Danmaku Unlimited 3

Genre: Bullet Hell Shmup

Players: 1, Online Leaderboards

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Review:

The Danmaku Unlimited series is a series of Bullet Hell Shmups (fittingly, “danmaku” is the Japanese term for “Bullet Hell”) that started on the iOS in 2011, but don’t let the series’ mobile origins fool you, as Danmaku Unlimited 3, released on multiple platforms in 2017 and brought to the Nintendo Switch in 2018, is not only visually and mechanically on par with other games in the genre, it actually does a few very clever things in its own right.

Visually, this game is… a lot. Yes, Bullet Hell Shmups are known for filling the screen with enemy attacks (what with that being the defining trait of the genre), but this game takes that to the next level by having bright colors and effects absolutely filling the real estate of the limited size of the screen (this is a traditional “vertical scrolling” variety of Shmup, which means that gameplay is essentially restricted to the center one third of the screen). It’s enough that I’d say that if you’re the sort of person who has seizure problems with bright flashing lights, this is a game to avoid. However, if that doesn’t bother you, it’s quite a light show, if you can parse what’s going on through the chaos.

In terms of sound, this game is dominated by its electric guitar-heavy soundtrack, which I had to glean from watching video of the game being played because I simply could not hear it while playing the game – between the intense gameplay and the attention-grabbing visuals, my attention was elsewhere through the entire experience. At the very least i can say it’s good and doesn’t detract from the game, but I’m not sure how much you’ll find yourself actually listening to it.

In terms of gameplay, players have a standard weapon that covers a lot of area (though players can swap out this weapon with others unlocked through meeting certain criteria in the game), and an alternate weapon that slows the ship down to create a more powerful, focused beam. There’s also a bomb attack that players have in limited quantities.

However, here’s where things get interesting – bullets caught in your bombs, as well as the bullets of defeated enemies, change color and become harmless collectables filling up a “trance” meter. This already makes bombs an extra potent defensive measure to use as a last resort against bullets (and in fact, in the game’s easiest mode, bombs automatically trigger when you’re about to get hit), but it has a secondary function – when the trance meter gets filled, you gain a temporary power boost and defeated enemies become point-enhancing coins the players can collect.

What’s more, this game has a “graze” feature where players who get close to bullets without touching them also fill up the trance meter, making avoiding bullets in this game something of a game of chicken, where you want to get close to the enemy gunfire, but without touching it. This also transforms some enemy attacks into great opportunities – a constant stream of gunfire that doesn’t change position becomes an easy way to fuel up your trance meter by sitting yourself next to the stream and letting it graze you, and situations like this will have players making choices between safety and empowerment, which is a really clever twist on the genre.

However, I’d say that a different form of empowerment is probably this game’s biggest flaw in my eyes. By default, your ship feels extremely powerful… too powerful, in fact. You know how I said your default weapon covers a lot of area? Yeah, I meant to say “it covers damn near the whole cramped screen”. And while you’ll definitely do more damage to enemies directly in front of you, and tougher foes will make using the focused beam more appropriate, it is far too easy to pick off smaller enemies not even close to you without even intending to do so.

The overpowered nature of the ship wouldn’t be quite so bad if it weren’t so distracting – it’s already difficult enough to keep track of the multitude of enemy bullets onscreen without my own massive arsenal of attacks begging my eyes for attention. Yes, eyes, those are real bright and pretty, but they’re blue, and right now I need you to focus on those purple enemy bullets that can kill me…

While I find this Danmaku Unlimited 3’s visuals to be too distracting for their own good, and the screen-filling attacks players unleash feel overpowered, this is still a fine Bullet Hell Shmup, and one that makes clever use of the mechanics of the genre to do something original. Fans of the genre should consider this a must-buy, and players who enjoy a good action-packed experience should probably give it a consideration too… so long as they don’t mind the in-your-face presentation.

tl;dr – Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a Bullet Hell Shmup that has players absorbing the bullets of defeated enemies and “grazing” live bullets to power up a “trance” meter for a temporary power boost. This is a solid and visually-striking entry in the genre, but the way players’ attacks fill the screen with beams feels overpowered and can be distracting. Still, this is a must-have for fans of the genre.

Grade: B+

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