only means of playing it until I get off my ass and buy a used Dreamcast.

[CosMind]

Just got a ping from a friend with a report from an interview with Mizuguchi regarding Rez HD:

Mizuguchi tells us reluctantly that Q had to license his game back from Sega to make this port. "I have to respect Sega because I created this for them five or six years ago," he says. This new high def versions is, he says, what he always imagined the game would be in his mind, no jaggies, not lag. "It is very smooth," he says. "I play it, I play it."
He calls the game a pure port of the Dreamcast game. One that will consist of only what's in the original game. "We wanted t port purely, make it 100 percent the same game," he said. "When I made Rez five or six years ago I always dreamed of a high-def wide screen and very good sound. Now the future has come." The game we're shown is still in alpha he says, it still needs to have some controller tweaks, and they're working on smoothing out the loads. As for the infamously misused Rez Trance controller, Mizuguchi says they have no plans, at least not now, to release one for the 360 version of the game. "I think this is the new form of the digital entertainment."

Bummer... (unless you don't already own a copy of the game -- then it's rad news -- and you're a fool I tell 'ya!)

[MAXCHAIN]

I don't think it's an emulator because it says in the release that there is a slow-motion training mode option which was previously in the not emulated GameCube version. It would be awesome if we saw more Naomi games in some form though.

The slow motion training mode was ONLY in the GameCube version. And the GameCube version wasn't emulated, either.

[dai jou bu]

This is probably why the Xbox 360 is getting Dreamcast/NAOMI games.

This is probably going to mean that future NAOMI games will most likely appear on XBLA because they're not making GD-ROMs anymore.

[1Up]

Afternoon All. Looking froward to Rez and Ikaruga. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the value of the physical versions that get touted on eBay. With a superior (in terms of visuals) version available -- hopefully at the £5 mark -- I can't wait. Anyone got a idea on release dates -- other than 2008?

Here's hoping for Border Down and Under Defeat. Oh and Ibara and Mushi too. :D

[filterpunk]

With a superior (in terms of visuals) version available - hopefully at the £5 mark - I can't wait. Anyone got a idea on release dates - other than 2008?

Kinda early to be touting the XBLA versions of any of these games as superior to the originals, I think. Out-of-sync, washed out sound, missing frames of animation, and nasty HD upscaling are all pretty common to ports, unfortunately. Part of that is probably due to laziness, but it's also because porting is never as simple as putting an old game on more powerful hardware and calling it a day. Power aside, the architectures are different and in many cases, there's something lost in translation.

Some of the previous DC ports (not just PS2) to other platforms looked pretty fucking nasty, but I'm hoping that Rez, Ikaruga, etc. all look and play as nicely as they did before.

[burnsro]

This is probably why the Xbox 360 is getting Dreamcast/NAOMI games.

This is probably going to mean that future NAOMI games will most likely appear on XBLA because they're not making GD-ROMs anymore.

Windows CE was a toolkit to help with the development of Dreamcast games, most notably Sega Rally 2. It was optional so I don't think it was really used for that many games.

I think the real reason why so many Dreamcast/Naomi games are coming out is because the Xbox 360 is the closest thing to a "successor" to the Dreamcast when looking at the other consoles available.

[Duke]

So how did the 360 version of Ikaruga turn out? If they ported it from the GameCube I imagine the sound must be poor.

[MjFrancis]

Treasure ported from the original NAOMI release.

It had strange differences, such as the level three mid-boss attack patterns and requiring alternative chaining techniques at times. It was also missing the difficulty select screen animations.

[shubn]

https://twitter.com/TreasureCoLtd/statu ... 7593895936
https://twitter.com/TreasureCoLtd/statu ... 3873042432

New challenge! We are trying to distribute Treasure games on Steam.

First, we posted Ikaruga information on Steam Greenlight today. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =183195387

[shubn]

https://twitter.com/TreasureCoLtd/statu ... 6429604864

Steam「斑鳩」ストアページオープンしました！ 発売予定日: 2014年2月19日 Steam "Ikaruga" Store page opened! http://store.steampowered.com/app/253750