How to Play Ikaruga

Understanding the Game Mechanics

• 1

  Use the directional pad or the control stick to move your ship around the screen. Press "A" to fire your laser; hold "A" to fire continuously. Use the Right Trigger to fire homing lasers.

• 2

  Press "B" to switch between White and Black polarity. When you are in White polarity, your ship and lasers will appear white. Only Black bullets will damage you, and you will absorb White bullets to power your homing lasers. You will also inflict twice the amount damage on Black enemies and gain twice the amount of points for their destruction. The opposite is true if you are in Black polarity.

• 3

  Use the polarity system to your advantage. If you encounter a swarm of White enemies, use White polarity to become invulnerable to their attacks, or use Black polarity to destroy them more quickly. Whatever your desired strategy, be prepared to change polarity at a moment's notice.

• 4

  Destroy enemies and absorb bullets to increase your score. Additionally, you will receive a Chain Bonus every time you destroy a group of three enemies of the same polarity. The Chain Bonus will increase exponentially for every consecutive group of three you destroy, giving you 100 points for your first bonus, 200 for your second, 400 for your third and so on. The Bonus is reset to 100 if you break the chain by, for example, destroying two Black enemies and a White enemy.

• 5

  Memorize the patterns of the levels. Enemies will always appear in the same spots and use the same attacks. If you find yourself stuck on a particular level, analyze the enemies' attack patterns to devise a new strategy.

• 6

  Use finesse when moving your ship. You can only be damaged if an opposite-polarity bullet hits the exact center of your ship. Avoid large streams of bullets by carefully maneuvering in between them.