Review: Danmaku Unlimited 3 (Nintendo Switch)

Rating: 9
Author: Jim Smale

by Jim Smale · March 20, 2018

Take to the skies once more as the last defender of humanity against overwhelming odds! Lovingly built to be enjoyed by newcomers and genre veterans alike, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a perfect medley of the best aspects of classic bullet hell shooters wrapped up in a modern and approachable package.

Pros:

Such beautiful crafted graphics full of detail and purpose.
121 MB Download size.
Shmup gameplay.
Full stats screen.
Local leaderboards.
Background settings- Wallpaper, Mirrored or none.
Wide mode on/off.
Screen rotation- 90, 180, 270 or 0. (Tate mode is here!)
Rebindable keys, Movement style normal or screen relative.
Two game modes- Spirit mode (normal and Graze mode (advanced).
Bonus modes- Boss rush, Freeplay and boss free play and all modes available in both spirit and graze mode.
Four difficulties- Easy, Medium, Hard and true.
Customisation of your ship- 6 primary and 6 beam types. You get a couple for each and you have to unlock the other ones.
Tutorial (optional).
Can change how many lives you start with but anything over default nullifies the leaderboard.
Graze- You brush near bullets to charge up your special attacks and score more points.
Massive boss fights.
A special move which will fill the screen with projectiles and turn bullets into gold coins which is bonus points.
The old arcade feel.
Bullet hell.
Tight easy controls.
Loveletter to classic games like Ikaruga and Dodonpachi.
Banging soundtrack.
Plays really well.
Animated backgrounds.

Cons:

Not for the faint of heart, It’s tough but fair.
The slight learning curve with the mechanics.
Bastard to play in Tate mode but to be honest that’s more a Switch thing. I have no stand for Tate!
Joycons work but don’t feel as good.
No online leaderboards.
Cannot stretch the screen.

The Numbers:

9/10

Graphics - 9/10
9/10

Sound - 9/10
9/10

Accessability - 9/10
9/10

Length - 9/10
9/10

Fun factor - 9/10

9/10

Summary

Now I am no expert in the shmup genre but I have played the classics like Ikaruga, Dodonpachi, and Raiden so I know what the deal is, For me, this game is so well polished and has such a cool Graze mechanic that it is very rapidly becoming my favorite shmup. It lacks any real memorable story or any character designs as you only have the one, The joy of the game comes from playing it and Tate mode is just a thing so simple but should be in all shmup games! So whether you are a seasoned player or a new to the genre gamer, Danmaku is inviting as much as it is punishing but it rewards you at every stage and is so much fun to play.