Lost Classics: Darius Twin (Super Nintendo)

While it wasn’t nearly as well known as its peers, Taito’s Darius Twin was part of the holy trinity of 2D side scrolling shooters along with Gradius and R-Type. In the games, players faced giant fish-like enemies and collected weapons in order to defeat enemies. Although Darius Twin was the first Super Nintendo entry in the series, it’s actually the third game in the overall series. Heroes Proco and Tiat return to the planet Orga to once again stop the evil Belser. Like many of the early entries in the series, Darius Twin allowed players to chose which stages to go through between levels. While it isn’t much different from other side scrolling shooters, Darius Twin’s music, backdrops, and huge enemies help set it apart while the multiple stage paths and multiple endings help give it some replay value. Hopefully it won’t be much longer before we see this game on virtual console if it isn’t there already.