Close your eyes. Now think of “ancient shmups.” Which titles are fondly remembered? Gradius? Type-Rs? Thunder Force? It gets old, maybe? Most likely, when you first enter this checklist, the shmup franchise you forgot is Taito & # 39; s Darius series. It is hard to say why this is – perhaps it denies fishing – but the Darius family doesn't seem to have the same weight as their 80s siblings. Massive, in a literal and figurative sense, as well as eccentric and bizarre, Darius games are among our favorite shmup releases here at Nintendo Life – though it's hard to determine exactly why.
First, let's start with the first one. Imagine walking through an arcade. It's the early 1990s, and he just bought Nirvana & # 39; s Let it go for you have heard You Smile Like A Teen Spirit on the radio. Your friend tells you that the arcade has just introduced a bunch of new games, but when you go check it out, you realize your friend is a fool. Because what you see is not three separate new games, but one new shmup with three main monitors connected. The title is "Darius", and after you feed the wardrobe, you embark on a branch tour with hundreds of fish killed there. You feel guilty, but then you remember they have no feelings.
Since the 1987 coup, the Darius games have evolved and have emerged as an imbalance in their development. Between all the different ports, game updates, and naming events, keeping track of all these games and how they relate to each other is no small task. Everything is confusing, frankly, leading to similar questions " Darius Twin port of Darius 2? What Sagaia?! What's the difference between the & # 39; Old Version & # 39; & # 39; New Version? & # 39; What & # 39; gaiden & # 39; about Darius Gaiden? " And so on. The good news is that thanks to the M2 team's overall work on the Collection of Darius Cozmic, the history of this series is very clear – at least to some extent.
Before analyzing each of the games offered in this collection individually, let's start by examining completely the collection is complete. The first thing to remember is that, even though this is an M2 release, this collection does exist no in the ShotTrigger group that focuses on shmup behind a very large base ESP Ra.De. Psi, which means its perception and its properties are not as strong as they were in that release, either The Battle of Garegga Rev. 2016. On top of that, there are no soundtracks or tuning routes. That being said, compared to the arcade ports of their peers on the Nintendo Switch – like the Arcade Archives series – the Darius Cozmic collection is still ahead of the curve.
For efficiency, all games run smoothly. Unlike a similar hole Gradius III on Super Nintendo, all the arcade releases of Darius and home ports remain true to what is essentially 60 FPS performance. In addition, when it comes to lag input and gameplay responsiveness, the port is the same as many of its peers in Switch like Ikaruga, Devil The Engine, again Danmaku Unlimited 3 in four input log frames. Not fair, but it's average and better than Arcade Archives, which responds to five frames (for more information, feel free to watch Shmup Inag Lag Index).
In terms of user experience, the collection has many important features that we expect from the M2, such as map control and storage. However, one unpleasant supervision that impairs control maps functionality is a unique decision to turn the LZ and RZ buttons into pause functions, so they cannot be marked as bomb or fire buttons – which is very frustrating when playing hand-held mode; unmanaged management from M2.
Another look that looks amazing is that each Darius game has six endpoints, compared to the thirty offered at ShotTrigger ports such as ESP Ra.De. Psi To be fair, a total of six sites that serve as governance slots are still much higher than the obnoxious & # 39; resume & # 39; function seen in the ports of the Arcade Archives, where the player needs to exit the game completely to use only the available storage space. However, considering the nature of the Darius level improvement and the density of branch pathways, then the six-phase limitation begins to take shape. In a completely linear game like Gradius, the six sites offered may work well. In Darius – which has overlapping paths where branching paths are available – six provincial reserves are not enough to reduce unnecessary hold rates to upgrade to a particular stage combination or route. Again, the existence of a rescue plan is a good thing, but this limitation is annoying, especially since it's not out of M2 & # 39; s ShotTrigger.
On the bright side, the game has an excellent system of thinking that we think is a must-have feature. The reason why replacement programs are so important to Switch is that the only successful video capture technique is completed while on a managed system. We note that, for some players, the Switch has set up a camp only at the harbor, but for others, the Switch is managed successfully, so it is important that the shmups in the program take this player's demographic.
As for the games themselves, this is where this release becomes harder. Taking a page on the Square Enix playbook, M2 has decided to release multiple versions of the Darius Cozmic Collection at various prices. On this wiki page, you can see a graph of all the different releases and what they include. As you will see, the difference between these versions is that the more expensive models show more ports or more game variations.
We decide exactly on the point, discussing the "Special Edition" of the Cozmic collection, which includes the addition of various ports for the arcade gaming console, but at no additional cost. To be honest, they are both Standard Edition and some programs are sold at a bad price. The Standard Edition states slightly it failed miserably, without a solid selection of games. But other types of releases, such as the Special Edition, are more expensive than they have to offer, many console ports do not have the power of the same game (though the stairs go to amazing programs. Darius II Mega Drive port). If M2 decided not to release the Special Edition and simply compile all the content as a single game, then we feel that the Standard Edition price would be completely justified.
That being said, we look at the offerings at the cheapest level, with or without console ports, feeling that the Cozmic Collection is pouring in what it needs – for the most part. There are many reviews of Darius I (Old Version, New Version, Extra Version), all with subtle changes to the gameplay and complicated programs – the Extra Version, by the way, is the last update and is considered by most players to be extremely balanced and engagement.
Then there is Darius II, the Dual Screen Version. And while some may complain about the loss of the third screen in this version, we feel that the three-screen setup on Darius I, while impressive, is just a dead space that prevents gameplay more than anything else. Also, in hand-held mode, the Ultra-landscape scale distorts the characters into pumps, so a reduction of up to two screens is acceptable for advanced playback. And, for those who are confused, Sagaia is simply a worldwide release of Darius II. We are sure there is a slight slight change between Sagaia and Darius II (at least one would hope so), but nothing more can be considered a separate game.
What happens most in this lineup, too, and the basic reason for buying this release, is Darius Gaiden. In the world of shmups, Darius Gaiden is undoubtedly a hidden gem (or subtle manager, as we like to say). Originally organized as Darius III, Darius Gaiden updates the classic formula of the series in many acceptable ways. Adds screen removal grenades (such as Cave games), cleans the power system, and throws the old Darius I test system into the trash when appropriate. Darius Gaiden is a game to play and it's probably the reason this collection can try to justify its fixed price. With its excellent presentation (and it means that in its best way) and the most beautiful soundtrack combined with its pure and balanced gameplay, Darius Gaiden is among the viewer's favorite shmups, and in fact the favorite shmup of ZUN, the founder of Touhou (fun fact for you).
Conclusion
There is a lot to do when updating a package like the Darius Cozmic Collection and we wish it was released with a single version that covers all bonus games, but it's safe to say that this release floats somewhere between barebone-care ports like Psikyo ZeroDiv releases and the sea-loving M2 & # 39; s ShotTrigger port. Darius Cozmic's collection, with its own storage space (albeit limited), replication work, controller configuration (also limited), and games selection is ahead of the competition, though the M2 has been proven to do more better with the excellent ESP Ra.De Psi. Compared to the features of the convenience, the extra modes, the sound effects, and the overall precision seen in the game, this release comes down to the gold standard set by the ShotTrigger brothers – but if you're a fan of shmups or have very little Darius love level, this is always a recommended purchase.
