Ikaruga/YMMV

• Breather Level: Chapter 5, which is substantially easier than the previous two chapters and has extremely simple chaining. Even the Bosses In Mook Clothing that show up at the end of the pre-boss section that fire massive bullet storms only fire in one color, allowing you to easily build up your Homing Laser attack to finish them off. Of course, this is simply to give players time to relax before the sequentially-tiered Final Boss.
• Good Bad Bugs: Due to a programming glitch in the Gamecube port, it is possible to trick the game into giving you an extra continue on no continue runs by unplugging your controller from the first slot and plugging it back into the second controller slot on your last life of your continue.
• Most Annoying Sound: 1 CHAIN. 1 CHAIN. 1 CHAIN. 2 CH--1 CHAIN.
• Most Wonderful Sound: MAX CHAIN. MAX CHAIN. MAX CHAIN.
• Scrappy Mechanic: Zigzagged; the memorization-based chaining is back, yet it's fortunately easier (changing the color after each successive chain isn't a penalty) and optional (score is no longer tied to weapon power because the latter doesn't exist in Ikaruga).
• That One Boss:
  • The Chapter 4 boss due to a claustrophobic "arena" with little moving space for players, all the while the edge of the "arena" fires beams of opposing black/white colors to deter movement and/or force players to take a misstep into one of the beams that will likely destroy their fighter. In order to attack the core, players must shoot down the "gates" leading to the core (of opposing colors, again). Note that throughout the fight the core is rotating, forcing players to rotate along with it, lest they hit the corridor leading to the core. After the first rotation or so, the core fires a laser down the corridor where players are (assuming players have opened all corridor "gates", making the core vulnerable), and since enemy lasers push back the fighter, it becomes another obstacle for players to ensure the fighter stays within the confines of the corridor without hitting the sides that could lead to the loss of life.
  • Similarly, first-time players might be slightly overwhelmed by the Chapter 3 boss, though this is mitigated by the fact the boss only fires lasers once half of the turrets that comprise the boss are destroyed. This can be easily circumvented by destroying all turrets of one color first, allowing players to concentrate on navigating through the small "gates" that are rotating in the "arena", since they can have their fighter stay in the same color polarity as the remaining same-colored turrets and absorb their fire.
• That One Level: Chapter 4: Reality, though from a scoring run perspective. Not only is the environment an obstacle (at least in the first third of it), but high scorers must carefully navigate through this Battleship Raid level to destroy the appropriate colored enemies and earn consecutive chains. Meanwhile, the chains don't stop counting during the mini-sections where the turrets are firing, forcing players to place their shots carefully to ensure their chains don't get cut for misfires.
• What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: The chapter titles- Ideal, Trial, Faith, Reality and Metempsychosis- represent Man's struggle towards enlightenment, with the aura-enveloped Ikaruga craft symbolising the human soul. Apparently.