Darius Cozmic Collection Console
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Darius Cozmic Collection Console Media
Critic Reviews for Darius Cozmic Collection Console
Still, it's all about the games, and they're still good fun. In fact, Darius Cozmic Collection Console is a marginally easier recommendation than the arcade one; there are five distinct titles here rather than three, and they're all worth playing – even if none of them quite reach the glorious heights of Darius Gaiden.
As a piece of gaming history the Darius Collections are spot on, recreating classic arcade and console games on modern hardware, but they are massively overpriced considering the content. Some games in the Arcade collection are either minor tweaks or ports of a previous versions, so you would have to be a die hard Darius fan to even consider purchasing both collections. The Console collection is by far the better choice due to the single screen design, but aficionados will then miss the classic arcade versions.
This is not a bad collection; the games are a lot of fun and play well, but like its Arcade counterpart I can’t recommend it at this price, especially when I feel this is the weaker of the two collections. M2 does great work and it’s on display here, but I think these two collections should have been bundled together and sold at full price, not in two separate collections bundled at full price each.
All in all, like with the companion Arcade collection, this is a high-quality collection of games, but the experience is brought down by some missing content and a high price tag.
Other than the original Darius and Sagaia, these games are a great way to play a series of seriously challenging arcade shmups from the past where arcades ruled.
Darius Cozmic Collection Console features a robust selection of the various Darius ports; however, there are some odd decisions. The amazing port of Darius included in the Sega Genesis Mini, which was based on a build that was initially canceled, is absent. I understand it didn't have a home release back in the day, but it is still one of the best ports of the original. I thought the inclusion of games from three different regions was smart, especially considering how popular the Sega Master System remained in Europe well into the life of the Mega Drive. It certainly must have been quite a task to convert/port the arcade games to home consoles over twenty years ago.
Darius Cozmic Collection Console offers a very different experience from the arcade version. While it is still good and includes more variety, the smaller scale can make things more difficult. It also doesn't have the same ideas, such as practice mode for every game, but it's still a solid experience. It will push you to achieve a higher level and offers enough adventures to figure it out.
What is here is a nice, if expensive, collection of good shmups made for replayability for a niche selection of fans, the curious newcomers or people wanting a trip down memory lane of their childhood video game playing.
