Information About

G-darius




  developer Taito
  publisher Taito (arcade, PlayStation 2)<br> THQ (PlayStation)
  released 1997
  genre Shoot'em Up
  modes Single Player
  platforms Arcade Game <br> PlayStation <br> PlayStation 2
  arcade System Taito FX-1B {Link without Title}
  cpu MIPS R3000A
  sound Panasonic MN1020012A


''G-Darius'' (Gダライアス) is a horizontally-scrolling Shoot 'em Up Arcade Game , released by Taito in 1997. It is part of the ''Darius'' Series . The G stands for both Gigantic and Genesis (it is a prequel to the other Darius games).


STORY


G-Darius revolves around a conflict between the humanoids of Amnelia and Cyborg / Chimera biovessels known as the "Thiima" (meant to mean simply "bringers of death"). The Thiima had been aroused by the Amnelian army's use of the weapon A.N. (All-Nothing) to annihilate the world Blazar, whom Amnelia had been at war with over jurisdiction over the moon Mahsah. Determined to protect their existence, and long ago programmed to protect the universe from just such threats as A.N., the Thiima swarmed on Amnelia. Although the armed forces were badly ravaged, Amnelian scientists and engineers were able to make use of both A.N. and reverse engineered Thiiman technology/life systems to create the Silver Hawk fighters. Ultimately, two pilots--Sameluck Raida and Lutia Feen--are chosen to perform a decisive attack on the main Thiima base...Kazumn, a satellite of the planet Darius.


DESCRIPTION


''G-Darius'' is the only game in the series to use real polygonal 3D graphics, and the last 'new' game of the series.

The gameplay is similar to that of its predecessors, with one main new feature. The Silver Hawk is equipped with Capture balls, which, when launched at an enemy, can capture it and allow the player to control it. Different enemies have different movements and firing patterns when captured. Gold enemies, having this color because of Solidnite shielding, cannot be captured. Captains (i.e. mid-boss vessels) are also armored with Solidnite, but lose this armor after sustaining a certain amount of damage, at which point they can be captured.

The player can detonate a captured enemy to create a powerful explosion that destroys both enemies and bullets, or can absorb it and generate a destructive beam called the Alpha Beam.

During boss encounters, the boss can generate a Beta Beam, which can be counterattacked with the player's Alpha Beam. If both beams collide, the player must press a button repeatedly to push back and dispel the Beta Beam and hit the boss, or the Beta Beam will dispel the Alpha Beam and hit the player's ship. If the player successfully overtakes the Beta Beam, his Alpha Beam will double in size. Depending on how many Beta Beams the boss is using at a time or successively, this can be repeated until it covers the entire height of the screen.

While the levels are arranged in the same branching structure as every other ''Darius'' game, ''G-Darius'' also has branching points within the levels themselves. In exchange, the stage tree only reaches five steps, as opposed to seven. The five steps of the journey are Amnelia, Mahsah, Milky Way Corridor, Mabaher, and the Darius system (Lambda and Omicron on Darius, Mu and Xi on Kazumn, Nu in Genesis Space).


PORTS


''G-Darius'' was ported to the PlayStation , and is included in the compilations ''Taito Memories Gekan'' and '' Taito Legends 2 '', both for the PlayStation 2 .


TRIVIA

  • G-Darius is the only game of the series that does not use the same pilots from the previous games (Proco & Tiat) and the relationship between the new pilots in G-Darius is given more emphasis than its predecessors. One of the motifs of G-Darius is supposed to be the "exodus of Adam and Eve".

  • The Alpha/Beta beam duel addition is not a new motif to Taito; 'beam duelling' between player and enemy first appeared in Taito's experimental shooter Metal Black .

  • The Capture Ball system is rooted in the mid-boss capture system in Darius Gaiden . There, the Captain vessels had Capture Ball-like objects embedded in them. By focusing one's fire on the ball, a player could, instead of just destroying the Captain, dislodge the ball. After doing so, catching it would cause the Captain to fight alongside the player for a time before exploding. In G-Darius, most captured enemies sport a Capture Ball in the same way the Gaiden Captains did.

  • Some of the game's developers later left Taito and started a new company, '' is very similar to ''G-Darius'', as well as to '' Metal Black ''.

  • The Omicron ending is meant to portray the Belser finding and appropriating the wreckage of the destroyed Thiima around Darius and Kazumn for themselves.