First, we will want to categorise all of the ships by their Burst type.

Beams will include Legend, Next and Formula. These ships release a Beam burst that can be used to counter enemy or boss bursts. You can also choose to detach the Burst laser by tapping the F:Burst button, creating a turret that stays in place and fires in one direction from wherever it was planted; moreover, if you stop firing, you can move the turret by simply moving yourself. For Legend and Formula, moving up or down will slowly tilt the turret in the opposing direction. For Next, the turret will always try to fix its aim to YOU as long as you are not firing. In short, Next points towards you, Legend and Formula point away from you.

Bombs will include Gaiden and Assault. These ships release a traditional Bomb-style burst, similar to the bombs found in many other shmups. Gaiden has the BHB (Black Hole Bomb), which works simply enough, neutralising bullets and causing massive damage to enemies while it is active; Assault has the Spark which is a little more complicated. The Spark will stay around doing light DOT and neutralising bullets until it drains all of your Burst fuel or you press the Burst button again to remote-detonate it, doing heavy damage. It starts off stationary, then slowly gains momentum until it moves at full speed. The Spark overall does less damage and covers less area, but is more versatile and potentially longer-lasting than the BHB, and can be used more often as the BHB requires full burst fuel to use and consumes all of it when used.

Blockers will include the Genesis and Murakumo. Note that the Murakumo cannot be used in official Arcade cabinet versions or in the Chronicle Saviours version, it is only available in Another Chronicle EX+ for PS4, PS5 and Switch. Otherwise, you can use the Murakumo in CS Mode. These two ships are characterised by having additional turrets that follow your ship, absorbing bullets and firing their own bullets, as well as having Burst lasers that turn into counters upon contact with an enemy burst regardless of timing. This is obviously very nice to have. For both Genesis and Murakumo, having all turrets in order (2 for Genesis and 4 for Murakumo) indicates that your Burst is ready to fire. The core difference between the two is that Genesis has less turrets but a much stronger burst, plus its turrets fire missile shots that neutralise enemy orange bullets. On the other hand, Murakumo is much greater for crowd control, as it has more turrets and a more lightweight burst with no charging time (unlike the Genesis). Another thing to note is that Murakumo's Burst creates a small explosion when disengaged, and that Genesis' Burst cannot be disengaged at all until you run out of fuel on the Burst Meter.

Blueballs will include the Origin and Second, which have no burst.


If you're completely new to the game, you won't know what a Burst or a counter or an F:Burst is. Let me explain.

A Burst is a special attack that most ships in the game have. You can change which button your Burst is binded to in the game settings. In order to fire your Burst, you will need to have a full Burst Meter, which you can see below your ship in AC Mode or in the bottom left corner in CS and DLC Mode. Fill the Burst Meter by destroying objects and enemies. A successful Counter means the Burst Meter will be constantly full as long as your Burst touches the enemy's Burst.

An F:Burst is a special Burst possessed by ships that use a Burst Laser. This denotes a turret-style burst that stays firing in one direction from one fixed location. You can release the Fire button and move around to change the direction the F:Burst fires in, depending on which ship you are using.

A Counter is a special type of Burst that results when you clash your Burst with another opponent's Burst with correct timing. For Legend, Next and Formula, you initiate counters by walking into the enemy's Burst Laser and then activating your own Burst as soon as you hit it. The method is the same for Assault, though with more lenient timing. For Genesis and Murakumo, simply clashing your Burst with the enemy's Burst Laser will be enough, regardless of exact timing. Gaiden is the only ship with a Burst that cannot perform counters.
Counters, although very risky and difficult, can be very rewarding; while your Burst is in counter mode, it will constantly refill the Burst Meter as long as it is touching an enemy Burst Laser, not to mention it has greatly increased size and does massively increased damage. Releasing the Burst button will end the counter.

Very easy and straightforward. Any ship works. If you have Gaiden, you can BHB as soon as the fight starts to destroy all or at least most of his scales; Assault also works for this.

ATTACK 1: Iron Fossil fires a spread shot at you about every second for a few seconds. Simple enough, just dodge the little balls he shoots. There's a lot of space so you shouldn't have much trouble dodging. He does launch some popcorn at you, so be sure to shoot those down before they get too close. Honestly, the popcorn is a bigger threat than the actual attack.
ATTACK 2: Iron Fossil turns around and does his iconic scale-spam attack. These scales are very easy to destroy, they're more like popcorn than actual threats. Just find a decently okay spot and stay there, you'll be fine. If you have Gaiden or Assault and used your Burst to destroy most of the scales at the start of the fight, this attack will be even more trivial than it usually is. If you haven't destroyed the scales yet, try to get as many as you can just to make things more convenient.
ATTACK 3: Very similar to the first attack, except he fires orange lasers instead of the spread shot. The orange lasers are incredibly easy to dodge, you'd honestly have to be trying to lose if you got hit during this attack.
ATTACK 2 REPEATS
ATTACK 4: This is the only remotely challenging attack in the fight. King Fossil will turn his back to you, firing a few orange lasers to keep you facing his tail, and then he fires a burst laser out of his tail. There are two ways you can handle this attack.
A. Lure Iron Fossil towards the top of the screen, then fly towards the bottom when the burst starts counting down, or...
B. Counter the burst.
To repeat, countering in Dariusburst does NOT work like countering in other games! Instead of bringing out your own laser as soon as the enemy brings out theirs, wait until the enemy is firing their laser, then run into it and as soon as you start to touch the laser, use your burst. Does not apply if you are using Genesis.
ATTACK 2 REPEATS
ATTACK 5: Similar to Attack 3, except Iron Fossil now fires large seeker missiles as well. Depending on which ship you used and whether or not you countered, the boss might already be dead by now. The missiles are more of an inconvenience than a danger, just go back-and-forth between the missiles and Iron Fossil and try not to accidentally run into one of the orange lasers.
PATTERN REPEATS

I recommend using either a Bomb-burst or Blocker-burst for this fight.

ATTACK 1: Hard Wheel will start the fight by idling for a short time, then lunging towards the left side of the screen (where you will probably be). These first few moments are a great time to point-blank Hard Wheel's lower sections, and even get in some Burst damage if you are using a Bomb-burst ship. However, make sure to back away before he lunges.
ATTACK 2: Hard Wheel will slowly float up, firing some orange bullets and lasers towards you, and firing some yellow lasers behind itself to prevent you from simply going behind and cheesing the fight. He will also launch some popcorn, as well as some destructible blue pellets. This is a very easy attack, even if you're half asleep you should be able to do this no problem.
ATTACK 3: Hard Wheel will close up then start to wildly spin around, firing orange bullets everywhere. This is fairly difficult, if you're having trouble dodging all of the bullets I would recommend either using Genesis and switching to Trail mode or firing your Burst if you use a Bomb-burst. This is also, however, fairly easy if you destroyed most or all of his shell segments earlier.
ATTACK 4: Hard Wheel will fire small bullets similar to the ones from the King Fossil fight in a V pattern. These come in kind of fast, so try to pay attention, but other than that, pretty easy.
ATTACK 5: Hard Wheel will open up and start firing yellow lasers again. Not too difficult, especially if you're on lasers. If there are some segments still left, he will fire some aimed orange bullets, but they're slow and there will at most be 1 or 2 armoured segments left by this point in the fight.
The boss will most likely be dead or very near dead by this point.
ATTACK 6: Hard Wheel will turn his side to you while firing some more irrelevant aimed orange bullets and fire his Burst Laser. Very simple, just stay away from the laser if you don't want to bother with a counter.
PATTERN REPEATS

Anything that isn't a Blueball works for this fight.

ATTACK 1: Starts off simple enough, just firing some orange bullets in a spread pattern as well as yellow wave shots from the head fin. The bullets are easy enough to dodge, what you want to do is pin the fin with your Burst if you're using a Beam-burst or Blocker-burst, and destroy it outright if you're using a Bomb-burst.
ATTACK 2: Hyper Jaw will turn on its side and move up and down the screen firing blue wave shots out of its fins. The fins are vulnerable during this attack, use it as an opportunity to take them out. After having canvassed the whole screen, Hyper Jaw will turn around again and repeat the first 2 attacks until he has taken enough damage and calls in the first layer of armour.
ATTACKS 1-2 REPEAT UNTIL PHASE 2

ATTACK 3: Hyper Jaw will now move to the top of the screen, and slowly move down while spread-firing orange bullets and additionally firing thin green beams. Near the end of the attack, Hyper Jaw will also whip out its long, spear-like jaw.
ATTACK 4: Hyper Jaw rotates on his side, starting to fire his beams to keep the player confined within a small space, as well as firing teal oval shots outside of the radius of the beam shots.
ATTACK 5: Hyper Jaw will begin to fire Burst Lasers out of his cannons. Great opportunity to get some counters - if he isn't dead already.
ATTACKS 3-5 REPEAT

Any ship will work for this fight. However, I do recommend intentionally keeping your shot power low before this fight - keep it either at max lasers or weaker so you can keep your laser shot, allowing you to neutralise the boss' yellow lasers.

ATTACK 1: Lightning Claw will spin around, firing yellow lasers as well as firing his iconic lightning flurry attack. This attack is very short, I recommend staying either in the top or bottom left corner to avoid the lightning and also to give yourself a bit of space to dodge the yellow lasers.
ATTACK 2: Lightning Claw will float around the screen and vomit yellow lasers everywhere, this attack can be quite challenging if you cannot neutralise the lasers which is why I recommend sticking to laser shots for this fight.
ATTACK 3: Lightning Claw will turn his back to you, moving up and down the screen will firing lasers and missiles. This is simple and straightforward, just stick to the corners and try to DPS down the missiles.
ATTACK 4: Lightning Claw will turn around to face you again, then begins to fire a multitude of yellow lasers, as well as double blue lasers out of his destructible turrets. This can be very challenging if you have not destroyed the turrets and are not on laser shots. Otherwise, very simple. At the end of the attack Lightning Claw will lunge towards you like Hard Wheel does, just don't get carried away when point-blanking him. Also note that he will fire some yellow lasers while turning around.
ATTACK 5: Lightning Claw will fire his Burst Laser and begin to spin around rapidly, while also launching some popcorn and yellow lasers. This can be either approached the safe way, where you simply stay out of the fray and hug the edge of the screen, or the dangerous way, where you try to go for a counter and finish off the boss. I would not recommend going for the counter unless you know what you're doing, Lightning Claw moving around makes it annoying to pull off and you're likely to end up losing some Arm strength to him.
ATTACK 6: Lightning Claw goes to the bottom of the screen, then does two upward lunges while firing yellow lasers. Basically a free attack, just sink in some damage, you'll be fine.
ATTACK 7: Similar to Attack 4, but with wave shots instead of yellow lasers. Generally easier.
PATTERN REPEATS

I recommend using a Blocker-burst ship for this fight. Please for the love of god do not use Gaiden

ATTACK 1: Ancient Barrage will float up and down, firing orange bullets and launching popcorn. There is enough space between the bullets to be able to reasonably dodge them, just be careful with your turrets to make sure they don't take more damage than necessary.
ATTACK 2: Ancient Barrage will rotate, then start to fire wave shots at you. Very easy. Just don't try anything risky, he is quite difficult to point-blank thanks to these attacks.
ATTACK 3: This one's a real stinker. Ancient Barrage will move along the bottom of the screen, firing a large amount of yellow lasers upward, while also using pink seeker lasers to throw you off and distract you while still posing a major threat. If you're still on lasers, good job - part of the big threat is neutralised. Now you just need to worry about the pink lasers. Carefully circle-dodge them while also being mindful of the yellow lasers. Eventually this attack does stop, so don't be too frightened.
ATTACK 4: Ancient Barrage will launch a bit of popcorn and fire his Burst Laser. That's it. There's nothing else. It's pretty much a free counter, especially if you've been using a Blocker-burst ship like I told you to.
ATTACK 5: Similar to Attack 4, except AB is now on a different orientation and fires little bacteria shots at you. Unless you're using a Burst that completely neutralises all bullets, you will want to be a little mindful of these, but other than that, it's straightforward.
ATTACK 6: Ancient Barrage creates a huge shield that stops some shots then fires lasers out of it three times. The answer is simple: get right up in the shield's face, as far left as you can, and just avoid the vertical centre so you don't get hit by the lasers. I believe Gaiden's BHB can go through the shield, but you shouldn't be using Gaiden here anyway.
ATTACK 7: Ancient Barrage rapid-fires shots at you in a spread pattern. This is very difficult to dodge, a safespot does open up in the middle later in the attack but other than that the gaps are rather tight and the shots move very quickly. This attack is difficult to predict, stay on your toes and pay attention when you reach this attack.
ATTACK 3 REPEATS ONCE
ATTACK 8: Similar to Attack 1, except he fires blue tracking shots instead of orange bullets. Kite the tracking shots as best you can, they are a bit jank to avoid and you will need good practice. Try large circles if you decide to circle-dodge, the tracking shots lunge forward when it's time to move and they can catch you with this if you aren't careful.
ATTACK 9: Similar to Attack 3. Instead of firing wave shots, Ancient Barrage will fire non-seeking purple lasers that just go straight forward. Very simple to dodge.
ATTACK 10: Similar to Attack 1, except he fires small homing missiles instead of orange bullets. Even easier than Attack 9, just make sure you shoot down the missiles before they get close since they are a little tanky.
ATTACK 3 REPEATS ONCE
ATTACK 11: Identical to Attack 1 except Ancient Barrage is on a different side of the screen.
ATTACK 12: Attack 11 but with Attack 2 instead of 1.
ATTACK 13: Ancient Barrage flies away while dropping explosive remote-detonating eggs. Very strange. Try to get the eggs destroyed before they reach the bottom of the screen, otherwise quite easy to dodge as there are a lot of safespots.

I can't find any info on what happens after this, nor do I have experience with it myself, but we can probably assume it's the same attacks on a different orientation.

I recommend using a Bomb-burst for this fight. It is also the most annoying in the game, objectively.

ATTACK 1: Phantom castle will



♥♥♥♥ this boss

At first, try to get rid of the glass protecting the cockpit. After some time, the Stare will go to the other side of the arena and flip over showing its turrets. If you have Gaiden, use a Black Hole Bomb here. Next up, it should go to the middle and start spinning around. This causes madness. Make sure to destroy the turrets as quickly as possible. Next up, the Stare will cloak and its now glowing eyes will float around shooting rings of bullets everywhere. I'm not sure if hurting the eyes does anything. After a while, they come back and the cycle should repeat itself.

VR will start by dancing around on all fours. It should then show its belly and then proceed to bob its head up and down, firing missiles and some spinny things. After this, it will go back to its original state. It will then float to the bottom of the screen and swim back and forth for a bit. Make sure to stay between the bouts of lasers. After a few laps, it returns to its head-bobbing position, only this time it doesn't bob its head. Instead, it will spin around firing lasers about below its head. Go to the bottom for the first three and then fly up as high as you can for the rest. It will then go to its original position, turn over a bit so that it looks like we're inspecting its shell at a Bird's Eye View and then it'll wave its antennae back and forth, showing off an electric effect. Note that no matter how hard it lunges, you'll still be the safest at the leftmost edge of the screen. After this, VR will do some of the earlier attacks before looping.

Survive legit for the first couple of attacks and then go behind it. That's literally all there is to it.

So this one starts by firing a bunch of lasers at you. It occasionally swims around. After a while, it goes into the background and makes a bunch of piranhas chase you. It comes back and there should be a square block of piranhas waiting for you. That also happens anytime. Again and when it comes back it fires slightly more challenging lasers at you. Just keep shooting it and it should die quickly.

Dark Helios will basically swim around the screen trapping you in a ball of sorts that just so happens to be Dark Helios. Fire your burst to get rid of its body parts quickly. After taking enough damage Dark Helios will transform into Syvalion. Dark Helios is actually easier to beat in Syvalion form. Just make sure not to get trapped in a ball.

I don't have enough muscle memory to write my own section, so I'll just quote the wiki:

"When Great Thing enters the screen, it will be facing the player and begin using its main attack pattern, which will be repeated in parts of the fight. This consists of a pair of 3-way aimed spreads of red bullets and multiple homing arrow drones. After a while, it will move downwards until its top half is completely visible, and start firing 4 purple homing lasers out its top while one set of cannons fires twin orange beams. Midway through this pattern, the side horn will fire a non-Burst purple laser, then continue.

Next, Great Thing pulls back and reappears facing the screen, with its right flank facing the player. 3 top cannons will flip down. The first and third fire pairs of orange lasers, while the centre one fires bursts of 3 pairs of cube shots which turn into aimed grey shots when destroyed. Simultaneously, purple homing lasers will come out of Great Thing's top and the horn will fire 5 arrow drones every couple seconds. After a while, the boss will tilt downwards and charge a non-Burst purple laser which fires upwards, then continue with this pattern.

When Great Thing reappears, it will stay for a while, then pull off into the background, leaving 3 of its minions in a vertical column and a spread of yellow orbs downwards. Each minion attacks in this manner:

Fires 4 way spreads of red bullets
Fires a purple homing laser that homes in 3 times
Fires a straight line of yellow bullets
Fires a Burst beam that lasts barely half a second
Teleports away

When Great Thing returns, it will resume its regular attack pattern, then pull off into the background, letting its entire left flank face you. These cannons will fire orange lasers and cube shots. After a while, the three cannons on its tail will charge and fire three non-Burst purple beams which sweep the left and top half of the screen. Midway through the beams, the minions will be summoned again, and Great Thing will leave.

When it returns, it will start its regular attack pattern again, but with a twist - the drill missiles are back! This time, they do not explode into small shots when destroyed, but instead leave behind a small, damaging explosion. However, not destroying them creates a large, long lasting explosion when they detonate. Use your Burst beam to handle these missiles before they eat your onscreen real estate.

After this, Great Thing returns, but with its top facing the screen. The two horns will continue spamming arrow drones, while the two side cannons send out pairs of orange lasers. however, the greatest threat is from the pink homing lasers, which are fired up and down alternately before they home in to you.

Finally, Great Thing fires purple lasers from its two horns to trap you. Next, it will do the exact same thing, but with one critical difference - the central cannon has popped up and is charging with red energy! By this time, you should know what to do if you can do it - pull out your Burst Beam and counter.

This should put Great Thing out of its misery, rewarding you with an ending for all your hard work."

Just another reminder that this comes from the wiki.

Violent Ruler:

You destroyed the ship, but now your ship is damaged beyond repair and you have to land on Darius by ejecting yourself from the ship with an Escape Pod.


Thousand Knives:

It's a simulation, and you have to clear an entire sector on your own now.


Hungry Gluttons:

It LOOKS like you have to destroy an entire fleet on your own, but suddenly a bunch of yellow guys fly in and save the day.


Dark Helios:

It's the Curious Chandelier ending from Darius Gaiden again. Basically, you destroyed all the enemies, but now Darius has exploded.


Great Thing:

The Belsar are sleeping now because you literally blew up their leader.