Darius II

A forum for saving and showing off all your hi scores
User avatar
Despatche
Posts: 4196
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:05 pm

Darius II

Post by Despatche »

Image

Previous threads: 1 2
__________
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 on difficulty A if possible. It's significantly less insane.
----------
Post scores in this format:

Code: Select all

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

Code: Select all

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

Code: Select all

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
5.  Kollision         - 2,988,130 - ABDGHQV  (ALL) - Proco - Fast - PS2
6.  Jaimers           - 2,972,010 - ACEHMSY  (ALL) - Proco - ???? - MAME
7.  ACSeraph          - 2,970,410 - ABDGLQV  (ALL) - Proco - Ext. - MAME
8.  M.Knight          - 2,918,130 - ABEHLQV  (ALL) - Proco - Ext. - ShmupMAME v4.2
9.  EmperorIng        - 2,878,050 - ABEINSX  (ALL) - Proco - Fast - MAME Plus!
10. Aquas             - 2,795,990 - ACFINTY  (ALL) - Proco - Fast - MAME
11. Mero              - 2,492,270 - ABDGKQ         - Proco - Fast - PS2
Darius II, triple monitor
Difficulty B

Code: Select all

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 B

Code: Select all

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 B

Code: Select all

1.  Prickly Angler    - 2 730 720 - ABCEGJM  (ALL) - Tiat  - Ext. - PS4
Saturn version
Normal difficulty

Code: Select all

=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

Code: Select all

=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

Code: Select all

=Tiat Young=
1.  BLO               - 2,687,760 - Zone J         - Yes  - JP cart+JP MD
Master System version
Easy difficulty

Code: Select all

=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
Last edited by Despatche on Wed Feb 14, 2024 5:44 pm, edited 29 times in total.
Rage Pro, Rage Fury, Rage MAXX!
User avatar
ACSeraph
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:00 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Darius II

Post by 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:

Image

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.
<STG.1cc> 死ぬがよい <ACT.1cc>
Image
User avatar
Kollision
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:48 am
Location: BRA
Contact:

Re: Darius II

Post by Kollision »

congrats, Seraph!! :)

Is the PS2 ver. allowed for two-monitor Darius II then?
User avatar
ACSeraph
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:00 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Darius II

Post by 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.
<STG.1cc> 死ぬがよい <ACT.1cc>
Image
User avatar
Kollision
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:48 am
Location: BRA
Contact:

Re: Darius II

Post by Kollision »

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

Image

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

Image
User avatar
ACSeraph
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:00 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Darius II

Post by ACSeraph »

Kollision wrote: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:

Image

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.
<STG.1cc> 死ぬがよい <ACT.1cc>
Image
User avatar
Smraedis
Posts: 1128
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 7:33 pm
Location: Manchester, UK
Contact:

Re: Darius II

Post by 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
Image


3 Screen version
Smraedis - 2,821,010 - ABDGKPZ' (ALL) - Proco - MAME
Image
The Unknown? I'm the one who knows!
My shmup achievements | and my Superplays!
User avatar
Despatche
Posts: 4196
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:05 pm

Re: Darius II

Post by 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.
ACSeraph wrote: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.
Despatche wrote: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?
Kollision wrote: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.
Last edited by Despatche on Fri Oct 01, 2021 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Rage Pro, Rage Fury, Rage MAXX!
User avatar
CStarFlare
Posts: 2999
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:41 am

Re: Darius II

Post by CStarFlare »

Oh come on. You're not even tracking Difficulty A. :P
Restart Syndrome::
Shmup leaderboards and Video Index! | My score history on RS
User avatar
ACSeraph
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:00 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Darius II

Post by ACSeraph »

Despatche wrote: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.
Despatche wrote:"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.
<STG.1cc> 死ぬがよい <ACT.1cc>
Image
User avatar
Despatche
Posts: 4196
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:05 pm

Re: Darius II

Post by 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.
CStarFlare wrote:Oh come on. You're not even tracking Difficulty A. :P
I always am, I'm just tired of skeleton boards. Post a score and a board shall appear.
Rage Pro, Rage Fury, Rage MAXX!
User avatar
ACSeraph
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:00 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Darius II

Post by 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.
<STG.1cc> 死ぬがよい <ACT.1cc>
Image
User avatar
Despatche
Posts: 4196
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:05 pm

Re: Darius II

Post by 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...
Rage Pro, Rage Fury, Rage MAXX!
User avatar
ACSeraph
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:00 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Darius II

Post by 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.
<STG.1cc> 死ぬがよい <ACT.1cc>
Image
User avatar
Perikles
Posts: 1500
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:46 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Darius II

Post by Perikles »

Super Darius II - Normal Difficulty

Image

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. :mrgreen:

Edit: Looks like the other host I used is out of business, added a working picture.
User avatar
Perikles
Posts: 1500
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:46 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Darius II

Post by Perikles »

Arcade, double monitor, difficulty B

Image

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.

Image

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

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


PCE - Normal difficulty

Image

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

Came down to the wire, I was on my last life. :shock:
User avatar
Perikles
Posts: 1500
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:46 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Darius II

Post by Perikles »

Arcade, double monitor, difficulty B

Image

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. :)
User avatar
Perikles
Posts: 1500
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:46 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Darius II

Post by Perikles »

MD - Normal difficulty - Proco Jr.

Image

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 :mrgreen:). 'Twas a great time. :)
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Darius II

Post by 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:

Image

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.
Last edited by EmperorIng on Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Darius II

Post by EmperorIng »

Image

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!
Perikles wrote:I like the goofy bosses, Bald Crab totally looks like Club from Gradius II. :mrgreen:
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.
Last edited by EmperorIng on Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Vludi
Posts: 447
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2016 3:03 am
Location: Chile

Re: Darius II

Post by Vludi »

Old clear i feel like posting now :)

Darius II arcade, triple monitor
Vludi - 2,492,000- ACEHMRX (ALL) - Proco - No (Slow) - Mame
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Darius II

Post by 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?

Image

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. :wink: 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.
User avatar
ACSeraph
Posts: 2724
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:00 am
Location: Tokyo

Re: Darius II

Post by 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...
<STG.1cc> 死ぬがよい <ACT.1cc>
Image
User avatar
Despatche
Posts: 4196
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:05 pm

Re: Darius II

Post by Despatche »

Congrats! The Earth and Jupiter combo are why I gave up on this game.
Rage Pro, Rage Fury, Rage MAXX!
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Darius II

Post by 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.
Despatche wrote: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?).
User avatar
Dumple
Posts: 124
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:42 pm
Location: San Diego

Re: Darius II

Post by Dumple »

Darius 2 arcade, triple monitor version
Dumple - 2,626,030 - ABDGLQV (ALL) - Proco - Slow - MAME 0.193
User avatar
Perikles
Posts: 1500
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:46 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Darius II

Post by Perikles »

Mega Drive, Normal Mode/Difficulty, Proco Jr.

Image

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.
User avatar
EmperorIng
Posts: 5065
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:22 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Darius II

Post by EmperorIng »

What a wonderful way to grace this forum with your presence. :mrgreen: That really is a marvelous score; there must have been few if any enemy waves that escaped your run!
User avatar
M.Knight
Posts: 1246
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2013 4:54 pm
Location: France

Re: Darius II

Post by M.Knight »

Darius 2 Arcade - Double Monitor Version - Difficulty B
M.Knight - 2,918,130 - ABEHLQV (ALL) - Proco - 10Hz - ShmupMAME v4.2
Spoiler
Image
Sagaia
M.Knight - 2,507,370 - ABCEGJM (ALL) - Tiat - 10 Hz - ShmupMAME v4.2
Spoiler
Image
RegalSin wrote: I think I have downloaded so much I am bored with downloading. No really I bored with downloading stuff I might consider moving to Canada or the pacific.
Remote Weapon GunFencer - My shmup project
Bloody
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:33 am

Re: Darius II

Post by 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

Image
Last edited by Bloody on Wed Apr 10, 2019 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post Reply