Darius Gaiden Saturn or Playstation?

CAVE man · Post by **CAVE man** » Mon May 01, 2006 6:06 pm

Hi, I would like to know which version of Darius Gaiden to get. What differences are there between the two games? I know the PS version has an FMV intro but thats it!

Also, what do you consider to be the best Darius game and on which format?

Thanks for any input.

Klatrymadon · Post by **Klatrymadon** » Mon May 01, 2006 6:14 pm

I think they're more or less the same, but neither of them will save your scores, unfortunately! The Taito Memories Joukan version will, if you're interested in that...

Gaiden's my fave, aye! I'll not discuss what makes it so special, though; I'm sure it's been done to death here, and I'm tired (lazy)!

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Mon May 01, 2006 7:10 pm

You can play the PS1 version on a PS2 with smooth textures, which in makes the game look a little better. But the PS1 version is one of the rarest Playstation games and alomst never offered for sale anywhere. The Saturn version on the other hand is quite common and inexpensive. That should make your decision easy.

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Mon May 01, 2006 7:22 pm

I remember people complaining about slowdown and what not in the PS1 port... Audio glitches?

I don't know if the PS2 version has autofire mode, but the saturn rev does, which makes it more enjoyable IMO. And IIRC, autofire hacks have been accepted at major arcade compos / events in Japan.

J-Manic · Post by **J-Manic** » Mon May 01, 2006 8:30 pm

zinger wrote:I remember people complaining about slowdown and what not in the PS1 port... Audio glitches?

You sure you're not thinking of G. Darius? ...because that game sure has some slowdown issues. I'm not sure about Darius Gaiden since I've never played it on the PS. However, Iam more than satisfied with my Saturn copy. Everything about the game is top notch IMO.

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Mon May 01, 2006 8:34 pm

J-Manic wrote:
zinger wrote:I remember people complaining about slowdown and what not in the PS1 port... Audio glitches?
You sure you're not thinking of G. Darius? ...because that game sure has some slowdown issues. I'm not sure about Darius Gaiden since I've never played it on the PS. However, Iam more than satisfied with my Saturn copy. Everything about the game is top notch IMO.

Yes, I'm sure, but I can't say if the source was (can't remember where I read this). I too can recommend the Saturn port though...

Zach Keene · Post by **Zach Keene** » Mon May 01, 2006 8:38 pm

Several people mention it in this thread, though I'm not sure if they're firsthand accounts.

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Mon May 01, 2006 9:29 pm

I have the PS1 port and I can't confirm any (unintentional) slowdown or sound glitches.
The PS version does also feature auto fire (square button).

EDIT: About the slowdown, I'll try the Saturn version later to compare it and post the results.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Mon May 01, 2006 9:41 pm

I played both the PS1 version and the Saturn version and the Saturn version is ten times better than the PS1 version.

Saturn > PS1

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Mon May 01, 2006 10:34 pm

Fighter17 wrote:I played both the PS1 version and the Saturn version and the Saturn version is ten times better than the PS1 version.

Saturn > PS1

Could you be a little more specific? I'd really like to know about the differences...

GateofThunderforceIII · Mon May 01, 2006 11:09 pm

I (but apparently no one else here) have noticed an input lag in the Taito Memories version. Saturn version all the way with me, though I haven't played the PS1 version and don't need to. Nick Rox (I believe) did a review on an old issue of Gamefan and he said that there are missing animation frames on the Saturn version, but everything else is pretty much intact.

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Mon May 01, 2006 11:25 pm

Ok, I did a direct comparison. Graphically they are pretty much identical. The Saturn version stutters less than the PS1 version and seems to run slightly smoother (not a huge difference, though).
I noticed that during the Boss fight of level B of the Saturn version the trees in the background are missing ; I don't know if any layers in any other levels are missing beyond that.

Audio seems to be identical.

My suggestion: Get the Saturn version and a Saturn. A Saturn + Darius Gaiden is cheaper than the PS1 port which you probably won't find anyway. Besides, you'll eventually need a Saturn in any event (there are so many more great Saturn shooters).

CAVE man · Post by **CAVE man** » Mon May 01, 2006 11:46 pm

Thanks for the replies.

Strange though, one person says the saturn version is ten times better and another says the PS version is better! someone has got to be wrong!

I will probably get both in the end as I really like the game and the Darius series. The PSone game doesn't seem to be as expensive as some of you have suggested though, a quick look on ebay showed 2 copies ending recently for £20 (around $36?) and £27 (around $50). Perhaps because of Taito memories?

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Tue May 02, 2006 12:38 am

CAVE man wrote:The PSone game doesn't seem to be as expensive as some of you have suggested though, a quick look on ebay showed 2 copies ending recently for £20 (around $36?) and £27 (around $50). Perhaps because of Taito memories?

That's very cheap. Too bad you missed them

Usually the price is more like $70 (with spine) and copies show up only once every few months. I doubt that Taito Memories has had much influence on the price; Darius Gaiden still remains one of the rarest PS1 games.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Tue May 02, 2006 3:03 am

The PS2 version is bound to be better, if you can take the upscaling. Saturn's missing a few things, has slowdown but the gameplay is fine.

Saturn > PS1

LOL, just a pure-gold post in general. Saturn version is OMG BETTER. Reason? Saturn > PS1.

I like your logic dude.

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Tue May 02, 2006 6:18 pm

Neon wrote:The PS2 version is bound to be better, if you can take the upscaling. Saturn's missing a few things, has slowdown but the gameplay is fine.

What's the Saturn one missing?

Also, I personally wouldn't pay too much for Darius Gaiden...

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Tue May 02, 2006 6:31 pm

SS I only played briefly at a friend's, and years ago when I used to warez games, what I recall is nothing too horrible really, just a few missing animations, slight loads, and added slowdowns.

I'd advise the original poster to get an SS with this, Sega Rally, and Vampire Savior. All are very cheap and you'll be entertained for quite awhile.

llabnip · Post by **llabnip** » Tue May 02, 2006 6:41 pm

louisg wrote:What's the Saturn one missing?

Not much from what I can tell... the Saturn port is really quite good and there is a ton of game here for the money (I got mine years ago for less than US$10... the Saturn port should be very cheap).

The Saturn port has a bit of slowdown in spots but it's very minor and doesn't take away from the gameplay which is excellent. The biggest complaint I have is that it doesn't save High Scores (it seems from this thread that the PS1 version may not save as well... a real shame). Other than that, the sound is Zuntata-grade excellent . The in-game sounds are fine and control is spot on. The game is fun - my personal favoriate in the Darius series followed by G on the PSX, followed by the Saturn Darius 2 port (the L/R scaling of the massively horizontal screen was a neat idea but not very practical in actual play - but the game is still fun). You won't go wrong with the Saturn port of Darius Gaiden given how cheap it is.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Tue May 02, 2006 8:08 pm

zinger wrote:
Fighter17 wrote:I played both the PS1 version and the Saturn version and the Saturn version is ten times better than the PS1 version.

Saturn > PS1
Could you be a little more specific? I'd really like to know about the differences...

I could say this: Darius Gaiden for the PS1 is great for noobs.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Wed May 03, 2006 12:35 am

Fighter17 wrote: I could say this: Darius Gaiden for the PS1 is great for noobs.

What?

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Wed May 03, 2006 4:39 am

Fighter17 wrote: I could say this: Darius Gaiden for the PS1 is great for noobs.

Throw the n00b into Zone M!

Alpolio · Post by **Alpolio** » Wed May 03, 2006 6:36 am

I too find it a bit odd that some people say that the PS1 port is better than the Saturn port. Could it be that the Saturn port was published by Acclaim?

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Wed May 03, 2006 7:08 am

Alpolio wrote:I too find it a bit odd that some people say that the PS1 port is better than the Saturn port. Could it be that the Saturn port was published by Acclaim?

Who did?

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Wed May 03, 2006 10:03 am

LoneSage wrote:
Fighter17 wrote: I could say this: Darius Gaiden for the PS1 is great for noobs.

What?

Well, the game runs slower than the Saturn version, so it's a good trainer tool for someone who's new to shmups.

Alpolio · Post by **Alpolio** » Thu May 04, 2006 5:13 am

Ceph wrote:
Alpolio wrote:I too find it a bit odd that some people say that the PS1 port is better than the Saturn port. Could it be that the Saturn port was published by Acclaim?
Who did?

A few that I've meet have made that claim.

Come to think of it, I think that they also claimed that the PS1 port of Street Fighter Alpha 2 was better than the Saturn port. And that's just plain silly.

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Thu May 04, 2006 7:32 am

I said that at one point...I'd rather play it with no loadtimes (ps2) and with better sound effects, myself. Anyways, an actual ps2 version is coming out, so no need to bother with silly port arguments anymore.

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Thu May 04, 2006 9:45 am

Not to sound Recap-ish, but the Taito Memories compilations are so blurry due to being upscaled/filtered they make my eyes hurt. (Just try out games like Bubble Bobble on Taito Memories and you'll know what I mean). I like crisp graphics. Displaying low resolution graphics as interlaced high-res with a blur filter applied is bad. No matter how many animation frames the Saturn conversion may be missing or how much slower the PSX version may be or how much loading time they may have; they are simply so much nicer to look at and play that in comparison all these little flaws are insignificant.

PS. If you're using a 15-year-old 14" screen without RGB, this may not matter to you.

maco · Post by **maco** » Thu May 04, 2006 9:02 pm

GateofThunderforceIII wrote:I (but apparently no one else here) have noticed an input lag in the Taito Memories version. Saturn version all the way with me, though I haven't played the PS1 version and don't need to. Nick Rox (I believe) did a review on an old issue of Gamefan and he said that there are missing animation frames on the Saturn version, but everything else is pretty much intact.

I noticed input lag in Taito Memories too. I also noticed input lag in Taito’s Dragon Blaze and Mushihime ports, although you do get accustomed to it.

WW3 · Post by **WW3** » Sun May 07, 2006 12:12 am

Yeah, I've seen it go for around 20 quid with spine recently... was tempted to bid actually, because, well, it's a classic shooter and I'd never seen the artwork on the Playstation cover before. Very fishy indeed!
I had a look in the high score section (on here) for the game, and wasn't quite clear about the rapid fire.
Is it cheating to get the shot right up, as shown in the rolling demo/attract screen? I do this now by frantically tapping 2 shot buttons, which is surely gonna knacker the stick buttons right up. I had the game for years and never did this before and consequently, couldn't really get anywhere on it, which did dilute the experience somewhat, which was frustrating seeing as the game itself was so blatantly top class, with it's graphics, audio, and overall aquatic ascetic.

Sad to hear about the resolution issues on the recent Taito Collection edition, as I was pondering about picking that up, if you could save the scores. Oh well, I'll stick with the pen & paper then, Mega Drive STG style!!

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Sun May 07, 2006 12:42 am

Hmm - weird. I avoided Gaiden on PS1 because I thought there was general consensus that the port was absolutely broken. Complete crap. It was even reviewed here back then and the advice was the same: avoid at all costs.

This thread is the first time I heard someone saying that PS1 DGaiden is "not as bad" or even comparable to the SS one.

Mind you, I've been able to live with a PS Souky all this time, so a game must be severely broken in order for me to avoid it. I don't live under the rule "I must get the best possible version of each game" but I don't want rubbish either...