Game:

Darius Gaiden (1994)

Duration: 20:07

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4

Darius Gaiden

This 1cc is my first ever clear of a LEGIT shmup. One of the most legendary shmups of all time. Universally loved by all. Amazing gameplay, Beautiful pixel art, awesome world and enemy design, and the excellent music by Zuntata (Taito's in house band).

I am very proud of this clear ( did it May 19, 2021) because I was a new shmup player back then. I wanted to clear a legit shmup that is highly regarded by all players. So I gravitated to Darius Gaiden from the Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade for switch.

This game was my rite of passage to the world of STG (shooting games). It requires proper research for the easy routes (they are hidden, you have to ask / research on what is the easy route which is ABDHLQV ), you have to put the time to practice, use training mode and save states. You need to put in the hard work. The thing is the execution to clear this game is not really too difficult, you have the shield system, the black hole bomb, 30 hz rapid fire, and the fast ship movement speed to aid you in survival. With enough practice, it is very doable / achievable to get the 1cc, even for new players. It took me 25 hours approx to get the 1 credit clear, its not a cake walk, you will have to earn it. And oh it is so rewarding :)

In this route, the hardest boss is Neon Light Illusion (in Zone H). Trick is to bomb spam it to death. Also make sure to know where the Extends ( extra Life) are. For this route its in Zone Q. Also I had a stupid death in the Zone Q boss towards the end. Key was to keep my wits together and keep on going to achieve goal. When I reached final stage with 2 lives, I already felt in my gut that this was going to be the 1cc.

Newbies should not be intimidated by this game, yes it can be hard ( if you take other routes, but this route I did is the Easy route). But once you do all of the things I listed above, this game will make you fall in love with shmups forever :) Why settle for some never-heard and easy shmup as your first 1cc when you can dive into one of the best shmups ever made right away :)

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