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G-Darius - Strategy Guide (Page 01)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for G-Darius - Strategy Guide (Page 01).

***************************************************************************
*                       G.Darius FAQ Version 1.01                         *
*                 By: Zach Keene (zjkeene@bellsouth.net)                  *
*                       Last Updated: 30 May 1999                         *
***************************************************************************

   Table of Contents    .       .       .       .       .       .         7
1) Introduction .       .       .       .       .       .       .        49
2) What's New?  .       .       .       .       .       .       .        85
3) Credits      .       .       .       .       .       .       .        96
4) Legal Crap   .       .       .       .       .       .       .       115
5) History of Darius, Part VI   .       .       .       .       .       130

   Part I - G.Darius 101        .       .       .       .       .       149
5) Introduction to G.Darius 101 .       .       .       .       .       151
6) Weapons      .       .       .       .       .       .       .       169 
7) Powerups     .       .       .       .       .       .       .       328
8) Scoring      .       .       .       .       .       .       .       365
9) Technical Ranking    .       .       .       .       .       .       447
10) Miscellaneous Info  .       .       .       .       .       .       510
11) Audio Info  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       542
12) Video Info  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       619

   Part II - Zone Guides        .       .       .       .       .       648
13) Introduction to the Zone Guides     .       .       .       .       650
14) Zone Alpha  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       706
15) Zone Beta   .       .       .       .       .       .       .       757
16) Zone Gamma  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       855
17) Zone Delta  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       988
18) Zone Epsilon        .       .       .       .       .       .      1079
19) Zone Zeta   .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1167
20) Zone Eta    .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1228
21) Zone Theta  .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1361
22) Zone Iota   .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1433
23) Zone Kappa  .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1507
24) Zone Lambda .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1586
25) Zone Mu     .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1672
26) Zone Nu     .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1761
27) Zone Xi     .       .       .       .       .       .       .      1861
28) Zone Omicron        .       .       .       .       .       .      1930
29) The G.Darius One-Page Travelogue    .       .       .       .      2015

   Part III - G.Darius Merchandise      .       .       .       .      2065
30) Guide Book Info     .       .       .       .       .       .      2067
31) Soundtrack Info     .       .       .       .       .       .      2090 

32) The End     .       .       .       .       .       .       .      2128 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Introduction ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  Just when you thought I had played CSOTN far too many times, here's
another Zach Keene production loaded to the gills (no pun intended) with
more useless information and statistics than anyone ever needed to know
about a game.
  My introduction to the Darius series was, unfortunately, the mediocre
SNES title Darius Twin. I could ramble on about that, but I'll save it for
a future FAQ. (WARNING! A huge number of Darius FAQs are approaching fast!)
Needless to say, it was missing a few things that made (most) of the Darius
games great. Like, for instance, something resembling a challenge. :)
  Anyhow, based on a stream of E-mails from someone (and he knows who he
is) telling me how cool G. Darius is, I decided to give it a try. Before I
got my hands on it, I managed to play the TG-16 version of the original,
and found it to be the game Darius Twin should have been. Based on that, I
was sold on G. Darius, and was not disappointed. Vic's Disposable Shooter
Syndrome[tm] notwithstanding, that is.
  Enough rambling from me. Onward with the FAQ!

  This FAQ was written using the world's most powerful typewriter, that
blue-screened wonder, the MS-DOS Edit. For best results view with a
monospace font (like Courier New), 75 characters a line, 8 characters a
tab. Send any comments, corrections, additions, subtractions, suggestions,
bribes, etc. to zjkeene@bellsouth.net

                Where to get the latest version of this FAQ
                -------------------------------------------
        ftp://members.aol.com/fnlfanatic/arcanelore/gdarius.txt
                    [This version is always current]

                   GameFaqs -

   Playstation Haven -

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: What's New ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Version 1.0 - (30 May 1999)
        - First public release version of the G.Darius FAQ

Version 1.01 - (31 May 1999)
        - A few corrections and clarifications made.
        - Note about playing the movies with a Gameshark added.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Credits :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Dave Connoy
        - Lots of various things, from pointing out mistakes and giving a
          few strategies.
Japanese Manual and Official Guide Book
        - For giving Alan Kwan info to give to me.
Kurt Kalata
        - Information about (not) playing the movies on a Gameshark.
Alan Kwan
        - Sent me a ton of info from the official Japanese G.Darius guide
          book and stuff from the Japanese manual that didn't make it into
          the Western manuals. Not to mention pointing out a few million
          of my numerous typos and adding some comments here and there.
          (I've left most of his contributions verbatim, rather than trying
          to rewrite everything.)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Legal Crap ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  This G. Darius FAQ is (C) 1999 Zach Keene. As Grand Poo-bah of
Copyrightedness, I grant upon thee the following rights:

1) Thou mayst give this FAQ to whomever you so choose. The key word here is
   "give". If anybody gets paid for this, it darn well better be me. :)

2) Thou mayst put this FAQ up on thine website, so long as it remains
   completely intact. And I do mean completely.

  G. Darius is TM and (C) 1998 Taito Corporation.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: History of Darius, Part VI ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  G. Darius is, for the moment, the most recent game in the long-running
Darius series. The only versions I am aware of are the Arcade and PSX
versions. I'm not sure whether the arcade version made it outside of Japan.
That's mostly because all arcades near me suck royally, containing only
the latest fighting/racing clones. Not that fighting and racing are
necessarily bad, mind you, just that a little variety wouldn't hurt. Also,
I refuse on general principle to pay money to an arcade that doesn't have
at least one Galaga machine.
  Distinguishing G. Darius from the rest are the updated graphics. G.
sports more polygonal sprites (isn't that an oxymoron?) than the straight
2D of previous games. This is especially apparent in the boss fights. If
you've not played G. Darius, you don't know jack about boss fights.
(Radiant Silvergun _might_ be a possible exception to that, but that's
another story. :)

---------------------------Part I - G.Darius 101---------------------------

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Introduction to G. Darius 101 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  One of my FAQs wouldn't be complete without a section that contains info
that any moron could find in the instruction manual or figure out on their
own. With that in mind, here is a rundown of the basic operations of the
Silver Hawk fighter.
  Your fighter comes standard with missile, bomb, and shield-generation
capabilites. On top of that, the Capture Ball system that was sort of
half-assed into Darius Gaiden has been given a complete overhaul and is
now actually useful. Instead of only being able to capture mini-bosses
if you killed them in the correct way, you can now capture almost any
enemy at any time and use them for your own fiendish purposes.
  The next few sections of the FAQ will take a closer look at the Silver
Hawk's offensive and defensive capabilites, and some other basic G. Darius
facts.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Weapons :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

* Missiles *

  Same as with any shooter, you start the game with nothing but a pea
shooter. Your main cannon has three main levels, each with seven sublevels.
As you pick up Red Orbs (usually obtained by destroying red-coloured
enemies), your cannon will go up one sublevel. Picking up a seventh Red
Orb transforms your cannon into a Laser. Seven more Red Orbs will transform
your Laser into a Wave cannon.
  Assuming, of course, that you survive long enough to pick up that many
Red Orbs. When you die, your cannon remains at the level it was before you
died, but all sublevels are lost. Example, if you die with a level 5 Laser,
your next ship begins with a level 0 Laser.

  [Alan:] In the "Beginner" and "Boss" modes in the PS version, there
is no power down until you continue. Also, in those modes, a new ship 
starts equipped with the maximum armor.

  Also note that when your cannon levels up, you actually lose a little bit
of power. For example, a level 6 Missile is more powerful than a level 0
Laser.
  The Missile cannon is your standard pea shooter, and as it gains
sublevels it fires more shots at once. It cannot penetrate either enemies
or terrain. The Laser increases in length and power with each sublevel. It
can penetrate most enemies, but is absorbed by the terrain. The Wave cannon
grows in size and power with each sublevel. It can penetrate through both
enemies and terrain, making it the weapon of choice for finding hidden
power-ups.

* Bombs *

  Your ship also has the capability to drop bombs (a la the Missiles in
Gradius). The Bomb has 3 levels, each with 4 sublevels. They increase in
size and power as their sublevels increase.
  The standard Bomb drops diagonally forward and down. Collecting 4 Green
Orbs transforms it into a Twin Bomb, which launches missiles both
forward/up and forward/down. Four more Green Orbs gets you a Multi-Bomb,
which launches in all four diagonal directions.
  Again, when your ship is destroyed, the current level of your Bombs is
retained, but all sublevels are lost.

* Armour *

  The Silver Hawk can also generate a force field that protects it from
enemy fire and collisions, to some extent. It has 3 levels, each with
6 sublevels. The current sublevel of the Armour has no bearing on the
strength of the shield, other than collecting a Blue Orb will restore
the shield to its full power.

  Alan Kwan provides some info from the Japanese manual and guide book:
  "Picking up a blue orb when your ship has no armor will
give you 3 points of armor.  Picking up a blue orb when your ship
already has armor will add 1, 2, or 3 points (respectively for
Arm, Super, Hyper) to your armor strength, up to the maximum
possible for the armor type (Arm = 3, Super = 4, Hyper = 5).
  Crashing into terrain is immediately fatal unless you have
Hyper armor."

  The manual seems to imply that the standard Armor can withstand 3 hits,
the Super armour (level 2) can take 4, and the Hyper armour (level 3) can
eat 5. I've yet to test this myself. I'm also not sure the exact effect
enemy lasers, Beta beams, and other various collsions have, other than
sitting in front of a laser is generally a pretty stupid thing to do.

  [Alan:] Generally, contact with strong enemy attacks (such as long
lasers and Beta beams) will cause damage to your armor in rapid
succession.

* Capture *

  The Silver Hawk is also equipped with a finite number of Capture Balls.
Collecting Purple Orbs will add to your stock of Capture Balls remaining.
When fired (X is the default button for firing a Capture Ball), it will
fire straight ahead and capture almost any enemy it hits. Enemies protected
by Solidnite, some enemy projectiles, gun emplacements, asteroids, and
bosses (duh) cannot be captured. (Firing a capture ball at an uncapturable
enemy seems to do damage, but probably not enough to make it worth your
while.)
  Once captured, the enemy will follow your ship and execute various
attacks, depending on which enemy you captured.

  [Alan:] When you fire a Capture Ball and it misses, this does not cost
you a Capture Ball from your stock. You can stock up to 6 Capture Balls.
When you die, your next ship begins with the starting number of Capture
Balls (in all game modes).

  While captured, you can also do one of two things with an enemy:

  1) Press X again to detonate it. The blast it creates will damage (or
     destroy) all enemies and absorb all projectiles within its range.

     From the Japanese manual:
     This is called the Capture Bomb.  The size of the explosion,
     as well as the duration of invulnerablity of your ship, depends
     on the size of the captured enemy detonated:
     small enemy (except some) - small explosion, 2 sec invulnerable
     big enemy (and some small ones, especially "explosive" types)
      - medium explosion, 3 sec invulnerable
     mid-boss - large explosion, 4 sec invulnerable

  2) Hold O for a while to charge up the Alpha Beam. This is an
     ultra-powerful attack that can absorb all projectiles and generally
     cause mass mayhem. If your Alpha Beam encounters a boss's Beta Beam,
     your Alpha Beam will absorb the Beta Beam and become more powerful
     (and larger, too.) The result of this is an Alpha Counter that Ryu,
     Ken et al can only dream of performing. :) As powerful as it is, the
     Alpha Beam is blocked by Solidnite. Some bosses
     *cough*The Embryon*cough* will often use this to their advantage, by
     throwing several Beta Beams your way for you to absorb... then
     flooding the screen with Solidnite Bullets that make you waste your
     beam. Bloody annoying, that...

     From the guide book:
     The initial size of the alpha beam depends on the size of
     the captured enemy consumed:

     Small enemy - normal alpha beam
     Big enemy - normal x1.5 alpha beam
     Mini-boss - counter beam

     The duration of the alpha beam is 5 seconds (regardless of size), but
     you can extend it by up to 2 more seconds by pressing the "square"
     button. Absorbing a beta beam resets the duration timer to a new 5
     seconds.

* What exactly happens when you counter? *

  [Quoted verbatim from Alan Kwan.]

  Once your alpha beam meets the boss's beta beam, pressing the
"square" button (or rapid-fire the "circle" button) puts more
power into your alpha beam, until eventually you've put in enough
power to effect a counter.  This upgrades your alpha beam, resets
the duration timer for your counter beam, and causes the beta
beam to wither.

  If you do not press the "square" button, the beta beam will
eventually accumulate enough power to counter your alpha beam,
and cause your alpha beam to wither while the beta beam is
upgraded.

  If either beam expires naturally, no counter is effected.

* Invulnerability *

  [Info from the Japanese manual.]

  Your ship is invulnerable for a second or two in the following
situations:

  1) When ship enters play: 4 sec
  2) Get item: 0.5 sec
  3) Sucessful Capture: 0.5 sec
  4) Fire Alpha Beam: 1 sec
  5) Use Capture Bomb: see section on "Capture" above

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Power-ups :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

* Standard Powerups *

  As I briefly mentioned in the Weapon section above, your ship increases
in power by collecting Orbs of various colours. Usually, these Orbs can
be obtained by destroying coloured enemies. Red enemies will drop Red Orbs,
green ones drop Green Orbs, etc.

Red Orbs:       Increase your Missile Cannon one sublevel.
Green Orbs:     Increase your Bombs by one sublevel.
Blue Orbs:      Increase your Armour by one sublevel.
Purple Orbs:    Increase your Capture Ball Stock by one.

* Hidden Powerups *

  These powerups are not found by destroying enemies, but rather by
shooting at the terrain throughout the level. If you happen to hit a place
where one of these is hidden, it will appear briefly. Keep blasting at
that point to make the powerup come out to collect it.

Silver:         Gives you a random amount of bonus points from 50 to 51200.
                Alan says (from the guide book):  The possible point values
                depend on the direction in which your ship is moving when
                getting the item.  Avoid moving forward since you'll always
                get only 100 points. [I've gotten the max of 51200 a few
                times by backing into the Silver powerup. - Zach]
Gold:           Destroys all on-screen enemies. Has no effect on larger
                enemies, however.
1-Up:           Looks like a small Silver Hawk in a bubble. Gives you one
                more life.
Tricolour:      Increases your Missile, Bombs, and Armour each one
                sublevel. These will appear onscreen after you use a
                continue.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Scoring :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  Obviously, to score points one must shoot stuff. That said, this section
lists a few things that will help you get more bonus points for shooting
stuff.

* Formation Bonus *

  Some enemies come in formations, and shooting down every enemy in the
formation will give you some amount of bonus points depending on the
type of enemy. The formation bonus is generally 10 times the score value
of a single enemy.

* Multipliers *

  [Info from the Japanese manual.]

  Destroying enemies in certain ways will multiply the points you receive
for destroying them. These multipliers will also apply to formation bonuses
(see above), and to bosses. 

  1) Use a captured enemy somehow to destroy an enemy. This can be either
     by ramming into the enemy, the captured enemy's normal attack, or
     the special attack of a captured Mini-boss. This is worth a x2
     multiplier.

  2) Detonate a captured enemy. Anything destroyed by this blast will
     award a x3 multiplier.

  3) Destroy an enemy with either a normal or x1.5 Alpha Beam. This is
     worth a x4 multiplier.

  4) Destroy an enemy with a counter Alpha Beam, obtained either by
     consuming a Mini-boss or absorbing one Beta Beam. This is worth
     a x6 multipler.

  5) Destroy an enemy with a double counter beam. This is worth a x8
     multiplier.

  6) Destroy an enemy with a triple counter beam. This is worth a x10
     multiplier.

  7) Destroy an enemy with a quadruple counter beam. This is worth a x12
     multiplier.

* Powerup Bonus *

  If you collect a powerup for a weapon that is already at full strength
(or collect a Purple when you have a full stock of Capture Balls), you'll
get a 5000 point bonus.

 [Alan:] Power up itmes are worth 1000 points apiece otherwise.

* Captured Enemy Bonus *

  If you still have an enemy captured when you beat the final boss of a
level, it will self destruct and you will receive a bonus. The amount of
the bonus depends on the enemy you had captured; the Mini-Boss recieves
around 100000 points, while your standard peon ships will only get a
few thousand. However, as Alan pointed out, it is much better for your
score to blast the boss with any sort of Alpha Beam than to get a few
bonus points for leaving a captured enemy alive.

Small enemies:          1000 points per "unit"
Large enemies:          10000 points 
Mini-bosses:            1000000 points

* Final Bonuses *

 When you finish the game in Arcade mode, you will be awarded bonus points
based on your performance through the game:

Remaining ships:                1,000,000 points each
Captain (Mini-boss) capture:    300,000 for each Mini-boss captured
Beam finish:                    200,000 for each normal Alpha Beam finish
Counter:                        400,000 for each single counter boss finish
Double counter:                 600,000 for each double counter boss finish
Triple counter:                 800,000 for each triple counter boss finish
Quad counter:                   1,000,000 for each quadruple counter finish

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Technical Ranking :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  [Most, if not all, of the info in this section comes via Alan Kwan from 
the Japanese manual and offical guide book.]

  At the end of every game, you will receive a "technical rating" based on
your performance. Your final score does not affect this rating (though 
doing well in each of the factors may very well increase your score.) Each 
of the factors, listed below, is worth somewhere between 10-20% out of a
total of 105%. To achieve a Gold Hawk rating (the highest), one must have
a score of 101% or higher.

* The Factors *

1) Enemy kill ratio
  
  Simple enough. Shoot everything that moves. The higher this ratio, the 
better your rating.

2) Enemy formation kill ratio

  Don't let any enemy attacking in a formation to escape! The higher this 
ratio, the better your rating.

3) Boss fight hit accuracy ratio

  During boss battles, cease fire when there is nothing to hit/damage.
This factor is worth 1% of your rating per every 10% of your accuracy.

  [NOTE: The English manual mentions some "number of lives vs. number of 
   shots" factor. According to Alan, that is a definately a 
   mistranslation.]

4) Best final hit on boss

  Try to destroy the boss using as souped-up an Alpha Beam as you can 
manage. A Quad-Counter is worth the most points; letting the enemy 
self-destruct is worth the least.

5) Captured enemy use efficiency

  Use those buggers for something; don't let them get killed.

6) Mileage
 
  The further you get in the game, the better your rating.

7) Use of continues

  You get no points for not using continues, but for every one you use, you
lose one percentage point.

8) Final power-up level

  The more powered up your ship is when you hit Game Over, the higher your
rating.

9) Number of lost ships

  The less ships you lose, the higher your rating.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Miscellaneous Info ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

* Codes *

  [Again, these are from the offical guide book.]

 1) Free Play in Arcade Mode:
    After continuing a total of 100 times (in any game mode), you can
    choose "Free Play" in Arcade Option.

 2) View Ending Movies 

    Place cursor at Option -> Movie.  Enter left, right, left, right
    on the +-key, then hold all of R1, R2, L1, L2 and press "circle"
    or "start" button to enter Movie mode.  Now you can view all
    ending movies.

* Analog Control? *

  The packaging for G.Darius (at least the NA release) is incorrect
regarding the game's support for analog control. While there is Dual Shock
support, no analog control is supported.

* View High Scores *

  The only way to see the high score tables (other than getting a high
score, of course), is to simply do nothing at the title screen. The high
score screens will be shown periodically between the gameplay demos and
movies.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Audio Info ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  Welcome to yet another installment of my infamous "Audio Info" sections.
Like many other PSX games, G. Darius does not contain Redbook Audio. So,
if you want to listen to Zuntata's excellent soundtrack, you've got two
options: 1) Import the soundtrack CD from Japan (that would be Zuntata
Records ZTTL-0014, if I recall correctly) or 2) Follow the instructions
below. Be warned that extracting the entire soundtrack will eat up a
large chunk of hard drive space, though.

1) Go to and head for the PSX Utilites section. Download
   copies of XAEX and XAPlay. If Zophar's is spazzing for whatever reason,
   go to the Castlevania Dungeon and look for the
   Miscellaneous section. The utilites should be there as well. They're not
   very large, so the download won't take long.

2) Once you have them set up (no big deal, just unzip them somewhere and
   they're as set up as they're going to get :), insert your G. Darius CD
   in your CD-ROM drive. For demonstration purposes, let's say the CD-ROM
   is drive G.

3) There are 2 files that on the G. Darius CD that contain the music.
   They are the bgm1.xa and bgm2.xa files in the G:\bgm directory.
   To extract the music from these files into something usable by XAPlay,
   go to a DOS prompt, go to whatever directory you unzipped XAEX into,
   and type:

xaex  

   For example, if you want to extract the music from bgm1.xa into a
   file called music01.xa, you would type (again, this is assuming that G
   is the CD-ROM drive):

xaex g:\bgm\bgm1.xa c:\music01.xa

   This will take a little while (it took about a minute on my machine,
   but then again I've got a Pentium 300-something with a whole crapload of
   RAM).  When it's finished, the resulting music01.xa (or whatever you
   named it) can be played using XAPlay.
   If you've not used XAPlay before, know that many XA files are split
   into at most 8 channels, numbered 0 through 7. Use the "Channel"
   pulldown menu to select which channel you want to listen to.

  Here is a list of the two bgm*.xa files and the songs they contain. This
list is horribly incomplete since I do not own the original soundtrack and
therefore do not know the titles of the songs. I do however own the
excellent G.Darius: Future Is Over CD (that's Zuntata Records ZTTL-0019),
so I do know the titles of a few of them, at least.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        BGM1.XA - 55,050,956 bytes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Channel:                Song Title:
 0                      [Unknown Track 1]
 1                      G Zero
 2                      [Unknown Track 2]
 3                      [Unknown Track 3]
 4                      [Unknown Track 4]
 5                      Kimera II
 6                      [Unknown Track 5]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        BGM2.XA - 92,247,836 bytes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Channel:                Song Title:
 0                      [Unknown Boss Track 1]
 1                      B.T.Dutch
 2                      H.G.Virus
 3                      [Unknown Boss Track 2]
 4                      Adam
 5                      [Unknown Track 6]
 6                      [Unknown Track 7]
 7                      [Unknown Track 8]

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Video Info ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  If you really must see the ending/opening movies without beating the
game, you're probably better off using the movie code in the Codes section.
But, if you really must see them on your computer, then go to go to the PSX Utilites section, and grab a copy of
PSXVideo. The seven movie files are in the directory G:\MOV\*.str (again,
assuming the CD-ROM is drive G.)

  [NOTE: The PSXVideo program is for Windows. I do not know if any PSX
   movie players exist for other OSes.]

  Another odd note: according to Kurt Kalata, the intro movies are playable 
using a Gameshark version 2.4, but the ending movies are not.

                  +------------+------------------+
                  | Filename   | Description      |
                  +------------+------------------+
                  | Gdend1.str | Epilogue Lambda  |
                  | Gdend2.str | Epilogue Mu      |
                  | Gdend3.str | Epilogue Nu      |
                  | Gdend4.str | Epilogue Xi      |
                  | Gdend5.str | Epilogue Omicron |
                  | Gdop1.str  | Prologue 1       |
                  | Gdop2.str  | Prologue 2       |
                  +------------+------------------+

---------------------------Part II - Zone Guides---------------------------

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Introduction to the Zone Guides :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

  Here's how the Zone Guides are set up:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Level Data:
Music:                  Name of track played during level.
Mini-Boss:              Name of mini-boss. (Note: the English manuals list
                        the name of the mini-boss as the name of the
                        special attack they can perform when captured.
                        Apparently the Japanese manual was ambigous in this
                        matter, and the translators misinterpreted it.)
Mini-Boss Attack:       Description of Mini-boss special attack, and the
                        controller motions needed to use it.
Boss:                   Name of Boss
Boss Music Track:       Name of music track played during boss battle.
Exits:                  Which Zones you can get to from this zone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Powerup Data:   Red     Green   Blue    Purple  Yellow  Grey   1-Up
Main:           Number of powerups in the section of the level before it
                splits.
Area X:         Number of powerups in one of the sublevels.
Total X:        The total number of powerups you recieve from going through
                both Main and Area X.
Area Y:         Number of powerups in the other sublevel.
Total Y:        The total number of powerups you recieve from going through
                both Main and Area Y.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Red Routes:        alA - beC - gaE                (10R, 13G, 11B, 12P)
Best Blue Routes:       deB - epC - gaE                (12B, 13R, 12G, 11P)
Best Green Routes:      etA - thD - gaF                (11G, 10R, 12B, 13P)

  These list the routes through this zone that give the most Red, Blue,
and Green powerups. The lowercase letters stand for the Zone (al = Alpha,
be = Beta, etc.), while the capitial letters stand for the Area. The
numbers in parenthesis give the total number of each kind of powerup that
can be collected from the route given.
  In this example, the route Alpha A to Beta C to Gamma E would give 10
Reds, 13 Greens, 11 Blues, and 12 Purples.
  Notice that this is just an example that I made up, since obviously you
can't go to both Beta and Gamma, or get to Gamma from Zone Eta. :)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zone Overview: Some comments about the level itself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boss Tactics: Strategies for defeating the boss.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

  After the Zone Guides is the One-Page Travelogue, which is just a
summary of the powerup data for each Zone. It was designed to be an easily
printable reference for those who may want a hard copy of some of the info,
but may not want to waste all day printing the entire FAQ. If you use a
10-point monospaced font, such as Courier New, this should come out to be a
little less than one page. 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
::: Zone Alpha - Green Globe ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Level Data:
Music (Beginning):      [Unknown Track 1]
Music (Area A or B):    G Zero
Mini-Boss:              First Captain
Mini-Boss Attack:       Spiral Beam (D, DF, F + Fire)
Boss:                   Eclipse Eye
Boss Music Track:       [Unknown Boss Track 1]
Exits:                  Zone Beta, Zone Gamma
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Powerup Data:   Red     Green   Blue    Purple  Gold    Silver 1-Up
Main:           2       2       1       1       0       0      0
Area A:         4       1       1       3       0       0      0
Total A:        6       3       2       4       0       0      0
Area B:         3       2       2       3       1       2      0
Total B:        5       4       3       4       1       2      0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Red Route:         alA                               (6R, 3G, 2B, 4P)
Best Blue Route:        alB                               (3B, 5R, 4G, 4P)
Best Green Route:       alB                               (4G, 5R, 3B, 4P)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zone Overview:
  Not a particularly difficult level at all. Choose Area A if you are
interested in grabbing more Red power-ups, and Area B if you want the
missile and shield power-ups. Capture the large fish that appears where
the level splits; it fires homing missiles. If you choose Area A, the real
mini-boss of the level appears later on, and you might want to trade the
fish you have to capture the mini-boss.
  The sunken area of Area B will look very familiar to longtime Darius
fans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boss Tactics:
  Eclipse Eye-A and Eclipse Eye-B have very similar tactics, and only vary
in one minor area. When you first approach it, it'll spew easily destroyed
missiles from its wide mouth. Its next trick will be shooting trios of
fireballs. These are also easily avoided, but note that their trajectory
changes every two or three shots. Then come the destroyable blue shots.
Whoopee.
  This is where EE-A and EE-B differ. EE-A will now launch some large
homing missiles at you. You can capture them if you like, but they have
no direct offensive or defensive capability. Of course, you can use them
to charge your Alpha Beam. EE-B will just swing some spinning blades your
way, while launching the Orange Shield Thingies(tm). Grab one if you need
it.
  At this point, EE will have moved to the left side of the screen and will
be charging its Beta Beam. If you don't know what to do about this, please
reread the "G. Darius 101" section. :)

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