ExistentialSolid's "Please Destroy Me" Detour

[THEULTRAMEMELORD]

necrodancer

[You]

My record in that Tetris is about 1:25, but even then it is very tough to get that fast.

I would say I am pretty good at Tetris, I can move almost at that speed, but sadly trying to make the perfect setup while moving that fast, sadly I cannot do that.

There are some harder modes than that, one is harder because you have to keep up that pace for 3 minutes (highest score in 3 minutes) instead of 70 seconds.

 

Another mode, perhaps the hardest is "Master Mode" this mode requires you to get 300 lines, now while it is technically possible to get SS without scoring 300 lines, in this mode the blocks basically teleport to the stack at the bottom and you have a split second to put it in place before the next one comes up. You to be getting Tetris and B2B Tetris but it's difficult enough just to clear any lines at all.

 

If you thought the movie I posted earlier was amazing, wait till you see that mode in action....

 

Here is a Japanese guy called Green Tea (3rd best in the world) playing it and if I recall being the first in the world to complete the mode (on this particular recording).

 

Be warned watching this video, it is very beautiful but it will make you feel very small, especially towards the end where if you can believe it, it gets even faster...Something insane like 4-5 shapes dropping per second.

 

 

There are about 4 other modes I cannot get a SS mode, and 2 that I can't even get a single S, the devs made that achievement for XBox release only an S instead of SS, they also changed 1 million rotations for 100,000. So even the devs realised those trophies were unfairly hard.

 

Ikuraga is a beautiful game. I have a special DVD which has 3 records of 3 super users getting super high scores on each of the 3 difficulty settings. All of the match 3 of different ship colours really is awesome to watch. But man, you need to have some super skill to memorise it all though.

 

Whilst Yakuza 3 might not be the hardest game ever made, certainly genre wise.

Again I mentioned it because while it's not 10/10 difficulty, it's about 10 different 8/10 difficulties all in one trophy.

 

You need quite a lot of dexterity in some of the mingames, and let's say you've never played a golf game, or never played Japanese rule mahjong, or never played a snooker/pool game etc.

Sure you might be able to memorise Ikuraga's brutal patterns, but it's one game, and if you're a master of that game, you get platinum.

 

The Yakuza 3 game on the other hand, it requires you to master 10 difficult games, and the brutal part of that is, you could master 9 of them, but the 10th could break you. No save scumm, game glitches or boosting, you gotta do them all legit.

 

And the psychological damage and time wasted knowing that you mastered all but one. Well too bad, you got NOTHING for those other 9. All or nothing baby. If you have a wide skill base across many game genres then good for you!

 

There's also luck too. I got stuck on a battle challenge where you had to win a fight with a partner, a guy with 1% health fighting in his pants, if he takes even the slightest tap, you fail the fight. I never managed to do that one. Those fights were tough, I never managed to do the last two challenges, so on Yakuza 3 two trophies I could not get.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by enaysoft

[ExistentialSolid]

On 12/21/2020 at 1:51 PM, Grotz99 said:

It seems strange that Yakuza 3 actually has a higher platinum % on here than Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 1. It's the next Yakuza in my list so I'm curious if it really is as hard as people say. I would like to get the platinum in all of them, but if the difference between 89% and 100% is 50+ hours, I'm usually happy with the 89%. Too many other games to play.

 

Is there a difference between the PS3 and PS4 version?

From what I can gather, there are a few minor differences between the PS3 and PS4 versions but the difficulty is largely unchanged. The platinum rarity discrepancy you've noticed between the two versions (PS3 - 3.19% / PS4 - 7.31%) is fairly common among remasters. The player base is generally smaller with the rerelease and more people that pick up the game will know what they are getting themselves into. Vanquish is a similar case (PS3 - 2.32% / PS4 - 5.21%).
 

11 hours ago, THEULTRAMEMELORD said:

necrodancer

I'm sorry, but Crypt of the Necrodancer would likely require more than 300 hours to complete so it is not eligible for nomination (please check the "Which Games are Eligible for Nomination?" section). If there is another game you would like to nominate, please let me know!

 

10 hours ago, enaysoft said:

My record in that Tetris is about 1:25, but even then it is very tough to get that fast.

I would say I am pretty good at Tetris, I can move almost at that speed, but sadly trying to make the perfect setup while moving that fast, sadly I cannot do that.

There are some harder modes than that, one is harder because you have to keep up that pace for 3 minutes (highest score in 3 minutes) instead of 70 seconds.

[...]

 

Whilst Yakuza 3 might not be the hardest game ever made, certainly genre wise.

Again I mentioned it because while it's not 10/10 difficulty, it's about 10 different 8/10 difficulties all in one trophy.

 

You need quite a lot of dexterity in some of the mingames, and let's say you've never played a golf game, or never played Japanese rule mahjong, or never played a snooker/pool game etc.

Sure you might be able to memorise Ikuraga's brutal patterns, but it's one game, and if you're a master of that game, you get platinum.

 

The Yakuza 3 game on the other hand, it requires you to master 10 difficult games, and the brutal part of that is, you could master 9 of them, but the 10th could break you. No save scumm, game glitches or boosting, you gotta do them all legit.

 

And the psychological damage and time wasted knowing that you mastered all but one. Well too bad, you got NOTHING for those other 9. All or nothing baby. If you have a wide skill base across many game genres then good for you!

 

There's also luck too. I got stuck on a battle challenge where you had to win a fight with a partner, a guy with 1% health fighting in his pants, if he takes even the slightest tap, you fail the fight. I never managed to do that one. Those fights were tough, I never managed to do the last two challenges, so on Yakuza 3 two trophies I could not get.

A 1:25 is still incredibly impressive! I hope to develop even half as much skill when I pick up Tetris someday. The video though...that was on another level. I am terrified and any lingering confidence I had has vanished. 

I have to admit, you've completely sold me on Yakuza 3. There are not many platinum trophies out there that test such a wide range of skills so I'm looking forward to giving it a shot it if ends up winning a future poll (if not, I'm sure I'll eventually pick it up in my off time)! 

Edited December 22, 2020 by ExistentialSolid

[machaesthetic]

12 hours ago, ExistentialSolid said:

Keep in mind that what you find "difficult" will not always match what others find "difficult." 
As such, please refrain from judging the recommendations or nominations of others.
"Difficulty" will always be subjective and it is not your place to impose your own arbitrary definition over anyone else's.

Just sharing my opinions on the games presented buddy, and I'm sure you can form your own opinion. ? Obviously difficulty is subjective, but I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who thinks My Name is Mayo is hard or Crypt of the Necrodancer is easy. 

 

I gave five valid suggestions and great games that were all great which were all ignored while you add games that don't even meet your outlined requirements regarding time and difficulty. 

 

Didn't realize I was walking into a circlejerk here. You guys keep doing your thing, I'm out. 

[ExistentialSolid]

6 hours ago, machaesthetic said:

Just sharing my opinions on the games presented buddy, and I'm sure you can form your own opinion. ? Obviously difficulty is subjective, but I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who thinks My Name is Mayo is hard or Crypt of the Necrodancer is easy. 

 

I gave five valid suggestions and great games that were all great which were all ignored while you add games that don't even meet your outlined requirements regarding time and difficulty. 

If a player nominates a game and I accept, that is the end of the discussion. I am not looking for your opinion on the matter.

Yakuza 3 and Nuclear Throne would not have been nominated if their respective players believed these games were a cakewalk.

For the record, most of your suggestions were indeed great/valid games. However, you didn't directly nominate any particular game and it wasn't clear to me that you wanted me to select from those suggestions and nominate a game on your behalf, assuming that was your intention. 

Edited December 22, 2020 by ExistentialSolid

[ExistentialSolid]

                                                           ~ Poll Results ~


The results of the first poll are in! By a single vote, Ikaruga has taken the crown!  
It made me really happy to see that so many of you took the time to vote (30 people!)! 
Thank you all so much for participating!

Expect a plan of action to be posted early tomorrow and progress updates to follow in the days ahead! 

Edited December 23, 2020 by ExistentialSolid

[Trumpet_Boi_208]

If you’re looking for something quite difficult, how about Rain World without the save cloud exploit? It’s a very punishing survival platforming indie game. While not as difficult as games mentioned here, it should still provide that sense of substantial challenge that you seek.

[ExistentialSolid]

7 hours ago, Trumpet_Boi_208 said:

If you’re looking for something quite difficult, how about Rain World without the save cloud exploit? It’s a very punishing survival platforming indie game. While not as difficult as games mentioned here, it should still provide that sense of substantial challenge that you seek.

Ooh, Rain World is a great choice! Back in January of 2019, I actually got lucky and won a giveaway on Destructoid with the prize being a copy of Rain World. But, for whatever reason, I never got around to playing it so it has just been rotting away in the backlog. 

I have added it to the nomination list! Without researching a bit more about the game or playing it for myself, I'm not sure if I can commit to playing it without the cloud save exploit just yet but I will absolutely keep your request in mind if Rain World successfully wins a future poll.  

 

[ExistentialSolid]

                                                         ~ Ikaruga Introduction/Plan of Action ~

What is Ikaruga?

Ikaruga is a legendary shoot 'em up developed by Treasure that originally released waaay back in 2001. The game is designed around the idea of polarity shifting. Essentially, there are two types of threats in Ikaruga that can be broadly categorized as "light" and "dark." If you switch your polarity to "light", you can absorb light enemy bullets and do twice as much damage to dark enemies, whereas, if you switch your polarity to "dark," you can absorb dark enemy bullets and do twice as much damage to light enemies.  

                    

The game is very short and can generally be completed in about half an hour, but further play is incentivized through high score chasing and competitive leaderboards that encourage you to build up and maintain a chain (basically your combo). To increase your chain and maximize your score, you need to destroy enemies in groups of three according to their polarity. So, if you destroy three light enemies or three dark enemies in sequence, your combo will go up. If you destroy one or two enemies of the same polarity and interrupt the chain with one of the opposing polarity, your combo will break and you will need to build it back up. 

I will link a trailer if you would like to see the game in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaD9eZinNXo.

What is required for the platinum?

Earning the platinum will require the player to:

• Complete a 1 coin clear of the game on any difficulty 
• Earn an S++ rank on each of the game's five chapters [the most difficult stage] 
• Complete any chapter without shooting any bullets
• Complete a 1 coin clear of the game on any difficulty while playing in co-op or in double-play mode (a solo mode in which you control two ships)

If desired, you can stack the 1CC clear with the 1CC co-op clear. Now, I've bolded this last objective both because it appears to be the rarest trophy in the game and because I may not be able to accomplish this objective alone without some serious headache. Unfortunately, co-op cannot be done online. It must be done locally. However, thanks to share-play, we can work around this limitation.

Ordinarily, I could set up a boost session once I have the skill to 1CC the game solo and find a co-op partner through traditional means. But, I also have access to all of you challenge hungry players out there! 

**If you have any interest in earning the platinum for Ikaruga and need a co-op partner for the 1CC co-op trophy, let me know through this thread!** [Closed]

 

Plan of Action!

Step 1: My first goal is super simple: play through the game once through casually.
I should earn the five easy  trophies for defeating each of the game's bosses alongside one  trophy for completing any chapter without using bullets.

Step 2: From there, I am going to try to get more comfortable with the controls and general enemy layout by playing through the game again 5-10 times while doing my best to improvise combo strings. If I happen to earn the  trophy for earning a 1CC clear along the way, then that's awesome! But, I am not going to stress about it just yet as the next step is where most of the skill will be developed.

Step 3: S++ grinding. I will be memorizing each of the S++ routes as shown in the videos linked on the PSNP guide for Ikaruga. This step will be the longest and most difficult, but, thankfully, each level is fairly short so I expect that it will not be too frustrating. It will just require lots of patience and focus. Of the videos that will be included in the progress reports, these score attack runs will feature most prominently.

Step 4 (optional): Skill check. If I have not earned the  trophy for completing a 1CC run at this stage, I will do so now.

Step 5: The co-op 1CC run. By this stage, the platinum is all but earned. I just need to find a co-op partner and get this squared away. If, for whatever reason, I am unable to find a co-op partner, I will begin the process of learning how to play in double-play mode.

 

When Will Progress Updates be Posted?

I would like for the first progress update to go up, along with at least one video, on December 26th. The following update will tentatively be planned for the 30th. From there, I will improvise. If you have any ideas or preferences on what you would really like to see out of each progress update, please let me know and I will try my best to make it a priority!

Edited December 28, 2020 by ExistentialSolid

[S_y_n_e_IR_g_Y]

Best of Luck with Ikaruga??

How many Games of this kind have you already finished a what did you expect, how long it will take to get this one done?

 

Best regards and happy holidays ??

[DeDaav88]

.

Edited December 23, 2020 by DeDaav88

[ExistentialSolid]

59 minutes ago, S_y_n_e_IR_g_Y said:

Best of Luck with Ikaruga

How many Games of this kind have you already finished a what did you expect, how long it will take to get this one done?

 

Best regards and happy holidays

Thank you! ?
To be honest, I've only played a handful of shoot 'em ups in my life and only have two platinums in the genre: Raiden V and Shikhondo: Soul Eater. 

Since I lack shoot 'em up experience, it's difficult for me to tell how long this one will take to get this done. I just wrapped up my first playthrough and I think I lost somewhere between 40-50 lives which sounds like a ton (and maybe it is) but the game feels fair and practice makes perfect. I just have to keep at it and steadily improve!

Happy holidays to you as well! ?

Edited December 23, 2020 by ExistentialSolid

[det_gittes]

Wow, what a methodical approach to the task   Great for the audience/readers, we know what to expect! Best of luck!

[ExistentialSolid]

1 hour ago, det_gittes said:

Wow, what a methodical approach to the task   Great for the audience/readers, we know what to expect! Best of luck!

Thank you! ?

[Xenoblast91]

Marvelous, wonderful. I legit love how you designed your approach and plan to beat this insanity. There's a few points that could help you and see if you agree with. 

 

I highly suggest you start to promoting the Share Play ASAP on the sessions' apartment. I don't know but this season time, people spend much of their time with beloved titles, probably because those are gifts, may be because they're on vacation or simply by relax and appreciation. But playing this kind of game... well, probably there be someone, somewhere. That's one of the things that I've learned from this site, in all truth! 

 

If somebody steps into this thread and shows interest, you should edit those red words and make them at least size 26 or 28. Yeah, red color is appealing but size matters; that's what she said. So I highly argue to do that in order to reach more interested people and your run go smoothly. Also, take into account that sometimes even a good plan tends to lead into an unpredictable stuff, like may be if you're going to party on Christmas' Eve and you end up hammered out, well you should take that outcome as well for whatever instance could happen. 

 

Wish you the best of the lucks and have fun ! 

 

[ExistentialSolid]

37 minutes ago, Xenoblast91 said:

Marvelous, wonderful. I legit love how you designed your approach and plan to beat this insanity. There's a few points that could help you and see if you agree with. 

 

I highly suggest you start to promoting the Share Play ASAP on the sessions' apartment. I don't know but this season time, people spend much of their time with beloved titles, probably because those are gifts, may be because they're on vacation or simply by relax and appreciation. But playing this kind of game... well, probably there be someone, somewhere. That's one of the things that I've learned from this site, in all truth! 

 

If somebody steps into this thread and shows interest, you should edit those red words and make them at least size 26 or 28. Yeah, red color is appealing but size matters; that's what she said. So I highly argue to do that in order to reach more interested people and your run go smoothly. Also, take into account that sometimes even a good plan tends to lead into an unpredictable stuff, like may be if you're going to party on Christmas' Eve and you end up hammered out, well you should take that outcome as well for whatever instance could happen. 

 

Wish you the best of the lucks and have fun ! 

 

You're right, setting up a session early is almost definitely the best way to go about finding someone. Just to be safe, I think I will try to get an S++ on two or three levels first before I post a session so that I can better estimate how much time is going to be required to build up my skill to the point where I can successfully 1CC the game. Since this may be a time-consuming process, I would feel bad making my co-op partner wait weeks for me to develop my skills if I post a little too early.

Changing the text size of the red co-op message is a great idea! I will edit it right away and may consider putting the same message on the original thread post so that more players will see it.

That's true, life happens and plans may not always be completed on time. On days where I've scheduled progress updates, I will generally try my best to post something (even if it's really short or uninteresting) to keep you all up to date with what is going on with Ikaruga but, if I have to cancel or postpone an update for whatever reason, I will try to at least let you all know in advance.

Thank you! ?

[AJ_Radio]

I can say without any doubt whatsoever @ExistentialSolid that Woah Dave is literally the perfect game for you.

 

It's not as challenging as the games you listed in the poll but since I see you've been on a binge to do non-platinum games that offer challenge, Woah Dave is literally up your alleyway. I recommend looking at @greenzsabers 1000 coins video on YouTube to get a good idea on how the game works.

 

DO NOT PLAY ON BONKERS DIFFICULTY unless you want to make things a lot harder for yourself. Eggs will not hatch as quickly on Normal difficulty even at their maximum drop rate, which will occur once you get around 400 - 500 pennies. The spawns are completely random, especially the UFOs which can be quite difficult to deal with sometimes.

 

It's definitely not an easy game to 100 percent. The trophy 'Call Me Aaron Burr' is under a 0.50 percent rarity here on PSNP. Granted it was probably a PS Plus game at one time, but even if it wasn't I don't think the trophy rarity percentages would of been affected all that much.

 

Best of luck.

[ExistentialSolid]

4 hours ago, Spaz said:

I can say without any doubt whatsoever @ExistentialSolid that Woah Dave is literally the perfect game for you.

 

It's not as challenging as the games you listed in the poll but since I see you've been on a binge to do non-platinum games that offer challenge, Woah Dave is literally up your alleyway. I recommend looking at @greenzsabers 1000 coins video on YouTube to get a good idea on how the game works.

 

DO NOT PLAY ON BONKERS DIFFICULTY unless you want to make things a lot harder for yourself. Eggs will not hatch as quickly on Normal difficulty even at their maximum drop rate, which will occur once you get around 400 - 500 pennies. The spawns are completely random, especially the UFOs which can be quite difficult to deal with sometimes.

 

It's definitely not an easy game to 100 percent. The trophy 'Call Me Aaron Burr' is under a 0.50 percent rarity here on PSNP. Granted it was probably a PS Plus game at one time, but even if it wasn't I don't think the trophy rarity percentages would of been affected all that much.

 

Best of luck.

Woah Dave! is SUCH a good pick! I nearly started it a couple weeks ago when I was digging through the PS+ backlog but settled on Pix the Cat instead since I was greedy and the game had more ultra rare trophies on its list. Coincidentally, I recently used greenzsaber's videos for the routing of the two high score trophies in Pix the Cat so I'm sure his strategy for Woah Dave is top-notch.

I have added it to the nomination list! Thanks for the tip! ? I'm sure it will help seeing as you've just finished the game yourself (congrats!).

Edited December 24, 2020 by ExistentialSolid

[AJ_Radio]

Thanks. Definitely don't play on Bonkers unless you want that extra challenge.

[ExistentialSolid]

                                                             ~ Ikaruga Progress Update #1 ~

Which trophies have been earned so far?
Boss Trophies: (Awarded for defeating each of the game's 5 bosses)

Dot Eater Trophy: (Awarded for clearing any chapter without firing a bullet)

Grade-Specific Trophies: (Awarded for earning an A, S, and S++ Grade on the Final Chapter / A Grade on Chapter 1) 

Tell me about them!

Will do! Let's start by discussing the boss trophies. None of these were terribly difficult to earn as most players will naturally pick these trophies up by playing through the game on their first playthrough. With the difficulty set to easy and continues set to free play, you can blast your way through the game without a care in the world even if you happen to die dozens of times in the process (like me). You would think there would be no way to mess this up but I actually failed to defeat boss #3 and boss #5 (you'll get to see this boss below!) on my first attempts because I ran out of time and forgot all about my power gauge ?. It wasn't a big deal though and I simply replayed the relevant chapters to defeat them. 

 

With the initial playthrough out of the way, I set my sights on the dot eater trophy. This one sounded interesting at first: clear any chapter without firing a bullet. In practice though, it was as simple as starting up chapter 1 and not pulling the trigger. You can still die but you are not allowed to use a continue without voiding the trophy (setting your lives to 5 should help). The boss at the end of the chapter will leave you alone after the time limit runs out so you don't have to pull off anything ridiculous. Just run down the clock, and, if you get bored, switch polarity to the beat of the music until the chapter finally comes to an end.

Now we get to the good stuff and the whole reason this game earns its 10/10 difficulty rating! The grade-specific trophies! I'm happy to report that I managed to earn my first S++ on the game's final chapter. While it was only a little challenging in comparison to what's to come, I was still proud to get it done as my experience with shoot 'em ups is minimal at best and I still have a lot to learn.

Here's the video of my successful run!

*Bonus - If you want a look behind the scenes, here's 27 minutes of grinding leading up to, and including, the S++ run:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAeZ9xgQ8XE.
 

The first minute of the video is where most of the grinding was devoted to: chaining the level together. In order to maximize my score, I needed to destroy as many enemies as possible in groups of three according to their polarity. As long as I destroyed a set of three enemies of the same polarity before destroying any enemy of the opposing polarity, I was able to keep my chain going and get higher scores. I followed the route on the PSNP guide's reference video for this chapter and everything went smoothly overall.  

The boss is where things get a little confusing so let me explain what's going on. To earn an S++ grade more easily, I needed to set my game type from arcade mode to Prototype mode. Prototype mode limits your ammo and requires you to absorb enemy bullets to recharge that ammo. However, one benefit of prototype mode is that you can repeatedly spam your power release (basically a really powerful attack) provided you have the ammo to do so. As a result, you can defeat this boss much more quickly in prototype mode than you can in arcade mode which will result in a higher boss destroy bonus at the end of the level. Dying refreshes some of your ammo and doesn't significantly hinder your progress as long as you don't use a continue (which will void the S++ grade) so dying a whopping three times on the boss like I have here didn't matter much thankfully. 

What About the A grade on Chapter 1?

For chapter 1, I'm still in the process of learning how to chain the level well enough to achieve an S++ grade and basically just earned the A rank as a byproduct of that effort. However, I would like to go a little more in-depth on chapter 1 because I have to admit that I have been struggling.

The video reference I have been using to learn the S++ route, specifically that which is included in the Ikaruga PSNP guide, has one brief, but absurdly precise, chaining sequence that I have been unable to replicate even after 4-5 hours of practice. I made a quick gif of the sequence below (in case the gifs do not load, there are links on the bottom of the page):   



The timing here is nuts and your movement needs to be nearly flawless if you don't want to accidentally crash into an enemy or skip 1-2 enemy chains. It doesn't help that this section is about a minute and a half into the level so practice is painfully time-consuming. I know that similar levels of precision are going to become more commonplace as the difficulty starts to ramp up but this section's difficulty dwarves anything else in this level and completely shook my confidence.

Eventually, I started to look for an alternate route to the S++ grade and, thankfully, I found one. DPatriot took a different approach to this section and played through the level on normal difficulty rather than on easy. Here is his approach for this same section (note that enemies drop several absorbable bullets when they are destroyed with the same polarity in normal difficulty which makes it easier to build up and release your power):



The timing here is much more forgiving and leads to greater overall consistency in practice. If you are just starting, or planning to start, Ikaruga, I would highly recommend using the S++ route taken by DPatriot for chapter 1 instead of the one used in the PSNP Ikaruga guide as it is far easier to replicate in my opinion. There are likely even better options out there for overall routing so never be afraid to check what's out there if you get stuck like I have. It can be tempting to give up when failure starts becoming the norm, but giving up is never the answer. Rethink your approach, plot a new course of action, and execute.

Thank you so much for sticking with me on this lengthy update! I will be back with the next progress update on December 30th and, hopefully, with a chapter 1 S++ under my belt!

[*Note: In case the gifs do not load, I will link them here - Hard (https://imgur.com/wPeKQvE) - Easier (https://imgur.com/covHTQA)]

Edited December 26, 2020 by ExistentialSolid

[Vergil]

Glad you liked my method

[ExistentialSolid]

10 minutes ago, Vergil said:

Glad you liked my method

It was a life-saver! I was really starting to lose my sanity until I found your route on your Ikaruga S++ tips thread! ? 

Edited December 26, 2020 by ExistentialSolid

[Vergil]

44 minutes ago, ExistentialSolid said:

It was a life-saver! I was really starting to lose my sanity until I found your route on your Ikaruga S++ tips thread!  

Don't worry that comes later when you try chapter 3?

Edited December 26, 2020 by Vergil

[ExistentialSolid]

2 minutes ago, Vergil said:

Don't worry that comes later when you try chapter 3?

Oh, I am fully expecting to get annihilated on chapters 3 and 4 ?. My lack of shmup experience has already made what little I've done feel much more difficult than it actually is. Thankfully, I don't give up easily so I will just have to brace for impact and keep grinding! 

[You]

Good luck with Ikuraga, it is a beautiful game, back in the day on gamecube I almost could complete the game within a credit, losing about 4 lives, but that as on easiest (which of course is not all that easy)

 

I actually think Ikuraga is easier than the other hard shooters like Sine Mora or Raiden, hardest thing about Ikaruga is the waltz dance you have to do flawless with 3 ships at a time each color to keep your combo going.

 

As someone else mentioned it is a shame you do not have the Gamecube version to practice since you can practice a particular segment using the practice mode. You'd literally be able to practice that section you posted over and over again without having to do the minute or so leading up to it.