The Darius series

[BetaWolf47]

Which game is considered to be the best in this series? There's always been discussion about Gradius and R-Type, but I never see this equally awesome series talked about!

I've got Sagaia, Darius Twin, and Super Nova on cart, and Darius Gaiden on a compilation. So far, I enjoy Darius Twin for its atmosphere, and Sagaia for its more fast-paced gameplay. While the series feels like a ripoff of Gradius, the simpler powerup system and ability to select your path really does set it apart. There was nothing fun about having to collect so many powerups in Gradius just to scroll through the upgrade options.

[Emperor Megas]

Which game is considered to be the best in this series? There's always been discussion about Gradius and R-Type, but I never see this equally awesome series talked about!

I've got Sagaia, Darius Twin, and Super Nova on cart, and Darius Gaiden on a compilation. So far, I enjoy Darius Twin for its atmosphere, and Sagaia for its more fast-paced gameplay. While the series feels like a ripoff of Gradius, the simpler powerup system and ability to select your path really does set it apart. There was nothing fun about having to collect so many powerups in Gradius just to scroll through the upgrade options.

I think the exact opposite. Being limited to the number of power up drops and strategically deciding which upgrade to select or hold out for by order of importance is one of my favorite things about Gradius. And while I want to love it, the only thing I really enjoy about the Darius series are the branching paths. Well...and that there's fish.

[SpaceHarrier]

Darius Gaiden is my favorite overall, it just does everything right. Beautiful 2D graphics and pleasing sound effects are two things that really stand out about that title for me. I still have a soft spot for Darius Twin as well, given it was not only the first in the series that I played, but the first horizontal shooter I played period.

Well...and that there's fish.

This is actually one of the reasons I really like the Darius series... the nautical theme. Maybe that is a bit silly, but it just really appeals to me. I always thought Gradius looked a bit.. plain.

[staxx]

Here are the games I know in order
Darius
Super Darius Plus (PC Engine port of Darius)
Darius II (Sagaia)
Darius Twin
Super Nova
G Darius
Darius G
Darius Burst (Probably my favorite)

[treismac]

Originally Posted by Emperor Megas
Well...and that there's fish.

This is actually one of the reasons I really like the Darius series... the nautical theme. Maybe that is a bit silly, but it just really appeals to me. I always thought Gradius looked a bit.. plain.

Neato. I've always thought that the abundance of bad ass space fish is really an awesome hallmark of series, too. I wonder what makes this click with gamers? I suppose being underwater is as close to outer space as most of us will ever encounter, so maybe this is why the blending of the two works...

[Emperor Megas]

This is actually one of the reasons I really like the Darius series... the nautical theme. Maybe that is a bit silly, but it just really appeals to me. I always thought Gradius looked a bit.. plain.

I don't think it's silly at all. I think a lot of people appreciate the nautical theme. I can't say that I ever thought that Gradius was plain though. I think the games have a lot of character. The ring spewing Moai (Easter Island Heads) especially always stay with me. I sort of have a thing about Moai, and I think it was Gradius that first introduced me to them, so I have a soft spot for the series.

I also thought that the Darius games were a little bland looking, but I've only played 2 or three of them. Again, I love the whole nautical thing, but I didn't think that the visuals and style did justice to the oceanic theme. I also recall the weapons being bland, interesting and fun weapons being a pretty big part of why I like shoot 'em ups. I should probably explore the series more.

[sloan]

Original Darius arcade cabinets were an awesome experience. Three screens wide and the ships moved seamlessly between the overlapping screens. My jaw dropped the first time I saw the beauty of Darius in the arcades around 1985.

[isufje]

I like Darius G that most... and probably Darius II after that. The Saturn version of Darius II lets you zoom in and out to get the 3 Screen Arcade feel, but everything gets pixelated and you can't see anything. Out of all the Darius games, i've never played Darius R (GBA) or any Darius Burst game. I'd really like to know how good those are.

[Edmond Dantes]

There's nothing like shooting fish in a barrel, is there?

[Haoie]

G Darius rocks!

The capture ball/Alpha beam makes this different from the rest.

Plus boy oh boy, those are some big bosses.

[fahlim003]

I quite enjoy the Darius series and have had plenty of experience with them over the years. The most recent Darius game I got was Super Nova on SNES a couple years back. Not too create a deliberate blanket statement as experience changes between the games, but in general the atmosphere and challenge throughout are the most appealing parts and I think as the series went along those aspects only improved. Darius 1 would probably be my least favourite and I've grown to G-Darius more and more as it is a game that takes a while to truly reveal itself. Darius Burst is alright and I don't mind it but I just don't find the same appeal even if follows the trend - the end result is simply due to different developers working on the game and having an 11 year gap from the last entry so it's expected to be a bit different.

The first Darius game I really got into was Darius Gaiden which is probably the best game to first try of the series. Decent difficulty, great music, and lots of variety and some added depth over Darius 2 and 1 while not being as indepth/challenging as G-Darius. I picked it up for Saturn on the cheap from overseas for no particular reason and it ended up being the most played game from that bundle as it turns out.

[djshok]

Darius Twin is my favourite by far. I love the music and level designs. This is actually my favourite SHMUP of all time. I'm not really a big fan of the rest of the Darius series. I never played of the original arcade games that much, but I found all the console versions other than Twin to be relatively boring. Sagaia has to be the worst one, the vertically squished screen, gimped weapons and lack of 2 player mode make this game no fun. It really looks like a rushed and botched arcade port, because Taito didn't know how to program for the Genesis (or didn't care). Darius Twin on the other hand is just awesome, gorgeous graphics, awesome sound, HUGE bosses, useful weapons and a fair challenge level, this game does everything right. Too bad Super Nova didn't turn out anything like DT

Can't comment on anything after the 16-bit games since I have played the "newer" ones yet.

[Mytho]

I was impressed by how solid Super Nova was on the SNES when I played it a few summers ago. What stood out in my mind was that the game has little to no slowdown. SNES shooters usually suffer from slowdown to some degree, so this was a pleasant surprise. I also really dug the music. It seems like Taito really pulled out all the stops and learned from their previous experiences.

I bought Darius Twin last summer at Goodwill, but haven't put that much time into it. It seemed good from what I've played, but I believe it had some slowdown issues. I believe the game was also more open-ended than Super Nova. In what other ways is Darius Twin different from Super Nova?

I have yet to really delve into any of the other Darius games, but I'm looking forward to tackling (hehe) them in the future.

[Parodius Duh!]

Quite possibly my favorite series next to Gradius/Salamander/Lifeforce. I love the branching path idea of Darius and the storyline is killer!

My favorite SNES/SFC version is Darius Force.
Darius II for Saturn is the best port of that game and one of my favorites.
Darius R for GBA is the best handheld version Ive played (up until.....see below).
G Darius is a great 3D version for ps1.
Darius Gaiden is awesome as well for ps1 or saturn.
I just picked up Darius Burst for PSP, so far I am fully enthralled in the game and it may possibly be my favorite of the series!

[Spidey80]

Darius Gaiden and G-Darius are probably my two favorites in the series

[klausien]

Sagaia has to be the worst one, the vertically squished screen, gimped weapons and lack of 2 player mode make this game no fun. It really looks like a rushed and botched arcade port, because Taito didn't know how to program for the Genesis (or didn't care).

Sagaia is a much better game than your first impression, and isn't botched other than the missing 2 player mode and voice samples, which happened back in those days. Also, the music may be killer on Darius Twin, but the graphics aside from a couple stages (the first being the best sadly) and level design are pretty mediocre. Too many dull starfields, and there are moments where literally nothing is happening. Twin is also one of the easiest games in the whole series. That said, I too am partial to Twin myself for nostalgia reasons (the first level and boss music play in my head to this day), but don't beat up Sagaia too much. Despite its flaws, it was the best home port of Darius 2 until the Saturn version. I love the T's Music soundtrack of Super Darius 2 on the Jp Duo, but the game itself is not very faithful to the arcade due to being reprogrammed by NEC Avenue. Incidentally, Super Darius is much more faithful to its source material. Anyway, I agree completely that Super Nova is a letdown, but the that may be the difficulty talking. Too R-Type for me.

Regardless of the punishing and sometimes completely unfair shooting, the Darius series is nothing short of awesome. The games have a vibe all their own that just works for me despite their flaws. The power up system is broken, but the shield system is awesome both graphically and gameplay-wise. The Silver Hawk is my favorite shmup ship design of all time (Vic Viper is my runner-up). The fish thing is a playful and distinct series signature. The psychedelic, wavy background action in the boss fights is totally gratuitous, but it makes me smile every time. Zuntata. The Warning screen and klaxon. Play Metal Black for the missing Darius game, and the origin of G Darius's Alpha Beam. I really can't pick a favorite, but Gaiden is definitely the most spectacular visually in my taste (Metal Black would be up there if it had the name). I long for the chance to experience a fully working actual arcade unit of Darius or Darius 2. I tried a Darius 2 machine once back in the late 90's at the Jersey shore, but the hue and alignment was way off between the two monitors, there were corrupt graphics, and control issues. Depressing. The Ninja Warriors machine was working beautifully however. Love the PC Engine and Mega CD ports of that one too. Love that era of Taito.

Is Burst worth bothering with anyone? I'm not a huge handheld shmup fan because the screen is just too small for my eyes most of the time. The GBA game Darius R is a nice, but underwhelming remake of the original game for those who were wondering. The original GameBoy Sagaia is better, but it's also the best side scrolling shmup on the system.