CHAOS has devastated the universe as the biomechanical hordes take on humanity once again. Without the support of the human network, the Silver Hawks plunge into the depths of EVIL fitted with Burst technology and set out to liberate Planet Darius! Be on your guard!
Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ is a port of the arcade game that goes with the same name. It is based on the original Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX, originally released back in 2010 in arcades and was based on the PSP game Dariusburst.
Gameplay
Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ is a game in the shoot ’em up genre. It allows from 1 and up to 4 players to play at a time. The goal is to survive and defeat the boss at the end of every stage. You have the choice of 9 Silver-Hawk ships with different stats and weapons. The ship controls with the left stick, while B/Y are used for firing missiles and bullets. You also can shoot left and right instead of pointing at one side, which is done by pressing R to turn around.
By pressing L the Burst Cannon will appear. This cannon can be used for a powerful attack or can be detached to act more like a shield. Lock it into a direction of your choosing to block incoming enemy fire. It can take a little while before getting used to how to use it properly but it definitely, is a nice addition. It makes the game a little easier but if you think it’s too easy then there is always the option of not using it.
Four game modes
Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ consists of 4 modes in total which offer you enough content to keep going for a good while. However, the game does cost €40 at the time of writing this review. This is quite a lot. But comparing it to throwing in coin after coin in the arcades every time your lives hit zero, it’s a little more reasonable. These modes are:
Original Mode: Standard gameplay formula where you go through 3 zones from a selection of 12 in total, A through L. Players choose one of 3 zones to start and continues through two more zones following the grid down below. The higher the letter the harder the zone will be.
Chronicle Mode: Here you have the choice to select individual missions. These consist of pre-set reshuffled levels and bosses for you to complete.
Original EX Mode: EX mode is similar to Original Mode. The difference is that it consists of 12 new and more difficult zones, O through Z.
Event Mode: This mode contains 21 stages that originally appeared for a limited time only in arcades
Visuals
Although there are a lot of stages they don’t feel repetitive. Backgrounds remain different enough from each other and there is a good variety of enemies and attack patterns to learn.
The game is pretty much a barebones port of the arcade version. This is most notable with how is dealt with the visuals. The screen has black bars which cover half of the screen. This has to do with the fact that the original arcade version is a multiscreen cabinet which means that the aspect ratio was more like what you would have with a wide-screen monitor. There is no tweaking done to translate properly to a regular size screen which leaves you with big black bars on either side. Your ship is also pretty small so it’s easy to lose track. These two facts make the game not suitable for smaller screens such as handheld mode. If your TV is too small, you will be definitely leaning forward to prevent being hit in the bullet hell.
The game in general looks pretty rough The text within the black bars looks fine but the text within the actual game is almost not readable. Not only the text but the entire game looks unsharp. Everything that appears in the actual game is a straight copy from the arcades. This means that the prompt to press start is actually not the button you need to press which is X.
Conclusion
Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ has become somewhat of a classic in arcades but doesn’t deliver in this console iteration. The game is a port in every way with no tweaking done at all. The screen has black bars which cover half of the screen which make it hard to keep track of your ship, especially if played on a small screen. The game in general looks pretty rough due to the low resolution of everything that is on screen, even the text. Other than that the game is a fun shoot ’em up with a whole ton of content to keep you entertained. For the asking price of €40, I fear Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ won’t win over a lot of new players to the genre or franchise. Just go play it in the arcades.