GD: Darius Gaiden

[Randorama]

2025/09/10

I deleted the material in the first post(s) of each ST/GD, as threads cannot be deleted once there are replies. The rest of the thread will remain in place, this being a measure of some sort that prevents people from doing something illegal (e.g. posting links to roms and such) and then deleting proof of their heinous crimes. Since I also want to retain control over my own posts, especially when they do not infringe any rules, I have deleted them now in order to avoid that somebody may quote them and keep them online without my consent. Those who are interested in the original post may contact me via PM, and we can arrange ad hoc solutions regarding the OP for this thread.

[Neon]

Would I be incorrect in saying the first boss can be milked infinitely? It seemed like the only consequence to waiting was that extra enemies came out. Those were easy to destroy though, you didn't even have to move. And the squares he shoots out are worth points.

Eventually he died, I was accidentally shooting him in the weak point though.

[Randorama]

Well, it's a tad pointless. You can milk it, but you should find a way not to damage it at all, for infinite milking. THe enemies appearing are a small inside joke, they first appeared in Darius, and then were recycled in Arkanoid as well.

[Icarus]

Just out of curiosity Rando, what do you reckon the best scoring route is? I'm experimenting with Darius Gaiden again and curious to know.

[Smraedis]

I'd say up all is the best scoring route, but ABDHLQV is the easiest high scoring route, possibly the easiest route in the whole game too.

[Randorama]

Depends on which final stage you want. I can't reach Aiva now, but in general, going down is better. If you want to get a V clear, then you seriously need to do AC etc. In general, it's better to have as many as "classical" bosses as you can. Of course this means making the game ten times more difficult...but that's the price for awesum scorez!

[Icarus]

Do you know what the optimal routes for each end stage are, then? Or can you point me in the right direction of the info? In G.Darius the scoring routes are pretty well defined (up = low, down = high) but in Darius Gaiden the optimal routes are hazy since there are so many integral stages.

[Randorama]

The most straightforward ones are the all upward and the all downward ones. the V optimal route is AC all up. The others require some checks: i think that the X (or whatever Vermillion Coronatus' stage is) is like the V one but then going down instead of up. As a general rule of thumb, crescent moon (or whatever) is a better boss than crusty hamner, score-wise (if you destroy all spinning fins). In general, the sequence AC is a given, possibly ACE. At any case, i'll be able to play the game from Sunday...

[Icarus]

Hmm... OK, thanks for the info guys. I'm going to give it a few plays over the next few days and see what I can dig up. If I find anything interesting, I'll pop it up here.

Don't hold your breath though, I have a lot on my gaming plate at the moment. ^_^;;

[Smraedis]

I can't reach Aiva now, but in general, going down is better.

http://www.aiva.emuita.it/d.php
The up all record is 14,060,350 and the down all record is 11,949,320

But generally in the Darius games, going down = harder = more points, but it means less points in Gaiden.

[Icarus]

But generally in the Darius games, going down = harder = more points, but it means less points in Gaiden.

Hmm, thats weird. I'll have to try the All Up route and see how it goes.

In any rate, I just had a quick go and took the [A -> C -> Up to V] route, lost my run halfway through the fourth stage and had 2mil. Which is quite poor I guess. -_-;;

BTW, that page linked had this as a comment on the scores:
AUTOFIRE - POSSIBLE INFINITE SCORE (BUG)

There's a scoring bug?

[Smraedis]

The up all route is harder than the AC~V route, but there must be lots more to score on the later stages by going up all..

To the messing up half way: that used to happen to me lots, usually because I didn't hammer the fire button down as quick as you should do Using autofire really helps though, if you are alright with using it.

and to the score bug, I think its to do with shooting a part of a boss off, and it gives you a really high score for some odd reason, I've not had it happen to me though.

[Icarus]

The up all route is harder than the AC~V route, but there must be lots more to score on the later stages by going up all..

I'll give it a go, see whats different. I was quite happy in the AC~V run until the third stage boss (Zone E) hit me with a tentacle and then it went a little pear-shaped. -_-;;

To the messing up half way: that used to happen to me lots, usually because I didn't hammer the fire button down as quick as you should do Using autofire really helps though, if you are alright with using it.

I'm using MAME with autofire atm. I have no problems with using auto in shmups, especially in Darius Gaiden where the regular tapping fire rate is painfully slow.

and to the score bug, I think its to do with shooting a part of a boss off, and it gives you a really high score for some odd reason, I've not had it happen to me though.

Heh, never seen it happen before. Then again, I can barely knock off half of King Fossil's fins before it blows up. ^_^

By the way, just noticed your sig.
O_O;;

[Smraedis]

Okay, I don't think the up all route is much harder if you do use autofire, but I'd need to play it more to confirm that. The normal shot speed really is bad in this game, which is why I went to the Extra version at first (with inbuilt autofire)

And about the sig: you mean my DG scores? the ones with Extra in the names are done on the Extra version, which allows more scoring on each route, if you wondered how I got so much.
I won't put myself down much though! ^_^

[Icarus]

Okay, I don't think the up all route is much harder if you do use autofire, but I'd need to play it more to confirm that. The normal shot speed really is bad in this game, which is why I went to the Extra version at first (with inbuilt autofire)

Grah! This game is as hard as nails. Taking the topmost route, ended at the fifth stage, 2.6mil. I think I need to learn the bosses seriously, as I bomb the crap out of them after Folding Fan.

Then again, I've only just started playing today. ^_-

And about the sig: you mean my DG scores? the ones with Extra in the names are done on the Extra version, which allows more scoring on each route, if you wondered how I got so much.
I won't put myself down much though! ^_^

I was referring to all of your scores. ^_-
I have a bit of catching up to do.

[Gorecki]

Which zone does the Titanic Lance show up in? I got the game on Taito Legends 2 and I'm itching to take down this abomination.

[Smraedis]

Shooters usually are really hard on the first day of playing them

I was referring to all of your scores. ^_-
I have a bit of catching up to do.

oh, well thank you then ^_^ I think I'm pretty good on the average shooter, but the Darius series scores do stand out for me.

Which zone does the Titanic Lance show up in? I got the game on Taito Legends 2 and I'm itching to take down this abomination.

That is Zone M, straight in the middle of the map, I don't think the boss is as hard as what people usually say though.

[Icarus]

Question: Is there any safe method of handling the second form of Fatty Glutton (Zone K)? I can pretty much manage to no miss no bomb up to this bit, but then I either get trapped by the fireball-straight laser spam, or have to reel off bombs to keep myself alive.

And Crusty Hammer (Zone P) is a pain in the arse! >_<#

[Smraedis]

That is the main reason why I go down once I can't see any strategy apart from just going as close as you can and beating him before he goes all mad, I think you will have to bomb like once though.

[Twiddle]

But generally in the Darius games, going down = harder = more points, but it means less points in Gaiden.

Hmm, thats weird. I'll have to try the All Up route and see how it goes.

In any rate, I just had a quick go and took the [A -> C -> Up to V] route, lost my run halfway through the fourth stage and had 2mil. Which is quite poor I guess. -_-;;

BTW, that page linked had this as a comment on the scores:
AUTOFIRE - POSSIBLE INFINITE SCORE (BUG)

There's a scoring bug?

Possible means theoretically, there's a bug that allows indefinite milking, but nobody's pulled it off successfully yet.

[Icarus]

That is the main reason why I go down once I can't see any strategy apart from just going as close as you can and beating him before he goes all mad, I think you will have to bomb like once though.

Unfortunately on current strategies I have to bomb three times - once on the second form, and twice on the final form to pass Fatty Glutton without dying. I can no-miss all the way up to stage6 and face Crusty Hammer, but the lack of bombs at this point makes progress extremely hard.

I'm tempted to skip the last three stages of the top route for now and drop down to the Upper V route to see if I can get close to a decent ALL from there. Great Thing also poses a lot of problems, as well as Zone Z' itself, I'm just not comfortable with that stage yet. The problem is I have to abandon all my strategies for the last three zones that way, and relearn the last half of the game.

Picked up a quick 5mil V route ALL though, so at least thats something to work on.

Possible means theoretically, there's a bug that allows indefinite milking, but nobody's pulled it off successfully yet.

Actually, the scoring bug refers to destroying certain parts of a boss before others. Rando stated in the high score thread that:

Yes, it seems that on some bosses, if you meet some requirements, the scores for destroying single parts go crazy, like getting 95M on Folding Fan.I think that it's based on leaving some tentacles intact while revealing the inner parts of the boss, or something like that.I noticed a similar event on Prickly Angler-I once, wonder if it works on other bosses though.

I've never actually seen it happen though, so I'm not sure of the validity of it yet.

[Smraedis]

I think going down once is the far easier way to finish, and should give you more points until when you can finish without bombing much.
It also seems like most of the scoring in the top route is from Great Thing itself, but then you'll lose some points when you need to bomb.. but just keep at it, and you'll be able to finish the game easily.

I've not played this game for a while now though, on Raiden DX at the moment

[Icarus]

I think going down once is the far easier way to finish, and should give you more points until when you can finish without bombing much.
It also seems like most of the scoring in the top route is from Great Thing itself, but then you'll lose some points when you need to bomb.. but just keep at it, and you'll be able to finish the game easily.

Yeah, just saw a Great Thing replay on YouTube, and as expected, GT is the boss to milk. It appears that the spiral missles it fires are worth a lot of points - something like 30,000 each - and GT cycles between a homing laser phase and the spiral missiles quickly and regularly. The player picked up 2.5mil+ just off milking the missiles. o_O

The main problem though is getting to GT safely. Again, Fatty Glutton and Crusty Hammer causes the problems, and I need to work on safe strategies for both.

Having said that, my current route to V is very successful at the moment. My latest score knocks Rando off the top of the board (if the boards are consolidated) yet I could easily have retained four bombs for a bigger bonus (had none after no-missing Risk Storage). I'm not posting that score yet though, as 10mil is a current Zone V upper target.

I've not played this game for a while now though, on Raiden DX at the moment

Yeah, I noticed. Stay away from the top spot on the board. ^_-
You're making good progress though. Stage 5 is definitely a tricky one to handle.

[Smraedis]

Yeah, just saw a Great Thing replay on YouTube, and as expected, GT is the boss to milk. It appears that the spiral missles it fires are worth a lot of points - something like 30,000 each - and GT cycles between a homing laser phase and the spiral missiles quickly and regularly. The player picked up 2.5mil+ just off milking the missiles. o_O

wow! I don't think they expected people to milk that much from the boss, shame that it is a hard route for that end boss..

I need to play this game again soon, to see how much should be possible by going on route V, I think I was dropping most of my points from bombing.


and on Raiden DX, I don't think I'll beat your score, but I might be able to get 5 million on it.

[Icarus]

wow! I don't think they expected people to milk that much from the boss, shame that it is a hard route for that end boss..

The stages aren't the problem to be honest, its the bosses. ^_-

I need to play this game again soon, to see how much should be possible by going on route V, I think I was dropping most of my points from bombing.

Well, I've estimated that I can easily break 10mil if I no-miss one-bomb the game. I know I drop at least 1.1mil in total as I don't know how to capture the Captains after stage2, and I still need a bomb to safely pass a difficult section in stage4. 12.5mil maybe? No doubt there's a few points to be had from boss milking too.

EDIT: Its actually stating to get a little annoying now. About ten credits tonight, all of them ALLs, but always one little mistake. Like using more bombs than I should have (new record 9.6mil from that credit), or dying once fighting Risk Storage (all credits ended at 9.2mil). I can sort of capture the third Captain, and can get the sixth Captain if I'm not fully powered up, but the rest are a little difficult to do. The no-miss one-bomb is coming, just need to do something about Risk Storage and the annoying tail.

[Icarus]

I've just noticed this really weird bug/problem in the game, where if you destroy a formation too quickly, and the bonus points 'popup' on screen doesn't appear, you don't get the bonus points for clearing that formation. It also happens with the Captains too, in that you get less points for destroying something with the shots a Captain fires, and also you lose the formation bonus in the same way.

That is really aggravating. >_<'

[Smraedis]

I think I noticed this happening before too, but taking the captains is worth doing so every time, and just try to take the kills for yourself
Also, the captains seem easier to capture on DG Extra, but maybe just because I've played that version so much more.

I'm having some problems playing the game in mame here, but its prolly this pc, dropping lots of frames at the bosses.. its making the game lots harder too.


Congrats on getting the 10 million too!

[Icarus]

Also, the captains seem easier to capture on DG Extra, but maybe just because I've played that version so much more.

Yeah, the Captains are a lot harder to capture in regular flavour Darius Gaiden. The last three are the most problematic - I can never get the fourth one (the snake), the fifth one (with the big gatling gun) I get once every ten years, the the sixth one depends on whether or not I have one less than maximum Shot power, and even then I can only ever get it once every ten credits.

For now I am just working on consistently getting the first three Captains, and picking up some more points from Deadly Crescent and Risk Storage.

I'm having some problems playing the game in mame here, but its prolly this pc, dropping lots of frames at the bosses.. its making the game lots harder too.

What version of MAME are you using? Alternatively you could use Raine. ^_^

Congrats on getting the 10 million too!

Thanks! ^_^
I have no doubt you can match or beat it once you get back into the swing of things. ^_^

[Smraedis]

I think I'll leave the later captains at the moment too then, and try to focus on not using bombs... they really do take too long to capture too, its weird.

I'm using MAMEPlus! here, any version seems to be slower than the normal MAME versions.. and yeah, I'm using Plus because of the autofire settings it has, but something about it is slowing it down. I'll try the game on another pc soon.

and ^^ I should be able to make 10m, well I'm sure I can do it now.

[Smraedis]

I'm getting constant 7m scores at the moment, but this is with bombing a lot, or getting hit once.. I'm missing too many captains still, it just seems like pure luck if you get them or not.

anyway, I'll just play it over and over, since I need to the ship goes way too fast now, after playing Raiden RX lots I keep on crashing into the scenery!