Finally, Ikaruga for Dreamcast is playable on PC platform without glitches.
Tested on: Makaron
Almost a year ago, 07/2009, makaron T12 (test release 12) was released. At the first glance, you could say it’s a tiny emulator with just a few options:
This menu is really just about setting your gamepad (see the picture below) and choosing which game to run. As for the choice of hardware, Makaron is optimized for Xbox360 controller and multi-core cpu. All major settings are done by editing the ini files in the makaron directory. Graphic cards aren’t really the issue here, as the resolution is fixed 640×480 in window or fullscreen mode. (Switching to fullscreen and back is done by editing Makaron.ini, fullscreen = 0 for windowed and 1 for fullscreen mode). Also, there is an ingame menu which is accessible by pressing F11 (shadows, fps display etc). In order to get the game running, you will need bios images (and the image of the game itself, obviously).
Controls are makaron’s biggest weakness: no keyboard support and key mapping can be frustrating. (My gigatech analog gamepad had problems with mapping the analog controls, so i had to map the settings directly in the MakaronPAD.ini file) . Force feedback is implemented, but it’s very tricky to get it working (xbox360 controller is necessary?).
Ikaruga (斑鳩 , lit. Japanese Grosbeak) is a shoot ‘em up video game developed by Treasure. It was released in the arcades in 2001 on the Sega NAOMI, subsequently released on Dreamcast in Japan and then worldwide to the Nintendo GameCube, and was released on Xbox Live Arcade on April 9, 2008. It is a spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun.
The gameplay consists of shooting enemies who come in one of two polarities: either black or white. The player’s ship can be either polarity, and can be switched at will. Treasure previously experimented with colors and polarity in the Sega Saturn title Radiant Silvergun as well as Silhouette Mirage, released for both the Saturn and the PlayStation.
Detailed manual how to play the game can be found on GameFAQs
Final Thoughts
Ikaruga runs almost perfectly on dual core @ 3ghz, and the sound emulation is smooth. Sadly, there is no analog support in the game, and rumble feature is #@%$^!, but beyond that, i have no further remarks. And i managed to die in the easy mode in the video clip, yeah, i know, i have to live with it 
Links
Makaron homepage
Ikaruga download
Ikaruga Trainer +1 (unlimited lives)
Playing Ikaruga for 10 hours gets you free play
Wow, looks nice but I’ll stick to my Touhou :)