Darius 2 (Saturn) vs. Sagaia (Genesis)

[Unadan360]

Wanting to get on or the other (or both). Is the Darius 2 (Japan import) the superior game to get?

[EmperorIng]

Playing the 2, I prefer the MD port.

While the Saturn version is often touted as "arcade perfect" there are a few aggravating glitches and bugs that result in unavoidable deaths - e.g. the hitbox of one particular laser is larger than the thin sprite, making collisions more likely, especially since the enemy that fires said laser is bugged to fire non-stop, with no breaks or intervals.

Also, the dual-screen format of Darius II means that playing at full zoom makes all of the bullets merely a few pixels large, which make things hard to see and dodge, especially in some of the more elaborate backgrounds (orange bullets against an orange bg on Venus, for example).

The MD port is more of a remake or arrange mode - it keeps the spirit of the arcade game while changing up the level layouts and reformatting the game to fit a single screen. It's a little easier, but the arcade game is extremely unfair as-is, and the port still retains the punishing "One death and you lose everything" handicap.

If you want to play the arcade game, MAME, or the Taito Memories Vol. 2 (JPN only) port are your best bets (I also think a digital release is in the works for the JPN PS4; I'm not sure). Failing that, Sagaia/Darius II MD is more than worthy of the name. Super Darius II is a neat (if clunky) re-imagining of the game for the PC Engine, but it's very different from the arcade game.

[copy-paster]

SDII is pretty much like the arcade Darius II with one screen fix, yet I do much prefer the dual screen arcade version.

[EmperorIng]

SDII is pretty much like the arcade Darius II with one screen fix

???

Super Darius II has different bosses, enemy captains, enemy placements, gives 5 lives as default, and is overall slower and easier than Darius II. While I think a good number of the stages share a fidelity with the arcade (I have not explored all of them though), I am always confused by the claim that SDII is close to the AC. The MD port is far closer to the arcade, despite its differences.

But I flip-flop over what I like more. I think I tend to side with the easier ports (MD and PCE-CD), because the arcade original is so damn hard (and if Despatche is to be believed, that difficulty was a mistake to begin with and the game was accidentally set a Difficulty setting too high. I haven't seen the source but it's a compelling argument).

[Harpuia]

The home ports of Darius II are pretty interesting. The MD version shares the same captains and bosses of the arcade but a lot of the levels have been changed, while SDII is the opposite with stages that stay closer to the arcade version but with different bosses and captains.

I tend to prefer the single screen versions of the first two Darius games over playing them on MAME or compilations just because I think the 2-3 screen format is a little clunky on a standard display. If the Saturn port is arcade-perfect (I would be surprised if it wasn't) and you don't like playing games on MAME, then I'd say go for it if you want, but it's way harder than the other ports. If SDII was a bit less zoomed in, or the scoreboard didn't take up nearly a quarter of the screen, it would probably be my favorite version overall. I like the better variety in captains and bosses, only losing a few powerups upon death instead of all of them, and your shield turns red when you can only take one more hit.

The Master System version is also surprisingly fun and worth mentioning. It even keeps flying into Alloy Lantern to fight another boss, which both the MD port and SDII lack.

[TransatlanticFoe]

The MD version lacks a boss inside Alloy Lantern doesn't it? Or is that just on certain routes? Only fired it up in an emulator as a curiosity, seeing as I picked up the SMS and Saturn ports long before I knew there was a MD version (don't think Sagaia got a PAL MD release). Also thumbs down for the lack of tuna sashimi!

SMS Sagaia is nice too. Okay it's missing half the levels, there are slightly fewer enemies (presumably sprite limits) and it has some nasty slowdown on a couple of bosses. But what's there is remarkable for the hardware - even the music holds up.

Saturn is certainly awkward in zoom mode - you basically have to adjust it a lot on the fly, so memorising enemy placement as well as zoom settings is a bit of a drag. Works well fullscreen though. Is there anything else different between Saturn and arcade? I was young and rubbish, and Sagaia was 50p a credit - so I stuck to 10p games and never played it beyond stage 2 (where my talent and money ran out).

[Harpuia]

Yeah, both routes lack a boss inside Alloy Lantern. Steel Spine appears later on as a boss, and Killer Hijia is just missing entirely.

[parallaxscroll2]

OP, there's a video just for this topic.

Darius II - Mega Drive VS Saturn

http://youtu.be/iMFMR840R3M

[Harpuia]

OP, there's a video just for this topic.

Darius II - Mega Drive VS Saturn

http://youtu.be/iMFMR840R3M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJb9-bQ0K-M

There's also this, which includes the other versions. Port comparisons of older games are always a fun thing for me, it's a bit more interesting than these days where there's no reason for a port to not be arcade-perfect.

[apatheticTurd]

Sagaia/Genesis Darius 2 does have one exclusive boss not found in any other Darius game. He's nothing special, but I felt it was worth pointing out.

[neorichieb1971]

This thread reminded me I have a Saturn Darius game. Its Gaiden though. Would getting the Genesis version benefit me?

[Pedro Lambrini]

^
Gaiden and Sagaia are two very different games. I'd say you'd benefit from it.

Having played DII on the Saturn, MD and SMS, I'd have to agree and say the MD version is the one to play on a single monitor set up. I'll always have a soft spot for the SMS version though. It's so impressive how much of the game and style was retained in that port.

[Sumez]

What's the consensus on the PCE "version"? I'm not really interested in an arcade port, but considered buying one of the versions of Sagaia (the SMS version, if only because it's really badass for an 8bit game), however the PCE take on the game is really damn delicious looking as well. But judging by the CD-ROM version of R-Type I'm suspecting horrible load times between each stage and checkpoint.

[Despatche]

The original Darius II, the Mega Drive Darius II, and the PC Engine Super Darius II are all different games. They don't really compete with each other, and should be compared as "different interpretations of the same source".

[Sumez]

I'm aware of this, I just really don't want to bother with all of them. I think I'll just get the one that's the cheapest...

Really love the music in the PC Engine game though

[Perikles]

I prefer the MD port over the PCE and the arcade game although I concur with Despatche that they're not directly comparable. Arcade Darius II is a fairly methodical game where you always want to know which position to occupy and when to point-blank a dangerous enemy, MD Darius II is a lot more dynamic thanks to the increased ship speed. It's perfectly fine as it is in the arcade game, but I personally can't shake the feeling that I'm wading through treacle or controlling a Vic Viper without a speed-up. I like to play my Darius games more spontaneous and I do think that the decreased difficulty (I wouldn't agree with EmperorIng that the arcade game is unfair or excessively difficult, however) as well as the increased maneuverability support that notion splendidly.

[Despatche]

I'm aware of this, I just really don't want to bother with all of them. I think I'll just get the one that's the cheapest...

Oh, I just meant that for the thread in general. I guess MD Darius II is closer to the original than PCE Darius II is, though.

[Mero]

Sagaia/Genesis Darius 2 does have one exclusive boss not found in any other Darius game. He's nothing special, but I felt it was worth pointing out.

I always wondered why that boss looked a bit crappy compared to the rest.

[Kollision]

Interesting perceptions.
I always thought Nehonojia was awesome.

[Mero]

Interesting perceptions.
I always thought Nehonojia was awesome.

Way way back in the day, before I got a copy of US Sagaia (late '93), around '91 in Mean Machines there was a 2 page spread in the tips section with tips on how to take down the bosses, with some art and a screenshot of each boss. Looking at the different pictures I think it was then that I formulated the opinion that Nehonojia didn't look as good as the rest, though I had no idea he was Megadrive exclusive at the time. Though to be fair, he wasn't included in the piece of art on the page that depicted all the other bosses (it was probably from the arcade version).

EDIT:can't find a scan of that double page spread

[EmperorIng]

To answer Sumez: while I enjoy the PC Engine remake, I like it less than the MD port because the sprites are a bit too big in Super Darius II, which leads to unforeseen deaths when enemies pop in from the back and top and bottom of the screen. I am not a fan of the scrolling up-and-down to reveal the screen in Super Darius II, as it was handled a little strangely.

However, I still think it is a fine game and a very neat (albeit easy-ish) rearrangement of Darius II. There are only load times before a boss and after a boss going into the map screen, which aren't all that big a deal (not on my Duo-R in any respect). The game presents a colorful exploration of the Darius II Olga system, and the new boss fights are interesting and enjoyable - much more so than the original arcade baddies.

The MD port feels closer to the arcade and also offers more screen space to maneuver and in general I think plays better than the PCE remake. Since the game is designed for a single screen and does not have a up-and-down scrolling thing the game proceeds more smoothly. Though the MD game is much harder than Super Darius II (though less hard than the arcade game).