Danmaku Unlimited 3
Take to the skies once again 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.
SCREENSHOTS
PHYSICAL
HISTORY
Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a vertically scrolling shoot'em up game developed and published by Doragon Games in 2017. It has a detailed but very purple graphics design, a metal soundtrack by BLANKFIELD, and impressive bullet patterns. The mood seems inspired by Ikaruga, with interstitial philosophical questions evoking lore.
The game supports TATE mode, with the whole UI rotating at a 90° angle.
For replay videos, visit the Video Index.
Gameplay Overview
Danmaku Unlimited 3 features 5 stages to play, 4 difficulty modes (Easy, Medium, Hard and True), each one having a mid-level boss and ending with a boss, and a TLB that`s accessible if Hard or True is completed with no continues.
Aside from the 4 main difficulties, there´s also a tutorial, a standard arcade mode, a "free play" mode allowing to start from the beginning of any level, a boss rush mode, and a "boss free play" allowing to pick any boss to play against, including the TLB.
Each of these modes is available in "Spirit mode" and "Graze mode": in the Spirit mode, killing an enemy turns their shots into spirits (similar mechanic of Bullet Soul), while in Graze mode, the bullets always stay.
The ship has a regular rapid fire wide shot ; a focus shot, more powerful but narrower ; and a bomb that clears enemy bullets. The bomb can be automatically triggered, and as such can be thought of as additional lives, although using a bomb reduces the graze counter: by half if done manually, completely if done automatically.
The gameplay is based on bullet grazing: the ship is surrounded by two circles, and bullets that enter the inner one generate a spark and increase the graze gauge. When the gauge is full, the player can trigger the "Trance" mode: the shot is much more powerful, and generates score bonus items when killing enemies. The bullets on screen are also cleared when the trance mode is activated, and transformed into bonus items.
There is only one ship, but the player can pick different shots types: 5 regular shots types, and 5 focus shot types, some of them being locked behind requirements.
Like most modern bullet hell games, the hitbox at the center of the ship is brightly lit to be very visible and well-defined.
Controls
On Switch
A: shot
X: beam (focus shot)
B: trance
Scoring
Scoring is based on the graze mechanism.
Grazing bullets increases the graze counter on the top left, which acts as a score multiplier. It also fills the graze gauge (on the left, below the counter), which fills when grazing and empties when not, and resets the graze counter when it's empty. Players will need to graze near-continuously to keep both the counter and the gauge full for maximum scoring.
Grazing also fills the hyper gauge on the right of the screen. Once the gauge is filled, the player can activate Trance mode, which does three things:
it makes the shot more powerful
it clears all bullets on screen, transforming them into gems that are added to the multiplier
it slows down the drop of the graze gauge
Note that in Spirit mode, cancelled bullets leave a "soul" in their wake, which act the same as grazing when touched.
---
1CC RUNS
One-credit clears we point to as the benchmark for this game.
Show all 23 runs
TRAILERS
STORES
Prices are cached from each storefront and may be out of date. Last checked 24 Sept 2026.
PRICE HISTORY
Every price change we know of, per shop. Flat means the price held; PC shops reach back through IsThereAnyDeal's archive, console shops start when this site started watching.
PlayStation Store low: $13.99 (27 Aug 2026) , Steam low: $1.99 (19 Dec 2019)
REVIEWS
Published elsewhere, collected here. Every score is the outlet's own, on the outlet's own scale. Follow the link for the full review.
“Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a gem of a shooter that has arrived fashionably late to the PS4. The frantic action that's expected from a bullet hell shooter is improved upon with interesting attack patterns and a set of mechanics that rewards quick kills and exhibiting some flair during gameplay. There's a nice balance for veterans and genre newcomers, with the latter being served especially well; the difficulty and lack of continues fosters a need to improve, while ensuring that death isn't as immediate as in other games. Topped off with a great presentation all around, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a stan”
“Topped off with a great presentation, DU3 is a high point for the genre, and despite the deluge of shooters on the Switch, it's a title that fans shouldn't miss.”
“"Heavenly bullet hell."”
“Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a brilliantly executed ‘best of' bullet hell shmup ideas wrapped up into a phenomenal package. It is the very best shmup money can buy in the whole Switch game library (plus it will cost you about half what it should!). Even if you don't particularity like shmups - or if Japanese bullet hells are not your particular favourite flavour within the genre - exposure to the insane lightshows provided by this game might just turn you into a die-hard fan. We can only fault the new king of Switch shmups with one particular ‘glitch': Every other shmup on the system now feels slow ”
“It’s the best in its field and now it’s on Switch, which makes it more or less essential and yet another cracking indie port to Nintendo’s delightful handheld hybrid.”
“Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a well-crafted experience that also happens to be a gem of a bullet-hell shooter.”
“Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a gem of a shooter. The frantic action you'd expect from a bullet hell shooter has been improved with interesting attack patterns and mechanics that reward quick kills and exhibiting some flair. There's a nice balance for veterans and genre newcomers, with the latter being served especially well since the difficulty level and lack of continues foster a need to get better while ensuring that death isn't as immediate as in other games. Topped off with a great presentation, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a watermark in the genre, and fans shouldn't miss it.”
“Danmaku Unlimited 3 takes the genre of shmups and deliver a modern masterpiece. Quite frankly its the best of the shmup around.”
“A solid bullet hell shump that is finally on PS4”
“The graphics look great on the TV, and it looks great as well in portable mode. As is the case with most shoot ‘em ups, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is devoid of a story, placing its focus entirely on its gameplay. This is not a deal-breaker since the gameplay is top-notch for this bullet hell release on Nintendo Switch. If you're a fan of the genre, then you should definitely check out this game on Nintendo's latest console.”
“Overall, as the first pure bullet-hell shooter on the platform, Danmaku Unlimited 3 hits the Switch with a firm level of difficulty and style to spare. While you’ll often end up cursing it as you get so close to getting further there’s a quality in it that I couldn’t ever put it down for long before taking another crack at it. With a gorgeous look, intense gameplay, and plenty of room for technique if you’re a genre fan you shouldn’t hesitate to pick it up!”
“I had a blast playing Danmaku Unlimited 3 for this review, giving both modes a try as I got into the groove, entering a Zen-like state of mind as I moved my spaceship around at the right time to avoid the hundreds of bullets that were always around me, particularly when dealing with bosses.”
“Each playthrough I seemed to get slightly better. The more I played the more engrossed I found myself in it. Questions like, can I get a little bit closer to that bullet next time? Is it really worth the boost in score and the charge of my weapons? Playing Danmaku Unlimited 3 was an absolute privilege. I certainly look forward to future titles.”
“While Danmaku Unlimited 3 is not the most polished game of its kind, it is a very satisfying experience. The unique mechanics and multiple difficulty options combined with compelling reasons to keep playing and improving make for a game with a wider appeal than most other titles in the bullet hell genre. Danmaku Unlimited 3 successfully creates the tense feeling of a screen filled with bullets, without excessively punishing failure.”
“If you are not into this sort of game, then it’s unlikely that Danmaku Unlimited 3 will change your mind. However, even if you are curious about what a bullet hell game is really all about, then you can’t really go wrong here. It’s actually quite approachable for beginners to the genre, due to its gradual learning curve and spirit bullet mechanic. While the more hardcore will certainly get their fill by how incredibly chaotic it can all get on higher difficulties. Overall, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a great little game that’s well priced, thumb blisteringly addictive and one of the most hardcore a”
“With its substantial variety of content and well-tuned shoot-'em-up mechanics, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is a title that will certainly please newcomers and action enthusiasts alike. It makes full use of the Switch hardware and is a blast to play at home or on the go.”
“With tight gameplay and flashy visuals, Danmaku Unlimited 3 is certainly a capable shmup.”
Reviews are the work of the outlets named. Titles, scores and quoted excerpts are reproduced for identification and criticism; each links to the original.