Where the Darius Love at?

[To Far Away Times]

Wish I hadnt slept on the console ver of Cozmic—i went with arcade for Darius Gaiden. But MD Darius looks pretty tight. And I love M2s training modes.

Is the cartridge Darius Extra Version the same game that’s on Cozmik Arcade, or is it exclusive to the MD mini otherwise?

Ed: Ah, I see they’re different. Between Darius Extra and Darius 2 MD, which is more fun? Trying to decide between a digital Darius Cosmic Console and the physical genesis Darius Extra. These collections make my head spin!

I've not played Darius Extra but I quite like the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Darius II. Honestly, I feel like its the definitive version. The whole game is rebuilt from the ground up for single screen play, it removes a lot of the frustration and feels like a director's cut. I'd say its a similar situation to Gradius III SNES/SFC versus Arcade.

[Samildanach]

Wish I hadnt slept on the console ver of Cozmic—i went with arcade for Darius Gaiden. But MD Darius looks pretty tight. And I love M2s training modes.

Is the cartridge Darius Extra Version the same game that’s on Cozmik Arcade, or is it exclusive to the MD mini otherwise?

Ed: Ah, I see they’re different. Between Darius Extra and Darius 2 MD, which is more fun? Trying to decide between a digital Darius Cosmic Console and the physical genesis Darius Extra. These collections make my head spin!

I would say both MD games are equally worthy and well worth your time. Why buy one when you can have it all, ha ha!

The deciding factor for which to buy first would be the stuff that comes with it. For me, the Darius Cozmic Collection wins as you have other Darius goodness. Oh, and the MDmini doesn't have the Extra version of Darius, confusingly, that one is being released only on MD cartridge. The Darius MD on the mini doesn't have the version based on the Arcade Extra mode (no new content, just slightly better boss balancing and enemy placement). Despite, that it is still a blast to play.

[Samildanach]

Wish I hadnt slept on the console ver of Cozmic—i went with arcade for Darius Gaiden. But MD Darius looks pretty tight. And I love M2s training modes.

Is the cartridge Darius Extra Version the same game that’s on Cozmik Arcade, or is it exclusive to the MD mini otherwise?

Ed: Ah, I see they’re different. Between Darius Extra and Darius 2 MD, which is more fun? Trying to decide between a digital Darius Cosmic Console and the physical genesis Darius Extra. These collections make my head spin!

I've not played Darius Extra but I quite like the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Darius II. Honestly, I feel like its the definitive version. The whole game is rebuilt from the ground up for single screen play, it removes a lot of the frustration and feels like a director's cut. I'd say its a similar situation to Gradius III SNES/SFC versus Arcade.

Darius II MD is definitely more fun to play, but it has less interesting transitions to its levels compared to the Arcade version. In fact, in my opinion, the Arcade version would be far, far better if your ship speed was the same as the MD version. The damn ship moves at such a crawl that enemy projectiles move at the same or faster speed, so you can't back off and circle around. You have to have predicted its flight path significantly earlier, hence why it is such a memorizer to 1cc.

[Rastan78]

There's some info about the little development of Darius Extra in this roundtable discussion:

https://asatte.jp/game-industry-news/27452/

From what I can gather it was done by a Gamest columnist called Zenji Ishii over the course of only one week's time. He had the approval and feedback from Taito. Ishii also designed an X68000 hori shmup called Scorpius.

It's a bit hard to tell exactly how it happened going by autotranslate. Maybe Ishii was responsible for coming up with the changes and Taito's programmer(s) actually implemented them? Also what was the involvement of Gamest and how did that come about?

[tomwhite2004]

There's some info about the little understood development of Darius Gaiden Extra in this roundtable discussion:

They're discussing Darius Extra, not Darius Gaiden Extra.

[Rastan78]

Ah, thanks you're right. Edited my post above.

[Blinge]

So this Darius Cozmic collection

How is the Darius Gaiden version?

Is it a good port? port of the arcade game?

[jehu]

So this Darius Cozmic collection

How is the Darius Gaiden version?

Is it a good port? port of the arcade game?

Yessir, if you're looking for a good version of Gaiden, the Cozmic Collection will do you right. It got the three-fourths M2 treatment - good enough to be very good.

[The Coop]

Got the Darius Cosmic Collection Arcade on Steam. I didn't even know it was coming out, so I missed the initial launch discount by a good two weeks. But, the Christmas sale gave me an even better discount, so I guess it wasn't too bad to have to wait a little. I have a new appreciation for Sagaia on the Genesis, getting to see just how good of a port Taito did based the Japanese Darius II (in terms of music, visuals, and content). They sure crammed a lot into that little 8Mb cart. Same thing goes for the Saturn port of Darius Gaiden.

Now the question is, when is G-Darius HD going to release on Steam?

[professor ganson]

WARNING! The Cozmic collection is chock-full of psychedelic goodness. Currently the only major contender for serious time on my Switch is Cotton Reboot! And maybe G-Darius.

[davyK]

My copy of Darius Extra version for MD arrived a few days ago from Strictly limited.

There seems to be a problem with it though as the game crashes to an error screen showing debug info. Have tried reseating the cart, changing the region switch and the 50/60 switch but it still happens - seemingly at random but mostly on the 2nd level (B or C). Other games working fine on the same console.

I've contacted Strictly Limited and still waiting for a response. I suppose I need to allow a few extra days for the New Year break - it arrived just before New Year.



Seems a lovely game so it's a real shame. Nice packaging, manual etc too. Anyone else experiencing a issue with this cartridge?

[The Coop]

My copy seems to work fine thus far, but I contacted Strictly Limited six days ago due to my wondering if this game is supposed to save high scores, etc. There's a line in the options menu with “RANKING” and “ERASE ALL DATA" next to it. If it is supposed to save scores and whatnot, my game's not saving, so I reached out to see what's what. Still haven't heard back from them.

Also of note, here are a couple of things I found...

Put your name in as ZTT to unlock a sound test in the options.
I beat the "Old Version" with "Arcade" boss type on easy (using Tiat) without dying, and I unlocked an option called "Hyper Arm," which allows you to choose between "Arcade Type" and "Hit Narrow." Not sure what this does yet (something to do with the shield hitbox maybe?), but it's there.

[davyK]

Emailed them yesterday with a screenshot.

I cleared the high scores and tried again just in case it was causing a problem but the game still crashes in the 2nd level.

[davyK]

My copy seems to work fine thus far, but I contacted Strictly Limited six days ago due to my wondering if this game is supposed to save high scores, etc. There's a line in the options menu with “RANKING” and “ERASE ALL DATA" next to it. If it is supposed to save scores and whatnot, my game's not saving, so I reached out to see what's what. Still haven't heard back from them.

Also of note, here are a couple of things I found...

Put your name in as ZTT to unlock a sound test in the options.
I beat the "Old Version" with "Arcade" boss type on easy (using Tiat) without dying, and I unlocked an option called "Hyper Arm," which allows you to choose between "Arcade Type" and "Hit Narrow." Not sure what this does yet (something to do with the shield hitbox maybe?), but it's there.

Note that the game stores scores for all the different modes - so you chould check that. But i don't think my cart saves either. I deliberately end the game in level 1 to avoid the error screen and enter a high score - but it doesn't look like it saved it.

I have messaged strictly via FB and have got a response from them. So might be worth trying that way if you get no response.

[The Coop]

Note that the game stores scores for all the different modes - so you chould check that. But i don't think my cart saves either. I deliberately end the game in level 1 to avoid the error screen and enter a high score - but it doesn't look like it saved it.

I have messaged strictly via FB and have got a response from them. So might be worth trying that way if you get no response.

I sent another message to their website support link. If I don't hear back soon, then I guess I'll have to go there or to their Twitter account and see what I can get in terms of info.

[davyK]

I've been asked to wait until Wednesday and if I don't get a response then to resubmit via the webite's form.

If that doesn't work I will start resorting to publicly posting on their channels. I've paid £50 for a game that doesn't work. I will give them time to sort it out but I think I have been patient up until now. And the lack of communications is starting to make it wear thin.

[davyK]

Heh...just bought MD Darius 2 to keep me going while I get this sorted. I have the Collection on Switch but I really like the MD port adapted for 4:3.

[BrianC]

I'm guessing they didn't put a save battery in the Darius Extra game. Mine doesn't save either. I haven't had a crash, but I did have a similar crash happen on Demons of Asteborg using the Everdrive Pro. Had to turn the system on and off and reseat the cart. Haven't had it happen since, so I doubt it was the game itself.

Edit: Took a look inside. No battery, but there's a spot for one.

[TransatlanticFoe]

My copy of Darius Extra version for MD arrived a few days ago from Strictly limited.

There seems to be a problem with it though as the game crashes to an error screen showing debug info. Have tried reseating the cart, changing the region switch and the 50/60 switch but it still happens - seemingly at random but mostly on the 2nd level (B or C). Other games working fine on the same console.

I've contacted Strictly Limited and still waiting for a response. I suppose I need to allow a few extra days for the New Year break - it arrived just before New Year.



Seems a lovely game so it's a real shame. Nice packaging, manual etc too. Anyone else experiencing a issue with this cartridge?

This might be pre-empting their customer support asking you the same thing... seeing as you mention a region switch and 50/60 switch, have you tested it on an unmodified console? Until you do, I'd be surprised if they'll be willing to do anything about it.

[davyK]

My copy of Darius Extra version for MD arrived a few days ago from Strictly limited.

There seems to be a problem with it though as the game crashes to an error screen showing debug info. Have tried reseating the cart, changing the region switch and the 50/60 switch but it still happens - seemingly at random but mostly on the 2nd level (B or C). Other games working fine on the same console.

I've contacted Strictly Limited and still waiting for a response. I suppose I need to allow a few extra days for the New Year break - it arrived just before New Year.



Seems a lovely game so it's a real shame. Nice packaging, manual etc too. Anyone else experiencing a issue with this cartridge?

This might be pre-empting their customer support asking you the same thing... seeing as you mention a region switch and 50/60 switch, have you tested it on an unmodified console? Until you do, I'd be surprised if they'll be willing to do anything about it.

Don't have an unmodified console unfortunately. Don't know one who has one either. Tried the boss mode and it doesn't crash. Have left the demo running for 20-30mins and it doesn't crash. Only when playing the actual game (all 3 modes). I agree they could start playing the unmodified console card on me.

[velo]

What are the best versions of Darius 1&2 for a beginner?

I've been playing the "New" version of 1 just because the description of "Extra" made it seem as if I'd have to 1LC the game to have a chance on the final boss. I caught onto the fact that apparently the laser isn't worth upgrading to, but the final boss (the ones I tried) still aren't too easy.

I'm not sure what to make of 2. Sagaia seems way easier than 2 up to the final zone, then it goes bonkers, with minibosses that seem nigh-unkillable. I guess I should stick to the Genesis version.

[BrianC]

I'm not sure what to make of 2. Sagaia seems way easier than 2 up to the final zone, then it goes bonkers, with minibosses that seem nigh-unkillable. I guess I should stick to the Genesis version.

Which AC Sagaia? The two versions have different areas. When I first played the AC versions of Darius II and was surprised at how big the sprites are. I like the MD port quite a bit and how the Console collection has a score attack mode based off the special mode in that version. I was also surprised by some of the differences in SMS Sagaia. It has elements from both the AC and MD Darius II and Alloy Lantern's first appearance has another boss inside similar to the AC Darius II.

[Samildanach]

For the first Darius, I found 'New' to be the easiest by a h
good margin. You still need to not upgrade to laser till after Hungry Gluttons, but the two bosses after that are quite easy.

Extra is definitely the best version though, as the balance is improved and bosses 5 & 6 have more interesting attack patterns. Perhaps have New as your training mode then go for Extra when you get good.

Darius 2, Sagaia and Sagaia ver. 2 are all great and quite different from one another, so all worth your time. Their biggest flaw however is how damn slow your ship moves. This is why many prefer the MD version since you can actually outrun bullets in that, rather than having to predict where they will go.

[BrianC]

I dumped the Darius Extra cart using retrode to play on flash cart and MiSTer and it dumped save ram, so it does seem to have some sort of sram on board. However, when I tried the game with Blast'em, it didn't seem to save.

edit: Doesn't save on Everdrive MD Pro either. However, the MD Mini Darius does save.

[davyK]

I dumped the Darius Extra cart using retrode to play on flash cart and MiSTer and it dumped save ram, so it does seem to have some sort of sram on board. However, when I tried the game with Blast'em, it didn't seem to save.

edit: Doesn't save on Everdrive MD Pro either. However, the MD Mini Darius does save.

What is in that cart? is it flash RAM to hold the code or is it an actual ROM or EPROM? I'm wondering if my copy has been corrupted in some way. One bit would do it!! Just out of interest really.

I don't want to open my cart until I get this game crash issue resolved with Limited Games.

[EmperorIng]

What are the best versions of Darius 1&2 for a beginner?

I've been playing the "New" version of 1 just because the description of "Extra" made it seem as if I'd have to 1LC the game to have a chance on the final boss. I caught onto the fact that apparently the laser isn't worth upgrading to, but the final boss (the ones I tried) still aren't too easy.

I'm not sure what to make of 2. Sagaia seems way easier than 2 up to the final zone, then it goes bonkers, with minibosses that seem nigh-unkillable. I guess I should stick to the Genesis version.

Darius 1, the easiest versions are Old and New. If you only have the triple pea-shooter, the bosses will have so little health that you will be able to steamroll them.

Extra is great and you NEED to upgrade there. The stages are rearranged and are a little tougher, but it can be done with some practice. The save states are a godsend here and let me learn to route through Extra to eventually beat the game without losing a life.

You don't necessarily need to no-miss Extra, but you are definitely going to want to make sure you have the wave shot and some shields going into the final boss. Again you need to practice because you won't go into these guys blind and flailing is a sure-fire way to die in this game.

Darius II, there really isn't an easy option. You can try setting the game to easy, in which case you will actually get more power-ups and not be left with fucking nothing all the time like the base game.

Some say Sagaia v2 is easier, but it's hard to tell, I think all versions are just hard.

[BrianC]

I dumped the Darius Extra cart using retrode to play on flash cart and MiSTer and it dumped save ram, so it does seem to have some sort of sram on board. However, when I tried the game with Blast'em, it didn't seem to save.

edit: Doesn't save on Everdrive MD Pro either. However, the MD Mini Darius does save.

What is in that cart? is it flash RAM to hold the code or is it an actual ROM or EPROM? I'm wondering if my copy has been corrupted in some way. One bit would do it!! Just out of interest really.

I don't want to open my cart until I get this game crash issue resolved with Limited Games.

I honestly can't tell flash ram from an eeprom (I'm guessing most carts these days use flash RAM, but I'm not 100% sure), but I can tell that it doesn't use a battery for saving. However, it seems the cart saves fine and it's the ROM that has a problem with saving.

[Rastan78]

Here's some info about the changes made between arcade Darius revisions. Autotranslated from this Japanese Darius wiki: https://w.atwiki.jp/gcmatome/pages/139.html

There's also a thread about the differences here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=64219

OLD and NEW version:

Spoiler

About the version
There are multiple versions of Darius, but the following three are generally distributed in Japan.

OLD version

The version that appeared in the early stages of operation. The boss is highly resistant to lasers and waves, and it takes a very long time to defeat it in the second half.


Especially in the "Great Thing" battle with wave equipment, if you shoot with Chimachima from the front at a long distance, you can surely shoot back bullets from "Yazuka Takami" without extending the life of the boss for the purpose of earning. It will be prolonged.
For this reason, it was considered effective to stop the shot at the missile stage and not use a laser or wave. At that time, even in the strategy article of Gamest, which was focusing on this work, it was written that "Don't make it a laser".


However, because it is "difficult to inadvertently defeat the boss" due to wave resistance, it is easiest to earn Yazuka with the boss, and most of the applications to JHA are made with Old Ver.

In the earliest lots that appeared immediately after the operation, there was a bug that made the aircraft invincible. It has been corrected in later lots.

NEW version

The laser and wave resistance of the boss has been slightly lowered, making it easier to play. Note that it is different from the extra version.

There is no change in the attack content of the boss, but only the 6-sided boss "Iron Hammer (Hammerhead Shark)" has a hit box added to the characteristic head, so the difficulty of defeating with a missile has increased slightly.

There is a bug that the single picture that should be displayed in some endings is not displayed.
You can tell which version you have by looking at the font color of "GAME OVER" displayed on the demo play screen. The OLD version and the extra version described below are white. Only the NEW version is red.

Initially, it was only a chassis equipped with three 19-inch monitors, but a new 15-inch monitor version was additionally produced in response to requests for space saving. At that time, it was this NEW version that modified the software (there is also a case called the NEW version on a 19-inch monitor).

EXTRA version:

Spoiler

Extra version

A balance-adjusted version with major changes over the NEW version. Zenji Ishii, a Gamest editor and heavy gamer of this work, is cooperating specially.

The word "EXTRA VERSION" has been added to the title.
Enemy attacks become more intense overall, and the number of enemies increases.

There are almost no safe or semi-safe spots, including the Great Thing mentioned above. The durability of some ground enemies has also been raised, making it difficult to defeat ground enemies with bombs in missile stop play.

The change in the placement of aerial enemies is particularly noticeable on the 5th and subsequent sides. Due to the influx of highly durable enemies, missile equipment that does not have penetration is likely to be overwhelmed.

Along with this, the score efficiency has changed drastically in some zones, making it much easier to score.
On the other hand, the laser and wave resistance of the boss has been further reduced. The above-mentioned Fatty Glutton is particularly weakened, and although the child piranha can now hit its own aircraft even if it does not move, it is rather difficult to be hit on the premise that it moves around to maintain the front.

Item distribution has been reviewed.
In the standard normal, the zone with too few items is increased, and the zone with too many items is reduced to level the whole.
In particular, the number of red items is increased overall, making it easier to aim for power-ups to wave.
Item distribution in the hardware setting is no longer unified in all zones, and the number of items placed has become very awkward.

Easy settings and very hard settings are the same as the previous version.

The number of gold items that annihilate enemies on the screen has been reduced to 1 per zone. As a result, the patterns that were used in the previous version can no longer be used, and the need to power up to wave has increased.

After the 4th plane with normal difficulty or higher, purple mines that are newly rushing toward your own aircraft at high speed due to floating mines before the boss battle are mixed.

The way normal floating mines split is also more intense than in earlier versions.

Damage is now added to the main body when the boss parts are destroyed. It is also one of the factors of weakening Fatty Glutton mentioned above.
However, it does not apply to some bosses whose body does not have HP.

When clearing the final zone, a bonus of the number of remaining aircraft x 1000000 points will be added.
Needless to say, this is a countermeasure against suiciding the remaining ships. It would be impossible to catch up with this bonus no matter how much is earned by suiciding the remaining ships.

It is now possible to continue even during solo play (however, it is not possible when the difficulty level is set to Easy or after reaching the final stage).
In addition, you will be revived on the spot only when having continued.

Many of the above spec changes are, so to speak, antithesis adjustments to the original version of the missile stop play.

A version that is difficult but well-adjusted while properly collecting and playing items. Due to the increase in the number of items and the decrease in resistance of the boss, the difficulty level in standard gun attack play that raises shots up to the wave has been greatly improved.

Fatty Glutton, which was the biggest wall for wave aiming, was also greatly weakened, so the game balance, which was a little distorted that the four-sided boss was the most difficult, has been corrected.

Also, due to the intensification of enemy attacks, the number of safe spots has decreased significantly, but since it is easier to defeat even when shooting from the front, it is balanced so that a play close to STG's orthodox of "avoid shooting" is required. Can be said to have been taken.

However, the reasons such as "Because the difficulty level increases when playing missile stop, it gave the impression that it became" difficult "to beginners and intermediate players" and "The earning patterns that heavy gamers have made so far cannot be used". Therefore, it seems that the reputation at the time of release was not good.

Furthermore, as in the case at that time, the version update method was "replace the ROM chip on the board", so there were some problems caused by poor contact and accidents during replacement.

The "lower whaling route", which is considered to be clear above, became the top for the purpose of scoring. Moreover, the difficulty level has not increased significantly compared to other routes. As a result, it has been pointed out that the range of play is narrowed because the balance is such that the same route is recommended regardless of whether the emphasis is on clearing or score.

If played for score the biggest difference is that Old version allows for really lengthy final boss milks with checkpoint abuse that pushes play time up to an hour or so. In the Extra version this was countered by the balance changes.

I find it interesting that the origin of the absolutely massive 1 million pt. end bonus for each remaining life debuted in Darius Extra. Likely it's mainly a countermeasure to curb checkpoint milking. Yet it still appears in later games in the series that don't have checkpoints and is sort of a staple feature of Darius games.

[davyK]

My copy of Darius 2 for MD arrived today. The JP version. It's the first JP cart I've bought that doesn't really fit the slot on my modded EU console - so I'll have to widen it a bit but I did get to play it for a while.

It's years behind the new Darius Extra cart re tech excellence (of course!) but it's still a nice game to play. It's amazing what modern dev skills can do with old hardware.

[davyK]

I dumped the Darius Extra cart using retrode to play on flash cart and MiSTer and it dumped save ram, so it does seem to have some sort of sram on board. However, when I tried the game with Blast'em, it didn't seem to save.

edit: Doesn't save on Everdrive MD Pro either. However, the MD Mini Darius does save.

What is in that cart? is it flash RAM to hold the code or is it an actual ROM or EPROM? I'm wondering if my copy has been corrupted in some way. One bit would do it!! Just out of interest really.

I don't want to open my cart until I get this game crash issue resolved with Limited Games.

I honestly can't tell flash ram from an eeprom (I'm guessing most carts these days use flash RAM, but I'm not 100% sure), but I can tell that it doesn't use a battery for saving. However, it seems the cart saves fine and it's the ROM that has a problem with saving.

Heh. Interesting! I wonder if Strictly Limited have made a booboo flashing the game ROM.