BaD #19: Darius Gaiden

On 02/25/2022 at 02:40 PM by daftman

Darius Gaiden

Released: 1994

Pitch: A sequel to the epic Darius series in which the mid-level boss can become your ally against the enemy sea creatures.

I haven't played a lot of Darius games but I've always loved their space fish theme. I mean, why not?? Evil robotic space fish! I'm not sure what makes this Darius game Gaiden (Japanese for "side story") but I definitely enjoyed playing it. In some ways it is typical of the shoot-'em-up subgenre. You can get power ups for your gun (just the one gun as far as I could tell), shields, and screen-clearing bombs. If you don't have a shield, then one hit will take you out. The screen can get busy with bullets and enemies but not overwhelmingly so. This is before the advent of bullet hell shooters, after all. But Darius Gaiden packs in way more replay value than most shmups. After each level you are presented a choice of two levels to play next. Depending on what you pick, different levels will be available further down the line (imagine a sideways pyramid). I played the game with my seven-year-old son and we meandered down a middle path that led to a giant crab final boss in Zone X but there are more levels we didn't see than the ones we played. That's neat! And since this is an emulation of the arcade version, we had infinite continues to see it through (the game does not pull you back to a checkpoint if you die but let's you put up right where you died; I appreciate that). Of the games I've played so far in Taito Legends 2, this is the one I am most likely to go back to and put in some more time. Gotta see those other levels and bosses!

The Last Ninja

02/26/2022 at 09:33 AM

Sounds like a cool game. The only Darius game I've played is Darius Twin on SNES, and it's really good! It's actually 2-player (maybe the only 2-player shmup on SNES), and I aso really like the alien fish theme.

KnightDriver

02/26/2022 at 08:19 PM

Love this game and the series. Artwork is great, powerups are great, so fun. Hard though, but infinite continues does help, although, I usually try to avoid it in order to challenge myself. However, you gotta do what you gotta do, these games are darn difficult.

Cary Woodham

02/27/2022 at 08:47 AM

Aw man, we're at the end of BaD and you haven't even gotten to the really good shooters yet. If you're playing the PS2 version of Taito Legends 2, G-Darius is on there. It came out after Darius Gaiden, so it's a bit more polygonal, but I think it looks and plays better. Plus, you know how in Darius Gaiden you could capture the mid-bosses? Well in G-Darius you can capture ALL the enemies and use them in several different ways. You can use their shots, use them as a shield, a super laser, or as a screen clearing bomb! It was way more versatile. I have the PSOne version of G-Darius and played it all the time with my brother Jeff.

Another awesome Taito Legends 2 shooter is Metal Black. It was made by the same team who did the Darius games and was almost going to be a Darius game itself. It even has seafood bosses, too! But the vibe the game has is really neat. The Darius series is one of my favorite shooters ever. Nothing remarkable about them gameplay-wise, just something about those robotic fish.

daftman

02/27/2022 at 03:56 PM

It wasn't real clear how to capture the mid-bosses in this game. I did it once on accident, which was cool, but would have been better if I was sure what I was supposed to be doing. But G-Darius definitely sounds like a neat game!

I have enough games left that I could do this for next year's BaD but I'm not sure I want to, so I'm toying with the idea of continuing these on a weekly basis or something.

02/27/2022 at 08:47 PM

In G-Darius, you get a set number of these balls you can shoot out to capture enemies. Jeff and I called them Pokeballs!

I think you should continue to do these Taito games after BaD, because you never know what the future will bring!

PixlBit