G-Darius HD Switch Review – The Silver Hawk is Here!

For those unfamiliar with the shoot ’em up genre, Darius is one of the most profound series of them all. G-Darius HD is both a resurrection of the classic arcade title and a visually upgraded version of the classic in one package. Yes, you get the original 1997 version and the 2021 cleaner version together. They are not really different, but that does not matter. G-Darius HD is a great shoot ’em up, and it is now on the Nintendo Switch.

So how does the transition from arcade to hybrid console pan out? Well, let’s find out!

G-Darius HD is a prequel story for the series that revolves around a conflict between the humanoids of Amnelia and the cyborg biovessels known as the Thiima. The Thiima had been aroused by the Amnelian army’s use of the weapon A.N. (All-Nothing) to annihilate the world Blazar, whom Amnelia had been at war with over jurisdiction over the moon Mahsah.

Determined to protect their existence, the Thiima swarmed Amnelia. Although the armed forces were badly ravaged, Amnelian scientists and engineers were able to make use of both A.N. and reverse engineered Thiiman technology to create the Silver Hawk fighters. Ultimately, two pilots—Sameluck Raida and Lutia Feen—are chosen to perform a decisive attack on the main Thiima base: Kazumn, a satellite of the planet Darius.

Normally shoot ’em ups do not boast great stories, but the Darius series has quite the deep narrative. For a sci-fi story, this is a solid one, even though it is not at the forefront, as that is clearly the arcade action. But to its credit, G-Darius HD does a phenomenal job making sense of the world and its feuds, and it perfectly compliments the action on screen.

G-Darius HD comes packed with both the original 1997 arcade release and a newer, more polished version of the same game. The “HD” version is not quite what I had expected, as it is the same game but with a higher resolution, but this is still a gorgeous fully 3D shoot ’em up that was revolutionary when it first released.

That does not mean everything is exactly the same, though, because the distribution of certain enemies and the attack patterns of bosses do differ between the two version, which actually gives reason to jump between the two for more variety and shoot ’em up practice. Diving into G-Darius and G-Darius HD back-and-forth really impressed me with just how beautiful this title is even in its original low resolution 1997 version. The 3D models and unique gameplay separated this from the competition at the time, and the game holds up tremendously in 2021, especially thanks to the high resolution version.

This may be one of the prettiest shoot ’em ups out there, as the set pieces are mind-blowing and the ship and enemy designs are fully detailed. G-Darius HD is full of life, color, and destruction, and each branching path on your way to the end only gives you more reason to keep coming back to this one over and over again.

One of the unique features in G-Darius HD is the ability to capture enemies and use them to help you fight back. In Darius Gaiden, the preceding title, this ability was limited to capturing weak mini-bosses, but in G-Darius, they improved the system and gave the Silver Hawk a set amount of capture balls to shoot at just about any enemy in the game (Excluding bosses) to take control of. This is an awesome mechanic that really changes the game up, and it is so much fun figuring out what ships you can capture and how they can benefit you.

And benefits are something you definitely need, because the boss fights in G-Darius HD are some of the most challenging and mobile bosses in the genre. Many of the bosses throughout the 15 branching levels demand you to survive a gauntlet of attacks that are usually split up into different stages. These boss fights are more complex than previous in the series, and it is a major reason why there are less levels in G-Darius than other entries in the series. That does not mean that this is a shorter game, though, as the boss encounters are what elevate the difficulty of G-Darius.

One of the other awesome features in the game is that horizontal shooting will not always be the expectation. Some times a level will shift you diagonally while boss fights may expect you to change course in the middle of the fight. This is just another great idea that changes the genre up and gives more complexities to the otherwise straight-forward action spots. The boss fights, particularly, benefit from this unique approach, and it is why this is one of the best Darius games on the market.

At the end of the day, G-Darius HD is required play in the shoot ’em up genre. This is one of the best in the series, and it is arguably one of the better shoot ’em ups on the market. It has a solid story that spans across all of its titles, loads of stages with excellently placed enemies and movements, a stellar soundtrack that evolves as you play, a unique capturing system that adds new layers to the gameplay, and 15 of the best bosses in the series. G-Darius HD‘s price may seem a bit high for just one classic game, but the amount of fun you will have alone or with a friend for hours upon hours will justify that price.

The only issue I could even bring up would be the lack of a tutorial or a practice mode to help instruct on some of the unique mechanics, but since Quick Saves are a button away, it is still relatively easy to learn your way around the game.

G-Darius HD was one of the best looking shoot ’em ups when it released back in 1997, and I can honestly say that it is still one of the best looking in the genre in 2021. This is a title that has aged wonderfully, and it is one that you definitely need to brush off your arcade skills and jump back into on your Nintendo Switch.

G-Darius HD Review provided by Nintendo Link
Publisher: ININ Games
Developer: Taito, M2
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Price: $29.99, £24.99, €29,99
Game Size: 112MB