Nicalis teases physical Ikaruga for PS4 and Switch again

As I reported way back in June, Ikaruga is coming around for another round of physical releases, this time for PS4 and Switch.

Nicalis tweeted yesterday that the physical releases are in production.

It's a great game so i'll be sure to get a fresh. new copy or two when it arrives. So should you.

Bullet Heavens extensive Dreamcast series continues

It's Chapter 4 of the S.T.G. Chronicle with three great Dreamcast games. If you ever wanted to know everything about shmups on the Dreamcast, Bullet Heaven has you covered!

Ikaruga gets physical again

Ikaruga is a really great shooter with puzzle elements or possibly a still great puzzle game with shooting elements. Whichever way you see it there's no denying that it is already readily available to play:
First developed for the arcade, it was first ported to Dreamcast and subsequently to GameCube, Xbox 360 (it's compatible with Xbox One), Windows, Switch and PlayStation 4. The physical releases in that long list of targeted platforms are only Dreamcast and GameCube (sure, the arcade release was physical but if you're into arcade PCBs you already knew that) however.

But now Nicalis is doing us all a favor and releasing it physically for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch:

No details yet on release date.

Radiant Silvergun might get Switch release

Treasure has tweeted that a port of Radiant Silvergun was in the works when they released Ikaruga for Switch and may still see the light of day.

Radiant Silvergun is available on Saturn and Xbox 360/One already of course but it would be nice to see it on Switch.

Tying up June loose ends

First, as we discovered way back in March, Ikaruga has arrived for PlayStation 4. It's available on the PSN store now. There was some snag getting it on the US store apparently but both Euro and JP stores are OK and to the best of my knowledge the snafu has been fixed in the US store by now.

Quad Fighter K has gotten the review treatment from Bullet Heaven:

Super Destronaut DX, a Space Invaders-esque (that's a real word btw) game, is just weeks away from launching on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PS Vita.

Ikaruga arrives on PS4 (Pro)

There were rumors earlier this year that Ikaruga was coming to PS4 and they've now been confirmed. Treasures coveted shooter arrives on June 29th. Besides being last out of the gate the PS4 version will deliver 4K support if you have a PlayStation 4 Pro.

Switch updates - Operation Hardcore and Iro Hero

Operation Hero is a Run'n'Gun already out on Steam that launches on Switch tomorrow.




Upcoming shmup Iro Hero I told you about back in April launches on June 7th. Timely considering that Ikaruga was just launched on Switch and the mechanics here look similar.


Maybe it's just me but the over-stylized 8-bit pixel look trend is beginning to feel stale. Hopefully the games are fun anyway.

The other big fish released today

Ikaruga sailed onto the Nintendo Switch today as expected and it looks like they did a bang-up job with the port.

As I told you back in April, PSP-classic Metal Slug XX was set to return on the PlayStation 4. And it did just that, today. If you have a PlayStation 4 Pro it supports 4K. Yes, really. You'll want to head on over to PSN and grab it. NOW.

Switched on shmups

We knew it was on it's way but making it official that Treasure's beloved Ikaruga lands on the Nintendo Switch on May 29th is still something of a milestone. Yes, it's available on Steam, GameCube, Dreamcast and the Xbox 360/One but it's still great to see it available on the switch so you can "take it anywhere".



The second great news is that Zerodiv will bring Psikyos Gunbird 2 to the Switch. After the first Gunbird it was pretty much inevitable and, of course, very welcome.

Shmup under development: Iro Hero

Iro Hero is a shmup under development which seems to have borrowed its mechanics from Ikaruga.



Check it out!

Ikaruga rated for PlayStation 4

German video game censorship watchdog USK has rated Ikaruga for release on PlayStation 4. This would be the first appearance of Ikaruga on a Sony console. For those of you who don't have a Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox 360 or Xbox One this is great news! One of Treasures finest shmups.

Everything old is new again

Microsoft has committed to adding backwards compatibility to both original Xbox games and Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One console.

Radiant Silvergun, originally released on the Sega Saturn and later updated with HD visuals for an XBLA release on Xbox 360, was added to the list of Xbox One backwards compatible games yesterday. Ikaruga of course has been backwards compatible for some time, as has Guwange.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene, Strania, Mutant Storm Empire and Triggerheart Excelica are all also available to play on Xbox One.

This is not an exhaustive list and shmups has been added more frequently recently.

Cave's XBLA action platformer Nin2-Jump is also backwards compatible for those who want to peek at what Cave has been doing besides shooters.

PC GAMER writes about shmups

PC GAMER magazine has an article about the renaissance of our beloved genre on the PC platform (unsurprisingly). Worth a read.