If you want some idea of how seriously M2 takes its art, consider this. During development of the Darius Cozmic Collection, which brings together all the ‘2D’ entries of Taito’s legendary side-scrolling shmup series for Nintendo Switch, someone noticed the screws being used in the instruction panels that furnish the screen weren’t quite right. So they tasked someone to pop down to the nearest game centre with an original Darius cabinet to get photos of the real deal.
It’s that sort of attention to detail that’s made M2 so beloved – the sort of attention to detail that had them recording the hydraulics on a deluxe After Burner 2 cabinet for the 3D Classics, or using the 3DS’ parallax barrier to emulate the curve of an old CRT TV in its ports of home games such as Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s what makes their ports and remasters feel like luxury items, kitted out with lavish extras and feeling as close as we’ll get to the Criterion Collection when it comes to video games.
Darius Cozmic Collection reviewDeveloper: M2/TaitoPublisher: TaitoPlatform: Reviewed on Nintendo SwitchAvailability: Out now in all regions on PS4 and Switch
So when the developer of some of the most luxurious video games is matched with one of the arcade’s most luxurious cabinets, it’s worth paying attention. Is it worth laying out well over £100 for the special edition that includes five home Darius games? Given that one of them, the super limited edition boss rush Darius Alpha that was a competition prize for PC Engine players, was restricted to 800 copies and currently commands over £3000 for a copy, . I couldn’t quite square it myself, and so simply went for the standard edition that bundles together four arcade originals, which are surely the star attractions here.
『ダライアス コズミックコレクション』PV Watch on YouTube
The original Darius, here presented in ‘old’, ‘new’ and ‘extra’ versions, came at a time when ‘taikan’ cabinets were all the rage in Japanese arcades – grand devices that took up an awful lot of space and promised unique experiences. Think Sega’s Out Run in its sit-down deluxe form, After Burner in all its gyro-assisted beauty or Hang-On, the original taikan game, which asked players to lean into corners; these were things designed to be all-body experiences. Darius was Taito’s own take on the phenomenon, offering an all-body experience of a very different kind.