Where the Darius Love at?

[Skykid]

It's just an AC.

GT is on the final course route, and agreed, it's probably the most epic boss fight ever. My eyes glaze over when that guy scrolls on and then it's a protracted fracas of godly proportions while the music grinds away in a full-on adrenaline blitz. I can't get enough.

Failed three more times today but pushing him to later patterns now where I need to bridge him with the cannon. It's nuts.

[Skykid]

Oh fucking yes. Our business is done.

Whatta fight.

[professor ganson]

Congrats, Sky Kid. Where is that arcade? Looks very interesting.

[Skykid]

Nanning, China. It's amazing. 10p a go, just like 1986.

[professor ganson]

Wow, you're living there for a while? That's super awesome! My oldest daughter took Chinese last year but this year she's changing over to Japanese.

[Skykid]

Wow, you're living there for a while? That's super awesome! My oldest daughter took Chinese last year but this year she's changing over to Japanese.

Yeah been here almost two years. Time flies. Can't think of any reason to come back though.

Mandarin is really tough, I'm doing my best to pick up what I can. She should definitely learn whatever she's interested in, although if she conquered Mandarin she'd be far more likely to be filthy rich in future.

[professor ganson]

although if she conquered Mandarin she'd be far more likely to be filthy rich in future.

Yes, I've made that argument. On the other side, I realize just how hard Mandarin is. Very best of luck picking it up!

[ACSeraph]

Awesome job on the clear Skykid! I'm sure Ahab is proud. Hopefully I'll get around to killing the bastard myself some day, but I want to save that course for last.

[M.Knight]

Fighting Great Thing and defeating it must be an awesome experience. Well done!

I doubt I'll ever be able to clear that route myself, but for now, I managed to 1CC the easiest route (ADH) at the cab that's in Paris. Those boss fights are really something. You can't experience that kind of thing at home.

[professor ganson]

Just recently picked this up because Skykid claimed it was the best PS1 shmup. I'm pretty certain he's wrong about that, but it made me want to play the game again anyway.

[ACSeraph]

^It's my favorite game on Saturn for sure. It's not really that great for scoring, but as a survival game it's one of the most badass shmups ever made.

[Skykid]

Just recently picked this up because Skykid claimed it was the best PS1 shmup.

Ah, I wasn't expecting anyone to take that list too seriously! I just wanted an alternative to all the regular stuff. Gaiden is a beautiful thing though.

[Skykid]

Got Great Thing again today, first coin. That's two for two. Pretty comfortable with this route now. It helps loads knowing approximately when he'll die, otherwise it feels like it will never end.

Only routes yet cleared are J and K. Probably because of one particular pufferfish...

[J-Manic]

Darius Gaiden is the shmup that sparked my interest towards the genre. It holds a special place in heart.

[BIL]

Here's today Darius... uh... love? *EATS CHECKPOINT*



ITS ALL YOUR FAULT ACSERAPH (・｀W´・)

;3

I really like this game, had to check it out after your excellent posts on its merits and faults. Checkpoints are a bitch but I dig its refreshingly straight-ahead arcadey shooting, and I've always got a soft spot for console-exclusive sequels. The two-button method of adjusting shot and bomb power feels good too, and the ship selection is very cool. Some fantastic Darius-worthy tunes as well. Already got Saturn Gaiden, PS2 G and the rather nice MD Darius II, so I decided to nab it as well.

Saturn DG

I've always loved how there's story text on the disc itself. In English too!

[ACSeraph]

Damn, pristine as usual, looks like you just hopped into your time machine to go buy a copy from K-Mart

Glad you are enjoying it, it's far from perfect but it doesn't deserve its bad rap. Very cool stage design compared to Twin and some unique mechanics. Make sure to check out the middle course so you can see the giant stage long battleship, it's cool stuff for SFC.

Still gotta check out MD Darius II personally, it's one of the only ones I haven't played because I don't have an MD here in Japan. Maybe I should just buy a converter for my SFC...

[cave hermit]

I ignored this series for the longest time due to HG101, but now that I hear that I was lied to I'm interested in giving it a go; what should I start with? Also is Darius burst, gaiden, or g-Darius available for the US vita?

[Skykid]

I ignored this series for the longest time due to HG101, but now that I hear that I was lied to I'm interested in giving it a go; what should I start with? Also is Darius burst, gaiden, or g-Darius available for the US vita?

I don't think any of them are on US Vita. You can check for G-Darius, but I don't remember seeing it.

I got Dariusburst running on my Vita, but you'll need that sucker running CFW PSP emulator or it ain't happening.

[cave hermit]

Just found out about Taito legends 2, which has both g darius and darius gaiden, and is in a very reasonable price range. Is the emulation/porting good?

[EmperorIng]

G-Darius emulation is spot on; the collection is worth it for that alone imo. Darius Gaiden emulation felt serviceable, though I am less familiar with it.

Plus you get ports of Raystorm, Cleopatra Fortune, and Puchi Carat, so it's all good. =)

[M.Knight]

I ignored this series for the longest time due to HG101, but now that I hear that I was lied to I'm interested in giving it a go; what should I start with? Also is Darius burst, gaiden, or g-Darius available for the US vita?

The same happened to me but only with games prior to Darius Gaiden. I tried Darius 1 and Darius 2 not too long ago on MAME and realized how much bullshit there was in that article. I still think this website is good for discovering unknown gems and some of the newer articles are much better, but man, that Darius bashing...

As for the recommandations, Darius Gaiden is the most straightforward in terms of mechanics and some of the routes (ABDHLQV in particuliar) are not too difficult so I think it may be best to begin with this one.
Don't forget to check out the series' soundtracks as well! They are quite unique and very enjoyable.

[ACSeraph]

I got Dariusburst running on my Vita, but you'll need that sucker running CFW PSP emulator or it ain't happening.

As long as you are running a Japanese account on the Vita, the digital version of Burst works perfectly. I bought a Vita TV literally just for that one game. (Good thing too cuz the piece of shit can't run half of my actual Vita games )

---

Agree with what's been said here, get Taito Legends for G and Gaiden and give them a go. Personally I can't get into G, but Gaiden is a spectacular game, one of the best Horis I've ever played.

I would also recommend Darius Extra via MAME, just make sure you are running it on a big screen, like an HDTV for example. It's simplistic but intense, with great atmosphere and music. The Darius Extra cab in arcades is actually my #1 favorite shmup.

[Skykid]

I got Dariusburst running on my Vita, but you'll need that sucker running CFW PSP emulator or it ain't happening.

As long as you are running a Japanese account on the Vita, the digital version of Burst works perfectly. I bought a Vita TV literally just for that one game. (Good thing too cuz the piece of shit can't run half of my actual Vita games )

Ah yes, almost forgot about account swapping. For me it's a US account or nothing, since the library is bigger than EU and it's remarkably cheaper in the marketplace. Having a separate mem card for a JP account is doable but factory resetting your Vita at each swap is painful. Then again, to play Dariusburst I'd do just about anything.

How did it scrub up on the big screen in the end?

[ACSeraph]

Looks quite a bit nicer than you would expect since the VTV upscales everything to 720p. I do feel like there might be some very very slight input lag when compared to the PSP version, but not enough to really affect gameplay (probly comparable to SDOJ's input lag).

The end result looks about like a early PS2 game, and some of those fights, like GT and Syvalion, look spectacular. Darius has always been meant for the big screen imo.

[Enji]

Darius Gaiden is so fucking brilliant it verges on unbelievable for how simple the mechanics are.

Darius Burst......ehhhh......It's presentation is amazing, but the gameplay is nowhere near as good to me.
It also doesn't help that there's practically no penalty for dying.

As for Sagaia/Darius II, I've always wanted something called a tuna sashimi, and it plays pretty well.

Still haven't played the original Darius.....

[Squire Grooktook]

Started playing Gaiden again after like 2 years or so. Forgot how fantastic it was, truly. Great patterns, bosses all have tons of personality and move all over the screen in unique ways making every fight different, normal enemies are diverse and creative, environmental hazards handled well, could go on and on.

It just has such a feeling of adventure to it, while still being extremely well paced and focused. Definitely an all time classic.

[ProcoTaito]

[cave hermit]

Well I tried out Darius 1 2 and Gaiden in MAME. I'll be honest: I wasn't blown away. Then again I didn't like MMP or Pink Sweets when I got the disc for them, but they grew on me and now I love them. Maybe this will be the same way? I will say that I love Gaiden's concept of reprogramming midbosses to fight with you. Each sequel was much better than the last, and the soundtracks are odd to say the least. Boss fights are really interesting design-wise, but a bit simplistic when it comes to attack patterns.

[Squire Grooktook]

Can't speak for the first two (haven't really played em that much) but Gaiden and G-Darius's boss patterns are really clever and anything but simple imo. At times they're like proto danmaku, and there are some fun random dodging and high movement based patterns too.

[ACSeraph]

Darius 1 and 2 are both cases of simplistic brutality. The patterns are relatively simple yes, but they are also more than enough to utterly murder you. 1 and 2 both require a high degree of perfection, particularly 2.

I think to really truly appreciate 1 and 2 you need to play them on the original machines and your goal needs to be a 1cc, not simply surviving as long as you can. Without actively pursuing the clear they probably aren't so interesting. But when you've fought to the very end and G.T. is approaching, you truly feel that a Huge Battleship awaits you.

For me the Darius series has a sense of adventure to it. It's a different kind of appeal than danmaku. Helps if you can really get into the concept of intergalactaquatic warfare.

Darius Love

That pic in the bottom right of Ancient Barrage is awesome, it really has a deep sea vibe to it the way it's encased in shadows.