I’m always a bit curious about why companies take games that apparently flopped in their original iteration and decide to run with the ball again, developing some modernized version of it for the current systems. Apparently that is what has happened with Ikki Unite, the sequel Sunsoft’s own press materials are calling one of the worst NES games ever. I suppose the idea makes sense from a marketing angle, since that sort of effort grabs attention through its sheer lunacy, but while I’m not sure what the original Ikki had to offer, I can absolutely relay what it appears the goal was behind this remake.

Given the extreme success and popularity of Vampire Survivors, there has been no end to the games showing up to try to knock them off. I suppose taking what the original Ikki had to offer in the way of its characters, sense of humor, and whatever other elements were of value, with a roguelike template roughly in that same vein with Survivors, makes sense… but even among the other also-rans I’ve played this is decidedly rough. First, very honestly, the explanation for what you’re doing and how is somewhere between terrible and poor. Sure, if you’ve played games of this type you’ll be able to make some assumptions and figure it out, but it’s absolutely on the odd side. Second, in terms of variety there’s just not all that much when contrasted with its peers, and that makes runs feel entirely too similar pretty quickly, even if some details change. Third, there’s just not a proper feel or flow to things, more than anything typically it just feels like chaos, and that hurts its replay value a bit.

I suppose the selling point could be the ability to play with others online, but there are some issues with that notion as well. First, indie games have had a dismal record of even initially attracting decent online play numbers, let alone any that will last more than a week or two. Second, more people in this case (I’ve only been able to play in 1 online multiplayer game with 2 other people) may change the dynamics a bit but in my mind it just ups the level of chaos, making for a bit of a cacophony of action. Perhaps that may sound like a good time, but for me it just amplified the mess of it all. Last, whether solo or with others, I’m simply not feeling the need to continue to return to it, as aside from making a little noise for a run or two I can’t imagine most people would feel the urge to continue to sink their time into this. I suppose every game can have fans, and with its infamously-bad pedigree perhaps Sunsoft can pull in some sales from people who revel in celebrating the oddball side of things, but I can’t see how it has made any sort of case for people to recommend it.