DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX+ Review

DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX+

Developed By: Taito

Published By: ININ

Date of Release: July 27, 2021

Price: $39.99

Well, it would seem that Nintendo Switch is shaping up to be quite a good system for SHMUP fans. Between the recent releases of Thunder Force IV and AC, The massive Psikyo collections, and various other impressive releases, the system has become a SHMUP haven for gamers on the go. And now DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX+ has come to the awesome little handheld. It's a shame that it's not the full Chronicle Saviours package, this is just a standalone version of the game from Darius Cozmic Revelation.

 

The score in DariusBurst is amazing, and really serves to accentuate the mood. The graphics are also quite impressive, if a little difficult to see due to adopting the presentation of the original arcade game. The problem here is that the aspect ratio is extremely zoomed out, making it very hard to play in handheld mode. This could have easily been mitigated by adding options to zoom in further on the gameplay rather than using the bizarre 32:9 aspect ratio based on the arcade cabinet. At least the controls are tight, and feature some decent rumble effects as well.

All in all, DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX+ is a worthy addition to any Switch Shmup collection, as long as you can overlook how barebones the collection is from the point of video scaling options. There's still enough satisfying gameplay value here to keep you going for a while, as long as you're willing to put in a bit of practice to make up for the tiny viewport. Hopefully it will someday get a patch to take up the whole 16:9 viewport though.

Ys IX Monstrum Nox Review

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox

Developed By: Nihon Falcom

Published By: NIS America

Date of Release: July 6, 2021

Price: $59.99

Nihon Falcom's Ys series has a long and storied history. Though it had it's start in Japan on the NEC PC-8801, most people remember it's real breakout version released for the NEC PC Engine CD/TurboGrafx 16 CD. My first experience with with the Turbo DUO pack-in version of Ys Books I and II, and I have been a hardcore fan of the series ever since. With the last release, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana NIS America took over the localization of the series, and it had quite a rough start with a half-assed translation, and a shoddy PC port. Thankfully that got all ironed out over the course of several substantial patches, and Ys VIII has become quite a masterpiece.

Thankfully with the release of Ys IX: Monstrum Nox things have gone quite smoothly, with NISA clearly learning from it's past efforts. The game runs flawlessly on my system, and looks amazing at the maxed out settings at 1440p60. Clearly a lot of love has been put into the localization and porting this time around, as I've not run into any bugs, translation errors or the like in my time playing. There's no discernible input lag either. and the controls are tight.

The gameplay is your usual Ys action-RPG fare, but this time with an added twist in the form of large scale tower defence battles. Now I've never been one to enjoy tower defence games, however Ys IX manages to present them in a way that makes them intuitive and fun in fashion that I've never seen in the genre. The story is as always engaging and entertaining, living up to the series pedigree once again. All in all, Ys IX is a perfect example of what the series can be, and I'd recommend it for series veterans and newcomers alike.