Darius 2 (Saturn)

[Iron Draggon]

anybody else around here own it? I just ordered it recently, and I'm still waiting for it to arrive, and while I'm waiting I'm wondering what I'm getting! is it basically the same as Sagaia on the Genesis, with the two player mode that was missing from that game intact, or are there other improvements? better graphics and possibly missing animations restored? I know it will have CD quality audio, but I'm wondering how close it will be to the arcade... I never played it in the arcade, so I don't care if it's not an exact port, but I heard it uses zooming to simulate the triple monitor setup of the arcade... zoom in for something more like Sagaia on the Genesis and zoom out for something more like the triple monitor arcade version... so how does that work out? are the sprites still big enough when fully zoomed out to play effectively, or do you have to keep it zoomed in most of the time to survive?

[bb_hood]

Hi. I have Darius II, and I like it alot. I am a HUGE fan of Darius Gaiden too, but Darius II is a very different game.
Darius II on saturn is not the same game as the Mega Drive version (or sagaia). Its a port of an arcade game that utilized 3 screens. In the saturn game the screen spans the same length and you use the zoom to focus in or pan out to the 3-screen length. Its a very neat concept. This game has excellent resolution, especially when zoomed in all the way. Its a pretty challenging game, which is my only problem with it. Otherwise i would play it alot more often.

You zoom the camera in and out in real time, but most of the time the screen would be zoomed all the way out. When it is zoomed in you can only see 1/2 or less of the level, and this makes it pretty tough. I guess its ideal for the boss fights though. If you like challenging saturn shooters you wont be dissapointed, much harder than darius gaiden.

[cyberfluxor]

If I recall correctly, if you're zoomed all the way in normal enemy ships won't shoot until they are in the screen, but they will fly in your direction in a suicidal formation.

[Iron Draggon]

well I finally got a chance to check it out today, and I do like it alot, but I see what you mean on the difficulty... it's almost as hard as Metal Black!

I really wish that they had included the original Darius on the same disc though, like some of the other combo packs the Saturn was graced with...

but oh well... it was certainly worth what I paid for it... only $72 shipped new from the UK, and I even got a free bonus game included with my order...

so I'm glad I finally talked myself into it... I always avoided it back in the day, cause I already had Sagaia, but I see now that I should've bought it then...