Shoot ’em up games started out in the late 70s and became a staple at arcades. In the 90s most of the bigger hits in the genre got a console port or adaptation and as such the genre become immensely popular. Shoot ’em ups are obviously still being made but the heyday is long gone. The nostalgic Shoot ’em up fan is still out there and they have been noticed by the shmup companies of yesterday. Taito decided, now was the best time to release a Darius Cozmic Collection Console Edition for the PS4 and the Nintendo Switch. It’s been released in Japan a few months back and now finally is available worldwide.
9 to 5 games
There are 9 games included in Darius Cozmic Collection Console Edition. These 9 games are all previously released games in the series that were console ports/adaptations. There is another collection out which features the Arcade versions but this one solely focuses on console releases. The 9 games available on this collection are in reality 5 games and some variants. These days most games are made with an international audience in mind and are mostly released worldwide. There are some local variants here and there but the vast majority of the games are internationally the same. In the early days of console gaming, games would often have different versions based on the region they were released. Sometimes this had to do with licensing problems, translating differences, or even problems with the difference in cartridge available in a certain region. The differences in versions are often not that groundbreaking but if you’re a fan you’ll be curious about these small changes. This collection lets you explore these variants without having to buy a different console.
The collection starts out with Darius II which is based on the arcade version of the same name. Since the arcade version featured a dual-screen, this version had to be re-imagined to fit one television screen. Darius II was ported from the Japanese sega mega drive to the American Sega Genesis with a different name and some changes made. Sagaia, as it’s named for the non-japan market is included in this collection. The Master System version which was more stripped down due to the master system being a less capable console than the megadrive/genesis, is also included. Next up is Darius Twin which comes in 2 versions: The Super Famicom version and the Super NES version. Darius Force, originally on the super Famicom and its US counterpart Super Nova are also included. The more arcade based PC engine version based on the original, Darius Plus is next in the line-up. A special version of Darius Plus named Darius Alpha of which only 800 were made back in the days and were essentially a give-away, is featured on this collection also. Darius Alpha is in essence a boss rush only version of Darius Plus.
Aquatic space shooter
For those who never experienced a Darius game a brief explanation of the series might be in order. Darius is a horizontal scrolling shoot ’em up. You control a spaceship that has to battle a multitude of enemies and avoid a lot of environmental hazards. Shooting certain enemies makes them drop powerups in three different colors: Red adds power to the main missile weapon, green ups the power of the bomb sub-weapon, and Blue grants a shield. Some games in Darius Cozmic Collection Console Edition add extra powerups to spice things up a little more. The alien army invading the planet Darius is decked out with numerous spaceships that all behave in a different way. Getting to know the patterns of each wave of enemies is key to your success. Darius is not a bullet hell type of shmup but it’s not that far of either so avoiding enemies instead of destroying them might be better for your survival. At the end of each stage, a boss fight occurs. These bosses are big beefed out spaceships often inspired by aquatic creatures. Some Darius games also feature branching paths which made the replayability of these games more appealing.
Extras
Darius Cozmic Collection Console Edition does a great job of converting their original games to current-gen consoles. The games feel as they should feel which is obviously of great importance. Most of these collections also feature some extras in the form of concept art, unlockable content or some behind the scenes info to tell us how the games were made. Sadly these things aren’t present in this collection. The only thing provided is a brief explanation of the games and that’s it. Shmup collections are often not cheap and this one is no exception. I feel they could’ve treated the fans with some more extras like some other companies in the genre already did. On the other hand, they made it possible to have some in-game features not included in the original versions. Each game has the ability to save and load added to the game. You can rewatch your own run and find out what needs to be improved for future runs. There is a leaderboard and visual settings can be changed to suit your own preference. In-game stats can be toggled to give you more information previously unavailable.
Conclusion
Darius Cozmic Collection Console Edition is a treat for fans of the original games and general Shmup fans. Darius is a classic series that deserves to be revisited. The collection could’ve offered more in terms of extras considering the current pricepoint but all things considered, they delivered on the games front and that’s what mostly matters. Fans might want to go for the “international” edition which has both the console and the arcade version included.
