What platforms is Darwin 4081 on?

Darwin 4081 was released on Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Arcade.

When did Darwin 4081 release?

Darwin 4081 was first released on June 7, 1990.

Darwin 4081

Jun 7, 1990ShooterSega Mega Drive/GenesisArcade

Darwin 4081 — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Darwin 4081 on?: Darwin 4081 was released on Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Arcade.
When did Darwin 4081 release?: Darwin 4081 was first released on June 7, 1990.

About Darwin 4081

Darwin 4078 (ダーウィン4078 dāwin yon zero nana hachi) is an arcade game released by Data East in 1986. The game is a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up like Xevious.

Summary via IGDB.

Game details

Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Themes: Action

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Genesis	1990	$25	$51	—	78%	Low

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

Collector value & authenticity

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

Loose

$25

Complete

$51

Sealed

—

How often it sells

Loose: about 6 times a year
Complete: about once a month
Sealed: rarely — fewer than one recorded sale a year

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

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $18.90 in Oct 2019, $29 five years ago, and $25 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2020	$27	$27
Jan 2021	$38	$43
Jan 2022	$26	$35
Jan 2023	$37	$40
Jan 2024	$22	$46
Jan 2025	$18.72	$45
Jan 2026	$21	$55
Oct 2026	$25	$51

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

Release record

Territory	Date	Barcode
Japan	7 April 1990	4974365540333

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: JP
Released: 1990
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 competent, unremarkable vertical shooter that Sega ported from the arcade, and an average-priced Japanese cart.

Darwin 4081 is Sega's 1990 Mega Drive port of the Data East arcade shooter SRD: Super Real Darwin, a vertically scrolling shooter. It came out in Japan on 7 April 1990 and nowhere else.

Mean Machines called it a conversion of a rather obscure shooter that was fun for a while but offered nothing to put it ahead of the other vertical shooters on the Mega Drive. Sega Pro, reviewing the import in 1994, was warmer, praising its spectacular graphics and gripping action while admitting that shooting the aliens could become a chore.

What the press said at the time

Sega Pro Issue 44

May 1995

78%

“Not the best Mega Drive shoot-em-up by a long way, but worth a look.”
— Mega, July 1993

“Shooting those classy little aliens can prove to be a chore at times, but with Darwin 4081 iťs simply a pleasure. Spectacular graphics and gripping action.”
— Sega Pro, May 1995

How the Sega Genesis version differs

Sega handled the Mega Drive port of the arcade game in 1990.

Also on other platforms

Arcade

Data East

Arcade. In Japan the arcade game was the third most successful table arcade unit of 1987 per Game Machine.

Before you buy

This is a Japanese Mega Drive cartridge, with a different shape from a Western cart, so it needs an adapter or two plastic tabs removed from a Western console's slot. It sits about at the middle among Japan-only carts.