To toggle on a chain counter which appears beneath the Chain Status box, press Z at anytime during gameplay.
Press Start to pause game play, then hold X + Y.
Play the game for 5 hours or complete the Trial Mode without continuing
Play the game for 10 hours or clear the game on any difficulty setting.
Play the game for 20 hours or beat the game on Normal without continuing.
Successfully complete the game under the normal difficulty setting without using any continues to unlock the "Game Mode" option at the "Appendix" menu. Alternately, accumulate at least twenty hours of total game play.
Play the game for 15 hours or beat the game on Easy without continuing.
Note: This trick requires two Wavebird controllers. Set the receivers on the same channel and use one Wavebird on the same channel. You can then control two players at the same time. Set them side to side (horizontal) or (vertical) above each other by pushing them to the edges of your screen. If one gets wasted, you can quickly change color so you will have one black and the other white.
Every time you continue, the last digit of your score goes up by one permanently. For example, if you continued once it is a "1", twice for a "2", etc. This is useful for gauging how much you have continued once the "Free Play" option has been unlocked.
Go into the display options and change the view to one of the following settings before watching a demo. Depending on the screen type, different tactics will be shown during the demo.
Horizontal 1: Beginning tactics.
Horiztonal 2: More advanced tactics.
Horizontal 3: Advanced or Dot Eater tactics.
Vertical 1 or 2: Increased difficulties.
Do not fire the Ikaruga at all during a level. You must dodge or get hit by enemies and complete the level.