This is not just my "personal opinion", but the opinion of most die hard Shmup fans. I didn't say it was "THE" but "one of, if not THE" best shooters of all time. What shoot 'EM ups do you personally feel are any better?
I'm not trying to pick an argument or play grammar nazi over something small, but you are implying it is THE best with that statement. It's not a strong way of saying it, but it is being said.
I am mostly with you, in that I think it is in the top spots for best shmup. I just don't think Ikaruga deserves that spot. Instead of doing this the classic shmup-discussion way of "name drop titles and scrutinize each others choices", let's actually explain our opinions on this one game. I'm gonna bullet point, cause no one wants to read a review and we're derailing as is:
OP STOP READING HERE
Good
-clever system
-strong level design that totally understands the system (it's Treasure...this is where they shine as a design team...even "enh" systems become great because of how they design around them)
-Just the right difficulty
The One (and crucial from my perspective) Bad
-99% of the game's patterns are pre-determined.
Figuring out patterns is a major chunk of playing shmups. They're quick puzzles that you need to figure out by repetitive trial and error (so you can impress friends by making it look like you figured it out on the fly ;P). Where Ikaruga mis-steps is that it isn't organic. You figure out a pattern and you're done. There are very few situations where the AI alters the pattern based off of things that are not planned. Patterns rarely come at the player with the AI changing trajectory or timing based off of where the player is. When the game is so heavily slanted towards pre-determined patterns with so few AI/Independent based bullet patterns...I'm sorry, it gets boring.
Going back to "name drop style": You may not agree, but Mars Matrix is my shmup measuring stick. Clever system. Very strong level design that plays off of the system. Great difficulty and the big kicker when comparing this to Ikaruga: just enough balance between the two styles of pattern generation to keep things interesting. If it mis-steps, its that the hitbox can be a little "Cave-like" and not being hit by physical enemies is a little awkward. I can go back and play Mars Matrix over and over and over, over the same early stages I blasted through with ease for the last ten years and still have fun. When I clear something in a game like Ikaruga, it feels like a chore if I have to replay it to get to the point where I am having trouble. Even if I try to up my combo strings to try and make what I am replaying more challenging, it's just not interesting once you've cracked the over all pattern.
Speaking of patterns in shmups, I'm also a HUGE fan of Parsec 47. A lot of people don't consider it Kenta-Cho's best game, but...holy shit...it is a fantastic mixture of the two bullet pattern generating philosophies.
OP YOU CAN START READING NOW
Back on topic: OP should check out Ikaruga. Just go into it as if it were a recommended shmup. You'll walk out of it a fan.
2 cents...plizonk!