Darius II, 1989 Taito

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crazyclimber80

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Published on May 2, 2021 9:54:43 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eai5Zpkf1k

Game:

Darius II (1989)

Duration: 36:17

107 views

10

First sequel to DARIUS, one of Taito's most enduring franchises involving vertically scrolling shmups with a strong sea life motif for the boss/sub-boss characters. First off-- I apologize for the wide screen, stretched out look; that can't be helped as the game was originally shown across either 2 or 3 monitors (in this case 3) and therefore it may be kind of hard to see the action. At any rate, you will often see clusters of the same enemy together and if you wipe them all out before they leave the screen, you will either get a nice bonus from 1,000 up to 9,000 (in thousands increments) or a power up. The power ups have different colors: Red=missiles, Blue=shields, Green=bomb, and Yellow=lasers. There is also sometimes a 1up icon left from wiping out said cluster. Continuously nabbing the same colored icons will gradually improve the quality of that power up, like multiple missiles, double lasers, top and bottom lasers, double bombs, faster bombs, a longer-lasting shield, etc. But one hit from an enemy/wall/ceiling/etc. will reduce you to a single laser and double bomb with your next life. The game's stages are divided by zones A through Z and they take place over the sun, Mercury, Venus, Moon, Earth, Mars and Jupiter. You get to choose the path you take toward an ending between stages, and the screen will show where that path will lead to once you complete it. Completing a stage labeled V, W, X, Y or Z will provide you with an ending. The graphics and music are definitely a wow! I like the voice over near the beginning describing her yen for a tuna sashimi! Enjoyable game in the Darius series, also known as SAGAIA (the Sega Master System port is called this, but usually the arcade original is called DARIUS II). Suggested by YouTube user Martin Hernandez.