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.
