Darius Then and Now
Darius is 35 years old
How Darius looked like and how it is now:
Then
Now
Description
Darius is a 1987 horizontal-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Taito. 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 lead 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.
