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Sagaia
Nov 27, 2005 16:33:47 GMT
Post by Stan on Nov 27, 2005 16:33:47 GMT
You're up, throw it at us.
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 1:03:32 GMT
Post by anagrama on Nov 28, 2005 1:03:32 GMT
WARNING! WARNING!
A F*CK-OFF MASSIVE
FLYING METAL FISH
IS APPROACHING FAST!Yes, that can only mean one thing: My selection this time around is the excellent-yet-underappreciated conversion of Taito's 1989 coin-op, and one of the finest horizontal shooters to grace the Master System: SAGAIA (or Darius 2 as it was known before the name was inexplicably changed for non-Japanese markets).   The coin-op original used 3 monitors lined up to offer a huge playfield, but even shrunk to a single screen, the console conversions (which include 3 seperate generations of Sega machine: SMS/Megadrive [US/Japan only]/Saturn aswell as a slightly souped-up version for the PC Engine) all offer an esteemable shooty experience. You play as either Proco Jr or Tiat Young, piloting your Silverhawk across several levels of frantic action featuring all manner of giant aquatic beasties. (though the only real difference between them is that Tiat starts pre-armed with a few power-ups and faces a different boss after level 5). The graphics are pretty smart and feature a bit of parallax on some levels, though it works better on some rather than others - the first level seems a little grainy, but it picks up after that. It also boasts some excellent tunes & melodies, which certainly enhance the atmosphere. Your Silverhawk isn't the fastest ship in the world, but the controls are tight and it's surprisingly movable in a jam. As with almost all shooters, an arcade-style joystick is recommended. One neat feature of the Darius series is to be able select different routes through the game at a few points, and despite most alternate levels still being pretty similar, is does add to the replayability, particularly with 3 different final levels. Power-ups appear fairly regularly, but are administered slightly more sparingly than in some other shooters. Unfortunately, it does tend to suffer from the age-old shooter problem of leaving you pretty high & dry if you die and lose all your power-ups towards the end of a level. Better not die then! The bosses are another highlight of the Darius series, and the Master System version is no exception - huge ugly sea-monsters with multi-part attacks, though there's not huge amounts of animation going on with them, and it's never too hard to suss out their weak spots. You might notice the odd touch of slowdown with some bosses, but it's pretty rare. It's kinda tough at first, but once you get a grip on it it and land a couple of power-ups, you're all set for some great times cleaning up that astral aquarium... ;D
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dezanuebe
Sonic the Hedgehog
Master System, the best of all times...
Posts: 2,178
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 1:22:30 GMT
Post by dezanuebe on Nov 28, 2005 1:22:30 GMT
Darius II is an excellent game, and a superb pick... it´s also weird because we´re seing a TAITO trend... mybe we will see Raibow Islands next???
Well, time to play the game...
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 4:53:45 GMT
Post by Roth on Nov 28, 2005 4:53:45 GMT
The game seems awesome so far! VERY difficult though. I've never been that great at shooters, but I love to play them. I like the graphics on it so far, I actually made it past zone A. I chose B to go to next, and it really kicked me in the teeth! That seahorse mini-boss is NOT to be taken lightly  Great pick... I had never even played this before! |
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 6:04:06 GMT
Post by JellyCrystals on Nov 28, 2005 6:04:06 GMT
Yet again another game I don't have... when will this madness end??!!!
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 9:26:42 GMT
Post by anagrama on Nov 28, 2005 9:26:42 GMT
Yeah, the sea-horse miniboss is a bit of a bast - I've not managed to kill him yet, just got used to his patterns and dodged 'til he disappears instead.
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 14:44:55 GMT
Post by Sinistral on Nov 28, 2005 14:44:55 GMT
I've never given this a chance. I’ve always considered R-type to be the undisputed champion on side scrolling shooters on faith alone. Perhaps it’s time to give this another look.
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 16:50:44 GMT
Post by Alberto on Nov 28, 2005 16:50:44 GMT
Sagaia! My father bought it to me many years ago, after a business trip. Even though shooters weren't my favorite games, I liked this one instantly. The enemies were the thing I liked the most, specially because I like sea creatures. The bosses were so impressive than they sometimes scared me, specially the sea urchin at the end of the Earth level. A wonderful game, and a truly excellent choice.
HINT: To destroy the seahorse, aim at the head. If you manage to dodge it it's not that difficult to kill.
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 17:09:55 GMT
Post by RaccoonLad on Nov 28, 2005 17:09:55 GMT
Slick game. I've put in enough play time with this one to beat it on all 3 endings.
This game caused me to buy Darius Plus on the PC Engine, and in turn, that game caused me to buy G-Darius on the Playstation.
I love Taito, they're second only to Sega.
Someday I'll get the Genesis version of this game.
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Sagaia
Nov 28, 2005 21:48:19 GMT
Post by Astro on Nov 28, 2005 21:48:19 GMT
Darius twin on snes aint real good though so i'm just wondering if this is any better
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Sagaia
Nov 29, 2005 16:38:33 GMT
Post by Roth on Nov 29, 2005 16:38:33 GMT
Well, I am making progress on this game ;D I actually have been able to get by "A" and "C" without continuing! It seems like the more you play, the more steady your left thumb becomes. I think the key to this game (so far at least) is to make slight movements. Once there are bullets all over the screen, you have to move ever so slightly to dodge each individual one. It took me a couple of continues to get by "D"... Venus I believe. The boss on that level is pretty cool, though a little easy (knock on wood  ). I got to "F" but didn't get everything down. I'll have to try this again tomorrow so I don't burn myself out, but I'm VERY impressed with this game so far. It's definitely one of my favorite shooters now, but I don't think anything will ever top the likes of Ikaruga or M.U.S.H.A. As far as 8-bit goes though, one of my top two or three. Also, it seems that there are graphical glitches on a couple of the levels. My ROM says it's a good dump, so I was wondering if the actual cart has those glitches in it? There're not that bad, but I was just wondering. I'm playing on Normal because I HATE Easy Modes on games... I feel cheap if I do that. On shooters I'm usually to intimidated to try Hard Mode though... Is anyone playing on Hard Mode? If you are, you are a braver human being than I! |
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Sagaia
Dec 4, 2005 17:10:33 GMT
Post by Stan on Dec 4, 2005 17:10:33 GMT
Excellent game overall. The only real problems I have involve some dubious placements of enemies and slowdown. The latter is the most noticeable problem as this game SERIOUSLY slows down on some bosses and such pretty bad. Still very playable. The second ship type is the best to use, and sad though it is you just have to have 5 lives if you want to make it through this game, it's hard. I've made it pretty far. The stage selection option is pretty damn cool, I'm currently trying to go through the game on only the lower levels on the selection screen. Then, I'll try it another way.
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Sagaia
Dec 5, 2005 19:10:45 GMT
Post by Roth on Dec 5, 2005 19:10:45 GMT
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Sagaia
Dec 8, 2005 19:38:13 GMT
Post by Stan on Dec 8, 2005 19:38:13 GMT
Hhahaha, good one.
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Great pick... I had never even played this before!
). I got to "F" but didn't get everything down. I'll have to try this again tomorrow so I don't burn myself out, but I'm VERY impressed with this game so far. It's definitely one of my favorite shooters now, but I don't think anything will ever top the likes of Ikaruga or M.U.S.H.A. As far as 8-bit goes though, one of my top two or three.