Ibara is similar to
8ing/Raizing's Battle Garegga and
Battle Bakraid games and there are several similarities between them. These include combining archaic technology such as
biplanes with more advanced machinery; firing and a power-up system; and a medal collecting system which drastically increases scoring. The game features a similar method of earning bombs and a delay when launching them as well. Some of the enemies and their attack patterns are familiar such as the large cranes in stage 1 and the minigun-wielding first boss. The enemy's explosions spiral around when destroying some of the heavier weapons/scenery and thin, while seemingly camouflaged enemy bullets are scattered around the play area in comparable patterns. More subtle references include the
HUD layout which lists the name of the current stage at the top of the screen and, when starting a stage, tells users the title of the
background music that is playing. A notable feature of
Ibara is the inclusion of a variable, real-time difficulty system by way of the
Rank system. The player's rank increases as they acquire more items and cause more damage, increasing the difficulty of the game along with it. The number of enemies does not increase but the number of bullets fired towards the user does, often reaching a ridiculous level of bullet density. There are ways of lowering this rank system if the odds appear too much. The only known way of decreasing the player's Rank in
Ibara is to die. The more lives the players have, the less the rank decreases when they die. In the later version,
Ibara Kuro: Black Label, rank can be decreased by cancelling bullets with a bomb, but it also increases much faster in this version, potentially increasing from minimum to maximum in a matter of seconds. ==Development==