Darius II

[Despatche]

Previous threads: 1 2
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Arcade: 3 lives, extends at every 700K. Use "Slow"/"Fast"/"Ext." for autofire (like with Viper Phase 1). PS2 should be fine for this. Can't remember if PS2 version is double monitor only. Switch version may or may not have different defaults???
Saturn: Whatever defaults are. Not an accurate port of the arcade version, so split. Shot limit code is getting its own board.
MD: 3 lives. Feel free to turn in-game autofire off. Special Mode code: mash C on title screen lots. Currently unsure about the strange scoring bug.
MS: 3 lives. Feel free to turn in-game autofire off.
PCECD: 5 lives. Feel free to turn in-game autofire on and/or use Tiat. Stage select code banned, and please don't use the frame advance silliness.

I recommend playing the arcade versions... except Sagaia version 1, apparently... on difficulty A if possible. It's significantly less insane, and may or may have been intended as the default difficulty(!), according to loctest legend.
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Post scores in this format:

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VERSION - DIFFICULTY
NAME - SCORE - ZONE - PLAYER SIDE - AUTOFIRE - DETAILS

DETAILS is for what console/emulator, what region release, etc; there's an "old" and a "new" version of Darius II double monitor, and the US version of Darius II MD. Please post routes if you can.
__________
Arcade versions
Darius II, double monitor
Difficulty A

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1.  Prickly Angler    - 3 242 380 - ABDGKPV  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4

Difficulty B

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1.  Prickly Angler    - 3,492,810 - ABDHMRW  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4
2.  NTSC-J            - 3,469,150 - ACFIMRW  (ALL) - Proco - Ext. - Switch
3.  Smraedis          - 3,403,920 - ABDHMRW  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - MAME 
4.  BLO               - 3,127,860 - ABEHMSX  (ALL) - Proco - Fast - Switch (different settings?)
5.  HAN               - 3,020,310 - ABDGLQV  (ALL) - Proco - Ext. - WolfMAME v0.261
6.  maximo            - 2,996,570 - ABEIMSX  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - MAME v0.239
7.  Kollision         - 2,988,130 - ABDGHQV  (ALL) - Proco - Fast - PS2
8.  Jaimers           - 2,972,010 - ACEHMSY  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - MAME
9.  ACSeraph          - 2,970,410 - ABDGLQV  (ALL) - Proco - Ext. - MAME
10. M.Knight          - 2,918,130 - ABEHLQV  (ALL) - Proco - Ext. - ShmupMAME v4.2
11. EmperorIng        - 2,878,050 - ABEINSX  (ALL) - Proco - Fast - MAME Plus!
12. Aquas             - 2,795,990 - ACFINTY  (ALL) - Proco - Fast - MAME
13. Mero              - 2,492,270 - ABDGKQ         - Proco - Fast - PS2

Darius II, triple monitor
Difficulty A

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1.  Prickly Angler    - 2,861,880 - ACFJOUV  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4

Difficulty B

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1.  Prickly Angler    - 3,398,500 - ABDHMRX  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4
1.  saucykobold       - 2,980,300 - ABDGKQW  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - MAME
2.  Smraedis          - 2,821,010 - ABDGKPZ' (ALL) - Proco - ???? - MAME
3.  Dumple            - 2,626,030 - ABDGLQV  (ALL) - Proco - Slow - MAME v0.193
3.  Javel             - 2,516,550 - ABEHMRW        - Proco - Slow - MAME (unknown version)
4.  Vludi             - 2,492,000 - ACEHMRX  (ALL) - Proco - Slow - MAME
5.  EmperorIng        - 2,386,340 - ABEIMR         - Proco - Ext. - MAME
6.  CHI               - 1,741,250 - ABEHL          - Proco - ???? - MAME32 (unknown version)

Sagaia version 1
Difficulty A

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1.  Prickly Angler    - 2,427,420 - ABCEGJM  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4

Difficulty B

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1.  Prickly Angler    - 2 555 170 - ABCEGJM  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4
2.  M.Knight          - 2,507,370 - ABCEGJM  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - ShmupMAME v4.2
3.  ACSeraph          - 2,462,450 - ABCEGJM  (ALL) - Proco - Ext. - MAME
4.  petieken          - 1,083,720 - ABDG           - Proco - ???? - PCB

Sagaia version 2
Difficulty A

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1.  Prickly Angler    - 2,365,440 - ABDFHKO  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4

Difficulty B

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1.  Prickly Angler    - 2 730 720 - ABCEGJM  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4

Saturn version
Normal difficulty

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=Shot limit 4=
1.  CIT               - 3,196,980 - ??????Y  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - Saturn
2.  Kollision         - 3,143,890 - ABEINTY  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - Saturn
3.  Prickly Angler    - 2 918 420 - ABEIMSX  (ALL) - Tiat  - 1/10 - Saturn
4.  ACSeraph          - 2,860,370 - ABDGKPZ' (ALL  - Proco - 1/30 - Saturn
5.  EmperorIng        - 2,759,980 - ABEINTZ  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - Saturn
6.  BLO               - 2,508,990 - ABEHM          - Proco - ???? - Saturn
7.  Bloodreign        - 1,744,810 - ???HL          - Proco - ???? - Saturn

Mega Drive version
Normal mode
Normal difficulty

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=Proco Jr.=
1.  incognoscente     - 6,809,950 - ABDGKPV  (ALL) - Yes  - US cart+Genesis?
2.  REDSUN            – 6.790.300 - ABEINTZ  (ALL) - Yes 
3.  Kollision         - 6,789,590 - ACEINTZ  (ALL) - Yes  - US cart+Genesis
4.  BLO               - 6,766,330 - ABDGKPV  (ALL) - Yes  - JP cart+JP MD
5.  andsuchisdeath    - 6,767,920 - ??????Z  (ALL) - Yes 
6.  THE ALLETT        - 6,742,330 - ??????V  (ALL) - Yes 
7.  Despatche         - 6,677,170 - ABDGKPV  (ALL) - Yes  - Fusion v3.64 (JP dump+JP MD)
8.  YOG               - 6,626,290 - ACFINSX  (ALL) - Yes 
9.  Prickly Angler    - 6 454 240 - ABEINTY  (ALL) - Yes  - PS4 (US dump)
10. DMC               - 6,437,470 - ??????Z  (ALL) - Yes 
11. AngryHina         - 6,237,710 - ACEIMRW  (ALL) - Yes  - Emulator (JP dump)
12. ChainsawGuitar    - 6 226 610 - ??????X  (ALL) - Yes 
13. EmperorIng        - 5,312,660 - ABDHLQV  (ALL) - Yes  - US cart+Genesis
14. Sengoku Strider   - 3,913,930 - ABEINTY  (ALL) - Yes  - JP cart+JP MD
15. DC906270          - 2,663,440 - ?????P         - Yes 

=Tiat Young=
1.  incognoscente     - 6,831,660 - ABDGKPV  (ALL) - Yes  - US cart+Genesis?
2.  BLO               - 6,802,260 - ABDGKPV  (ALL) - Yes 
3.  HAN               - 6,797,300 - ABDGKPV  (ALL) - Yes  - MiSTer (JP dump)
4.  Prickly Angler    - 6 762 620 - ACEINTZ  (ALL) - Yes  - PS4 (JP dump)
5.  AngryHina         - 6,362,660 - ACFJOUV  (ALL) - Yes  - Emulator (JP dump)
6.  LOLLO             - 6,109,860 - ABEIMSY  (ALL) - Yes  - JP cart

Special mode
Normal difficulty

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=Tiat Young=
1.  BLO               - 2,687,760 - Zone J         - Yes  - JP cart+JP MD

Master System version
Easy difficulty

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=Proco Jr.=
1.  Transatlantic Foe - 2 301 900 - ABDEGHJ  (ALL) - Yes  - Switch
2.  Prickly Angler    - 2 269 900 - ABDEGHK  (ALL) - Yes  - PS4

=Tiat Young=
1.  Prickly Angler    - 2 311 100 - ABDEGHJ  (ALL) - Yes  - PS4

Super Darius II
Normal difficulty

Code: Select all

1.  YOG               - 2,751,100 - ACFJNTZ  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - Disc+MagicEngine
2.  Kollision         - 2,466,900 - ABEHMSY  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - Disc+Turbo? Duo
3.  BLO               - 2,429,300 - ACFJOTY  (ALL) - Proco - Yes  - Turbo Duo
4.  EmperorIng        - 2,233,400 - ABEHLQW  (ALL) - Proco - Yes  - PC Engine Duo-R

i kinda wanna replace "master system" with "mark iii" but i'm scared to

[ACSeraph]

Been playing more recently, unfortunately my Z' clear on PS2 didn't beat out the easier V clear I did in MAME, but I decided to test some things out regarding Saturn differences today and easily no miss-ed Z' again on my first attempt:



Saturn - Normal
ACSeraph - 2,860,370 - ABDGKPZ' - 1P - 1/30

Having cleared the two back to back, I can say without question the Saturn version is easier on this course. To be specific, all of the nukes in the game are detonatable, whereas they aren't in arcade/PS2. They also seem to last a bit longer, resulting in easy midboss kills on Cuttlefish and Strong Shell, both difficult points in the original release (strong shell especially). Some enemy formations are also slightly different, such as the formations of those Gundam head things in stage 2, and at least one of the suicide ground mines in stage 4 is missing entirely.

As for notation regarding Saturn autofire, I tried out the "autofire" code for myself earlier. Autofire isn't really an accurate representation of what it is; it actually doubles the shot limit from 4 to 8, making the game significantly easier. It should probably be put on a separate table. We might want to label it "Increased shot limit" as the term autofire is misleading in this case.

Also there is no triple screen version available on either the PS2 or Saturn ports. MAME or PCB is the only option, so you can delete those tables.

[Kollision]

congrats, Seraph!!

Is the PS2 ver. allowed for two-monitor Darius II then?

[ACSeraph]

Thanks!

It definitely should be. At least in my two courses I can't see any difference between PS2 and the PCB.

Out of curiosity I think I'm going to finish off 3-screen and also Sagaia (AC) too. I actually just played Sagaia for the first time, really different and interesting game. First stage is quite a bit harder, but mostly the game is easier since there are no midbosses outside of the final stage. I game overed fighting the final boss Killer Higia (!!!). Really cool fight actually, a lot better than the 3 fights from Darius II JP. I imagine I'll have the 1cc sometime this weekend.

[Kollision]

Darius II, double monitor
Kollision - 2,988,130 - ABDGHQV (ALL) - Proco - ???? - PS2



I don't really know about this fast/slow thing, but I did turn autofire on on the Taito Memories game config screen.

My route for Darius II MD was ACEINTZ (US cart + Genesis)

----------------------------------------------------
Super Darius II - PCE CD

Kollision - 2,466,900 - ABEHMSY (ALL) - Proco - ??? - Disc + Duo

[ACSeraph]

We can play on PS2? I guess I'll just go ahead and take that #1 spot then...

Nicely done. Good on the PCE clear too, That one's on my shmup goals list for the year, but I really kind of want to use save states for it since the restart syndrome is killing me. Revenge Shark is such a dick.

I'm guessing fast means using autofire above the default rate? Originally I beat the game using the default rate, but in the arcades it tends to be set up with an additional 1/30 button for point blanking. These days that's how I play. On PS2 I use a Hori Fighting Commander to achieve the same result.

Anyhow, finished Sagaia:



Sagaia (MAME) - Normal
ACSeraph - 2,462,450 - ABCEGJM - 1P - Fast

Back in the day I think I would have been really disappointed to get this in my arcade instead of the original JP Darius II, but as a supplemental arranged version this game is actually pretty interesting. Stage 1 is completely new, and there are less courses overall. The stages tend to be shorter and have no mid-bosses with remixed enemy formations, but they are based on stages from the JP version so your skills transfer over pretty easily. Killer Higia was re-purposed into the final boss for zone M, and it's a really awesome fight, much more interesting than the anti-climactic JP version bosses. Anyhow if you really enjoy Darius II, definitely don't just write off Sagaia as a mutilated western release and never play it. There's good times to be had here.

[Smraedis]

Hey, just letting you know of my old scores, from 2004 and 2003... I'll get a better 3 screen score, actually I know I've done one but don't know what I got exactly.

2 Screen version
Smraedis - 3,403,920 - ABDHMRW (ALL) - Proco - MAME



3 Screen version
Smraedis - 2,821,010 - ABDGKPZ' (ALL) - Proco - MAME

[Despatche]

Darius II is a fantastic example of how you can screw up giving people choice. I really shouldn't even bother with all these options and just throw out flat bans that will never be upheld. Gotta deal with the stupid three-monitor version because it's the parent (because something is genuinely wrong with MAMEdev) and most people won't even notice, and Japan tracks both and separately. Gotta deal with the silly shot limit code and Tiat Young because people will rightfully complain that both options are just like autofire. Can't do an actual reasonable change like spliting by final zone like I want, like some people actually want, like record keeping actually does, because I'm gonna get the same kind of complaints that I did for Darius Force, a game where spliting by final zone makes even more sense.

I'm guessing fast means using autofire above the default rate? Originally I beat the game using the default rate, but in the arcades it tends to be set up with an additional 1/30 button for point blanking. These days that's how I play. On PS2 I use a Hori Fighting Commander to achieve the same result.

Use "Slow"/"Fast"/"Ext." for autofire (like with Viper Phase 1).

"Slow"/"Fast" refers to the "Autofire" dipswitch setting. "Ext." (external) would be what you put if you used something better (e.g. an additional button set to 1/30). Did you use that?

I don't really know about this fast/slow thing, but I did turn autofire on on the Taito Memories game config screen.

That would be "Fast" then. I probably shouldn't use MAME's names for anything, but oh well.

[CStarFlare]

Oh come on. You're not even tracking Difficulty A.

[ACSeraph]

Darius II is a fantastic example of how you can screw up giving people choice. I really shouldn't even bother with all these options and just throw out flat bans that will never be upheld. Gotta deal with the stupid three-monitor version because it's the parent (because MAME's literally retarded) and most people won't even notice, and Japan tracks both and separately. Gotta deal with the silly shot limit code and Tiat Young because people will rightfully complain that both options are just like autofire. Can't do an actual reasonable change like splitting by final zone like I want, like some people actually want, like record keeping actually does, because I'm gonna get the same kind of complaints that I did for Darius Force, a game where splitting by final zone makes even more sense.

You can set it up any way you like, the only thing about splitting zones is that there probably isn't enough participation to warrant it. Scores on different courses aren't really comparable though, I get that.

"Slow"/"Fast" refers to the "Autofire" dipswitch setting. "Ext." (external) would be what you put if you used something better (e.g. an additional button set to 1/30). Did you use that?

Ah then in my case all of my scores that I have currently uploaded would be considered external.

[Despatche]

That whole "not enough participation" claim has never made sense from any angle. Quite a few people aren't submiting scores precisely because something isn't being split for some game, and there isn't enough participation to warrant 90% of the topics in this forum.

Oh come on. You're not even tracking Difficulty A.

I always am, I'm just tired of skeleton boards. Post a score and a board shall appear.

[ACSeraph]

I'm down for it if you are, even if you are only getting scores from me. The way I do Darius for the purposes of my 1cc list is "direct" and "indirect" courses. For direct courses you move down until you are on the proper course and then all up. So the direct courses would be:

ABDGKPZ'
ACEHLQV'
ACFIMRW
ACFJNSX
ACFJOTY
ACFJOUZ
ACFJOUV

Were I going to do course specific boards I would do boards for those direct courses plus a different non-separated board for "Indirect" courses.

If you want to do direct boards, my currently submitted Saturn score was direct, ABDGKPZ'. The Sagaia clear I did was also direct, all up. I could also submit other direct course scores in time, as my long term goal is to clear all of them. It's up to you whether you want to deal with all of it though, no pressure. Your board, your rules.

[Despatche]

Sorry for the late reply.

Nah, I'd rather do what Japan does and just track the last zone. This is very white/black... either track the last zone, or track every single possible route; anything else is a band-aid, really. Aside from that, I think it's kinda silly to have a separate board for uncleared runs, but I don't really want to ban them; not really another choice there either.

This, by the way, is why I don't really like Darius stage branching. I'd much prefer something like Macross II where you have multiple "missions" of stages to choose from. Dariusburst AC sorta does this already, and that game is a lot more reasonable as far as tracking every single route goes...

[ACSeraph]

I do feel you on that, as at first I didn't really know how I would handle the series for the purposes of my 1cc list either. Seemed like a huge waste to clear a single course and consider the game done. And the way it is, without preset courses there's always going to be a dominant route towards any particular last stage, making quite a few of the stages pointless and unplayed by players. It is what it is I guess. Even though I submit my scores for it, I don't really play Darius "for score" and the balance issues with the stage select system is the main reason behind that.

[Perikles]

Super Darius II - Normal Difficulty



Perikles - 2,474,000 - ABEHMSY (ALL) - Proco - YES - PC Engine Duo-R

Surprisingly fun rendition of the game. I like the goofy bosses, Bald Crab totally looks like Club from Gradius II.

Edit: Looks like the other host I used is out of business, added a working picture.

[Perikles]

Arcade, double monitor, difficulty B



Perikles - 3,054,940 - ABDGLQV (ALL) - Proco - Fast - PS2

This game has a very unique way of jeering at me, that much's for certain. Love how the Silver Hawk moves at a fossilised snail's pace, it's always delightful to get hit by a bullet you see from a mile ago. I still like it, but it sometimes colored me pretty mogadored - hate it when the power ups get stuck in a ceiling or immediately float away.


MD - Normal difficulty - Proco Jr.



Perikles - 6,787,220 - ABDGKPV (ALL) - Yes - Japanese cart

Probably the best score I'm going to get with this route.


PCE - Normal difficulty



Perikles - 2,943,900 - ACFJNTZ (ALL) - Proco - Yes - PC Engine Duo-R

Came down to the wire, I was on my last life.

[Perikles]

Arcade, double monitor, difficulty B



Perikles - 3,412,730 - ABDHMRW (ALL) - Fast - PS2

Decided to give one of my earlier routes a few more tries. Looks like it was worth the while.

[Perikles]

MD - Normal difficulty - Proco Jr.



Perikles - 6,800,520 - ABEINTZ (ALL) - Yes - Japanese cart

Finally got a perfect run. Managed to catch every single enemy wave, destroyed lots of those unbound valuable objects and carefully milked both Yamato and Grand Octopus for a while. I don't have a clue how incognoscente squeezed so many points out of ABDGKPV (he might've milked Grand Octopus for a long period of time, but it's really dangerous once the cubes come into play), I, for one, am done with Darius II now (until I play the Saturn version, that is ). 'Twas a great time.

[EmperorIng]

Perikles really ripped this game a new one, in just about all of its versions. I don't know if you ever got to the Saturn port, but after spending a lot of time with it, I came to dislike it because I couldn't see shit. That and the satellite dish bug, which I am sure both ACSeraph and I could tell you all about.

Finally got a clear on the Sagaia US cart:



MD Normal; Proco:

EmperorIng - 5,312,660 - ABDHLQV (ALL) - US Cart + Genesis

I don't know if it is because it's easier, but I might like the MD conversion more than the arcade game. I think the switching up the boss locations a bit, and having slightly more variety in the levels keep it feeling like a fresh arrange of the arcade rather than a straight conversion.

[EmperorIng]

Super Darius II

EmperorIng - 2,233,400 - ABEHLQW (ALL) - Proco - YES - PC Engine Duo-R

I don't like this as much as the MD conversion. There's so little reaction time from enemies off-screen that can potentially ram into you and kill you. What a matter...

At least you only lose one power-level when you die - something that should have been a feature in the arcade!

I like the goofy bosses, Bald Crab totally looks like Club from Gradius II.

Ha, I thought the exact same thing when I bumped into him. Dark Modon is a unique design; probably my favorite from what I've seen thus far.

[Vludi]

Old clear i feel like posting now

Darius II arcade, triple monitor
Vludi - 2,492,000- ACEHMRX (ALL) - Proco - No (Slow) - Mame

[EmperorIng]

Perikles finally exposed my fakery, so I had no choice but to act.

He, and possibly a few others had thought that I, a vocal Darius fan, had cleared Darius II. I never saw fit to correct anyone's misconceptions. But the truth is, I never did. I got close. I would get to Grand Octopus, or the final zone. But things would fall apart. I grew to hate the game, at least its arcade incarnation, full of cheap deaths and sloppy 1,000,000 things-onscreen-at-once stage design (see: every Jupiter zone). I cleared the Megadrive and PC Engine ports/remakes (both games which are quite enjoyable), and thought to myself "I do not need to play Darius II anymore." But I was wrong. My pride was wounded. That lack of a clear lingered on, but I hoped everyone would forget. And finally, Perikles pm'd me a day or so ago about something else and added "hey, why isn't Darius II on your 1CC list? Didn't you clear that?"

I couldn't live the lie anymore. So I had a choice. Be a faker, or be a fighter. Be a chicken hawk, or a Silverhawk. Was I an Octopus? Or was I a Grand Octopus?



Darius II (Dual Screen) - DIFFICULTY B
EmperorIng - 2,878,050 - ABEINSX (ALL) - Proco - Fast - MAMEplus

I always wanted a thing called a Darius II clear, and damn it, I went out and got it. Finally! This ball-aching game couldn't take me down! You'll note in my top-most screenshot how close I was to certain death. I thought for sure when Little Stripe's fast spreads came at me I was toast. But somehow, through some grace of the hitbox gods, I persevered. I went in All-Nothing, and came out a Silverhawk.

My usual practice route of ABEINTZ wasn't doing much for me, because zones T and Z are seriously taxing, even with power-ups. I experimented with save-states and found S, despite having random rocks rain quickly down from the sky at the beginning, to be a very manageable level otherwise.

The crux of the run, and of all Darius II runs is the tete-a-tete with Grand Octopus. I thought that my fire-power would be enough to rapid-kill the little octos and whittle down the larger boss, but early into the fight this was made clear as one of those little shits sent a suicide-bullet right into my face. I thought initially to re-load and try again, but I went ahead to test out strategies of an underpowered ship against Grand Octopus since I figured most of the time I'd die to him anyway. I was able to bait the smaller octopuses into that sorta-loop-de-loop that you can do that shoves most of them off-screen. This eventually gave me the win, and allowed my ship to fly, woefully-underpowered, into Zone X, with no powerups and 5 lives.

What followed was an excruciating baptism of fire... Or rather, a baptism of a fiery, bright orange background peppered with a million flying red-orange rocks (splitting into smaller rocks, with enemies shooting orange bullets at you. Who the fuck thought this was ok. The lone shield power-up at the beginning of the stage is a cruel joke, because you will almost certainly lose it a few moments later from the torrential hale of lasers, pink bullets, enemies from behind, and endless rock spam. I died again and again, especially once Green Coronatus showed up, in tandem with more enemy spam. The background only made things harder to see. I died stupidly to the final wave of enemies as things were leading up to the boss, with one sole life to help me against Little Stripes. He might be the easiest of the Darius II bosses, but his spread and GINORMOUS wave attack are no joke and have more than once caught me off guard. Especially since you need to line up perfectly with your pea-shooter to kill him. I took apart the extraneous appendages (I never know if they contribute to his attack or not - to be safe I remove them ASAP), and started a slow, and deliberate tango, thinking I was going to choke at any minute. To keep a long story short, I did not! Those little 1-pixel shots found their mark like a photon torpedo finds a Death Star ventilation shaft.

Phew! Sorry for the rant/epic ramble. I am in a heightened emotional state tearing a clear from the jaws of death. I am so damn happy I don't have to have this game's non-cleared status looming over me ever again. Because I love Darius II, and I HATE Darius II at the same time.

EDIT: ha, I just realized that I did all of this without using MAME's built-in auto-fire (just using the "fast" option in the dip switches). That must have made it at least 0.5x harder, without point-blanking everything to death. I am a champion, ho ho ho.

[ACSeraph]

Well done Emporerlng! I still consider Darius II among my most hard-fought clears. Had a very similar experience with it as you, but that brutality is definitely important to the games flavor. I havent played it in a long time, I think its time to put a few credits in again in honor of your clear. Ive never killed Stripes surprisingly enough, always went for the other two. Time to kill off the last survivor...

[Despatche]

Congrats! The Earth and Jupiter combo are why I gave up on this game.

[EmperorIng]

Thanks to both of you! I'll definitely remember this one for a while. IMO Bio Strong is the most unique and interesting of the final bosses; however, since he/she/it is found on plenty of hard/bullshit stages, I focused on a route that enhanced my ability to brute-force my way through despite losing all my powerups.

The Earth and Jupiter combo are why I gave up on this game.

I think by and large I will stick with the more-balanced Megadrive port or the more inventive/colorful PCE remake from now on, for sure! There are plenty of other Taito shooters for me to lose my mind over trying to clear (Gun Frontier, anyone?).

[Dumple]

Darius 2 arcade, triple monitor version
Dumple - 2,626,030 - ABDGLQV (ALL) - Proco - Slow - MAME 0.193

[Perikles]

Mega Drive, Normal Mode/Difficulty, Proco Jr.



Perikles - 6,846,640 - ABDGKPV (ALL) - Yes - JP cart + Mega Drive


In spite of a lamentable lack of time, a friendly competition incited me to investigate this splendid port one more time. Finally figured out the secret to the highest scores possible - a virtually perfect run could certainly score over 6.9m, mayhap even above 6.95m, that'd be an unspeakably egregious endeavour, however, thus, I shall leave it at that.

[EmperorIng]

What a wonderful way to grace this forum with your presence. That really is a marvelous score; there must have been few if any enemy waves that escaped your run!

[M.Knight]

Darius 2 Arcade - Double Monitor Version - Difficulty B
M.Knight - 2,918,130 - ABEHLQV (ALL) - Proco - 10Hz - ShmupMAME v4.2

Spoiler

Sagaia
M.Knight - 2,507,370 - ABCEGJM (ALL) - Tiat - 10 Hz - ShmupMAME v4.2

Spoiler

[Bloody]

Darius II Double Monitor - Difficulty B
BLO - 3,127,860 - ABEHMSX (ALL) - Proco - fast - Switch


Please replace all scores from plasmablood in new Nickname BLO as BLOODY thanks