<s>
The	O
fifth	O
entry	O
in	O
its	O
Darius	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
players	O
control	O
a	O
starship	O
named	O
the	O
Silver	O
Hawk	O
in	O
its	O
mission	O
to	O
destroy	O
the	O
Belsar	O
empire	O
before	O
it	O
wipes	O
out	O
the	O
population	O
of	O
planet	O
Darius	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
been	O
ported	O
to	O
several	O
consoles	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Created	O
by	O
producer	O
Hidehiro	O
Fujiwara	O
,	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
was	O
designed	O
to	O
show	O
off	O
the	O
technological	O
capabilities	O
of	O
Taito	O
's	O
then-new	O
F3	B-Application
System	I-Application
,	O
an	O
arcade	O
board	O
that	O
utilized	O
interchangeable	O
cartridges	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
he	O
had	O
little	O
exposure	O
to	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
Fujiwara	O
wanted	O
to	O
design	O
a	O
new	O
Darius	B-Application
game	O
that	O
improved	O
on	O
its	O
established	O
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
titled	O
Darius	B-Application
III	O
,	O
its	O
name	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
as	O
its	O
plot	O
took	O
place	O
between	O
the	O
first	O
two	O
games	O
;	O
gaiden	O
is	O
the	O
Japanese	O
term	O
for	O
"	O
side	O
story	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
was	O
critically	O
acclaimed	O
in	O
arcades	O
,	O
and	O
received	O
several	O
awards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
G-Darius	B-Application
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
is	O
a	O
horizontal-scrolling	O
shooter	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
controls	O
a	O
starship	O
named	O
the	O
Silver	O
Hawk	O
in	O
its	O
mission	O
to	O
obliterate	O
the	O
Belsar	O
empire	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
plotting	O
to	O
destroy	O
what	O
is	O
left	O
of	O
the	O
human	O
race	O
and	O
their	O
new	O
home	O
of	O
planet	O
Darius	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
was	O
published	O
by	O
Taito	O
as	O
the	O
third	O
arcade	O
installment	O
in	O
its	O
Darius	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
fifth	O
entry	O
overall	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fujiwara	O
had	O
little	O
exposure	O
to	O
the	O
series	O
aside	O
from	O
assisting	O
in	O
production	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Darius	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Fujiawara	O
was	O
conceiving	O
the	O
idea	O
for	O
Gaiden	O
,	O
Taito	O
released	O
its	O
F3	B-Application
System	I-Application
,	O
an	O
arcade	O
system	O
board	O
that	O
allowed	O
arcade	O
operators	O
to	O
swap	O
out	O
games	O
through	O
interchangeable	O
ROM	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
,	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Neo	B-Operating_System
Geo	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Taito	O
wanted	O
big-name	O
franchises	O
to	O
appear	O
on	O
its	O
new	O
board	O
to	O
increase	O
awareness	O
and	O
attract	O
attention	O
,	O
so	O
Fujiwara	O
proposed	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
a	O
Darius	B-Application
game	O
as	O
the	O
series	O
was	O
well	O
known	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Taito	O
approved	O
the	O
request	O
and	O
allowed	O
development	O
of	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
to	O
begin	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Darius	B-Application
and	O
its	O
sequel	O
Darius	B-Application
II	I-Application
both	O
used	O
three	O
individual	O
monitors	O
made	O
to	O
appear	O
seamless	O
via	O
mirror	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fujiwara	O
and	O
the	O
others	O
also	O
wanted	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
show	O
off	O
the	O
technical	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
F3	B-Application
System	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
its	O
sprite	O
rotation	O
and	O
3D	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
originally	O
titled	O
Darius	B-Application
III	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
used	O
in	O
overseas	O
marketing	O
material	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
story	O
taking	O
place	O
between	O
Darius	B-Application
II	I-Application
and	O
the	O
first	O
Darius	B-Application
,	O
Kato	O
decided	O
to	O
name	O
the	O
game	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
,	O
with	O
"	O
gaiden	O
"	O
being	O
a	O
Japanese	O
term	O
for	O
"	O
side	O
story	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
presentation	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
focal	O
point	O
;	O
the	O
programmers	O
worked	O
to	O
add	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
flashy	O
effects	O
that	O
showed	O
off	O
the	O
F3	B-Application
System	I-Application
's	O
technological	O
capabilities	O
,	O
though	O
this	O
also	O
complicated	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
making	O
sprites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
soundtrack	O
for	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Zuntata	O
,	O
the	O
house	O
band	O
of	O
Taito	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
’s	O
the	O
kind	O
of	O
concept	O
I	O
wanted	O
to	O
convey	O
through	O
"	O
Visionnerz	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
music	O
of	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ogura	O
has	O
claimed	O
that	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
is	O
his	O
favorite	O
soundtrack	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
direction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
in	O
September	O
1994	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
in	O
November	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
months	O
after	O
its	O
debut	O
,	O
an	O
updated	O
version	O
named	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
Extra	O
Edition	O
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
first	O
released	O
on	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
on	O
December	O
15	O
,	O
1995	O
,	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
is	O
a	O
near-perfect	O
port	O
,	O
with	O
slight	O
alterations	O
to	O
the	O
soundtrack	O
to	O
accommodate	O
for	O
system	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
PlayStation	B-Device
version	O
was	O
released	O
exclusively	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
December	O
20	O
,	O
1996	O
,	O
which	O
adds	O
a	O
new	O
opening	O
cutscene	O
with	O
3D	O
pre-rendered	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
was	O
released	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
in	O
1997	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
subsequently	O
re-released	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
in	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
2005	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Application
compilation	O
Taito	O
Legends	O
2	O
includes	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
and	O
43	O
other	O
Taito-published	O
arcade	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
is	O
also	O
included	O
in	O
Darius	B-Application
Cozmic	I-Application
Collection	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
2019	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
its	O
debut	O
in	O
arcades	O
,	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
received	O
critical	O
acclaim	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
a	O
commercial	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Home	O
releases	O
of	O
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
,	O
specifically	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
version	O
,	O
also	O
received	O
positive	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Saturn	B-Device
version	O
sold	O
over	O
70,000	O
copies	O
in	O
Japan	O
alone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Staff	O
at	O
GameFan	O
compared	O
its	O
quality	O
to	O
SNK	O
's	O
Pulstar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rad	O
Automatic	O
of	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
Magazine	O
praised	O
Gaiden	O
for	O
its	O
graphics	O
and	O
action-packed	O
gameplay	O
,	O
specifically	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
challenge	O
and	O
usage	O
of	O
branching	O
level	O
paths	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameFan	O
staff	O
argued	O
that	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
version	O
was	O
better	O
than	O
its	O
arcade	O
counterpart	O
for	O
its	O
lack	O
of	O
slowdown	O
and	O
impressive	O
graphical	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Famitsu	O
was	O
less	O
enthusiastic	O
about	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
conversion	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
slowdown	O
problems	O
,	O
jerky	O
scrolling	O
,	O
and	O
unimpressive	O
opening	O
cutscenes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Gamer	O
Daniel	O
Erickson	O
,	O
who	O
reviewed	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
version	O
argued	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
n't	O
as	O
impressive	O
as	O
it	O
used	O
to	O
be	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
the	O
gameplay	O
and	O
responsive	O
controls	O
made	O
it	O
a	O
worthy	O
pickup	O
for	O
fans	O
of	O
the	O
genre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Darius	B-Application
Gaiden	I-Application
has	O
been	O
listed	O
as	O
being	O
among	O
the	O
greatest	O
side-scrolling	O
shooters	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Higham	O
believes	O
that	O
Gaiden	O
helped	O
take	O
the	O
Darius	B-Application
franchise	O
into	O
a	O
different	O
direction	O
,	O
away	O
from	O
its	O
focus	O
on	O
gimmicks	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
three-screen	O
design	O
and	O
towards	O
innovation	O
and	O
presentation	O
.	O
</s>
