Darius
Darius is a two-dimensional, horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up set in a fictional future. Unique among shoot 'em ups, the game's screen is three times the conventional size, and the arcade cabinet uses a three-screen arrangement to accommodate it. The player controls an ornate combat spaceship called the Silver Hawk and must navigate the scrolling terrain while battling a variety of fighters, ground vehicles, turrets, and other obstacles in the game's various sections (referred to as zones in the game). The ship's arsenal consists of forward-firing missiles, aerial bombs, and a protective force field, all of which can be upgraded by power-ups (in the form of large, colored spheres) dropped by particularly colored enemies in the game's zones. When the player reaches the end of a zone, a boss appears that must be defeated in order to advance. Once the boss of a zone is defeated, the player can choose which zone to play next via a branching path. There are 28 zones in total, but only seven can be played in a single run. In 2019, a Sega Mega Drive port was produced that comes preloaded on the Mega Drive Mini as a bonus game.
Story
Darius, year 201. Invasion! The vicious Belsar have attacked the peaceful Darius system, which is now utterly devastated by their vile hands! The defensive fighters of Darius were no match for the overwhelming firepower of the aliens and wiped out their entire fleet in one fell swoop! With nothing left to protect them, the humans could only wait for the icy embrace of death while the satellite bombardments continued unhindered. The smell of despair was in the air, for any hope of survival had been dashed. But then, out of the darkness of the clouds of grief, a single bright light emerged in the sky. "Silverhawk........." Like a phoenix rising from the embers of a burning world, the bird-shaped figure became the beacon of the planet's final struggle for survival! Perhaps the end is not as near as it first seemed.