Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade Reviews

The original Darius through Darius Gaiden (also the Sagaia variations) are included in Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade. Right from the arcade to the Nintendo Sw

Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade is a good compilation and the titles included are of a high quality, but as comprehensive as it is, it's still a little limited for the price. Enthusiasts, however, will be delighted by it.

Long before I could stroll stand up and even look upon the marquee of The Simpsons arcade game at the local pizza shop, Taito has been making its own style of shoot'em up with the Darius series. Born from the same arcade cabinets that could house The Ninja Warriors and three monitors linked end to end, this shooter series left its own mark on the arcade lineup right alongside the likes of Gradius and Thunder Blade. Now, brought together for the first time that many players will be able to get their hands on some of these original Darius works, the series has been published together in a pair of anthologies dubbed the Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade and Console. For this review, I'm taking a look at the first half: Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade.

Nowadays, the word “Darius” is mostly related to the Hootie & the Blowfish lead singer, but there was a time in which Darius used to be one of the most iconic shoot ’em up franchises in arcades and consoles. This was Taito’s answer to Konami’s Gradius, Irem’s R-Type and Sega’s Thunder Force, featuring easy controls and an even more simplified upgrade system. Suffice to say, the franchise disappeared alongside Taito’s disappearance from the mainstream gaming world… until now....

I've been a huge Darius fan since I was a kid so I'm happy to see that the series is returning with a couple of cool compilations. First up, we have this nifty collection of the original 3 arcade games. Let's take to the skies and check it out!