DARIUS BURST CHRONICLE SAVIOURS (STEAM/PS4/Vita)

[cave hermit]

For the record Jed Whitaker has always been full of shit.

[Durandal]

That's kind of a shallow review for a SHMUP. Just mention the levels and a bit about the gameplay but nothing else.
Although I'd imagine repeating the same stages over and over is nothing special for people going for 1cc's, it's understandable for people who aren't willing to invest that much time in arcade games.

[soprano1]

For the record Jed Whitaker has always been full of shit.

He also still does what you deleted from your post, and a lot of people from there do the same.

[ArmoredCore]

So what are all the new bosses? I've encountered Gigantic Bite, Azure Nightmare & Crimson Nightmare so far.

Nice, you've gotten very far then. There's also the three Crab boss variants.

Spoiler

Looking at game file names on pc ver: there is a fourth set of files for the crab for some reason. Gigantic bite only has one set so I doubt it has a variant. Azure Nightmare has two sets as it has two variants. But who knows, there might be some surprises left. I wish there was a super hard variant of the Nightmare, its design and music are amazing but it's easy compared to most bosses.

Ran into this review http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2015/12/05 ... rs/180490/

Some levels require multiple players to beat and others only a single credit. That latter requirement is particularly challenging seeing as the difficulty is set to the same quarter-eating level as the arcade mode. Credits are endless, though, and quarter-feeding quickly becomes a somewhat guilty second nature in both Original and Chronicle modes.

ADH route confirmed quarter-eater. I thought that was ok overall though.

I have seen a total of 0 reviews mention the fact that CS mode has unique stages and bosses and effectively ends the Dariusburst series. Gigantic Bite is even in the cover art. Maybe the reviews are bad or this could've been advertized more in the west (pretty sure the japanese playerbase knows about this)

edit: an article on Eurogamer does mention all this. Also confirms that there are 6 new bosses.
so new bosses:

Spoiler

Force Claw, Solid Claw, Twin Claw, Azure Nightmare, Crimson Nightmare, Gigantic Bite

Ooo yea forgot the crabs. Thanks,, though i fought a fourth crab. It's strongest variant. It was called Double Claw and blue in color. Was a steroid version of twin claw lol.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

I only found 2 unique stages so far, I'm about 80 stages in.

Spoiler

The opening stage over the sea and a stage over a green meadow with twin planets overhead and more orbital strikes chasing you. Very similar to B stage from Darius Gaiden.

Are there any more?

[amdiggywhut]

I only found 2 unique stages so far, I'm about 80 stages in.

That is unfortunate. I'm only about 20 stages in and was hoping there would be more. That opening CS stage is quite the experience, I've re-played it a few times just for fun.

On a side note, what's the most obvious way to grind through CS mode? I've been saving points to try and unlock Marakumo but I'm not even sure if that's the way to go or not. There may not even be a 'right' answer to my question; it honestly doesn't feel that grindy simply because I enjoy the game so much...

[Sparrow]

Gigantic Bite is based on Dunkleosteus fish? I only came here on this forum for Darius discussion.
Tired of farming up pts at CS Mode, I need a certain zone with highest pts farm. Just one zone.

What's up with Warning labels appearing out of nowhere after completing the zones in CS?

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

I messed around with maxing-out some of the ships. Don't do it; theres no real need to go in with 99 shields until you reach Gigantic Bite and you only keep the upgrade for 1 game.

[CloudyMusic]

Some levels require multiple players to beat and others only a single credit. That latter requirement is particularly challenging seeing as the difficulty is set to the same quarter-eating level as the arcade mode. Credits are endless, though, and quarter-feeding quickly becomes a somewhat guilty second nature in both Original and Chronicle modes.

Is it actually possible to continue? I've never been able to do it in AC mode with any of the mapped buttons on the PC version, so I assumed you couldn't. Do you have to use the keyboard or something?

[Shepardus]

On the keyboard continue is mapped to Enter. Don't know about other input devices, though.

[EmperorIng]

Sorry again, but is there a shop/unlock option in CS (and how to access it)? Is it in any way tied to Original mode, or is it through points earned solely in CS?

[cave hermit]

Sorry again, but is there a shop/unlock option in CS (and how to access it)? Is it in any way tied to Original mode, or is it through points earned solely in CS?

Seems like points are accumulated only in CS mode, and if I'm not mistaken you access the shop by selecting a mission, then pressing right before confirming; this lets you select a ship instead of using the default for that mission, but you have to unlock ships by spending points (I believe at that menu), and using a non default ship disqualifies that run for leaderboard rankings I believe.

[Shepardus]

After completing a CS mode mission, when it says "Final zone is over" you'll see your total score and "points earned" below that (which is simply your total score divided by 100). Those points can be used before starting a mission by choosing to go with a customized ship rather than the preset.

[amdiggywhut]

I messed around with maxing-out some of the ships. Don't do it; theres no real need to go in with 99 shields until you reach Gigantic Bite and you only keep the upgrade for 1 game.

Once you unlock a ship for any given level, does it stay unlocked to be used in the future? From what you said, I gather that the individual upgrades/stats don't stay unlocked, but the ship is still available on other levels? Sorry for the confusion here, just making sure.

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I messed around with maxing-out some of the ships. Don't do it; theres no real need to go in with 99 shields until you reach Gigantic Bite and you only keep the upgrade for 1 game.

Once you unlock a ship for any given level, does it stay unlocked to be used in the future? From what you said, I gather that the individual upgrades/stats don't stay unlocked, but the ship is still available on other levels? Sorry for the confusion here, just making sure.

You can continue to use the ship after it's unlocked.

Any powerups you buy are 1-time use. They tend to be pretty cheap. You can max out the Silver Hawk 2nd with less than 50k IIRC. This might be good for farming certain stages, since you can use 2nd's 60X multiplier to get tons of easy points.

[Zaarock]

So what are all the new bosses? I've encountered Gigantic Bite, Azure Nightmare & Crimson Nightmare so far.

...

so new bosses:

Spoiler

Force Claw, Solid Claw, Twin Claw, Azure Nightmare, Crimson Nightmare, Gigantic Bite

Ooo yea forgot the crabs. Thanks,, though i fought a fourth crab. It's strongest variant. It was called Double Claw and blue in color. Was a steroid version of twin claw lol.

Around where did you find him? that's cool. So then there are actually 7 new bosses, not bad.

If you want to plow through stages with custom ship then yeah, maxed out Second is really good for both getting the point cost back and speedkilling bosses.

[ArmoredCore]

Around stages 80-100 for the path i took. Northwest. The multiple path makes it hard to pinpoint as well :/. What color is Steel Spin again btw, purple right? Trying to find his icon. I have yet to encounter any Whips as well. This cs mode goes on forever haha.

[iconoclast]

Some levels require multiple players to beat and others only a single credit. That latter requirement is particularly challenging seeing as the difficulty is set to the same quarter-eating level as the arcade mode. Credits are endless, though, and quarter-feeding quickly becomes a somewhat guilty second nature in both Original and Chronicle modes.

Is it actually possible to continue? I've never been able to do it in AC mode with any of the mapped buttons on the PC version, so I assumed you couldn't. Do you have to use the keyboard or something?

Continue is mapped to the select button on my Qanba stick. The menu controls are weird and don't make sense for me, but I've got them figured out at least.

[Zaarock]

Around stages 80-100 for the path i took. Northwest. The multiple path makes it hard to pinpoint as well :/. What color is Steel Spin again btw, purple right? Trying to find his icon. I have yet to encounter any Whips as well. This cs mode goes on forever haha.

Those bosses aren't in CS mode. You'll have to play AC chronicle to get some of the Whip bosses.

[ArmoredCore]

Around stages 80-100 for the path i took. Northwest. The multiple path makes it hard to pinpoint as well :/. What color is Steel Spin again btw, purple right? Trying to find his icon. I have yet to encounter any Whips as well. This cs mode goes on forever haha.

Those bosses aren't in CS mode. You'll have to play AC chronicle to get some of the Whip bosses.

I see, i was thinking progressing further and further would cause every boss to eventually appear in CS.

[Sparrow]

I need some expert tips.

Gigantic Bite's new bullet patterns are completely new from the other bosses I encountered so far. It's really very much more aggressive than Great Thing series.

Its cannon that shoots flashy bombs. Seemed it doesn't target me but shoots at certain spots. It is really distracting me.
How do you stop those giant missiles?
Stun guns homing, too.
And those new minions look like it's based on Goblin Shark? How do I handle it while dodging in bullet patterns?
Its fins could be destroyed? No?

[Zaarock]

The cannon slowly aims at you and you can look at it to see where it's facing. Try baiting it to shoot somewhere and then switching position. There is a sound effect before it fires. Try killing the sharks quickly by placing a fixed burst in front of them or going behind them. Fixed burst should also work on the missiles but you can stay in the top right to avoid the explosion.

Gigantic Bite is the hardest boss in the game, probably going to give a lot of people trouble. edit: My best go against it so far, maybe this can help with what I mentioned above. spoiler warning & the fight is still very sloppy

Around stages 80-100 for the path i took. Northwest. The multiple path makes it hard to pinpoint as well :/. What color is Steel Spin again btw, purple right? Trying to find his icon. I have yet to encounter any Whips as well. This cs mode goes on forever haha.

Does Double Claws icon appear or is he hidden in the later stages of some mission?

[ArmoredCore]

Icon was hidden in a 24 stage grid. Too bad we can't scroll past the initial 8 they show us, oh well. I think im near the end with like dozens and dozens of of multiple routes i haven't even touched yet.

[Zaarock]

...24 stage. Pyramid please.

If you've fought Crimson Nightmare the end is very close.

[ArmoredCore]

...24 stage. Pyramid please.

That area destroyed me pretty hardcore..... Savage Ruler, Double Claw, Azure, Gigantic, and didn't even make it to the end with 130 armor lol. Im guessing it will end with crimson nightmare or the G.Ts. Not to mention Gigantic's health boost since it was like zone 18-20 or so. Haven't had the balls to attempt it again, Took like 30 minutes to get to him.

[Sparrow]

Weird, that cannon really does look like it shoot randomly yeah I can see how it targets yet its timing is weird.
Felt like it has HP tripled of GT. But Darius made Dunkleosteus looked so epic, I liked how it swims not just sitting like a duck there.
Hmm, it have more bullet patterns than all other bosses. I guess my brain can't process well.
The problem thing is, I can't advance far due to spent all pts over it. Ugh need high pts farm.

About the trophy with Counter Burst. Does it have to be the finishing blows? No?

[Zaarock]

...24 stage. Pyramid please.

That area destroyed me pretty hardcore..... Savage Ruler, Double Claw, Azure, Gigantic, and didn't even make it to the end with 130 armor lol. Im guessing it will end with crimson nightmare or the G.Ts. Not to mention Gigantic's health boost since it was like zone 18-20 or so. Haven't had the balls to attempt it again, Took like 30 minutes to get to him.

Wow, that sounds like the ultimate mission. Must also have G.T.B. If you could take a picture or something of the map where it is I'd really appreciate that. Haven't been able to find it in the northwest area at all (where the nightmares tend to appear)

[trap15]

Yeah it seemed dumb to me too, but I assumed maybe Taito knew something about ergonomics I didn't?

So I just went with it.

No that's not how it's laid out in the arcade, are you high? :V

Code: Select all

   [SHOT] [BURST]

[TURN]

[ACSeraph]

So I haven't had as much play as I would like but are the presets at the higher levels of CS reasonably balanced for a skilled player to clear the game? Using upgraded customs doesn't look so different from credit feeding to me. I figured it was only in there for the casual crowd.

Also every time I play on PS4 between stages I get this annoting error message about not being able to connect with the server. Dont know whats causing it or how to turn off the obnoxious message. Also the game freezes my PS4 every time I choose "close application" rather than power off. Seems like a pretty serious glitch.

[Zaarock]

So I haven't had as much play as I would like but are the presets at the higher levels of CS reasonably balanced for a skilled player to clear the game? Using upgraded customs doesn't look so different from credit feeding to me. I figured it was only in there for the casual crowd.

The presets tend to be well balanced. The difficulty feels just right for me at least, I've put a lot of hours into it already. Only preset scores are uploaded to the leaderboard so custom ships are indeed for the casual crowd. For players not that familiar with shmups some presets are probably too difficult. It's understandable to use the custom in that case to progress through the map.

Some of the missions on presets are easily more difficult than a QUZ clear on ACEX. The mission ArmoredCore was talking about sounds like it's likely the hardest one, very curious to see it.