61 replies to this topic

[Plow]

Since there is no forum/thread about Ikachan or any other Pixel creations, I decided to make a thread. Talk about all of Pixel's creations here!
Talk away!

[T-Jack]

Ikachan: Too short. Seriously, it's a fun game, enjoyable, innovative, but it ends waay before I can get into it. That said, let's look at the individual aspects of this game.
Gameplay - As I already said, innovative. I honestly like the controls style, although it often gets irritating, with all the spiky parts. The RPG element, well, it's not bad, but absolutely unnecessary. You have to be at level 2 before the first bossfight (The Starfish Trap) or the game'll become unwinnable. Granted, it's hard to get there below level 2, but I was pissed when I was trying to do a Minimal Level Run.
Graphics - You've all played Cave Story, so I'll just say this: Ikachan is just CS's older and less colorful brother. I do like pixellated retro graphics, but the color scheme in this game is, well, not that good. Not bad, but not good either. Let's just say that Ikachan's graphics could definitely be better.
Music - Oh yeah, the music. I honestly can't think of anything to say about it other than "awesome". Oh, and "repetitive". You'll hear only one song when playing, save for bossfights. But the song is so cool you won't mind. At least I didn't.
Story - That's the weak part of Ikachan. I know, it's just a freeware game, and a pretty short one, too, but come on! It's a Studio Pixel game! First of all, Ikachan suddenly waking up at the beginning makes even less sense than Quote in Cave Story. And what's that with the pearls? Only Oku and Ikachan are penalized for not having a pearl, everyone else is just fine, if whiny. Then there's that issue with Mother Pearl or whachacallit. Great plot setup, which is then promptly swept under the carpet and never mentioned again. Instead we get a fucking spaceship escape which saves all the characters. Oh, and that's a spoiler, by the way. I honestly can't believe that the brilliant mind behind Cave Story would create such a half-assed excuse for a plot.
It's time for the final verdict, so here it comes: Ikachan, good game, but you'd better turn off your brain while playing. That's all, good night.

[VoidMage_Lowell]

Whoa, really?
I haven't played Ikachan yet, but I've always thought it'd be pretty fun, being made by Amaya...
Looking at the other games, could Cave Story be some sort of fluke..?
Or were all those just practice runs for Pixel?

Also, how long did that take you to post, Jack?
You've been "Replying" forever, now =D

[T-Jack]

Whoa, really?
I haven't played Ikachan yet, but I've always thought it'd be pretty fun, being made by Amaya...
Looking at the other games, could Cave Story be some sort of fluke..?
Or were all those just practice runs for Pixel?

Also, how long did that take you to post, Jack?
You've been "Replying" forever, now =D

Yeah, I was. It took, um, I'd say about 15-30 minutes, maybe even more, but I wanted to write a full review, just because I'm already responsible for the Ikachan page on the Tribute Site. By the way, Ikachan is not a bad game, but don't expect from it as much as from Cave Story.

[VoidMage_Lowell]

By the way, Ikachan is not a bad game, but don't expect from it as much as from Cave Story.

That reminds me, Boots talked about making an Ikachan mod, and andwhy wondered why no one else had.
Has there really been no mods for Ikachan? {Probably blame Cave Story for that }

[T-Jack]

That reminds me, Boots talked about making an Ikachan mod, and andwhy wondered why no one else had.
Has there really been no mods for Ikachan? {Probably blame Cave Story for that }

Well, Ikachan even has built-in editor (more info on the Tribute Site), but it's severely limited (only one map and the like). Cave Story is just better, even though you need a third-party editor for it.

[andwhyisit]

Well, Ikachan even has built-in editor (more info on the Tribute Site), but it's severely limited (only one map and the like). Cave Story is just better, even though you need a third-party editor for it.

Though map editing is simpler in Ikachan.

[VoidMage_Lowell]

Though map editing is simpler in Ikachan.

Ah, but is simpler better?
Simple editors are usually simple because they've got so little control over everything...

Starcraft's Editor is simple compared to Warcraft III's, but it can't control music, models, spells {Course, I mean actual spells from heroes, not the stuff in SC where you spawn a unit for 5 seconds to do damage, and then get rid of it }, etc.

Although, people almost always use 3rd party editors, instead of the originals, anyways. {For the extra control and features}
{There's a dozen 3rd party replacement editors for SC, and one or two for WCIII}

[andwhyisit]

Simple editors are usually simple because they've got so little control over everything...[/FONT]

But map editing isn't done with Pixel's editor, and it does not require any first-party or third-party editor.

Look at the bottom of this page:
http://cavestory.org/othergames_10.php

No editors, full control, and simple.

[JakeXanth]

Cave Story is the sequel to Ikachan. You have to play it.
...
When I typed that out, I wondered: There needs to be a sequel to Cave Story that isn't also Cave Story.