Ikachan

Ikachan (いかちゃん) is a freeware video game created by Japanese developer Daisuke Amaya, under the art name Pixel. In the game, the player plays a squid named Ikachan, who swims through a cave, meeting and helping other creatures.[3] The game was later released by Nicalis for the Nintendo 3DS eShop on January 31, 2013. On November 30, 2016, Japanese publisher Pikii released the game on the Japanese eShop.

Ikachan
Developer(s)Daisuke Amaya
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Daisuke Amaya
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS
ReleaseWindows
  • JP: June 23, 2000
Nintendo 3DS
  • NA: January 31, 2013[1]
  • JP: November 30, 2016
Genre(s)Platform, metroidvania[2]
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

Ikachan takes place in Ironhead's realm, an underwater cave system. A series of earthquakes had recently caused cave-ins that cut off Ironhead's realm from the open sea. As such, the inhabitants of the cave ran out of food and were required to carry pearls marking their allegiance to Ironhead. Ironhead himself remains stuck in a private cave, spreading paranoia and encouraging violence against non-citizens to keep the population of the cave from overthrowing him as their leader. Ikachan wakes up inside the cave and swims around, searching for a way to escape.[4]

Characters
  • Ikachan is a squid-like creature who awakens inside Ironhead's realm. He is the main protagonist and playable character.[5]
  • Pinky is a young sea creature who helps Ikachan in his escape.
  • Ironhead is a large fish with an iron helmet and the self-appointed leader of the caves.
  • Storehouse watchman is the father of Pinky and guard of the remaining food supply.
  • Carry is a large fish who guards Ironhead's cave.

Gameplay
Ironhead and Ikachan, as seen in Cave Story

Ikachan features unique gameplay; as opposed to using the arrow keys to move, the player uses the left and right arrow keys to tilt Ikachan in the respective direction. The player must then use the 'z' key to swim in the direction Ikachan is pointing. Thus, Ikachan cannot swim directly to the left or right at first, but he later acquires an item that allows him to charge horizontally. Also, while being unable to hurt enemies from the start, once Ikachan receives an item called the Dunce Cap, he can attack enemies by ramming them with the point of the hat.

The game contains role-playing game-aspects, as Ikachan can level up after attacking enough enemies or eating fish.[6]

Promotion

To help promote the game and the WiiWare release of Cave Story, Pixel made a mini game based on Ikachan for the Nintendo DS game, WarioWare D.I.Y. The game is available for download as a Big Name Game in North America since April 5, 2010.[7]

After Cave Story's success on WiiWare, Nicalis hinted at ports of Ikachan and Guxt, other freeware games by Pixel, for DSiWare.[8] Nicalis announced a Nintendo 3DS version in October 2012, with plans for a DSi release, which was discarded.[9] On January 31, 2013, despite the previous announcement only the Nintendo 3DS version released on the Nintendo eShop for $4.99.[10] On November 30, 2016, Japanese publisher Pikii released the game on the Japanese eShop for 300 yen.[11]

Reception

The 3DS version received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[12] MTV's Jason Cirpriano stated that the game would appeal to fans of Cave Story, but also noted that it could be completed in about an hour.[18]

References
  1. "Ikachan". Nintendo. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  2. Lada, Jenni (January 31, 2013). "Review: Ikachan for 3DS". Technology Tell. GadgeTell LLC. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2016. Ikachan is essentially an underwater Metroidvania game.
  3. "Ikachan". www.nicalis.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  4. "いかちゃん". Vector (in Japanese). November 12, 2003. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  5. August 2013, Lucas Sullivan 14 (14 August 2013). "12 amazing indie games you've never played (by indie devs you love)". gamesradar. Archived from the original on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  6. April 2014, Henry Gilbert 10 (10 April 2014). "Great 3DS games you've probably never heard of". gamesradar. Archived from the original on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  7. "Cave Story creator's WarioWare D.I.Y. game, Ikachan". Destructoid. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  8. Mastrapa, Gus (June 10, 2010). "Nicalis Hints At More Games From Cave Story Creator". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  9. Matulef, Jeffrey (12 October 2012). "Cave Story creator's Ikachan coming to 3DS and DSiWare". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  10. Fletcher, JC. "Portabliss: Ikachan (3DS eShop)". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2020-12-05. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  11. "JP eShop News (Nov. 22): Gurumin 3D out next week / Puyo Puyo Chronicle demo". Perfectly Nintendo. 22 November 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  12. "Ikachan for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  13. Ponce, Tony (January 30, 2013). "Review: Ikachan (3DS eShop)". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  14. Peterson, Blake (January 31, 2013). "Ikachan Review". Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  15. Ronaghan, Neal (February 6, 2013). "Ikachan Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  16. Reed, Philip J. (January 27, 2013). "Ikachan Review". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  17. Veillette, Guillaume (January 31, 2013). "Ikachan". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  18. Cipriano, Jason. "'Ikachan' Review - Pixels Under The Sea". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
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