Darius II (Sat) / Super Darius II (PCE) / Sagaia (Gen)

[MrBroadway]

While I currently own Sagaia for my FEKA, I was thinking of getting Darius II for the Saturn. I saw, however, that the PCECD version has some awesome rockin' tunes. Besides the music, just how different are these two? Is it worth it to upgrade from Sagaia to either? Both? The Saturn version is less than half the price of the PCECD version. I don't really want both, but if they're that different, I might be persuaded to do so.

I appreciate any advice.

[spenoza]

I haven't played Sagaia, but everything I've read on the matter suggests that Sagaia plays closest to the arcade. Super Darius II is a pretty cool game, but the zoomed-in perspective means it actually plays quite differently from Sagaia or Darius II arcade. It might be worth getting simply because it has such a different feel. For all the great track remixes, though, I will say SDII has crappy sound effects. Really oopsed on that one, Taito did.

[VenomMacbeth]

Get them both!  SAT Darius II is arcade perfect & let's you zoom the screen in and out to accommodate the multi-screen aspect ratio of the original.

And while you're at it, get the master system version.  Very interesting to see all the huge bosses & parallax backgrounds pushed by the little system.

[Black Tiger]

Super Darius II is by far my favorite and the most fun. It's also pretty cheap today.

You should still buy the Saturn port as well, but it is far from arcade perfect.

The SMS version is also a great fun game that everyone should play.

I haven't played Sagaia, but everything I've read on the matter suggests that Sagaia plays closest to the arcade. Super Darius II is a pretty cool game, but the zoomed-in perspective means it actually plays quite differently from Sagaia or Darius II arcade. It might be worth getting simply because it has such a different feel. For all the great track remixes, though, I will say SDII has crappy sound effects. Really oopsed on that one, Taito did.

SDII is rebalanced, unlike Super Darius/ Plus, all of which are made by NEC Ave. Sagaia/Darius II for MD is also rebalanced to better suit the single screen, but there isn't a definitive arcade version, as it was released in 2 and 3 screen modes. SDII does so much more than simply try to make DII work within a single screen. It's pretty much an original new Darius game and the "zoomed-in" perspective is actually zoomed out compared to the arcade versions. Just as games like Air Zonk play fine with large sprites, so does SDII, as the game was designed around exactly the balance the developer struck.

[VenomMacbeth]

Super Darius II is by far my favorite and the most fun. It's also pretty cheap today.

You should still buy the Saturn port as well, but it is far from arcade perfect.

The SMS version is also a great fun game that everyone should play.

I haven't played Sagaia, but everything I've read on the matter suggests that Sagaia plays closest to the arcade. Super Darius II is a pretty cool game, but the zoomed-in perspective means it actually plays quite differently from Sagaia or Darius II arcade. It might be worth getting simply because it has such a different feel. For all the great track remixes, though, I will say SDII has crappy sound effects. Really oopsed on that one, Taito did.

SDII is rebalanced, unlike Super Darius/ Plus, all of which are made by NEC Ave. Sagaia/Darius II for MD is also rebalanced to better suit the single screen, but there isn't a definitive arcade version, as it was released in 2 and 3 screen modes. SDII does so much more than simply try to make DII work within a single screen. It's pretty much an original new Darius game and the "zoomed-in" perspective is actually zoomed out compared to the arcade versions. Just as games like Air Zonk play fine with large sprites, so does SDII, as the game was designed around exactly the balance the developer struck.

I've not been able to make comparisons, but can you describe how the Saturn version differs from the arcade?  I know it's got some resolution issues due to the screen zooming gimmick, but it otherwise seems pretty similar...

[Black Tiger]

Super Darius II is by far my favorite and the most fun. It's also pretty cheap today.

You should still buy the Saturn port as well, but it is far from arcade perfect.

The SMS version is also a great fun game that everyone should play.

I haven't played Sagaia, but everything I've read on the matter suggests that Sagaia plays closest to the arcade. Super Darius II is a pretty cool game, but the zoomed-in perspective means it actually plays quite differently from Sagaia or Darius II arcade. It might be worth getting simply because it has such a different feel. For all the great track remixes, though, I will say SDII has crappy sound effects. Really oopsed on that one, Taito did.

SDII is rebalanced, unlike Super Darius/ Plus, all of which are made by NEC Ave. Sagaia/Darius II for MD is also rebalanced to better suit the single screen, but there isn't a definitive arcade version, as it was released in 2 and 3 screen modes. SDII does so much more than simply try to make DII work within a single screen. It's pretty much an original new Darius game and the "zoomed-in" perspective is actually zoomed out compared to the arcade versions. Just as games like Air Zonk play fine with large sprites, so does SDII, as the game was designed around exactly the balance the developer struck.

I've not been able to make comparisons, but can you describe how the Saturn version differs from the arcade?  I know it's got some resolution issues due to the screen zooming gimmick, but it otherwise seems pretty similar...

It's been a few years since I compared each version, but off the top of my head the Saturn is some missing voice overs, layers of parallax and other details. I believe the changed the score font so that it scales better. There are sections of Super Darius II without parallax where not only would it be easy for the PCE to do, but it actually does do it in sections of other stages where the layout is the same. The weird thing is that the Saturn version also lacks parallax in several of those same sections, where the arcade versions do have parallax. It's kind of like how SFII for Saturn looks arcade-like, but is actually missing some parallax and little things. Since the hardware is porting upward, cuts are more notable than porting downward to home consoles.

[Necromancer]

My vote's for Super Darius II PCE.  OBEY or GTFO!

[geise]

lol don't forget the gameboy version.

I actually prefer the MD/Genesis port.  Spenoza is right about Super Darius II and the zoomed in perspective.  I didn't care for it.  Graphically it's nice and it sounds great, but Sagaia plays better to me.  If you were pressed to play another version I would go with Super Darius II though over the Saturn arcade port.

[MrBroadway]

lol don't forget the gameboy version.

I actually prefer the MD/Genesis port.  Spenoza is right about Super Darius II and the zoomed in perspective.  I didn't care for it.  Graphically it's nice and it sounds great, but Sagaia plays better to me.  If you were pressed to play another version I would go with Super Darius II though over the Saturn arcade port.

Reasons?

[Bonknuts]

Never cared for the arcade version, so PCE CD one it is.