Darius Cozmic Collection CONSOLE Review
by Amr (@siegarettes)
- Darius Cozmic Collection Console
- Developer: M2
- Publisher: ININ Games
- Switch, PS4
Darius Cozmic Collection Console is almost more notable for the circumstances of its release than the games included in it. Announced around this time about two years ago, it came out in Japan at the start of the last year, in physical form only, with digital editions unavailable until nearly the end of the year. Additionally the “ Consumer” aka Console collection was initially as a bonus in an incredibly expensive limited edition which skyrocketed in price on the aftermarket. Its eventual digital release cost as much as the already expensive Arcade collection–which is the version that appears here. The original Japanese releases were already rough bargains, but time has made the console collection appear almost archaic, thanks to efforts of other retro collections, and even M2 themselves.
Cozmic Collection Console boasts the inclusion of six total games, with nine versions total, but fundamentally you’re getting multiple flavors of four games: Darius, Darius II, Darius Twin and Darius Force. Darius appears exclusively on the PC Engine, with Darius Plus and the rarely scene boss rush variant, Darius Alpha. Darius II appears as Saigaia on both the Mega Drive and Master System, and Darius Twin and Force are original entries for the Super Famicom. Each of them appears in both English and Japanese variants when available, with nice descriptions on the menu giving them a bit of historical context and noting any differences–which makes it more glaring what’s been left out.
The console collection already felt like an appendix to the arcade collection,but there’s two notable absences in Super Darius and Super Darius II. Each was a PC-Engine CD release, the former of which Darius Plus is based on–ironically cutting out bosses and CD music to make it fit onto a HuCard. The description for Darius Plus even acknowledges Plus as a downgraded version of Super Darius, which only draws more attention to its absence.
Super Darius II provides a similar experience for the Darius II, but notably features a remixed soundtrack that aims for a different flavor than the original arcade soundtrack, which would have done a lot to justify its place.
Between the Japanese and English release of the collection we’ve also got the Mega Drive Mini version of Darius, an original port that outdoes every version included in the console collection. Developed as a collaboration between homebrew programmer Hidecade and M2 themselves, Darius MD provides one of the best sounding and playing console versions, and even includes the boss rush from Darius Alpha, and options to play against the full set of 26 bosses from Super Darius. As of writing the Mega Drive Mini is the only official way to play it.
Darius II, aka Saigaia (not to be confused with Saigaia, a remixed version of the original Darius) does an admirable job of translating its source material, though I definitely missed the cheesy opening dialogue of the first stage song that blesses the arcade game. It looks more crunched down than the Mega Drive Mini’s port of Darius, but that was made over a decade after the fact and comes in at four times the file size, thanks to not needing to deal with the realities of cartridge manufacturing.
Darius Force and Darius Twin fare a bit better than the other console titles here, by virtue of not needing to compete with other ports. Darius Twin carries the spirit of the series well, boasting an energetic pace and soundtrack, while being the only two player game on the collection. Darius Force stands out as the odd child, sluggish down to even the feel of the menus, and being the only game in the series to reset you to a checkpoint upon death, a la R-Type or Gradius. It experiments a lot with the structure of the series, and can work out its own groove when you adjust to it, but its relentless pace and sluggish play also makes it the most frustrating of the console titles.
Given its original status as a bonus to another collection, and the glaring omissions, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Darius Cozmic Collection Console is anything more than a bonus disc for fanatics positioned as a full retail release. Without the context of the arcade collection, or any of the archives of extra artwork, music and interviews provided in collections like the SNK 40th Anniversary or Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection, Cozmic Collection Console comes across as a bit thin. The ports and presentation feel premium, but the package can’t stand up to the more discerning standards expected of modern collections.