Arcade Video game published 30 years ago:
Darius II (c) 1989 Taito.
The direct sequel to the 1986 original, Darius II retained the distinctive 3-screen format of the first game.
The power-up system of Darius II was changed from that of its parent game, with players having to destroy complete waves of a particular enemy to earn a power-up. 2 new power-ups were also added; the 1st was a new weapon power-up that gave the player green, vertical lasers, the 2nd power-up was a rainbow-colored item that powered up all of the players weapons.
Another new feature of Darius II is the appearance of mini-bosses - large enemies that appear at the mid point of a level, possessing similar strength and abilities to those of the game's normal bosses (such as extravagant weapons, or the inability to be damaged without first exposing a vulnerable area). The mini-bosses in Darius II are in fact smaller versions of the bosses from Darius.
The game is set in the inner regions of the Solar system, and has the same branching level structure as Darius, allowing players to select their own route through the game.
- TECHNICAL -
Prom Stickers : C07
Main CPU : (2x) Motorola 68000
Sound CPU : Zilog Z80
Sound Chips : Yamaha YM2610, (4x) Volume
Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 3
- TRIVIA -
Darius II was released in September 1989.
This game is known in US as "Sagaia" (licensed to Romstar for distribution).
Two versions of this game were made : The more common three-screen version (like the original "Darius"), and a harder to find two-screen version (aspect ratio : 8/3)
Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Darius II : G.S.M. Taito 4 - PCCB-00010-12) on November 21, 1989.
Zuntata Records released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Zuntata History L'ab-normal 1st - ZTTL-0038) on April 1, 1999.
- SERIES -
1. Darius (1987, Arcade)
2. Darius II (1989, Arcade)
3. Darius Twin [Model SHVC-DT] (1991, Super Famicom)
4. Darius Force [Model SHVC-DH] (1993, Super Famicom)
5. Darius Gaiden - Silver Hawk (1994, Arcade)
6. G-Darius (1997, Arcade)
7. G-Darius ver.2 (1997, Arcade)
8. Darius Burst (2009, Sony PSP)
9. Darius Burst - Another Chronicle (2010, Arcade)
10. Darius Burst - Another Chronicle EX (2011, Arcade)
- STAFF -
Directed and produced by : Hidehiro Fujiwara
Game designed by : Hidehiro Fujiwara, Senba Takatsuna
Programmed by : Akira Ohtsuki, Tatsuo Nakamura, Masashi Tsuzura, Shinji Soyano
Art designed by : Masami Kikuchi, Senba Takatsuna, Hisakazu Kato
Cabinet designer : Yoshinori Aiura
Hardware designed by : Toshiyuki Sanada
All music composed and arranged by : Hisayoshi Ogura (Team Zuntata)
Sound editors : Yasuhisa Watanabe, Norihiro Furukawa
Sound software : Naoto Yagishita
- PORTS -
* CONSOLES:
[JP] Sega Mega Drive (dec.20, 1990) "Darius II [Model T-11083]"
[JP] NEC PC-Engine CD (dec.24, 1993) "Super Darius II [Model NAPR-1031]"
[JP] Sega Saturn (june.7, 1996) "Darius II [Model T-1104G]"
[JP] Sony PS2 (jan.25, 2007) "Taito Memories II Joukan [Model SLPM-66649]"
* HANDHELDS:
Nintendo Game Boy [AS] (1991) "Sagaia [Model DMG-116 CHN]"
[JP] Nintendo Game Boy (dec.13, 1991) "Sagaia [DMG-S8A]"
- CONTRIBUTE -
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