Darius Burst PSP gameplay quick question

[greg]

I bought this game back in June, but I've finally gotten around to spending some time playing the game. I have a quick question: why does my weapon get downgraded? Is it from using the burst cannon too frequently?

I never played G Darius. I was hoping that there would be some sort of scoring strategy in using the burst cannon, as with Border Down. I was disappointed that there isn't.

[Skykid]

Scoring is based on using the cannon to increase your multiplier by killing swarms in succession (or swathes) as well as dismembering the appendages of certain bosses in a particular strategy.

This is difficult to do until you unlock the first ship which allows laser detachment and positioning. That said PSP scoring is generally less detailed and nuanced than the arcade version.

I don't remember any weapon downgrading at any point so I can't answer that.

We do have both a dedicated Darius series thread and a 'questions that don't deserve a thread' as a reminder.

[CStarFlare]

The Burst Cannon makes your multiplier rise faster, and everything you kill with it is worth some multiple of its usual multiplier value. Based on SP it changes based on ship but is typically about x4 (so x64 max multiplier) but I'm not sure if it's the same in the PSP version. Cannon is multiplies it to some extent, though.

Not sure off hand about the power drop.

[greg]

Thanks. I haven't unlocked another ship yet. Not sure when that will happen.

The apparent power drop was me not paying attention. Once the regular shot upgrades to the laser, it goes down to shooting one laser at a time. I wasn't paying attention, and it seemed that my firepower was being downgraded.

[Skykid]

Thanks. I haven't unlocked another ship yet. Not sure when that will happen.

Clear the game on any route (so easiest) with the default ship. The default ship is crap, I don't know why they didn't just open up full cannon trickery from the beginning.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Thanks. I haven't unlocked another ship yet. Not sure when that will happen.

Clear the game on any route (so easiest) with the default ship. The default ship is crap, I don't know why they didn't just open up full cannon trickery from the beginning.

Wrong version? You can drop beam from the start on PSP + homing missiles kinda ruin the game.

[Skykid]

Can you? I must have remembered wrongly.

I'm sure there was something fundamentally useless about the initial ship.

[Icarus]

I'm sure there was something fundamentally useless about the initial ship.

The fact that the dropped Burst Unit's laser moves in the opposite direction to you?
Next is superior.

[trap15]

Moving in the opposite direction feels a lot more natural, but I think how much slower it turns in comparison to Next is probably its biggest limitation.

[ACSeraph]

^It probably just depends on player preference which movement direction feels more natural, but being able to pull it towards you allows you to play much more defensively with Next. In order to create a "wall" with Legend you have to go in front of the laser and into the very barrage you want to protect yourself from. That speed definitely makes a huge difference as you say too; in ACEX it's even faster than that.

[trap15]

Actually I have never played the PSP one, I was just assuming they didn't change anything like that. But yeah, Next is far more defensive feeling than the others just because of the angling. The quicker turn makes is far superior even for offense though, I'd say.

[ACSeraph]

Yeah, actually in the PSP game Next is definitely superior for offense, not only due to the laser but because of the homing missiles. Aside from point blanking Next has consistently higher damage than Legend.

Actually in ACEX they nerfed Next pretty heavily. It shoots about half as many missiles and also has a smaller on screen shot limit than Legend to reduce it's damage. I think the crazy fast laser movement was also intended as a nerf because it's very hard to control for a new player, but in the right hands it's actually a huge advantage. Luckily though Legend also has a faster laser in ACEX to balance things out, similar to the PSP Next movement speed.

[greg]

I unlocked Next a few nights ago and this morning I played it for the first time. All along, I was just seeing how far I'd get on one credit and didn't really use continues, but this week I used the continues to finish the game. The Next sure let me power up faster, it seems.