He is Shinra, the lone survivor of a ravaged people. He must battle fiercely, move swiftly and act rationally in a new war, a space crusade of frighteningly intense firepower and hypnotic beauty. Take control of the ship Ikaruga - alter your energy field, evade epic maelstroms of fire and terminate enemies with a nearly limitless arsenal - all to protect an aging, exiled people. Find calm amid the chaos and reap the rewards, in this perfect combination of beautiful, manga-style storytelling and refined, ultra-challenging arcade heroics.

The gameplay consists of shooting enemies who come in one of two polarities: either black(/red) or white(/blue). The player's ship can be either polarity, and can be switched at will.

It was released in the arcades in 2001 on Sega's NAOMI system and subsequently ported to Dreamcast in Japan and then worldwide to the Nintendo GameCube. It is a spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun.