History YMMV / Darius

** Oh, and if you thought Great Thing was a hard FinalBoss, then you'll be [[{{SarcasmMode}} happy to meet]] '''Gigantic Bite.''' He has plenty of attacks and they are deadly as ever such as; Shrapnels shards, Homing Beams, Mini bombs like the normal Silver Hawks drops, fast homing missile that has more hits, undestructable electric harpoons that aims at you leaves a line that covers the area and shotgun lasers. Not to mention he can always keep summoning [[DemonicSpiders dolphins that shoots homing lasers]] in several of his battle phase. Have fun buying enough shields, because 50 shields won't be enough for this boss and all of his attacks will absolutely tear off your brains out.

** Most games are notorious for heavily reducing the player's equipment levels upon death (usually resetting to 0 points in each upgrade tier). While many say this is still better than what ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' does, it doesn't take away the pain of losing two or three stages' worth of powerups, especially if it happens against ThatOneBoss. ''Dariusburst'' notably [[LaterInstallmentWeirdness drops this mechanic]], as does the 2019 Genesis Mini port if playing as Tiat.

** The ''Darius 1'' port on the Genesis Mini, [[PromotedFanboy actually made by a fan]], adapts very well to the smaller screen while remaining as faithful to the original as possible. It also adds a few new features, like an option to reduce the hitbox when a shield is active, Tiat as an "easy mode" character that adds more modern conveniences like keeping powerups upon respawn and removing the checkpoint system, and a "26 bosses" option that gives every single zone (even ones in the same tier of zones) a unique boss, including bosses that were never in the original arcade version.

** In ''Another Chronicle EX'', Genesis seems to be the ship of choice due to being able to crank out high multipliers by using its options to finish enemy formations and bosses as well as its Alpha Beam awarding higher multipliers than most other Burst weapons. As of ''Another Chronicle EX+'', Murakumo has joined the fray due to basically being a MasterOfAll-type ship. For time attack courses, expect to see Second in top times due to being able to having higher overall damage than the other ships, [[GlassCannon albeit at the cost of defense]], [[DifficultButAwesome rendering it a ship for advanced players]].

** Many fans see ''Another Chronicle EX+'' as basically a "lite" version of ''Chronicle Saviours'', not really offering many worthy extras in exchange for dropping CS Mode and being $10-20 cheaper (and for those who have the PS Vita / PS TV version of ''CS'', being ''exactly the same price''). And neither version of ''ACEX+'' has dual monitor mode while ''CS'' does on PC, or even just an option to play ''Another Chronicle'' formatted for a 16:9 display, [[ScreenCrunch which is a sore point for Switch Lite owners as well as regular Switch owners who don't play in docked mode]]. Switch players in particular felt insulted, as ''CS'' was released on [=PS4=] but not on Switch at the time, so the potential to port ''CS'' to a more successful handheld felt wasted; it would eventially get a Switch port, but by then, the confusing way that ''Darius'' games were being released on Switch, PC, and [=PS4=] had caused nearly all of the fanbase to lose interest. [=PS4=] players are baffled as to why this exists as a standalone title when ''DBCS'' exists on the same platform. About the only real benefit people see is that it has physical versions that can be ordered in regular shops (as opposed to being limited editions).[[note]]The shmup community is known for being very pro-physical.[[/note]]

** Many fans see ''Another Chronicle EX+'' as basically a "lite" version of ''Chronicle Saviours'', not really offering many worthy extras in exchange for dropping CS Mode and being $10-20 cheaper (and for those who have the PS Vita / PS TV version of ''CS'', being ''exactly the same price''). And neither version of ''ACEX+'' has dual monitor mode while ''CS'' does on PC, or even just an option to play ''Another Chronicle'' formatted for a 16:9 display, [[ScreenCrunch which is a sore point for Switch Lite owners as well as regular Switch owners who don't play in docked mode]]. Switch players in particular feel insulted, as ''CS'' was released on [=PS4=] but not on Switch, so the potential to port ''CS'' to a more successful handheld feels wasted. [=PS4=] players are baffled as to why this exists as a standalone title when ''DBCS'' exists on the same platform. About the only real benefit people see is that it has physical versions that can be ordered in regular shops (as opposed to being limited editions).[[note]]The shmup community is known for being very pro-physical.[[/note]]

** ''Darius Cozmic Collection Console'' features remappable controls like its arcade collection counterpart, however the only functions you can assign to each button are buttons used for gameplay function such as your main shot, bombs, and weapon switching (in ''Darius Force''). For ''Darius Twin'' in particular, its 50 lives cheat requires using the L and R buttons, which cannot be assigned, rendering the cheat unusable. It especially does not help that ''Twin'' is one of a handful of games not to have a continues feature, with the player only able to set their starting lives to 8 without the cheat code as an alternative, which can give casual players (those not concerned with a 1-credit clear, in particular) and players who want to practice the game a hard time.

** ''Darius Cozmic Collection Console'' features remappable controls like its arcade collection counterpart, however the only functions you can assign to each button are buttons used for gameplay function such as your main shot, bombs, and weapon switching (in ''Darius Force''). For ''Darius Twin'' in particular, its 50 lives cheat requires using the L and R buttons, which cannot be assigned, rendering the cheat unusable.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: ''G-Darius HD'' was criticized by some reviewers for having what seemed to be unnecessary slowdown in places ("this is an upscaled game for modern consoles and [=PCs=], why does it have slowdown?"). The slowdown is there to replicate the arcade original, but good luck expecting a professional reviewer and modern gamers in general to have played the 1997 Taito FX-1B original. The update that added ''G-Darius Ver.2'' does add an optional toggle to reduce the slowdown, thus appeasing players who don't want slowdown for the sake of accurate emulation...if they can handle the increased difficulty.

** The final mission, Suriaha. Right off the bat in the first stage, you get jumped by two snake-like mini-bosses, and the end of one stage has you fighting Phantom Castle again. But then the difficulty ramps up even further with Golden Ruler, which is basically Violent Ruler ''[[ThatOneBoss from hell]]''. [[note]] Golden Ruler isn't as hard as Savage Ruler, which is Golden Ruler UpToEleven, but it's the hardest boss in the final mission, probably as hard as [[FinalBoss Gigantic Bite]] [[/note]]. In the last stage, there are even more obstacles for you to fight through, which culminates in an [[Awesome/VideoGameBosses epic]] but difficult final showdown with [[FinalBoss Gigantic Bite]].

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Darius Twin'' is one of the most popular games in the series for North Americans, due to it being the entry point for the series for many people in those countries and the relative scarity of ''Darius I'' and ''II''/''Sagaia'' cabinets.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: The ''Ver. 2'' iteration of ''G-Darius'' isn't well-liked due to making the already-NintendoHard game more difficult (more enemies, more difficult patterns, detonating captured enemies no longer grant invincibility frames) without really doing anything to make the increased difficulty worth it from a player satisfaction standpoint. It does add boss timers and significant bonuses for killing bosses faster, but as this game has no [[EveryTenThousandPoints "extra life every X points"]] system, anyone who isn't score-minded isn't going to care, plus the hefty time bonus de-emphasizes waiting for bosses to fire their Beta Beams so that the player can engage in the game's iconic BeamOWar mechanic. ''Ver. 2'' does have a "beginner" mode...that barely even reduces the difficulty (with the only notable difference being that you respawn with pre-captured enemies after dying) and cuts the number of stages down to three. When this version was added to ''G-Darius HD'' patch, players were more interested in the beginner-friendly options in the [=PS1=] port that was also included with the same update.

** Then M2 did it again with ''G-Darius HD'', not only featuring the original version of the game but also an UpdatedRerelease with improved textures, a new and refined 3D model for the Silver Hawk, and overall upscaled visuals. It also features an AutoSave feature, which is perfect for players trying to work on strategies or experiment with routes.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: ''G-Darius HD'' was criticized by some reviewers for having what seemed to be unnecessary slowdown in places. The slowdown is there to replicate the arcade original, but good luck expecting a professional reviewer and modern gamers in general to have played the 1997 Taito FX-1B original. The update that added ''G-Darius Ver.2'' does add an optional toggle to reduce the slowdown, thus appeasing players who don't want slowdown for the sake of accurate emulation...if they can handle the increased difficulty.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: The ''Ver. 2'' iteration of ''G-Darius'' isn't well-liked due to making the already-NintendoHard game more difficult (more enemies, more difficult patterns, detonating captured enemies no longer grant invincibility frames) without really doing anything to make the increased difficulty worth it from a player satisfaction standpoint (it does add boss timers and significant bonuses for killing bosses faster, but as this game has no [[EveryTenThousandPoints "extra life every X points"]] system, anyone who isn't score-minded isn't going to care). ''Ver. 2'' does have a "beginner" mode...that barely even reduces the difficulty (with the only notable difference being that you respawn with pre-captured enemies after dying) and cuts the number of stages down to three. When this version was added to ''G-Darius HD'' patch, players were more interested in the beginner-friendly options in the [=PS1=] port that was also included with the same update.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: ''G-Darius HD'' was criticized by some reviewers for having what seemed to be unnecessary slowdown in places. The slowdown is there to replicate the arcade original, but good luck expecting a professional reviewer and modern gamers in general to have played the 1997 Taito FX-1B original. The update that added ''G-Darius Ver.2'' does add an option to reduce the slowdown, thus appeasing players who don't want slowdown for the sake of accurate emulation...if they can handle the increased difficulty.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: The ''Ver. 2'' iteration of ''G-Darius'' isn't well-liked due to making the already-NintendoHard game more difficult (more enemies, more difficult patterns, detonating captured enemies no longer grant invincibility frames) without really doing anything to make the increased difficulty worth it from a player satisfaction standpoint. ''Ver. 2'' does have a "beginner" mode...that barely even reduces the difficulty (with the only notable difference being that you respawn with pre-captured enemies after dying) and cuts the number of stages down to three. When this version was added to ''G-Darius HD'' patch, players were more interested in the beginner-friendly options in the [=PS1=] port that was also included with the same update.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: The ''Ver. 2'' iteration of ''G-Darius'' isn't well-liked due to making the already-NintendoHard game more difficult (more enemies, more difficult patterns, detonating captured enemies no longer grant invincibility frames) without really doing anything to make the increased difficulty worth it from a player satisfaction standpoint. When this version was added to ''G-Darius HD'' patch, players were more interested in the beginner-friendly options in the [=PS1=] port that was also included with the same update.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: The ''Ver. 2'' iteration of ''G-Darius'' isn't well-liked due to making the already-NintendoHard game more difficult without really doing anything to make the increased difficulty worth it from a player satisfaction standpoint.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: The ''Ver. 2'' iteration of ''G-Darius'' isn't well-liked due to making the game more difficult without really doing anything to make the increased difficulty worth it from a player satisfaction standpoint.

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: Fans have noticed that the ''G-Darius HD Ver.2'' update has been [[LateExportForYou taking a mighty long time to be pushed to the Western console versions of the game that are published by ININ]], while the Steam version, which was self-published by Taito, was released with the ''Ver.2'' content worldwide alongside the Japanese console versions. This has caused a fair number of fans to grow increasingly impatient with ININ due to their nebulous way of handling the update, as well as their releases as a whole, whereas whenever Taito self-publishes a consumer product, it rarely gets delayed for Western audiences, maybe a few days at most.

* TierInducedScrappy: Origin (based on the original ''Darius'' Silver Hawk) in ''Dariusburst''. No Burst and weak weapons; sure, its wave shot can pierce enemies, but you ''don't'' want it to do that when fighting a single massive target due to the [[OneBulletAtATime on-screen shot limit]]; meanwhile, the Gaiden ship also has piercing Wave shots but can also complement them with non-piercing shots for large targets. Second (based on ''Darius II''[='=]s Silver Hawk) in ''Dariusburst Another Chronicle'' and ''Chronicle Saviours'', despite also having no Burst, at least makes up for it with a powerful SpreadShot and 8-way piercing side lasers to go with its bombs.