Taito will apply a "Ver.2" update to G-Darius HD, the developer announced today. G-Darius HD is one of a few titles included in the Darius Cozmic Revelation compilation, currently available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 in Japan and headed west in "late 2021."

According to the press release, the update will include a new beginner's mode for G-Darius, as well as the addition of the rebalanced, arcade-exclusive G-Darius Ver.2. This is interesting news, certainly, though some key improvements aren't likely to appeal much to the people most likely to purchase the compilation in the first place. To some of those folks, "beginner mode" is the next best thing to a swear word.

With the update applied, four versions of G-Darius will be available: the standard G-Darius and G-Darius HD, as well as standard and HD versions of Ver.2. Here is a list of changes introduced by the arcade version of G Darius Ver.2, in case you are curious:

  • Beginner mode

  • Switched ending (Beginner mode)

  • Rapid fire button

  • Game speed adjustments

  • Enemy endurance adjustments

  • Player endurance adjustments - Mid-bosses added to some zones

  • Skip function for demo screens added

  • Boss timer and timer bonus added

  • Calculations for score ranking changed

  • Boss attack patterns changed and added
Darius Cozmic Revelation should be available as a download, or you can acquire one of 3500 copies produced worldwide by Strictly Limited Games, which gave similar treatment to physical editions of both Darius Cozmic Collection: Console and Darius Cozmic Collection: Arcade. If you would like to, you can now preorder Darius Cozmic Revelation at the official site for $71.99 USD, because sometimes being a retro fan is painful.