Where the Darius Love at?

[Sinful]

So would anyone care to enlighten me as to what the absolute easiest survival path is in G Darius? This is the one game in the series I've been completely unable to get into, and at this point I just want it out of the way.

So you're personally saying G Darius doesn't stand for G spot pleasure...

I'm not sure how much I'll end up liking G Darius in comparison to Gaiden (so far not as much). But wouldn't mind hearing your early thoughts on this comparison.

[Smraedis]

I first used to go down on all stages on G Darius, due to inconsisties on the 3rd boss I changed it to the Nu route, going whatever way is more fun, then the way that scores the most.

For being someone with a thing for fish, I can't help laugh at the request on the previous page!

[Sinful]

Er, was that the sex with massive robot fish request that your talking about?

[Smraedis]

Yeah, that!
I just got my own way with them on Twitch

[ACSeraph]

Learning a new course in Darius II. I forgot how bad this game was for my mental health. I really feel like the impossible recovery ruins the whole thing for the most part. It's sad that Taito shat all over this otherwise awesome game.

[Sinful]

Learning a new course in Darius II. I forgot how bad this game was for my mental health. I really feel like the impossible recovery ruins the whole thing for the most part. It's sad that Taito shat all over this otherwise awesome game.

Hey, careful! This is Kollision's favourite Darius game!

And what's making you want to try another route in Darius II so soon? (Or is it too soon?) And you going to try a Yamato pain train crab route this time.

[ACSeraph]

It's an awesome game until you die and it isn't. But anyhow, it's been about a year since I learned my first course, so I wanted to start learning some of the direct courses (meaning you only change direction on the stage map once per run). I'm starting with all up ABDGKPZ', and have for the most part learned it, but in actual runs I always get fucked over by one thing or another, and then it's impossible to recover.

I've cleared a Yamato course already in the Saturn version since L was a no-go, but hes not really a boss that can be perfectly learned imo. He can and will just simply fuck you over if you aren't lucky, which is why I always prefered fighting Leadain. Typically either the Yamato fight just goes really badly or I get whacked by Grand Octopus. Those two are probly the hardest bosses in the game. At least Grand Octopus is mostly a fair fight though, even if its fuckin' hard.

[Sinful]

It's an awesome game until you die and it isn't. But anyhow, it's been about a year since I learned my first course, so I wanted to start learning some of the direct courses (meaning you only change direction on the stage map once per run). I'm starting with all up ABDGKPZ', and have for the most part learned it, but in actual runs I always get fucked over by one thing or another, and then it's impossible to recover.

I've cleared a Yamato course already in the Saturn version since L was a no-go, but hes not really a boss that can be perfectly learned imo. He can and will just simply fuck you over if you aren't lucky, which is why I always prefered fighting Leadain. Typically either the Yamato fight just goes really badly or I get whacked by Grand Octopus. Those two are probly the hardest bosses in the game. At least Grand Octopus is mostly a fair fight though, even if its fuckin' hard.

Oh, the all up run. That was my run. This should be interesting.

3 screen version really goes a long way to take out the luck factor of Yamato or difficulty of Octopus. So that's my plan for my next run.

What really killed my runs on this route is the extra long space without a shield power-up for all of stage 6. Most of my runs, if not all, I'd get to the Octopus in powered down mode. Can even beat him like that, but then the last stage is a total brick wall without power-ups & I get swatted down back to back into the continue screen almost instantly. No shield for stage 6 eventually broke me. I guess you have to master the shield stacking technique for stage 6 preparation (which was my last plan of attack). But it sure is tough not to get nicked once with a shield on before the next shield power-up for the stack to work even in the early stages. So yeah, same here. Maintaining a perfect enough run evenly sure is hard.

Since shield stacking always works for Darius 1, I had no problem with beating it's last stages. Heck, the last boss (Great Thing) I beat on my first try. That shield kept taking a beating (ditto for my heart) and yet still kept holding that I couldn't believe it. Maybe the dev's realized this too and why they changed how it works for Darius 2?

[nasty_wolverine]

i dont know where else to post this but here goes. For a while, i was without a monitor and had to hook the system up to the tv in the hall.

setup:


wanted to see how darius will look on a big widescreen:



some darius burst

[Captain]

Have a crappy thing I did in flockmod when I was bored

Spoiler

[Sinful]

Yeah, that's my setup for MAME emulation too. Big TV & Arcade Stick. Otherwise all my gaming is on the Big TV. Everyone needs to have their PC hooked to both Monitor & TV. Come on, it's the future.

[arcadehero]

First post here, I thought I had an account here from a few years ago but I guess not

As a quick intro, I am an arcade operator in Utah (Game Grid Arcade) where I have a few shmups in my collection, some on the floor, some as just PCBs needing a cab. Dariusburst Another Chronicle Unlock B, Armed Police Batrider, Blazing Star, ESPRade, Macross Plus, 1945 Strikers II, Last Resort and Mars Matrix are all a part of that and of course I have some for home consoles and PC.

I wasn't really familiar with Darius until Dariusburst AC came along and some local fans here convinced me to convince Taito to give the game an English release, which I did work with them to do. Unfortunately that didn't all work out as planned for a wide release. In getting DBAC I gained a huge appreciation for it, not just because I had to spend a pretty penny on it (which I am still making payments on) but as shmups go, it's where I find a good balance of play that I can get into. I've been able to 1cc certain runs on Darius more often that I have on other titles. It could be that I'm just not very good at bullet hell

One part of it has gone beyond myself and to my kids who are ages 9 and 5 respectively. My son in particular loves Darius now, in part because he is into sea creatures and squids but any time he drops by the arcade, he has to play a round or two. He found the CG art from DBAC on the Japanese site, printed out all of the bosses and made his own little 'boss encyclopedia' for the game; He also has convinced his classmates at school as to how awesome Darius is, it once being the focus of a class discussion thanks to a picture of himself standing in front of it for some project they had. Overall, he's become pretty good at the game, here is a video of him getting a counterburst which 99% percent of the people I see play the game don't have a clue as to what that is. He's also played some Darius Gaiden and Darius Twin, I need to get Darius 1 and 2 running on MAME to show him those.

[ACSeraph]

I just game over-ed 2 seconds from killing Mother Hawk and I am finding it difficult to accurately express my rage right now.

[ACSeraph]

Fuck you Mother Hawk!



I am so happy that I finally cleared this

ABDGKPZ'

All up, full defaults, 2-screen awwww yea

[alamone]

I have in my personal collection PCBs of Darius 1, Darius 2 (two screen), DBAC EX, G-Darius v2, and Darius Gaiden.
Pretty much only missing Darius 2 (three screen).

I posted this in the Off-topic board, but I suppose a repost here wouldn't hurt:
Darius is back from repair! Thanks to andy of andysarcade!
The setup is 3 8 inch BVMs and a 60/40 half mirror held by a panavise.







Bonus: Ninja Warriors

[CStarFlare]

oh my god

You're dedicated.

[ACSeraph]

Whoa, you have got to build a proper cabinet for that. Cool stuff.

[KyoKusagani1999]

I used to own the PC Engine port of the original Darius, and It wouldn't be right to
neglect Darius' influence on the genre. I was too young to really understand how
to play a SHMUP properly back then, but nevertheless, I appreciated the surreal
Mechanical Fish that made the series stand out to whoever got their grubby little fins on one.

Although I never really got to experience the true beauty of the triple monitor theater,
the game's originality holds out well enough to warrant playing it without the fancy creme' de la creme,
making almost every entry a true classic worth revisiting. Come to think of it, Fatty Glutton
always gave me nothing but trouble, maybe I should track down a HuCard and make up
after all those years of arguing with his endless suicide bullet children...

(Wow, I haven't posted here in an entire year, real life happened)

[BIL]

Dat Ninja Warriors

[Sinful]

I enjoyed arcadehero's post very much. Too bad he isn't my dad.

[arcadehero]

I enjoyed arcadehero's post very much. Too bad he isn't my dad.

Ah thanks! My own dad has never been into video games but my son can't avoid it even if he wanted to. Fortunately his enjoyment of Darius has meant that convincing him to play other shmups isn't a difficult task

I have in my personal collection PCBs of Darius 1, Darius 2 (two screen), DBAC EX, G-Darius v2, and Darius Gaiden.
Pretty much only missing Darius 2 (three screen).

The setup is 3 8 inch BVMs and a 60/40 half mirror held by a panavise.

Sweet collection! Got a Multi-Darius cab plan for the future?

[KyoKusagani1999]

Fortunately his enjoyment of Darius has meant that convincing him to play other shmups isn't a difficult task

That's the beauty of the Giant Battleships.. They introduce you to the rest of the best with their beginner-friendly "pick it up and play" design. It's great to hear newcomers have joined the fray thanks to a less intimidating entry in the arcade chronicle.

[arcadehero]

Fortunately his enjoyment of Darius has meant that convincing him to play other shmups isn't a difficult task

That's the beauty of the Giant Battleships.. They introduce you to the rest of the best with their beginner-friendly "pick it up and play" design. It's great to hear newcomers have joined the fray thanks to a less intimidating entry in the arcade chronicle.

I would definitely attribute it to that and that it doesn't throw bullet hell at the player right off the bat. Granted DBAC is a little different from the others in the series and the pros it has such as the multiplayer also helped my 5 year old daughter get into it as well. That is where the infinite lives setting also helps

[M.Knight]

Congrats ACSeraph! Your clear reminded me of a video I found by fellow French player lerebours who displayed a trick to easily defeat Mother Hawk. I have no idea if this is the inaccurate Saturn port or the PS2 version though, as he played on both :
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x105jc ... videogames
I tried it once but I messed up my timing and got killed on my last life. As I haven't fought that boss again yet, I can't confirm it works in MAME.

BTW, you stirred up my curiosity when you mentionned the Western version of Darius 2 in the Hi-score thread, so I gave it a spin. I tend to stay away from Western versions but this one is a fun "arrange mode" indeed! The shorter stages and the lack of mid-bosses increase the game's pace. As a consequence, it feels like you get power-ups faster (even if it is not really the case) which is cool . Another change which I am not too sure about is the boss health : it seems like it was decreased, but some bosses spew more bullets to compensate. (Driosawm and Alloy Lantern for instance)
I haven't fought Killer Higia yet. 'Looking forward to it!

For the curious, here's what the map looks like :


@arcadehero : That's a very cute story. The boss encyclopaedia part in particuliar is heartwarming!
It is cool that your son has gained an interest in Darius games, let's just hope that this will not fade away when he becomes a teenager.

Where can I find some Darius porn? I came to this thread searching for hot fish-on-fish action, and I demand to get it!

You made my day.

[FRO]

@arcadehero - you give me hope that the shmup genre can and does transcend generations, and that despite the relative lack of love for the genre of late (save for Touhou and a few indies), the appeal goes deep enough to sidestep all the regular trappings. My dad also had little to do with video games, save for the occasional round of Tetris on the PC, so I'm glad to see dads playing games with their kids. If my wife and I can ever muster the funds to do an adoption, I also hope to pass on this gaming love to my kid(s), and hope to see him or her get into shmups as a part of that. I want my kids to appreciate gaming in general, because it's one of my most loved hobbies, but in particular, I hope that an appreciation for, and love of shmups is part of the gaming legacy I pass on. My nephews just aren't ready for that yet, in part because they don't have that much time for gaming with their school schedule, and mom/dad limiting the amount of time they spend on such things. That, and all they have is a Wii, so aside from the Ultimate Shooting Collection or Ocean Commander, there's little I can do to get them into the genre with what they have.

[MathU]

The Wii has a ton of scrolling shooters, what are you talking about? It's got a massive backlog of virtual console games just for starters, and then there are others such as Castle of Shikigami III, Gradius Rebirth, and Blast Works. Think Gradius Rebirth would be an excellent introductory game in particular.

The only problem I could see is getting a kid to get over that cumbersome Classic Controller setup where you're glued to a Wiimote, but then a lot of games have Gamecube controller support anyway.

[arcadehero]

I think kids can best get into them nowadays when they have someone leading them to it. Other kids do not really talk about these kinds of games at school, it's all Minecraft or CoD all the time (when my son got into MC, I noticed he and his friends spoke about it in the same manner than my friends and I would talk about Super Mario or Zelda as a kid).

I'll have to get a picture of that encyclopedia to share. He's taken it to school various times to show off. I also gave him a small Silverhawk model the other day which he was super excited about and he's been playing with it non-stop like it was an action figure vehicle of sorts.

DBAC was a perfect game in my situation as supporting up to 4 players+infinite lives meant that I could sit down with both of my kids, the youngest of which is influenced greatly by her older brother but also likes to have the support of dad there for when things get tough. I think that Infinite Lives mode was a brilliant idea for casual players as it becomes easy for me to recommend the game to groups of casuals who would otherwise be intimidated by it. I've got a group of scouts coming in tomorrow so I will certainly be introducing them to the game and how to play.

Sometime in the future I want to organize all of my shmups together so they can support each other, the current layout makes that a little tough given the needs of other titles that I have on hand, but I will figure it out eventually.

[ACSeraph]

Congrats ACSeraph! Your clear reminded me of a video I found by fellow French player lerebours who displayed a trick to easily defeat Mother Hawk. I have no idea if this is the inaccurate Saturn port or the PS2 version though, as he played on both

Thanks! Actually the Mother Hawk fight is super easy yeah, you just point blank the nose and nothing it shoots will hit you. The only dangerous part is dodging the tail fin that it throws at you. The first time I got there I was naked with zero lives. Nerves got the best of me and I ate the tail fin. But if you make it powered up there's almost no way you will lose. The strategy is the same in both PS2 and Saturn in this case. Honestly all 3 of the Darius II final bosses are really easy. Little Stripes is a standard fight but easy and rather anti-climactic since the boss design is a bit lame. Bio Strong is cool looking but you can easily exploit the fight by just riding the top edge, and Mother Hawk can be easily point blanked into oblivion (though it's a bit close for comfort at times). I'd say of the 3 I like Hawk the best, but all of them are pretty lame compared to stuff like G.T. in the first game.

BTW, you stirred up my curiosity when you mentionned the Western version of Darius 2 in the Hi-score thread, so I gave it a spin. I tend to stay away from Western versions but this one is a fun "arrange mode" indeed! The shorter stages and the lack of mid-bosses increase the game's pace. As a consequence, it feels like you get power-ups faster (even if it is not really the case) which is cool . Another change which I am not too sure about is the boss health : it seems like it was decreased, but some bosses spew more bullets to compensate. (Driosawm and Alloy Lantern for instance)

...and then we have Sagaia with the Killer Higia final boss. Way better fight than the originals. Kinda makes me wonder if the other three final bosses are different. Glad you enjoyed Sagaia, I think it's definitely worth getting the clear in it. I can see what you mean about the faster pace. But yeah the bosses are a bit thin on health. A lot of them can be point blanked to death before they ever come close to being a threat. My favorite fight in the original in Leadain, but in Sagaia the phases end so quickly you don't really get to experience it. The game might actually be better with a slower autofire rate, or possibly without any autofire at all.

[Kaleb Parham]

First experience with Darius was G Darius on Taito Legends 2, as well as Darius Gaiden on the same collection. Even thought both games are absolutely astounding, Darius Gaiden just, it just...

AHHHH MY GAWD!!!

Ever since then I've been pretty addicted to the series. The newest one seems a bit uh to me, but honestly I haven't played it.

BTW G Darius has the best laser ever. EVER!!!

[Martinov]

I was just looking at Taito Memories II Joukan on PS2. Are the ports of Darius II and Rayforce accurate?