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US Shmup Ports - Ikaruga Vs. MLF2?
US conversions of Japanese games can either be beautifully done or amateurishly botched. And the 2D shoot-'em-up (aka shmup) genre has seen both over the past few weeks. First, there's been Atari's conversion of Treasure's vertical 2D shmup for Gamecube, Ikaruga, which has been generally hailed as 'a great thing', with the preservation of turn-to-vertical mode (play with your TV on its side to exactly replicate the arcade version!) and even an online score ranking system. On the other hand, the budget US release of vertical shooter Mobile Light Force 2 (actually Shikigami) from XS Games has prompted howls of derision from the hardcore fans, with a bizarre Charlie's Angels-aping cover that has nothing to do with the game, and vertical mode and cut-scenes removed. But then, the game is still fundamentally intact - so how much should these import changes matter if you can snag the game cheap? Opinions, as always, welcome.
I mean, yeah... Ikaruga is probably the best vertical shooter EVER. Its graphics, gameplay, and everything else just annihilate every other shooter I've ever seen. I almost got an import GameCube so I could play it, until I heard it was coming out here. It also isn't a hell of a lot different from the Dreamcast version. I don't think the localization was much more than the menus redone. The audio isn't changed.
Yeah, Mobile Light Force 2 is a stripped down version of Shikigami, but the actual part of the game you PLAY is still there, and it's still fun. And cheap as hell, which is a good thing. Getting some quality shooters in at low prices might actually revive the market for the whole genre over here. As long as they don't cut out any actual gameplay, I'll keep buying XS Games' ports. Maybe it'll get more of the Metal Slugs and such localized over here, if people are shown there's a real market for a quality localization.
Definitely, if you want the better game, there's no question it's Ikaruga hands down. But if price is a concern, or you just like playing shooters, there's no reason I can think of aside from being a purist that you shouldn't go get Mobile Light Force (Gunbird 2), Mobile Light Force 2 (Shikigami), and Sol Divide right now. They're good games.