DARIUS BURST CHRONICLE SAVIOURS (STEAM/PS4/Vita)

[Zaarock]

How does Assault's counterburst work exactly? Does it do more damage to just let it sit on a boss for as long as possible, like a normal counterburst would, or does it do more damage to detonate it?

Detonation does more damage. You can usually land three counterbursts on the same laser and once it's over let the last counter stay on the boss longer. It's tricky but since Assault can point blank with shot at the same time it can do a ton of damage.

[Aleksei]

So far so good, 1cc all routes in AC except Great Thing stage.

Then is off to EX haha.

[Skykid]

Finally hit GT on CS mode. Just turned up, didn't know he was coming. Don't really like Legend's Burst, fighting GT is a good example why. Even though I remembered a lot of his attacks from the arcade and held on a good while, the laser positioning screwed me a few times too often.

I have a fair amount of points at this stage, would anyone recommend a ship purchase, and if so, which? I hear the Murakamo is a hot one, but I only remember using it on one mission so it's not too familiar.

[Shepardus]

Murakumo's a good ship, very potent for survival though I'm not sure about its scoring potential. It's sort of like a combination of several of the other ships.

Its laser is bad at dealing with masses of enemies compared to other ships' burst lasers (even its regular shots seem to struggle less), but it ends in a large explosion similar to Assault's burst finish which makes it really easy to recharge the burst gauge, and the burst itself also lasts longer than Legend/Next/Formula. Its burst is also like Genesis in that you can counterburst by starting the burst any time before moving into the laser, but without Genesis's disadvantage of being forced to use the whole gauge at once.

It's also got an options system similar to Genesis (tapping C will cycle through option formations), except it's got four options instead of two so getting an option destroyed isn't as big of a deal as it is with Genesis. One of the best parts of Murakumo is that each different option formation changes the shot type of the options, so you can always have the correct shot type to cancel normal bullets or yellow needle bullets, which in many cases makes up for the lack of fixed burst.

So yes, I think Murakumo would be a solid choice for a ship purchase. I personally purchased Genesis because it's my favorite, but haven't actually used it yet. I think Assault would also be a good choice since that ship seems to do a ton of damage, but I'm not very familiar with it and the spark burst is kind of tricky to use well.

[Skykid]

^ I'm sold. Thanks for the awesome feedback. I did think the Murukamo was a pretty neat hybrid, but you put a nice perspective on it.

I also find Assault's spark burst difficult to work with, in that I'm still trying to figure out its range and if it deals decent damage during its initial hover. But I do like CS's default preset ships as it gives you a good incentive to learn them all and get a workout on various stages (which is nice because i'm more familiar with the stages than some of the ship types).

[Dumple]

I posted a guide to basics on Steam:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =575302379

Loving this game - I haven't been this hooked on a shmup in ages. The variety is keeping me from burning out. I'll be away from the gaming PC for a while next week, but I might make a pilgrimage to an arcade in SLC that apparently has a cabinet, to get a Darius Burst fix.

[CStarFlare]

I've been playing CS a little more today. Ran into my first Alt route - it's pretty tough, with a 14 stage run that only gives one extra life.

Also, when using Murakumo's second formation (default shot type) and go into a boss battle, its bullets turn into lasers. I have to hit the formation change button three times to scroll through and resent the bullet type. It's kind of irritating when I'm going into a boss fight that starts with cancelable bullets this is quite annoying.

[mamboFoxtrot]

Fought and lost to Great Thing on CGL route today. Note to self: stay the hell away from the top of the screen. It seems like some of the damn lasers he shoots spawn off screen and will boop you in the head out of nowhere if you're hanging around up there. :v

On that run I also anticlimactically lost a life in Zone G to the fucking floor. Just tried to nab a power-up, but I guess there really isn't much leeway on how close you can get to surfaces.


Random question: Are there score-based extends in this game?

[Shepardus]

Random question: Are there score-based extends in this game?

Pretty sure there are no extends anywhere in the game. The shield powerups are the closest thing you get to that.

[Super Laydock]

Super Laydock, I know you are an old schooler, so the first thing is: this is a Darius game, it should appeal to you on the basis of the same strengths of the previous entries in the series, namely:

-Zuntata soundtrack (and they are in top form);
-branching paths with many stages;
-the real deal in each stage is to learn how to fight an owerpowered, long boss fight (that is, the true stage is its boss)

If you ever liked Darius games for these aspects, you'll feel back home. Add to the mix:

-modern online hiscoring

-60hz uncompromising substance-over-style design (must be the first instance ever of a portable shooter evolved into a coin-op; Pyramid used the Taito Type-X extra power *not* in the way that any other developer would have: that is, they retained the graphics assets, and added 60hz performance and a billion of popcorn enemies on-screen;

-the port which is handled by the original developers themselves, and includes lots of extra tailored for a great home experience (CS Mode, overall)

-Lots of ships that behave unlike the previous Darius games you've had: with pods, beams, burst mode, and plenty of classic silverhawks if you feel nostalgic. Lots of variety to fit all the styles.

-basically, we're talking of the most important horizontal release since the advent of Gradius V.

in my book, this is absolutely worth the price.

Wow, that's exactly the recap I needed to win me over.
Thanks a lot! You should be on the sales team!

Guess I have myself a christmas gift.

[CloudyMusic]

On that run I also anticlimactically lost a life in Zone G to the fucking floor. Just tried to nab a power-up, but I guess there really isn't much leeway on how close you can get to surfaces.

Incidentally, you do get some protection from running into walls if you have Hyper Arm (gold level shields), but nothing less. But still, don't count on it

[Observer]

One thing that took me a bit to get accustomed to is the hitbox. Your entire ship is the hitbox, right? There isn't much leeway or leniency there, which is why I find some of the diagonal patterns so annoying because you always try to squeeze through them but the ship still gets hit.

Probably one of the few gripes I have with the game. Oh, and the massive grinding.

But I just 1cc'd the easiest Arcade route and I love how the music keeps the same great tone until it climaxes on Violent Ruler where it goes haywire.

This was by far the shmup release of the year (in terms of original releases and not ports, when it comes to ports, holy shit we got so many on PC and many more to come!)

[CptRansom]

FUCK PHANTOM CASTLE

[Durandal]

Usually I can evade Phantom Castle's homing lasers by making a mirrored-δ maneuver.
So pretend like you're tracing a mirrored lowercase (Greek) delta with your ship whenever Phantom Castle fires its homing lasers, and with enough practice you can evade them without taking damage (most of the time).

[Skykid]

FUCK PHANTOM CASTLE

I understand where you're coming from, been there when I was playing in the arcade. But those lasers aren't so tough. I dodge them in two sections: the first two lasers need to be ducked just as they arrive, and then the remaining cluster dodged by going in the opposite direction almost immediately. In effect you sort of weave through a gap between them.

If you're feeling out of sync you can shield with the laser several times. If you weakened him while still in the armour enough, he often shoots his burst unit straight away after shedding it, giving you a good early counter opportunity.

And if you weaken him a bunch by learning to strip all the armour he doesn't last too long anyhow.

[CptRansom]

And if you weaken him a bunch by learning to strip all the armour he doesn't last too long anyhow.

This is my current goal. I either need to find a CS mission where he's an early boss or um... CFJ for AC, right? Mostly I'm frustrated because I've been trying to clear this 14-stage CS mission for what feels like a week with default (like many other missions, making your own ship is EZPZmode). I finally got to Phantom Castle (2nd to last boss), and I got wrecked. Definitely practicing my ass off before I go back in. Ranting/rambling, carry on.

Usually I can evade Phantom Castle's homing lasers by making a mirrored-δ maneuver.
So pretend like you're tracing a mirrored lowercase (Greek) delta with your ship whenever Phantom Castle fires its homing lasers, and with enough practice you can evade them without taking damage (most of the time).

I will be giving this a try as well.

Thanks, guys.

[Skykid]

And if you weaken him a bunch by learning to strip all the armour he doesn't last too long anyhow.

This is my current goal. I either need to find a CS mission where he's an early boss

Oh there are a ton of those.

Seriously, the repetition can force hiatuses - there was a point where having to fight Mud Wheel or any of his various iterations again would have driven me to madness.

[CloudyMusic]

Zone F is a very short stage in AC mode, so depending on how long Hyper Jaw takes you, you can probably get to him in under 4 minutes in CFJ.

[Smraedis]

I think the most difficult thing with finding bosses in CS and Chronicle modes is that they can have different healths, depending on what stage they are at, not to mind different variations of the bosses and the screen size differences of CS and AC modes.

[Sparrow]

I went to Darius wiki. Eh? Eh? I'm surprised Lightning series are actually based on Sawfish and Jaw series are Goblin Shark.
I thought it's Manta Ray and Anchovy. How weird. Lightning bosses completely lacked saw noses. Jaw bosses are plain looking ones so I assumed it's based on Anchovy fish.

Savage Ruler is seriously too dangerous than any turtle and Ruler series together. Cannot find the safe area to land.

[xxx1993]

What's the best stage to grind?

[Durandal]

What's the best stage to grind?

Take a look at stages with the highest scores in the leaderboards. Then look which one's the shortest.
Although you're better off learning the patterns of the stages you are stuck on and not trying to get hit. You can get through most stages using the preset ship.

[xxx1993]

What's the best stage to grind?

Take a look at stages with the highest scores in the leaderboards. Then look which one's the shortest.
Although you're better off learning the patterns of the stages you are stuck on and not trying to get hit. You can get through most stages using the preset ship.

The leaderboards, huh? It's because I wanna get through the CS Mode as quickly as possible. In that case, though, what's a better way to grind than looking at the shorter stages in the CS Mode? What if I have to do the Arcade Mode several times or do some stages in Chronicle Mode?

[Squire Grooktook]

If you want to get through as fast as possible, then "grinding" is the opposite of what you should do.

[xxx1993]

What do you mean?

[Skykid]

What do you mean?

Grinding means repeating the same stage more than once.

Zaarock has a very handy video of the most direct route to Gigantic Bite on YT. It's a bit fast though, you need to do a lot of tap pauses to see if you're on the right path.

I didn't do any grinding so far and just bought the Murukamo when I got to Great Thing. If you haven't beaten GT before though I'd advise Next, since A: It's a wonderful battle, and B: You can't use Murakamo in Arcade mode and Next is a good ship there for clearing the GT route. It doesn't score like Assault or Gaiden but for survival and pure gaming awesomeness using the Burst cannon to find your way through is a lot of fun.

[Magma Dragoon]

I'm getting stuck mostly on those stages with the rotating turrets on both floor and ceiling and on the Gluttons. Seriously, those things have way too much health.

[xxx1993]

What do you mean?

Grinding means repeating the same stage more than once.

Zaarock has a very handy video of the most direct route to Gigantic Bite on YT. It's a bit fast though, you need to do a lot of tap pauses to see if you're on the right path.

I didn't do any grinding so far and just bought the Murukamo when I got to Great Thing. If you haven't beaten GT before though I'd advise Next, since A: It's a wonderful battle, and B: You can't use Murakamo in Arcade mode and Next is a good ship there for clearing the GT route. It doesn't score like Assault or Gaiden but for survival and pure gaming awesomeness using the Burst cannon to find your way through is a lot of fun.

Got it.

[ACSeraph]

Why does everyone feel the need to rush through this and grind? CS is really rewarding to play using the presets. Just take your time with it and learn everything, I'm sure we've got another 10 years before the next Darius game anyhow...

So... is the PS4 version ever getting the patch that fixes the wave and burst recovery in CS mode? It makes things way harder than they should be as is. Good thing I play Gaiden primarily, so I'm used to not relying on burst laser as a shield.

[Steelix100]

Funny thing is, wave is still broken on Assault Jaw (and probably the other Jaws too, but idk)