What platforms is Darius on?

Darius was released on Arcade, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

When did Darius release?

Darius was first released on December 31, 1987.

Darius

Dec 31, 1987ShooterArcadeArcadeSega Mega Drive/Genesis

Darius — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Darius on?: Darius was released on Arcade, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
When did Darius release?: Darius was first released on December 31, 1987.

About Darius

Darius is a two-dimensional horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up set in a fictional future. Uniquely among shoot 'em ups, the game's screen is three times wider than conventional size, and the arcade cabinet uses an arrangement of three screens to accommodate it. The player controls an ornate fighter spacecraft, named the Silver Hawk, and must navigate through scrolling terrain while battling a variety of fighter craft, ground vehicles, turrets, and other obstacles throughout the game's stages (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 orbs) that are dropped by specially-colored enemies throughout the game's zones. When the player reaches the end of a zone, a boss appears, which must be defeated to proceed. Once the boss of a zone is destroyed, the player is given a choice of which zone to play next via a branching path. While there are 28 zones in total, only seven can be played in a single run. A Sega Mega Drive port was produced in 2019 that is pre-installed in the Mega Drive Mini as a bonus game.

Summary via IGDB.

Darius on Wikipedia

Darius is a 1987 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Taito for arcades. Players control a starship named the Silver Hawk in its mission to destroy the Belser empire before they wipe out the planet Darius. Its gameplay involves traversing through a series of scrolling levels while destroying enemies and collecting power-up icons. It is notable for its unique three-screen panoramic display.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).

Game details

Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Game modes: Single player, Co-operative
Themes: Action, Science fiction

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

54/100

from 14 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Fake risk
Sega Genesis	2021	$27	—	$60	Low

Also released on: Arcade · Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Genesis · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-29

Loose

$27

Complete

—

Sealed

$60

Other releases and variants

Release	Loose	Complete	Sealed
Japanese release	$52	$76	—

How often it sells

Loose: about 3 times a year
Complete: rarely — fewer than one recorded sale a year
Sealed: about 2 times a year

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-29.

Price over time

A loose copy sold for about $45 in Apr 2022, and $27 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose
Jan 2023	$45
Jan 2024	$54
Jan 2025	$58
Jan 2026	$70
Oct 2026	$27

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date	Barcode
North America	December 2021	—
Europe / PAL	December 2021	4260650741579
Japan	25 February 2021	4582286323319

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Mega Drive software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published where both agree on the same cartridge dump, or from the libretro records alone where MAME lists no number for that dump. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: NA+EU+JP
Released: 2021
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages, the Genesis Mini and Nintendo Switch Online, are not tracked hereLow counterfeit risk

Sega Genesis prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A modern cart edition of Darius on the Genesis, from Strictly Limited Games and Columbus Circle with M2 as the developer.

Darius Extra Version is an unlicensed cart: a new cartridge release for the Genesis, with M2 as the developer. The Japanese release came first, in February 2021, followed by North America and Europe in December 2021.

Before you buy

Japanese copies usually cost more than the other release. A Japanese cartridge is a different shape and does not fit a Western Genesis without an adapter or removing two plastic tabs in the console's slot. Buy from the publisher or a known seller.