Darius Gaiden

From Sega Retro

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  • NTSC-U/PAL
  • NTSC-J

DariusGaiden title.png

DariusGaiden Saturn JP Title.png

Darius Gaiden
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment (US, Europe), Taito (Japan)
Developer:
Distributor: Arcadia Software (ES), Roadshow Entertainment (AU)
Licensor: Taito
Original system(s): Taito F3 System
Developer(s) of original games: Taito
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (15 tracks)
Genre: Shooting[1][2]

















Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Saturn
JP 		¥5,800 (5,974)5,800e[3] T-1102G
Sega Rating: All Ages
Sega Saturn
US 		$59.9959.99[5][6] T-8123H
ESRB: Kids to Adults
Sega Saturn
EU 		T-8123H-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Saturn
DE 		T-8123H-50
USK: 6
Sega Saturn
UK 		£34.9934.99[9] T-8123H-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Saturn
PL
Sega Saturn
AU
Non-Sega versions

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Darius Gaiden (ダライアス外伝) is the third main entry in Taito's Darius series of horizontal space shoot-'em-up games, first released in 1994 in arcades as a sequel to Darius II. Gaiden was ported to the Sega Saturn and released in late 1995, curiously arriving before the Saturn port of Darius II.

The game's soundtrack was composed by Taito's house band Zuntata.

Gameplay

Darius Gaiden closely follows the established formula seen in previous Darius entries, but dropped the eye-catching multiple screen setup in favour a simple one-screen solution. The difficulty of the game is considered to be lower than that of Darius II.

So called black hole bombs have been added, that damage enemies and neutralize projectiles, but also sucks in power ups. Not using any of these yeilds a special score bonus at the end of the game, but is tied to not using continues.

Stages are selectable in the usual branching path fashion after defeating a boss, with the "upper" routes typically being easier to clear. However, the upper routes also offer more scoring chances, which goes against the usual risk vs. reward design in arcade games, and as the high score table is not dictated by path, the only reason to use a different route is to see each of the different stages and endings.

Strangely autofire, a common feature in shooting game ports, is missing from options. It must be activated by a cheat code.

The game has a dynamic difficulty level, depending on power ups collected, survival time and so on.

History

During development original version, it was known as Darius III. Why it was changed to a"gaiden" type of story (roughly meaning "side story"), is unknown.

It was the second of two Darius games to be brought to Sega systems - its arcade successor, G-Darius, which used polygonal graphics, skipped the Saturn in favour of the PlayStation in 1998.

Production credits

  • Producer: Hidehiro Fujihara
  • Game Design: Hisakazu Kato, Akira Kurabayashi, Masami Kikuchi, Hidetaka Harada, Naoto Omura, Rintaro Doi, Katsumi Kaneoka, Hisayoshi Ogura, Katsuhisa Ishikawa
    • Thanks: Kentaro Matsumura
  • Art Director: KAT, Masami Kikuchi, Baw-Baw
  • Programmer: Kurabar, Naoto Omura, Hidetaka Harada
  • Hardware Engineer: Katsumi Kaneoka
  • Decorator: Rintaro Doi
  • Sound Director: OGR (Zuntata), Katsuhisa Ishikawa (Zuntata)
  • Bit Pattern: Makoto Fujita, Ucky Maeda, Toru Kawaishi, Miwa Kamiya
  • Special Thanks: Hisao Shimizu, Rie Amino, Takako Akitsu, Masahiro Tashiro, Nakayama Jotohei, Nobuyuki Hayashi, Ryoto Komai, Yasunobu Kosokabe, Saori Hiratsuka, Ryota Sasaki, Naoto Yagishita, Takao Yoshiba, Nobuaki Kuroki, Yuichi Onogi, Makoto Osaka, Yoshihiro Mori, Naomitsu Abe, Masatoshi Tsuneoka, Yosuke Tsuda, V.G. Tokyo All Staff, Papara Kaito, Yoshinari Mitani, I.G Tatsunoko, ...And Default Members
  • Presented by: Taito®
Source:
In-game credits
DariusGaiden Saturn JP SSEnding.pdf
[10]

Magazine articles

Main article: Darius Gaiden/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

DariusGaiden Saturn JP Flyer.pdf

PDF
JP flyer
DariusGaiden Saturn JP Flyer.pdf

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(FR)
40
[11]
(FR)
88
[12]
(UK)
87
[8]
(UK)
60
[13]
(US) NTSC-U
74
[14]
(JP) NTSC-J
83
[15]
(DE) PAL
40
[16]
(US)
94
[17]
(US) NTSC-U
53
[5]
(US) NTSC-U
78
[18]
(UK)
83
[19]
(US) NTSC-U
44
[20]
(FR) NTSC-J
85
[21]
(DE) NTSC-J
76
[22]
(DE) PAL
61
[23]
(UK) NTSC-J
79
[24]
(UK) PAL
69
[25]
(FR) PAL
90
[26]
(JP) NTSC-J
81
[27]
(UK) PAL
84
[28]
(DE) PAL
80
[29]
(UK) NTSC-J
35
[30]
(UK) NTSC
69
[31]
(UK) PAL
80
[9]
(JP) NTSC-J
80
[32]
(JP) NTSC-J
89
[33]
(UK) PAL
46
[34]
(UK) NTSC-J
79
[35]
(ES)
68
[36]
(DE) NTSC-U
60
[37]
(US)
70
[6]
Sega Saturn
 71
Based on
31 reviews

Darius Gaiden

Saturn, JP
DariusGaiden Saturn JP Box Back.jpgDariusGaiden Saturn JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
DariusGaiden Saturn JP Spinecard.jpg
Spinecard
DariusGaiden Saturn JP Disc.jpg
Disc
DariusGaidenSaturnJPManual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, US
DariusGaiden Saturn US Box Back.jpgDariusGaiden Saturn US Box Front.jpg
Cover
DariusGaidenSaturnUSDisc.jpg
Disc
Dariusgaiden sat us manual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, EU
DariusGaiden Saturn EU Box.jpg
Cover
DariusGaiden Saturn EU Disc.jpg
Disc
Saturn, FR (Blister pack)
DariusGaiden Sat FR blister front.jpg
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Darius Gaiden/Technical information.

References

  1. ↑ File:DariusGaiden Saturn JP Box Back.jpg
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/fb/segahard/ss/soft_licensee1.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-02-27 19:54)
  3. ↑ File:DariusGaiden Saturn JP Flyer.pdf
  4. ↑ https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.sega/c/pzEqyxCyUOo/m/gTuzOdehLgoJ
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Game Players, "Vol. 9 No. 4 April 1996" (US; 1996-03-19), page 66
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 VideoGames, "May 1996" (US; 1996-04-23), page 63
  7. ↑ Computer Trade Weekly, "" (UK; 1996-03-04), page 21
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Computer & Video Games, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-02-09), page 46
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sega Saturn Magazine, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-02-24), page 72
  10. ↑ File:DariusGaiden_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
  11. ↑ CD Consoles, "Mars 1996" (FR; 1996-xx-xx), page 92
  12. ↑ Consoles +, "Février 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 98
  13. ↑ Edge, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-02-09), page 70
  14. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 29
  15. ↑ Famitsu, "1995-12-22" (JP; 1995-12-08), page 1
  16. ↑ Fun Generation, "03/96" (DE; 1996-02-12), page 48
  17. ↑ GameFan, "Volume 4, Issue 2: February 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 18
  18. ↑ GamePro, "April 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 82
  19. ↑ GamePro, "May 1996" (UK; 1996-04-xx), page 38
  20. ↑ Game Informer, "April 1996" (US; 1996-0x-xx), page 59
  21. ↑ Joypad, "Février 1996 (Joypad International supplement)" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 24
  22. ↑ MAN!AC, "02/96" (DE; 1996-01-10), page 41
  23. ↑ Mega Fun, "03/96" (DE; 1996-02-20), page 80
  24. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-0x-xx), page 76
  25. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "May 1996" (UK; 1996-04-04), page 88
  26. ↑ Player One, "Mars 1996" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 94
  27. ↑ Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 4" (JP; 1996-02-02), page 62
  28. ↑ Saturn+, "Easter/April 1996" (UK; 1996-03-07), page 62
  29. ↑ Sega Magazin, "März 1996" (DE; 1996-02-14), page 68
  30. ↑ Sega Power, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-02-15), page 52
  31. ↑ Sega Pro, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-01-25), page 60
  32. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "1995-14 (1995-12-22)" (JP; 1995-12-08), page 202
  33. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 11
  34. ↑ Total Saturn, "Volume One Issue Four" (UK; 1996-12-29), page 20
  35. ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-0x-xx), page 68
  36. ↑ Última Generación, "Febrero 1996" (ES; 1996-0x-xx), page 90
  37. ↑ Video Games, "2/96" (DE; 1996-01-24), page 83


Darius Gaiden

DariusGaiden title.png

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Darius games for Sega systems
Sega Mega Drive
 Darius II (1990) | Darius (2019) | Darius Extra Version (2020)
Sega Master System
 Sagaia (1992)
Sega Saturn
 Darius Gaiden (1995) | Darius II (1996)
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