PLAY (AND BULLET HELL) HAS NO LIMITS
Looks like Indie shooting has indeed no limits, and when the developer realizes that, we've got surprises such as this one: Danmaku Unlimited 3 by Doragon.
Your ultimate weekend challenge is here!
The game has two modes to play. First is the beginner mode, known as "Spirit Mode" which goes like this: Enemies destroyed will drop "Spirits" when there's bullets on screen, you can gather those to fill the Trance Gauge, which is an overpowered mode where you can shoot incredibly powerful shots and beams while turning the defeated enemies into gold nuggets which grant you points which you can pick like any other item in any game, or absorb them by using the "Beam" attack by holding both fire and beam buttons. Picking the Spirits isn't just the only way to power up that gauge, you can simply scratch the bullets by getting close enough to do that kinda like in Raiden Fighters Jet and Raiden III. Grazing or "Scratching" is part of the combo counter and refills the time gauge which depletes a bit too fast, requiring fast response and manuevering from the player.
Graze Mode is the "Expert" course which requires you to fill the Graze High Meter by scratching bullets, once that bar is filled, you'll be on Graze High Mode, which will turn the "Spirit" bullets as power for the Trance Mode gauge which this time is manually activated by pressing the bomb button. While this sounds unorthodox, it works quite well since it toggles the Trance function when the gauge is full, respecting the bombs you've got. Keep in mind, when this game says "Experts only" it means it since the only selectable difficulties here are Hard and True.
"State of Trance" gets a whole new meaning.
Regardless of the selected modes, the gameplay of Danmaku Unlimited 3 follows the basics of Cave's DonPachi of having a fast shot and the traditional laser. You also have a bomb, but it has a blast radius centered on your ship rather than being blasted away from it (Example: Super Hornet's "Super Tomahawk" in Strikers 1945 III). Is like Crimson 1 said on Project Wingman: "Me and you now. No distractions, no wingmen, no war, just me and you, whoever wins is the best pilot". It's 1 player only, no Player 2, no power ups, just you and the enemies of the game. If there's no power ups, you might be asking "How I can take a stand?" simple, you're already powered "right out of the box", and so your secondary weapon. You are given an assortment of weapons, but they have to be unlocked by clearing specific feats like making a chain of 3000 grazed bullets, and one thing that I appreciate is the fact that the default Laser weapon is flexible. Its not "Raiden II Plasma" styled, but having a beam that bends enough to keep you moving is one huge improvement over Cave's standard laser beams allowing you to maneuver while inflicting continuous damage on the boss and you'll be definitely needing that.
Its more than just boss fighting.
Boss battles have three phases, each one divided in halves. While the first one is your traditional boss fight, things will get tough once the life bar goes away because the boss will refill and enter in its own version of the Trance, increasing the number of bullets and even beams on screen. While you can take a hit or use a bomb during the normal mode, it is forbidden in the "Boss Trance", resuting in a "Failed Bonus". If you can defeat a boss Trance phase, you'll be rewarded with a "Flawless Phase" bonus.
A hell of a challenge is waiting for you up there.
The bullet hell patterns in this game are between the Cave-Team Shanghai Alice levels of difficulty and complexity that requires more than just maneuverability, for example, one of the bosses will require you to navigate through shields and sometimes you have to learn the behavior of certain patterns to sneak your way through the obstacle. However, the overall intensity varies based on the selected difficulty, but even in Normal (Spirit Mode) the bosses will be a challenge already, so unless you have an idea of how to navigate the patterns without burning a bomb, you'll be killed very often.
At least you tried...
With all the bullet hell breaking loose in Hard and True, you might be thinking about using the good ol' "Pause-Unpause" trick to ease things? Sorry, not in this game, chump. We're playing "House Rules" this time. Doragon knew you might be pulling this stunt for Hard and True, so they added the 3 second countdown to unpause like in Sisters Royale and Triggerheart Exelica (Dreamcast port) in order to keep players away from doing that trick. "Every safety's coming off, no second chances" like Crimson 1 said, and that's what Doragon did, that safety went off becoming a do-or-die game. Even if you lose lives, you can decide if you want to continue or quit the game. Same for attempting to rack 3000 and 10,000 grazed bullets on a chain during the boss fight by exploiting the out-of-bonus time boss phases. That safety went off too. Once the timer's up, the game will disable the bullet graze format, forcing you to clear a boss phase and/or killing the boss if it's the last "Boss Trance" phase.
Pro's get rewarded, very well rewarded.
¿Are you on the lucky list?
Another rule to follow is how to unlock the "Bomba!!" trophy. You will probably think "Just fill the remaining two bombs and that's it, right?". At first I've thought the trophy was glitched after clearing the second stage without using a bomb, but actually, it will unlock after clearing the third stage without using them. You'll notice that after getting a Max Bomb Stock bonus, that's when you'll be getting the trophy. Speaking of bombs, if you get hit in Graze Mode and you have at least 2 spare bombs, they'll be burnt immediately leaving you "bombless". Something completely unorthodox and unfair (as if removing Easy and Normal on Graze Mode wasn't hard enough). "No second chances" indeed.
Well, there's a little "Second chance" the game grants you and that's the Autobomb. When your ship takes a hit, it will unleash one of your bombs, acting like a Hit Point. Also, accumulating long periods of playing grant you one more credit to your continue stock in a similar way to Thunder Force V: Perfect System. This is good news for those who want to clear the Graze Mode in True difficulty.
To close the gameplay part of the review, Trophy progression will be a master challenge for those who are asking pure and pro-grade difficulty to obtain them, including 10,000 Grazed bullets without breaking the chain by getting hit. Most average shmuppers will say "I'll pass", but for diehard players, this is gonna be it, the great shmup challenge they're asking for.
This is one of the few present day games that carry the things that I like of a shmup: Challenge, fun factor and variety, and its good to know that Danmaku Unlimited 3 doesn't disappoint on delivering that: Fast, menacing action that demands the utmost best of the player. Think Touhou Project is easy for you? Give this game a try.
Dark, Stylish and Technological.
A whole new approach on shooting scenery.
While most shmups (both traditional and bullet hell) are color vibrant, the graphics of Danmaku Unlimited 3 go dark and stylish in the graphic aspect, futuristic setting, implying the use of Science-Fiction. This darkness on the game scenery works incredibly well with the metal music as if was a perfect synergy. I mean, its rare to see a whole game in dark styles since it is commonly used on alien bases or industrial facilities due to the metallic, artificial nature of them. It is more than clear the game borrows influences from Ikaruga, but far more darker. There's a bit of Gensokyo mysticism with the use of magic circles and brush written kanjis in the bosses Trance Modes, nodding the roots of bullet hell shooting giving as a result a more Seihou Project like approach with all the sci-fi and technology combined with it.
Are they talking about you or your ship?
Gaming nowadays have plotlines and lore, but Danmaku Unlimited 3 seems to lack of it, except for an introductory text and an epilogue. I mean, who's Valkyria? Is the name of the ship, or is the pilot inside it?, We will never know. Questions as simple as those aren't unanswered and its a shame if we compare this with Dodonpachi Saidaioujou or any of the Touhou Project games which had a vast plotline and not to mention the vast universe of fan arts.
The sound department breaks all known traditions by featuring the japanese band Blankfield which breaks the habit of doing Touhou Project remixes in favor of a more fast metal in the style of Angra, Kiko Loureiro, P.O.D., Meshuggah (Chaosphere era) and The Hurt Process (mostly the song "My Scandinavian Ride") which brings the heat of the battle to the fast drumming and wild guitar riffings. A definitely enjoyable musical experience for the metal audience if we can call it like this.
TRIVIAKU UNLIMITED 3
So, Doragon has several offices in this futuristic dark world.
That's interesting.
- Doragon's logo appears in buildings at the end of Stage 1.
- The trophy name "Flawless Victory" is a reference to Mortal Kombat. It is a term utilized when the player wins a round without taking a single hit, acting as the "Perfect" in other fighting games such as Street Fighter II, Killer Instinct and Fatal Fury.
- "Bomba!!" refers Cave's shmup Ibara, more precisely when the player utilizes a bomb. The ship's pilot shouts "ボンバー!!" during the special attack.
- "Schrage Musik" (Strange Music / Slanted Music) is a World War II term used to refer vertically-mounted upward-firing machine guns or autocannons on both Japanese and German night-striking aircraft.
- "Sturmvogel" means "Storm Bird", which is a synoym for the Petrel.
- "Sturmvogel" was also used to name the fighter-bomber version of the Messerschmitt Me-262, and was used in the Macross franchise as the name of the VF-22 Sturmvogel II.
- "Oroboros" is a snake (or sometimes a dragon) that consumes its own tail. It is represented as both symbol of eternal cycle of renewal and cycle of life, death and rebirth. Its name means "Tail-Eating" or "Tail-Eater".
- Like the Raiden series and Graze Counter/Graze Counter GM, the bosses are crystals embedded to machinery.
Surviving bullet hell is always a challenge.
I'm glad to make it out alive.
Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a love letter to Cave's early days of bullet hell with the classic mechanics of this genre of shmups: Basic, but fast and concentration demanding for expert players. It doesn't matter if you're a newcomer to bullet hells or a veteran, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a game that will surely keep you busy in your need for great challenges.
To sum things up, Danmaku Unlimited 3 gets a final score of 9 R-9's out of 10 in the R-Scale, but the final question is: ¿Are you Top Gun enough for this game?
Certified "Great" by Eda.