So what's the word on G Darius?

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:47 pm

I've seen Darius Gaiden mentioned a few times, but not much on G darius. What do ya'll people think of it?

Not a major fan of Darius Gaiden myself, but could I still like G darius?
I heard you're able to steal enemy ships, and make a huge laser to rival other boss lasers like in Border Down, sounds kinda cool.

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:52 pm

It's solid. I find it enjoyable, though I havn't taken the time to really get into it.

MadSteelDarkness · Post by **MadSteelDarkness** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:55 pm

Oh, yes.

My advice would be to skip the slowdown-ridden PSX version, and pony up for Taito Memories vol.2 (JP). You get blazing fast G-Darius, plus twenty-odd other games including Gekirindan, Raystorm, Gun Frontier (not my favorite, but fun for a spin).

I personally can't recommend G-Darius more. It's got awesome gamplay (which would later be used to an extent in Border Down) and great music.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:12 pm

Damn it, the PSX version goes for much cheaper too.

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:33 pm

G.Darius is probably the most complex (gameplay-wise) hori shmup you can find around. It is quite different from Border Down, as it doesn't focus mainly on big cancel streaks (and thus huge multipliers) but combines many features, like capturing enemies (x2 on your score if you destroy enemies with a captured ship), lasering (like Border Down, x4 on score, x6 if you're using a mid-boss)., and using the mid-bosses' special attacks (yes, doing things like qcb+s to get a special attack). It's slower than Darius Gaiden in pace (but Gaiden is extremely fast-paced), a bit like Border Down.

I also recommend the Taito Memories version, as it runs without slowdown whatsoever. In case, yesasia sells the collection for 40$, with free-shipping, and yes, you get 24 other games with it, among them Raystorm (other Taito gem).

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:50 pm

Randorama wrote:G.Darius is probably the most complex (gameplay-wise) hori shmup you can find around. It is quite different from Border Down, as it doesn't focus mainly on big cancel streaks (and thus huge multipliers) but combines many features, like capturing enemies (x2 on your score if you destroy enemies with a captured ship), lasering (like Border Down, x4 on score, x6 if you're using a mid-boss)., and using the mid-bosses' special attacks (yes, doing things like qcb+s to get a special attack). It's slower than Darius Gaiden in pace (but Gaiden is extremely fast-paced), a bit like Border Down.

I also recommend the Taito Memories version, as it runs without slowdown whatsoever. In case, yesasia sells the collection for 40$, with free-shipping, and yes, you get 24 other games with it, among them Raystorm (other Taito gem).

I see. I like the fact that your score depends on multiple tasks, alot of strategy in that. I almost thought you were kidding when you said you could use the mid-bosses special attack. That sounds well cool, there must be alot of weapons available in this game.

I'll consider the Taito collection then, thanx alot for the detailed post man! Much appreciated, thanx to everyone else too.

Just how much slower is G Darius and how big or short is the game?

U K Narayan · Post by **U K Narayan** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:56 pm

It has a lovely soundtrack.

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:33 pm

It's not really slower in pace, actually, but since all stages are divided in two halves ( the first half is common, then you choose to go up or down, so to speak), the rythm is a tad less frantic (I Darius Gaiden, you actually have a rythm of 2 minutes of stage and 1 of boss, roughly). Put two halves of 2 minutes each at the same pace (but withoutn the boss) and you get the same result. The said effect works only on the ps2/arcade version, though, the psx version has too much slowdown, hence the experience is sub-optimal.

An yes, the strategical aspects are very important, as capturing the right enemy or using the mid-bosses' special attacks can help a lot in getting constant multipliers.

Bar81 · Post by **Bar81** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 7:36 pm

G Darius is the Gradius Gaiden of the series. Great even if you hate/don't care for the series.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:01 pm

There is a rather positive review here:
http://www.classicgaming.com/shmups/rev ... index.html

At the same time the xenocide file labels the gameplay as 'not so hot'. I haven't played it long enough to add anything to what others have said.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:22 pm

professor ganson wrote:There is a rather positive review here:
http://www.classicgaming.com/shmups/rev ... index.html

At the same time the xenocide file labels the gameplay as 'not so hot'. I haven't played it long enough to add anything to what others have said.

Yeah I noticed that too couple days ago, I wasn't sure what to think of the game, so that's when I decided to ask about it here (Thank God for Internet Forums). The review also says there's only a touch of slowdown, but from what I'm gathering from the posts here, there's alot more than that.

Thanx anyway man, oh and your last post count just reached 666.

Glad to hear G Darius has a good soundtrack though.

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:00 pm

Gamest award for best arcade soundtrack, 1997.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:29 pm

Randorama wrote:Gamest award for best arcade soundtrack, 1997.

Damn it, the ost must be good then!

Didn't know there was such an award..... That means Border Down should have got one too, no?

Lyle · Post by **Lyle** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:32 pm

One of the most underrated shmups ever to me. Having more or less ignored it for years, I discovered it a few months ago thanks to MAME32 (although the emulation state is still not perfect) and bought the PS jap version two weeks later. I still don't see why this game gets so little praise. Ok, the PS version is marred by slowdowns and the game comes from a series that took time to really become a brilliant one, but now that it's available for the PS2 in a perfect version, the world (well, devoted shmupers) should know...

By the way, I think I'll finally 1cc the PS port one day, thanks to slowdowns, ironically. But can one possibly complete that game at full speed ?

CMoon · Post by **CMoon** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:58 pm

IMO one of the best horizontal shmups ever, and certainly one of Taito's best shmups. It is fantastic that a non-slow-down version of it is finally available.

Randorama · Post by **Randorama** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:29 pm

Nei First wrote:
Randorama wrote:Gamest award for best arcade soundtrack, 1997.
Damn it, the ost must be good then!

Didn't know there was such an award..... That means Border Down should have got one too, no?

Yes, Arcadia award 2003 (best OST of course). Authors are different though, Hisayoshi Ogura (OGR) on G.Darius, Yasuhisa Watanabe (Yack) on Border Down. Yack left Zuntata around 1999, to my knowledge. At any case, the OST alone is worth the game, i'd say.

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:32 pm

Fucking SOLID in every possible way. Gameplay, score mechanics, music... this game is second only to the likes of Einhander and R-Type Delta. If you like Border Down, and if the idea of stealing enemy ships sounds even REMOTELY appealing, get it. Yeah, it'll be on Taito Memories vol.2, but for $7 or 8 used, you can't go wrong.

And the slowdown isn't THAT horrible, in fact it can tend to save your ass at key points.

It's NOTHING like Gradius III or Super R-Type for SNES.

And for the ammount of shit happening on-screen sometimes (2nd level-- a pteranodon flying in background), I think the slowdown is justified. :/

JBC · Post by **JBC** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 1:04 am

Yeah, G-Darius is freakin' awesome. The graphics couldve been spruced up a bit but in the end the game itself is nearly a masterpiece. I actually 1cc'd it - but i don't remember which path i took cause it was so long ago. I prefer Gaiden myself but G-Darius is pretty nifty.

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 1:45 am

I liked it a lot when I first got it on PSX years ago, but later came to be really annoyed by the massive slowdown. Finding that the Taito Memories version is 100% full-speed was really cool. However, it also makes the game a lot, lot harder... I'm not nearly as good at it as I thought!

al138 · Post by **al138** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:28 am

I have a copy of the US PS1 version and I couldn't be happier. It really is a great game to add to your collection, and chances are you won't spend more than $15 to do it on eBay. The boss battles really set it apart, along with the branching levels. If you have a PS2, the texture blending really helps to make the title look better.

As for slowdown, I really have not noticed much at all. Again, this is a great game!

PBMax · Post by **PBMax** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:31 am

G Darius is fun as hell, with some tuly insane boss fights.

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 3:29 am

Best 7 bucks I've ever spent. ^^

MOSQUITO FIGHTER · Post by **MOSQUITO FIGHTER** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:51 am

G Darius is a class act. Buy now. I did not care for the game untill the PS2 version.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:33 am

Alright that does it, I've decided I'm gonna get this game, on the Taito memories collection.

I'm sure the PSX version is still a blast to play, but I might as well get the arcade version with no slowdown. Thing is the boss rush mode on the PSX version sounds very good, I doubt the Taito collection version has this mode as it sounds like just a straight arcade port, oh well.

Accutron · Post by **Accutron** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:53 pm

Nei First wrote:I'm sure the PSX version is still a blast to play, but I might as well get the arcade version with no slowdown. Thing is the boss rush mode on the PSX version sounds very good, I doubt the Taito collection version has this mode as it sounds like just a straight arcade port, oh well.

The PS1 version is pretty much arcade-perfect, slowdown included. The arcade version runs on modified ZN-1 hardware, so PS1 G Darius is right up there with the Naomi->DC ports, as far as faithfulness goes. A lack of slowdown on alien hardware is not the arcade experience.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:49 pm

Looking back quickly at the various responses here I didn't notice anyone praising the graphics, but isn't this a really great looking game? I haven't played it recently, but I recall that the look of the game was first-rate.

Pshooter · Post by **Pshooter** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:03 pm

is G-Darius better than Thunderforce V ?

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:08 pm

Accutron wrote:
Nei First wrote:I'm sure the PSX version is still a blast to play, but I might as well get the arcade version with no slowdown. Thing is the boss rush mode on the PSX version sounds very good, I doubt the Taito collection version has this mode as it sounds like just a straight arcade port, oh well.
The PS1 version is pretty much arcade-perfect, slowdown included. The arcade version runs on modified ZN-1 hardware, so PS1 G Darius is right up there with the Naomi->DC ports, as far as faithfulness goes. A lack of slowdown on alien hardware is not the arcade experience.

I just got the impression from the responses here, that the slowdown in this game is more of a nuisance than "a necassary feature of the arcade" but I don't know, never played it.

@professor ganson: I heard the view shifts like crazy when you fight bosses or something like that.

PFG 9000 · Post by **PFG 9000** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:32 pm

Nei First wrote:I just got the impression from the responses here, that the slowdown in this game is more of a nuisance than "a necassary feature of the arcade" but I don't know, never played it.

@professor ganson: I heard the view shifts like crazy when you fight bosses or something like that.

I don't find the slowdown in G-Darius annoying at all, but then, I've been playing a lot of R-Type Final lately.

During parts of the boss fights, your Silverhawk's orientation will switch from a left-to-right like most hori's, to a right-to-left orientation. The view itself doesn't shift though, assuming you're referring to the "camera." I actually found this to be a really cool feature.

G-Darius really continues to impress me, as I keep finding out about new little features. I bought the game disc-only for some $4 recently, and thought it was a pretty cool game with the splitting paths and multiple level progressions and all, on top of a killer ambient soundtrack and gorgeous graphical effects/backgrounds. And then I found out about the capture feature. And the gamma laser thinger. And the hidden special attacks. There's just so much depth to the game! But best of all, it would be a fun game without all the depth.

professor ganson · Post by **professor ganson** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:32 pm

Nei First wrote: @professor ganson: I heard the view shifts like crazy when you fight bosses or something like that.

Hmmm, could be: I must replay this game. My only hesitation is that I recall being rather terrible at this one. I'm generally not as good at horis, but I think I was especially bad at this one.