Shooting gallery.
Dariusburst’s roots stem from Taito’s original Darius arcade game, which first appeared in the late 1980s. A multitude of sequels followed, along with their subsequent console port versions. It’s safe to say that Darius is a name that has been on the shoot ‘em up scene for quite some time.
The franchise is known for its aquatic-space hybrid setting, but as a relative newcomer to the franchise trying to piece together the release chronology is fairly confusing. EX+ throws several prior Dariusburst Chronicle releases into a melting pot, offering players access to four separate modes in this game: Original, Chronicle, Event and EX. Each option comes with its own mission format – whilst Original gives fans the option to experience the straight-up arcade version of the game, Chronicle is more akin to a ‘campaign’ by tasking players with liberating various planets from threatening alien bad guys known as the Belsar.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: PlayStation (reviewed), Switch
What does this button do?
On the face of it, there’s a lot of content to get stuck into. However, getting there is the first hurdle as the EX+ menus are a confused mess. It feels like no effort was made to consider the fact that console games are played via a controller. Not off to a great start.
Things don’t really improve upon reaching the mode select screen, as EX+ doesn’t really inform the player as to what to expect from each option. Once again, very little consideration appears to have gone into the overall presentation of the game, which is likely to leave players – especially new players – with an overall sense of inaccessibility and confusion.
Frustrations aside, once the gameplay kicks in the Dariusburst Another Chronicle EX+ experience somewhat improves. Dariusburst is a classic side-scrolling shooter, and it is here where the game’s arcade lineage really shines. However, this comes with one huge drawback – the smaller the screen, the greater the visuals suffer. I played this game on a 65-inch OLED, however the actual game window is restricted to the middle of the screen (similar to watching an old widescreen movie on a standard television set, for those players old enough to remember). Players on small screens will really be hindered by this, particularly as shmup games obviously require attention to every single tiny bullet.
Space fish.
Whilst at this point it should come as absolutely no shock that there’s no new-user guide, tutorial or even first stage hints; the gameplay itself is pretty intuitive. There’s standard fire, secondary fire, and the ability to flip your ship to face forwards or backwards. The real fun, however, comes in the form of EX+’s burst cannon – which is the secondary fire mode. This weapon has dual functionality, in that it can either fire an all-consuming blast beam, or be utilised as a standalone cannon that detaches from the player’s ship. Players can set the burst cannon up to cover their rear, or plant it anywhere on the screen to take out enemies attacking from a certain angle whilst focusing their ship on firing elsewhere. This is a fantastic innovation, and hugely fun to use throughout the game.
EX+ is a deft combination of the classic ‘80s shoot ‘em up aesthetic, with a modern twist. The game is colourful, and features an array of wonderfully unique bosses. It’s clear that a lot of care, attention and enjoyment went into the design of these mechanical space creatures, and EX+ does a good job of differentiating the mechanics of each boss.
Dariusburst Another Chronicle EX+ offers players some more extensive challenges in the form of ghost runs, leader boards, and PS4 trophies. In a nice touch, EX+ also offers the option to play with endless continues, which opens the game up to more laid-back runs where players can just experience each stage and boss without worrying about running out of lives.
EX Minus.
Unfortunately, the best way to describe Dariusburst Another Chronicle EX+ is as follows: a console port that feels like it isn’t supposed to be played on console. As a result, it feels like a cheap experience – a rehash of highlights without any thought as to how the package fits together as a whole. Perhaps most egregiously, the medium through which this console version is played appears to be an afterthought at best.
In a crowded market, there are many more polished shmups than this.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
