Cave vertical shoot'em up with extremely dense and colourful bullet patterns. The burst enemy execution system is original and satisfying. A difficult title reserved for seasoned bullet hell fans, but of remarkable visual beauty on PS2.
Your verdict
Category
Shooter2 players12+
Co-op
Description
A vertical shoot 'em up by Cave, originally a 2005 arcade game and ported to PS2 in Japan in 2006 by Taito. The studio's signature bullet hell with a steampunk-Japanese aesthetic, featuring female characters wielding plant-based weapons and an Arrange mode that expands the scoring system. A Japan-exclusive that has become a rare collector's item.
Ibara review
3/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Polished"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Punishing"
A gritty tribute to the old-school shoot-'em-up from Cave, it bets on dense difficulty and a rank system that hardens the game the further you go. Heavy fire, imposing bosses and pinpoint positioning grant no respite. Demanding but coherent, it speaks to danmaku veterans who relish the raw harshness of the sternest arcade productions.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
A bullet-curtain shoot 'em up by Cave, with a retro military aesthetic and demanding scoring, designed by a key danmaku figure, kept exclusive to Japan. This Japanese release appeals to scoring-shooter fans worldwide, a small but fervent niche. Its relative scarcity and roots in the Cave line support a value above more widely distributed shmups.
Memorable bosses
A rugged heir to the Raizing school, this shooter pits you against grimy war machines whose aggression climbs with the player's daring. Each guardian spits dense weaves that reward risk-taking as much as they punish it. Harsh, technical and uncompromising, it saves its most memorable face-offs for those who dare to play right at the edge of danger.
An underrated gem
A rugged homage to the Toaplan-era shooters, this Cave bullet hell embraces merciless difficulty and a grimy military aesthetic. Confined to a Japanese release and reserved for purists, it puts people off with its austerity. But devotees of scoring and lean, performance-built gameplay will see an exacting, authentic gem.
Better with friends
A vertical shooter of retro elegance where you thread your way through swarms of projectiles, solo or two-player to add ships. Cooperation doubles the firepower but also the danger: coordinating so as not to clash and covering the angles turns the chaos into a mastered ballet. Demanding and hypnotic, it makes the chase for the high score a common challenge where every wrung-out survival is savored together.
Is Ibara still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2006 on PS2, this port of Cave's vertical shoot them up signed Shinobu Yagawa pays tribute to the golden age of the most demanding danmaku. The screen fills with tight bullet patterns that the pilot must read and graze, in a dark military aesthetic inherited from Battle Garegga. The scoring system, deep and merciless, rewards risk taking and memorising the waves. The fierce difficulty curve will turn away newcomers, and the conversion suffers a few technical compromises. A sought after piece for fans of the manic shooter and for collectors of Cave productions hunting one of the harder entries in the studio catalogue.
