Darius Gaiden

n/a

Darius Gaiden

System(s): Sega Saturn

Publisher: Acclaim, Taito (JP)

Developer: Aisystem Tokyo

Developer(s) of original games: Taito

Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (15 tracks)

Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

Number of players: 1-2

Release	Date	RRP	Code
JP	1995-12-15	¥5,8005,800	T-1102G
US	1995		T-8123H
EU	1996-03 ^[1]		T-8123H-50

ESRB

Sega

ELSPA

USK

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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. During development it was known as Darius III. Why it was changed to a"gaiden" type of story (roughly meaning "side story"), is unknown. The game's soundtrack was composed by Taito's house band Zuntata.

Gaiden was ported to the Sega Saturn and released in late 1995, curiously arriving before the Saturn port of Darius II. 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.

Darius Gaiden follows the established formula closely, but dropped the multiple screen setup. Difficulty is considered to be lower than in part 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. Each path has its unique ending

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

Trivia

The game upholds the series tradition of offering branching paths, with the "upper" routs being easier to clear. However, the upper routes also offer more scoring chances, which goes against the usual risk=reward design in arcade games. Scores are lumped together in a single table and not sorted by the path taken through the game but total score only.
The game has a dynamic difficulty level, depending on power ups collected, survival time etc.

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 ^[2]

Track list

1. [data track] (02:14)

2. VISIONNERZ: Genshibito (04:38)
VISIONNERZ～幻視人～
EN: VISIONNERZ ~Hallucinated People~
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

3. (Punctuation) (00:06)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

4. Burst Out (01:53)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

5. Induction (01:48)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

6. E.E.G. (04:16)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

7. Axon (02:20)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

8. TOUEI (04:11)
投影
EN: Reflection
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

9. Fake (02:02)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

10. Singing In The Brain (01:46)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

11. Tranquilizers (02:58)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

12. SELF (04:12)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

13. Refrain (01:39)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

14. Name (00:56)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

15. End Titles (02:30)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

16. over (00:09)
Composed by: Hisayoshi Ogura

► Running time: 37:38

Promotional material

JP flyer

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

CD Consoles (FR)

40

^[3]

Consoles + (FR)

88

^[4]

Computer & Video Games (UK)

87

^[1]

Edge (UK)

60

^[5]

Electronic Gaming Monthly (US)

NTSC-U

74

^[12]

Famitsu (JP)

NTSC-J

83

^[13]

Fun Generation (DE)

PAL

40

^[14]

GameFan (US)

94

^[15]

Game Players (US)

NTSC-U

53

^[16]

GamePro (US)

NTSC-U

78

^[17]

GamePro (UK)

83

^[18]

Joypad (FR)

NTSC-J

85

^[19]

MAN!AC (DE)

NTSC-J

76

^[20]

Mega Fun (DE)

PAL

61

^[21]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

NTSC-J

79

^[6]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

PAL

69

^[7]

Player One (FR)

PAL

90

^[8]

Saturn Fan (JP)

NTSC-J

81

^[22]

Saturn+ (UK)

PAL

84

^[23]

Sega Magazin (DE)

PAL

80

^[24]

Sega Power (UK)

NTSC-J

35

^[25]

Sega Pro (UK)

NTSC

69

^[26]

Sega Saturn Magazine (UK)

PAL

80

^[27]

Sega Saturn Magazine (JP)

NTSC-J

80

^[28]

Sega Saturn Magazine (JP)

NTSC-J

89

^[11]

Total Saturn (UK)

PAL

46

^[29]

Ultimate Future Games (UK)

NTSC-J

79

^[30]

Última Generación (ES)

68

^[31]

Video Games (DE)

NTSC-U

60

^[32]

VideoGames (US)

70

^[33]

	72
Based on 30 reviews

Darius Gaiden

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 File:CVG UK 172.pdf, page 46 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CVG UK 172.pdf_p46" defined multiple times with different content
↑ File:DariusGaiden_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 File:CDConsoles FR 15.pdf, page 92 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CDConsoles FR 15.pdf_p92" defined multiple times with different content
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 File:ConsolesPlus FR 051.pdf, page 98 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:ConsolesPlus FR 051.pdf_p98" defined multiple times with different content
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 File:Edge UK 030.pdf, page 70 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Edge UK 030.pdf_p70" defined multiple times with different content
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 File:MeanMachinesSega42UK.pdf, page 76 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega42UK.pdf_p76" defined multiple times with different content
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 File:MeanMachinesSega43UK.pdf, page 88 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega43UK.pdf_p88" defined multiple times with different content
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 File:PlayerOne FR 062.pdf, page 94 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:PlayerOne FR 062.pdf_p94" defined multiple times with different content
↑ File:SSM_UK_05.pdf, page 72
↑ File:SSM_JP_19951222_1995-14.pdf, page 202
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 Saturn no Game wa Sekai Ichi~i~i~i!: Satamaga Dokusha Race Zen Kiroku, SoftBank Publishing, page 11 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:SnGwSISDRZK Book JP.pdf_p11" defined multiple times with different content
↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 29
↑ Famitsu, "1995-12-22" (JP; 1995-12-08), page 1
↑ Fun Generation, "03/96" (DE; 1996-02-12), page 48
↑ GameFan, "Volume 4, Issue 2: February 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 18
↑ Game Players, "Vol. 9 No. 4 April 1996" (US; 1996-03-19), page 66
↑ GamePro, "April 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 82
↑ GamePro, "May 1996" (UK; 1996-04-xx), page 38
↑ Joypad, "Février 1996 (Joypad International supplement)" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 24
↑ MAN!AC, "02/96" (DE; 1996-01-10), page 41
↑ Mega Fun, "03/96" (DE; 1996-02-20), page 80
↑ Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 4" (JP; 1996-02-02), page 62
↑ Saturn+, "Easter/April 1996" (UK; 1996-03-07), page 62
↑ Sega Magazin, "März 1996" (DE; 1996-02-14), page 68
↑ Sega Power, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-02-15), page 52
↑ Sega Pro, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-01-25), page 60
↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-02-24), page 72
↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "1995-14 (1995-12-22)" (JP; 1995-12-08), page 202
↑ Total Saturn, "Volume One Issue Four" (UK; 1996-12-29), page 20
↑ Ultimate Future Games, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-0x-xx), page 68
↑ Última Generación, "Febrero 1996" (ES; 1996-0x-xx), page 90
↑ Video Games, "2/96" (DE; 1996-01-24), page 83
↑ VideoGames, "May 1996" (US; 1996-04-23), page 63

[:File:CVG_UK_172.pdf_p46-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 File:CVG UK 172.pdf, page 46 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CVG UK 172.pdf_p46" defined multiple times with different content

[:File:DariusGaiden_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf_p-2] File:DariusGaiden_Saturn_JP_SSEnding.pdf

[:File:CDConsoles_FR_15.pdf_p92-3] 3.0 ^3.1 File:CDConsoles FR 15.pdf, page 92 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:CDConsoles FR 15.pdf_p92" defined multiple times with different content

[:File:ConsolesPlus_FR_051.pdf_p98-4] 4.0 ^4.1 File:ConsolesPlus FR 051.pdf, page 98 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:ConsolesPlus FR 051.pdf_p98" defined multiple times with different content

[:File:Edge_UK_030.pdf_p70-5] 5.0 ^5.1 File:Edge UK 030.pdf, page 70 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Edge UK 030.pdf_p70" defined multiple times with different content

[:File:MeanMachinesSega42UK.pdf_p76-6] 6.0 ^6.1 File:MeanMachinesSega42UK.pdf, page 76 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega42UK.pdf_p76" defined multiple times with different content

[:File:MeanMachinesSega43UK.pdf_p88-7] 7.0 ^7.1 File:MeanMachinesSega43UK.pdf, page 88 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MeanMachinesSega43UK.pdf_p88" defined multiple times with different content

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_062.pdf_p94-8] 8.0 ^8.1 File:PlayerOne FR 062.pdf, page 94 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:PlayerOne FR 062.pdf_p94" defined multiple times with different content

[:File:SSM_UK_05.pdf_p72-9] File:SSM_UK_05.pdf, page 72

[:File:SSM_JP_19951222_1995-14.pdf_p202-10] File:SSM_JP_19951222_1995-14.pdf, page 202

[:File:SnGwSISDRZK_Book_JP.pdf_p11-11] 11.0 ^11.1 Saturn no Game wa Sekai Ichi~i~i~i!: Satamaga Dokusha Race Zen Kiroku, SoftBank Publishing, page 11 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:SnGwSISDRZK Book JP.pdf_p11" defined multiple times with different content

[:File:EGM_US_080.pdf_p29-12] Electronic Gaming Monthly, "March 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 29

[13] Famitsu, "1995-12-22" (JP; 1995-12-08), page 1

[:File:FunGeneration_DE_1996-03.pdf_p48-14] Fun Generation, "03/96" (DE; 1996-02-12), page 48

[:File:GameFan_US_0402.pdf_p18-15] GameFan, "Volume 4, Issue 2: February 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 18

[:File:GamePlayers_US_0904.pdf_p66-16] Game Players, "Vol. 9 No. 4 April 1996" (US; 1996-03-19), page 66

[:File:GamePro_US_091.pdf_p82-17] GamePro, "April 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 82

[:File:GamePro_UK_09.pdf_p38-18] GamePro, "May 1996" (UK; 1996-04-xx), page 38

[:File:Joypad_FR_Supplement_050_International.pdf_p24-19] Joypad, "Février 1996 (Joypad International supplement)" (FR; 1996-0x-xx), page 24

[:File:MAN.21AC_DE_1996-02.pdf_p41-20] MAN!AC, "02/96" (DE; 1996-01-10), page 41

[:File:MegaFun_DE_1996-03.pdf_p80-21] Mega Fun, "03/96" (DE; 1996-02-20), page 80

[:File:SaturnFan_JP_1996-04.pdf_p62-22] Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 4" (JP; 1996-02-02), page 62

[:File:SaturnPlus_UK_02.pdf_p62-23] Saturn+, "Easter/April 1996" (UK; 1996-03-07), page 62

[:File:SegaMagazin_DE_28.pdf_p68-24] Sega Magazin, "März 1996" (DE; 1996-02-14), page 68

[:File:SegaPower_UK_77.pdf_p52-25] Sega Power, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-02-15), page 52

[:File:SegaPro_UK_55.pdf_p60-26] Sega Pro, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-01-25), page 60

[:File:SSM_UK_05.pdf_p72-27] Sega Saturn Magazine, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-02-24), page 72

[:File:SSM_JP_19951222_1995-14.pdf_p202-28] Sega Saturn Magazine, "1995-14 (1995-12-22)" (JP; 1995-12-08), page 202

[:File:TotalSaturn_UK_04.pdf_p20-29] Total Saturn, "Volume One Issue Four" (UK; 1996-12-29), page 20

[:File:UltimateFutureGames_UK_16.pdf_p68-30] Ultimate Future Games, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-0x-xx), page 68

[:File:UltimaGeneracion_ES_11.pdf_p90-31] Última Generación, "Febrero 1996" (ES; 1996-0x-xx), page 90

[:File:VideoGames_DE_1996-02.pdf_p83-32] Video Games, "2/96" (DE; 1996-01-24), page 83

[:File:VideoGames_US_88.pdf_p63-33] VideoGames, "May 1996" (US; 1996-04-23), page 63

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Darius Gaiden

From Sega Retro

Contents

Trivia

Production credits

Track list

Promotional material

Physical scans

References