Dariusburst

Dariusburst
Dariusburst is a horizontal scrolling shoot-em-up developed by Taito and released by Pyramid in 2009 for the PSP. As usual, the game features multiple branching paths designated by zones, mechanical fish-themed enemies, various types of powerup and a soundtrack produced by Taito's in-house band Zuntata. However, there are also several differences between previous Darius games and Dariusburst, which will be listed in the gameplay overview.

Chronologically, Dariusburst is one of the more recent games in the Darius series, taking place after the reclamation of Darius in Darius Twin and Gaiden but before Chronicle Saviours. A port of Dariusburst would be released for mobile devices in 2012 named Dariusburst: Second Prologue, which omits Burst Mode but makes up for it by including additional missions, a new SP mode that is functionally identical to arcade mode but with some altered stages and new bosses, and a new playable ship named the Assault. A massively altered version named Dariusburst: Another Chronicle was released in 2010 for arcades, which would be updated with Another Chronicle EX in 2011. Another Chronicle EX would be ported to PC and PS4 through Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviours in 2015, then on Switch and PS4/5 through Another Chronicle EX+ in 2021.

Gameplay Overview
Dariusburst has the same general gameplay concept as every game before it. Control the Silver Hawk and use it to shoot down enemies, pick up coloured orbs dropped by some enemies to gain powerups, and choose the next zone to fight through after the boss at the end of the level. However, there are some important changes that should be listed.
 * All ships (except Origin) now have a Burst system. Charge up the Burst meter by shooting down enemies, then when it is full, use it to unleash the ship's Burst weapon. Legend, for instance, fires a large Burst Laser that behaves similarly to the Alpha Beam from G-Darius, including the ability to counter enemy Burst Lasers. It can also be detached and controlled independently of the ship, in which case it will remain firing in the same direction from the same place until it is disabled or it runs out of fuel in the Burst Meter.
 * Stage progression has been heavily altered. Now, the player is forced to play through Zones A and B in every playthrough with no choice. Afterwards, the game returns to typical Darius behaviour with the player being able to choose the zones they go through. However, the game still ends at Stage 5 as it did in G-Darius, but with only 4 possible Final Zones, and 11 stages in total across the whole game.
 * In addition to the simplified level progression, Dariusburst devolves back to the boss system used in the original Darius, where every zone of a stage has the same boss (for example, all Stage 2 zones in Darius have Electric Fan as the boss). The only exception is the Final Zones, where each one of them house a different final boss. This is changed in SP Mode of Second Prologue.
 * The player can now choose between 3 different ships to play as (4 in Second Prologue). These are Legend which is the default ship and fires a standard Burst Laser, Next which behaves very similarly to Legend except with a weaker main attack, homing bombs and a more mobile Burst Turret, and finally Origin, which behaves identically to the ship from the original Darius and does not have a Burst Laser. Second Prologue adds the Assault; its main attacks are similar to those of the Next (minus the homing bombs), but its Burst is entirely different. It is now a moving "Spark" that can be detonated remotely for medium damage, and does damage as it passes through enemies.

There are also multiple different modes the player can choose from, a list of these is provided below.
 * Arcade Mode. This mode plays similar to a traditional Darius arcade game (as the name implies), although progression is heavily bottlenecked. There is only one choice for both Stage 1 AND Stage 2, after which there are 2 choices for Stage 3, 3 choices for Stage 4 and 4 choices for Stage 5. The player is free to choose their lives count, difficulty and ship. They are also provided with infinite continues, so they may choose to continue as many times as they like until they reach the end.
 * Mission Mode. Instead of starting with a specific zone and choosing your path from there, players instead select a mission to play from a premade collection. These missions can contain any combination of stages and bosses, and function as the game's level and boss select as well as an additional mode. In each mission, players have one life, no continues, and a preset ship and number of powerups. Mission Mode is unlocked by completing Arcade Mode with two different paths, such as ABCEH and ABDFI.
 * Burst Mode. This is a PSP-exclusive mode that was omitted and replaced with SP mode in the mobile port of Dariusburst. This plays similarly to Arcade Mode, but with two major differences. First of all, the player has one life and no continues, regardless of their settings. Second of all, the player's arsenal is fully upgraded right from the get-go and can switch between Missile, Laser and Wave at any time. As such, weapon upgrade orbs are removed.
 * SP Mode. This is a mobile-exclusive mode not available on the PSP version of Dariusburst. This mode is very similar to Arcade Mode, although some stages are altered (notably Zone A's ruined city taking on a darker, less epic tone), and 2 new bosses (Lightning Claw and Heavy Jaw) are introduced into the mix.

Scoring
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Zones
The zones in Dariusburst start with A and B which all players are required to complete in every playthrough, then afterwards it opens up for the traditional flow of progression.

Below is a list of zones and their respective bosses.

Stage 1
All Stage 1 zones have Iron Fossil as the boss.
 * Zone A: The game starts in the ruins of an abandoned city, which then transitions into an undersea cave.

Stage 2
All Stage 2 zones have Mud Wheel as the boss.
 * Zone B: The player travels to a space station just outside of Darius' atmosphere, then exits to reveal multiple other space stations under attack by the Belsar.

Stage 3
All Stage 3 zones have Lightning Flamberge as the boss.
 * Zone C: The player travels to a battlefield in outer space. They head into a Belsar base near the battlefield, where the meat and potatoes of the level begin.
 * Zone D: The player travels through an asteroid ring surrounding Darius. Lightning Claw is the boss in SP Mode.

Stage 4
All Stage 4 zones have Mirage Castle as the boss.
 * Zone E: The player travels through a portal. They warp through the portal and are teleported near Amnelia.
 * Zone F: The player travels through a massive junkyard containing the ruins of various destroyed ships. Heavy Jaw is the boss in SP Mode.
 * Zone G: Practically identical to Zone E.

Stage 5

 * Zone H: The player fights through a secret Belsar base stationed near Amnelia, and work to destroy it. Hungry Gluttons is the final boss.
 * Zone I: The player fights through an asteroid field near Amnelia. Several enemy battleships are inbound. Thousand Knives is the final boss.
 * Zone J: The player fights through an enemy-controlled moon orbiting Amnelia. Dark Helios is the final boss.
 * Zone K: The player fights through an enemy base near Amnelia. Countless battleships can be seen guarding it. Great Thing is the final boss.

Story
Dariusburst takes place after Darius is reclaimed and resettled during the events of Darius Gaiden and Twin. The Belsar have unleashed a powerful computer virus that crippled all interplanetary communication systems, allowing the Belsar to move in for an easy victory. The humanoid AI terminal Ti2 and test pilot Riga Practica were entrusted with 2 experimental new Burst Silver Hawks, and ordered to move out and take down the Belsar Flagship before they reached Darius.

As usual, each different final zone yields a different ending to go with it. A list of endings and their SP Mode counterparts is provided below.
 * Zone H: Ti2 and Riga succeed in destroying the Belsar flagship Hungry Gluttons. However, due to damage taken during the battle, Ti2 and Riga are forced to abandon their ships. Ti2 rescues Riga from certain death, and awaits his recovery.
 * Zone H (SP Mode): The Silver Hawks succeed in destroying the Belsar flagship Hungry Gluttons, but are heavily damaged and thus weaker. A brand-new enemy fleet jumps into action, and despite knowing that their efforts will be futile, the Silver Hawks rage on and continue the fight anyway.
 * Zone I: Ti2 and Riga succeed in destroying the Belsar flagship Thousand Knives, and return to their home planet Darius. Little do they know, however, that the planet they believed to be the enemy homeworld was actually the homeworld of humanity - Amnelia, the "cradle of mankind", which was captured by the Belsar thousands of years after it had been abandoned by humanity.
 * Zone I (SP Mode): The Silver Hawks succeed in destroying the Belsar flagship Thousand Knives, and return to their home planet Darius, where it is then revealed that the enemy fleet near Amnelia was merely a diversionary tactic to distract the allied forces from the Belsar's incoming assault on Darius!
 * Zone J: Ti2 and Riga succeed in destroying the Belsar flagship Dark Helios, and the additional battleship known as the Syvalion that was hiding within. After Syvalion explodes, the Embryon appears, heralding the coming of the Thiima (referred to in-game as the Shiima), who were responsible for driving humanity off of their homeworld Amnelia. Ti2 and Riga both know that a Thiiman invasion of Darius would mean certain doom for humanity. However, as Ti2's intelligence was built using the framework of the Hyperspace Network, she is able to open communications with the Thiima, and travels into their dimension to discuss these matters. Riga is left on his own, waiting for Ti2 to return from negotiations.
 * Zone J (SP Mode): The Silver Hawks succeed in destroying the Belsar flagship Dark Helios, and the additional battleship known as the Syvalion that was hiding within. After Syvalion explodes, a strange light in the shape of the sea angel appears, heralding the coming of the Thiima, who were responsible for driving humanity off of their homeworld Amnelia. The Silver Hawks prepare for battle, but it never comes, as the Thiima simply seem to stay there, peacefully observing. The light then disappears into the void. The Silver Hawks can only wonder what purpose the Thiima had in mind for observing them like this, but nonetheless, they pack up and go home.
 * Zone K: Ti2 and Riga succeed in destroying the Belsar flagship Great Thing, and return to their home planet Darius. Upon their return, they are awarded with medals, and a new part of human history begins.
 * Zone K (SP Mode): The Silver Hawks succeed in destroying the Belsar flagship Great Thing, and return to their home planet Darius. This is not the end, however, as the Belsar invasion has not been fully stopped; only delayed as their fleets recover and they prepare to strike again.