I was taking a quick survey of the collection today, and one jumped out at me. Super Darius II for the PC Engine. Thought I'd write a quick review because there isn't all that much specific info available on this one out there in the vast reaches of the internet. Going to use a standard category format here:

For those unitiated in the struggle of Proco Jr. and Tiat Young against the evil hordes of the Planet Darius (all 3 of you here at DP), Super Darius II is a conversion of the original 3 screen arcade game Darius II. There have been more home versions of Darius II than any other Darius game, with it appearing in some form on the SMS, MegaDrive/Genesis, GB, PC Engine & Saturn, retitled Sagaia for those versions released to the International market. Of these myriad conversions, the Saturn game is easily the most accurate, offering a letterboxed, simulated 3-screen mode that can be smoothly zoomed in and out at will, creating a more detailed scrolling yoko mode. It also is the only home version that features the strange "Tuna Sashimi" voice sample at the beginning and full Zuntata soundtrack. The Genesis version is also of note, as it features a slightly letterboxed, single screen mode that is balanced as such. There are far fewer deaths caused by off-screen enemies as a result, while retaining enemy patterns that are very close to that of its arcade counterpart. The Genesis version is my personal favorite because of this. It has the perfect balance of detail/enemy placement.

With this in mind, I finally sat down and had a session with the PC Engine game. I had gotten it some time ago, but promptly filed and forgot about it. I had high hopes for this one, as both super Darius and Darius Plus were rebalanced for single screen play, but still 100% Darius, ferocious difficulty notwithstanding. Unfortunately, what I came away with is an impression that the game is a bit underwhelming in comparison to its predecessors on the system and brethren abroad.

Graphics:
Super Darius II employs a zoomed in, non-letterboxed (save for the status bar at the top) single screen play area. It even has large numbers for score, remaining ships, and current zone to add to the one arcade screen aesthetic. This allows for maximum detail, but also has the consequence of having the Silver Hawk assume the form of a large, pretty target. The enemies are also quite big, and nicely detailed, while bullets are very small (think Phalanx on SNES or Sol Feace on Sega CD). There is some flicker present, as expected, but it really only shows up during boss battles. Backgrounds range from the still amazing first stage heat effect to blank starfields, with recycled cave scenes and the odd Giger influenced level interspersed throughout. The arcade game had the same problem with uninspired stage designs though, which incidentally wasn't addressed until Darius Gaiden. In all, the game has a nice, solid presentation (with a hilarious Engrish ending scroll), but some of the issues with the graphics make for interesting gameplay issues, which I will detail later.

Sound:
This is also an area of contempt for me. Some see it as a boon to this particular version. Rather than having the original Zuntata soundtrack in glorious Redbook as one might expect, all of the music has been remixed, rearranged, and sometimes rewritten as variations on the original tunes. T's Music, the sound team responsible for the excellent shred soundtracks from games such as Lords/Winds of Thunder and (I think) Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire, is given free reign with the source material. From an artistic standpoint, this is a good thing, as it presents another, new interpretation, but the effect is a bit jarring for someone so used to the originals. The tracks are redone in shredder style, but without the harshness and distortion of some of T's Music's other work. Again, there is nothing wrong with something new, but Darius II has one of those classic unique soundtracks. The whole thing just feels a bit neutered sonically, and the weak sound effects don't help either. It would have been nice to have a choice, but I understand why this was not possible given the limitations of the media at the time.

Gameplay:
This is the biggest Achilles Heel of the game. Things seem well and good, but then you begin to realize that there are fewer enemy types and totally different patterns than that of the original.Rebalancing for the single screen is one thing, but the game feels totally different as a result of what was done here. I might be wrong, but I also got the feeling that the boss placement was different as well. Control is fine, as expected, with one button firing the laser and the other dropping bombs. Not a bad game at all, but not exactly Darius II either. It feels more like a separate version in and of itself, which is a bit of a paradox in this situation. This may have something to do with the fact that it was developed by NEC Avenue on license from Taito, rather than by Taito themselves.

Challenge:
Challenge-wise, Super Darius II is still hard as nails, though it seems as though the designers tried to ease it up a bit for the more casual home gamer. The addition of an easy mode, the ability to up lives and credits to nine, and the choice of either Proco Jr. or Tiat Young, the latter being a bit more powered up at the outset, add to this feature. You also are allowed to keep your powered up weapons after dying in easy mode, which is actually very nice for a casual play. Keeps the frustration to a minimum. Applying these options makes this the easiest Darius next to Darius Twin on the SNES.

As a whole, Super Darius II is a great shmup and an excellent addition to your PC Engine library, if you can find it without spending too much. More for the hardcore Darius fan than the casual shmupper, I can't recommend it over games like Spriggan, Star Parodia or Nexzr, but it still a nice title and a good investment.
Hope this gives a clearer picture of a somewhat obscure game. For another opinion, some nice pictures, and a well-done overall take on the series, I must give another shout out to Kurt Kalata's Hardcore Gaming 101 (and yes, the SMS version is sweet):

http://www.classicgaming.com/reviews/darius/darius.htm