Ikaruga, the beloved arcade shoot-’em-up, is heading to a modern console later this month for the first time. A Nintendo Switch version of the classic game will launch May 29 for $14.99, publisher Nicalis announced today.
First released in 2001 by Sega, Ikaruga won acclaim for its polarity system. Players can switch between black and white polarities, each one enabling them to absorb corresponding enemy hits and reuse that energy for special attacks. It’s a trick that adds an increased amount of strategy to the intense game.
Players will also be able to choose between horizontal and vertical modes on Switch; as Ikaruga is a vertically oriented game, this is an important set of options. Both screen orientations appear to work when playing the Switch as a handheld or on a TV, with letterboxing on the sides of the screen if you choose to go vertical with the latter setup.
There are also three difficulty settings to choose from, a chapter-select menu and cooperative play. In essence, this looks to be the same ol’ tactical shooter players fell in love with since its arcade release and subsequent Dreamcast, GameCube, Windows PC and Xbox 360 ports.
Check out the teaser above to see how Ikaruga will look on a current-gen console.
