Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade

In the competitive world of arcade shoot 'em ups, Darius had no problem standing out. With an immersive widescreen display that required multiple monitors and a non-linear path that allowed for radically different playthroughs, this was a series designed to be noticed. But even if it didn't have all of that going for it, I have a hunch that this long-running franchise would have found an audience. This is a shoot 'em up series where aliens have created giant mechanical spaceships that look like fish, sharks, squids and everything else you might find under the sea. Forget widescreen displays and choosing your own path, because this concept is golden.

The new compilation Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade brings all of these coin-op hits to the PlayStation 4 and Switch for the first time ever. This package includes multiple versions of the original 1986 arcade game, as well as ports of Darius II, Sagaia and Darius Gaiden, each with different modes and historical information to help put them in context. That's the good news. Unfortunately, the steep asking price and relatively light selection of titles makes this difficult to recommend to anybody beyond the hardcore fans.

No matter what I think about the overall package, there's no denying that it's fun to go back and play some of the earliest entries. The original Darius may have some issues, but it's a confident shoot 'em up that laid the groundwork for what you should expect from the franchise. We get the recognizable power-ups, the ability to choose different paths, the aquatic bosses and, of course, the Silver Hawk. It's a three-monitor beast full of colorful levels and intense battles. And like so many arcade cabinets of the day, it's incredibly challenging. It's a game designed to suck those tokens right out of your pockets.

What you might not realize is that about half of this collection is made up by the first game in the series. There are three different versions of the original Darius cabinet, each with only slight variations. There's the old school release that started it all, as well as a 1987 revision that rebalanced the bosses and an extra version that fiddles with the character placement and increases the effectiveness of the lasers.

On one hand, I can understand and appreciate all of these revisions. Fans who have spent a lot of time getting used to one version of the game want to see it included in the package, so it makes sense to offer all of the revisions to the original Darius. That said, many of the changes are subtle enough to go completely unnoticed to all but the most passionate players. They all feature the same stages and bosses, as well as the ultra-wide three-monitor display. If the game had not told me about the rebalancing, I'm not even sure I would have noticed it.

With so many versions of the first game, I'm a little surprised we don't see the same for Darius II. This collection features the original two-monitor setup for the 1989 sequel, as well as a couple versions of the international off-shoot Sagaia, but neglects to include the three-monitor version that was released a little later. Thankfully, both Darius II and Sagaia are worthy successors that improve on the concept in almost every way possible.

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For me, the real treat of the package ended up being Darius Gaiden, a single-monitor sequel released in the mid-1990s that took full advantage of all the bells and whistles of the newer hardware. This game ramps up the excitement with 3D graphics, sprite rotation, detailed backgrounds and some of the best bosses of the entire franchise. It's accessible without being too easy, all while finding the right balance between being challenging and frustrating. Darius Gaiden is the real gem in this arcade collection.

No matter which game or version you prefer, this collection does a good job of emulating them. Every game is presented in the proper aspect ratio, with multiple options to smooth the sprites, simulate scanlines and alter the backgrounds. I'm a big fan of the cabinet art they frame around the display, but if you don't like it, there are options to go fullscreen. The challenging games are also made a little more manageable with a difficulty setting and six different save slots per game. Best of all, every game in the collection comes with an alternate training mode where zones and powerup levels can be freely set.

The fact that the emulation is so good makes me a little sad that I'm not more excited about the overall package. You're basically paying $45 for only four games, which seems a bit steep to me. I wish that instead of splitting the console and arcade games up into two different compilations, Taito would have created a comprehensive package that merged the two collections into one. Unfortunately, they didn't go that route, which makes Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade difficult to recommend. You're better off buying the console collection, which features a far better selection of games and extras. This is only for the hardcore fans.