Darius Gaiden
↗ 7.9%
🙂 7.3/10
(Sega Saturn - JP, Shoot'em Up)
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Developed_By:
Aisystem Tokyo
Published_By:
Acclaim
Released On:
15 Dec 1995
Also available on:
Take command of your Silverhawk fighters once again as you battle to take back the planet Darius from the evil forces that had overpowered it! Converted from the Taito 1994 arcade game for the Windows platform (9x and NT).
EAN-13:
4988611950074 (Japan)
Sega Region Code:
T-1102G (Japan)
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Number of Players Supported:
1-2 Players
Prices as of 09 Oct 2026
Typical $40.16–$40.75 (last 90 days)
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Market activity: active · about 94 sales a year
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Manual
Game Guide
Extracted from the original game manual
Silverhawk is a vertical scrolling shooter where you pilot one of the last two Silverhawk planes to defend the Vadis Immigration & Naturalization Service. Following a failed migration attempt from Darius, an unknown enemy force has begun destroying transit ports and slaughtering defending soldiers. Your mission is to halt the enemy's relentless assault on the main convoy and protect the vital infrastructure.
Story
About Screens
The game interface displays several key pieces of information to assist the pilot.
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Zone Indicator
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Bomb Power-up Gauge
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Armor Power-up Gauge
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Black-hole Bomber Stock
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Lives
•
Your Current Score
•
Number of Credit(s)
Story
After an epic battle on the planet Darius, the planet seems to wither, forcing a massive emigration to the planet Vadis. However, after much time had passed, these immigrants decided to return to their home planet.
While their return plans were taking shape, an unknown force began destroying their ports of transit and docking, both aerial and nautical. The destroyers are now chasing after the main convoy of ships, which is presumed to be used for transporting people between Vadis and Darius.
As the convoy approaches Vadis, the evil hands of the destroyers extend towards the Vadis' INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service). One by one, the attacking enemy mercilessly slaughters resisting Silverhawk soldiers.
Silverhawk is now left with only two planes. These planes head into battle with the aspirations of its people in tow.
How to Play
Starting Up
1. Set up your Sega Saturn™ system as described in its instruction manual. Darius Gaiden™ is for one or two players. When you play alone, connect the control pad to Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. When 2 players are playing simultaneously, connect 1P pad to control terminal 1 and 2P pad to control terminal 2.
2. Place the Darius Gaiden™ disc, label side up, in the well of the CD tray and close the lid.
3. Turn on the TV or monitor and the Sega Saturn. The Sega Saturn™ logo appears on screen. (If nothing happens, turn the system off and make sure it is set up correctly before turning it on again.)
4. If you wish to stop the game in progress or the game ends, press the Reset Button on the Sega Saturn™ console to display the on-screen Control Panel.
Important: Your Sega Saturn™ CD contains a security code that allows the disc to be read. Be sure to keep the disc clean and handle it carefully. If your Sega Saturn™ system has trouble reading the disc, remove the disc and wipe it carefully, starting from the center of the disc and wiping straight out toward the edge.
Default Controls
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Pause/ resume game
•
Fire Black-hole Bomber
•
Finalize Zone
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Normal attack
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Move your Ship (8 directions)
•
Move Cursors
Getting Started
By pressing the START BUTTON during the demonstration screen, you will be taken to the Title Screen. You can watch a demonstration game on the Demonstration Screen.
At the Title Screen, press UP or DOWN on the D-PAD to choose either Game Start or Options. To begin playing (before or after setting options), highlight Game Start and press the START BUTTON. To set Options, select Options and press the START BUTTON.
For 2 players: When another player wants to join an on-going game, press the START BUTTON on the new player's control pad.
About Options
In the Options Screen, you can change the game's settings. To select an option, press UP or DOWN on the D-PAD. Press LEFT or RIGHT on the D-PAD to toggle to the desired setting.
•
LEVEL: Select from 4 levels of difficulty: Easy, Average, Difficult or Very Difficult.
•
Control: Allows you to change the default control settings to suit your play style. Press LEFT or RIGHT on the D-PAD until the desired configuration is displayed.
•
Audio: Set the sound output to either monaural or stereo.
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Sound Test: You can listen to background music or special effects in the game. Press LEFT or RIGHT on the D-PAD to toggle to a particular sample, then press the A BUTTON to listen to it.
•
Exit: Will return you to the Title Screen.
About the Game
•
The game consists of 7 Stages, including 28 sub-zones.
•
1P and 2P possess credit(s) separately, with each player receiving an initial credit amount of 3 per player. When all of your ships are destroyed, the game is over.
•
The player's objective is to control his/her own ship, Silverhawk, and to shoot down appearing enemy forces. By destroying the boss at the end of each stage, the player advances to the next stage. When the player clears all the stages, (s)he will receive an ending scene and the game will be over.
The Zone System
There are 7 Stages to master, subdivided into 28 Zones. You move through the stages by completing a chosen zone within each stage. After destroying the giant battleship at the end of each stage, a zone selection screen will appear with all the available zones displayed. You can select the next zone by pressing UP or DOWN on the D-PAD. Finalize your choice by pressing the C BUTTON. There are many different paths to success, depending on which zones you choose. Enjoy experimenting!
Black-Hole Bomber
This bomber sweeps all the enemies from the screen.
•
When you press the B Button, you can utilize a Black-hole Bomber as long as you have the bomber(s) stored in reserve.
•
At the start of the game you will have 3 Black-hole Bombers. Gather violet pick-ups to increase your stock of Black-hole Bombers. (You can only stockpile up to 5 Black-hole Bombers.)
When you press the B Button, there will be a black-hole in the middle of the screen. At this time, your plane is omnipotent, as most enemy shots are absorbed into the black-hole. However, the Boss, Average Boss and some other enemies are merely pulled towards the black-hole.
After a while, the black-hole starts to diminish and releases its energy and damages any enemies on the screen.
Continue, Game Over, Name Entry
Continue: You can continue the game up to 3 times by utilizing the continue screen. Press the "Start Button" before the count reaches 0. You can start a game where the (previous) game ended.
Game Over: When you lose all of your planes (lives), the game is over.
Name Entry: When the game is over, if your score is among the top five highest scores, you can enter up to 3 letters for listing. Use the D-PAD to choose the letter, and finalize your choice with the A, B or C Button.
ZONE GUIDE
There are 7 stages and 28 zones in this game. On Land, On The Water, Colonies, Arable Land, Desert, Bottom Of The Sea....
Tips & Maps
Planet Vadis
The zone map includes Metropolitan, Flat Land, and On The Waters.
Satellite Contrary
The zone map includes Small Asteroid Belt, Colony, On The Satellite, and Warp Zone A to D.
Satellite Weather
The zone map includes Colony, On The Satellite, Giant Boss, Small Asteroid Belt, and Colony.
Planet Darius
The zone map includes On The Water, Forest Of Ice, Arable Land, Desert, Mechanical Ruin, On The Water, Mechanical Cave, Bottom Of The Sea, Cave, Giant Fortress, Tropical Forest, Mantle Current, and Stormy Sky.
Items & Weapons
Air Shot
For the Air battle. There are four ranks of Air Shots, each comprised of 4 sub-ranks. Each time you collect three red Air Shot pick-ups, you will move up a sub-rank.
Normal Shot
Destroys enemies.
Laser
Pierces through enemies.
Wave
Pierces through enemies and their background.
Search Option
Arm plus search option.
Bomb
For the Ground Battle. There are four ranks of bomb, each comprised of 4 sub-ranks. Each time three pick-ups are collected, you will move up a sub-rank.
Normal Bomb
Shoots downwards.
Twin Bomb
Shoots downwards and upwards.
Multi-Bomb
Shoots Twin Bomb forward and backward.
Homing (Radar) Bomb
Homes only in forward direction.
Armor
Shielding which protects your plane from enemy bullets. There are three ranks of Armor, each comprised of 4 sub-ranks. Each time five blue armor pick-ups are collected, you will move up a sub-rank.
Normal Armor
Will protect your plane from up to 3 enemy shots.
Super Armor
Will protect your plane from up to 4 enemy shots.
Hyperarmor
Will shield your plane and the landscape from the enemy.
RED Pick-Up
It will appear when you shoot down a flying red colored enemy. Your Air-shot will increase one degree. Collect 3 to increase power by a sub-rank.
GREEN Pick-Up
It will appear when you shoot down a flying green colored enemy; gathering 3 of them, will increase Bomb power by 1 sub-rank.
BLUE Pick-Up
It will appear when you shoot down a flying blue colored enemy. Your Armor will increase one degree. Increase Armor by one sub-rank by gathering 5 of them.
VIOLET Pick-Up
It hides inside the landscape. It will appear when your shots hit the right spot. By gathering them, your Black-hole Bomber stock will increase incrementally.
SILVER Pick-Up
It hides within the landscape. It will appear when your shots hit the right spot. This will add to your bonus score.
GOLD Pick-Up
It hides within the landscape. It will appear when your shots hit the right spot. This will destroy all the enemies on the screen.
EXTEND Pick-Up
It hides within the landscape. When your shots hit the right (extend) spot, you will get one more life. In Darius Gaiden™, your life increases only when you hit the Extend. You will not earn another ship (life) by increasing your score.
Enemies & Characters
The Average Boss
There are seven kinds of Average Bosses in this game which appear in each zone except M and X Zones. You can convert them to your side by damaging and gathering their control ball.
Golden Ogre
Code Name: ONIKINME. It appears in Zone A and attacks with a Mouth Beam Cannon, Gills Monolis Bombs, Tail Fin wind, and Abdomen shots. Its weak point is the Mouth.
King Fossil
Code Name: Coelacanth. It appears in Zone C and attacks with Mouth shots, Gills Homing Missiles, flying Scales, and Abdomen Torpedoes. It has multiple vulnerable fins and weakens when damaged.
Electric Fan
Code Name: Sea Anemone. It appears in Zone E and attacks with Tentacle bullets, a Mouth that fires Kumanomi missiles, and emits blue bombs. Its vulnerable areas include the Tentacles, Chest, and Mouth.
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