Darius (video game)
| Darius | |
|---|---|
Japanese arcade flyer | |
| Developer | Taito |
| Publisher | Taito |
| Designers | Junji Yarita Akira Fujita |
| Programmer | Toru Sugawara |
| Artist | Junji Yarita |
| Composer | Hisayoshi Ogura |
| Series | Darius |
| Platforms | Arcade, CD-ROM², PC Engine, Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Game Boy Advance, i-mode, Yahoo! Mobile, EZAppli, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Sony PlayStation 4, Sony PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox One, Microsoft Xbox Series X and Series S, Steam, Sega Genesis Mini, Sega Mega Drive Mini, Sega Genesis, Sega Mega Drive |
| Release | January 1987
|
| Genre | Scrolling shooter |
| Modes | Single-player, multiplayer |
Darius is a 1987 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Taito for arcades. Players control a starship named the Silver Hawk in its mission to destroy the Belser empire before they wipe out the planet Darius. Its gameplay involves traversing through a series of scrolling levels while destroying enemies and collecting power-up icons. It is notable for its unique three-screen panoramic display.
The game was designed by a small team of others led by Junji Yarita. In contrast to other similar games, which feature mechanical or insect-like enemies, Darius uses aquatic creatures like fish and crabs for its enemies and screen-filling bosses. Its large arcade cabinet, based on Taito's earlier panoramic display game Laser Grand Prix (1983), was designed to provide a cinematic atmosphere and stand out from other games at the time. The soundtrack was created by Taito's "house band" Zuntata, the majority being composed through a combination of FM synthesis and sampling.