DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours

DARIUSBURST Chronicle Saviours is a horizontally scrolling arcade shooter from the DARIUS series. Players control different Silver Hawk spaceships, fight alien enemies and choose different routes through the levels at branching points.

Alongside the classic arcade game, this version includes a large single-player mode with new missions. The particularly large boss enemies often resemble mechanical sea creatures.

The PC version was released on Dec 3, 2015. The PlayStation versions followed at the end of 2015. The German PlayStation Store lists Dec 7, 2015 for the PS4 version.

The game was released natively for PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The PC version offers extra graphics options up to the extra-wide 32:9 aspect ratio and supports dual-monitor display in Arcade mode.

The PlayStation Vita version is designed for single player. The PS4 version supports local play with up to four people. The PS5 can run the PS4 version via backward compatibility, but there is no standalone release of this game.

Your ships move sideways through enemy formations and dodge bullets. Kills bring upgrades for shots, bombs and the protective arm armor. The available weapons differ depending on the ship you choose.

A key element is the Burst beam. It uses energy, can cancel enemy shots and, with the right timing, trigger powerful counterattacks. Some ship types use other special weapons.

Expansions add guest ships from other shooters. These include vehicles and characters from Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier, DoDonPachi Resurrection, Battle Garegga and other titles. Some packs come with their own challenges and music tracks.

The guest ships are add-on content for DARIUSBURST and do not include the original games they come from. On PC, individual expansions and bundles are offered.

For the Windows version, Steam lists an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, a GeForce 8600 GT-class graphics card with Shader Model 2.0 and about 1.8 GB of free storage space. A controller is recommended.

The original requirements list older Windows versions. However, today's Steam client only supports Windows 10 or newer. Dual-monitor display requires two screens with sufficient vertical resolution.

The AC mode contains the game variants from DARIUSBURST Another Chronicle EX. In the Original mode, choices after individual stages lead to different routes. Original EX raises the difficulty level.

In Chronicle mode, more than 3,000 challenges can be unlocked. Players share progress within virtual arcade groups.

The CS mode is a separate single-player campaign with over 200 stages. It leads through motifs and locations from the DARIUS story and uses a display adapted for ordinary single screens.

The large mission select is also aimed at players who want to unlock new tasks over a longer time rather than quick arcade runs.

Nine spaceships are available, including several Silver Hawk variants. Some rely on the powerful Burst beam, others on different special attacks and their own firepower.

Shots, bombs and shields can be upgraded with colored items. With the so-called Fixed Burst, the beam can be fixed at one position and aimed precisely.

On PC and PlayStation 4, up to four people can play locally at the same time. Power-ups can be shared and the Burst weapons combined. The PlayStation Vita version, by contrast, supports only one player.

Between PS4 and PS Vita the game supports transferring save data. On Steam there are also leaderboards, achievements and cloud saves.

Arcade mode uses the wide 32:9 aspect ratio of its arcade original. On PC it can be shown across two monitors. Chronicle Saviours mode, by contrast, is designed for standard 16:9 screens.

The widescreen display keeps the overview of the unusually wide-stretched play fields.

More than 40 large boss enemies await at the end and within various stages. Many are modeled on fish and other sea creatures that have long served as inspiration in the DARIUS series.

The music comes from the circle around Taito’s sound team Zuntata and blends well-known tracks with new compositions.