From the Depths of the Sea: Darius II OST (Review)

Darius II, released to an unsuspecting world in 1989, followed the footsteps of original Darius – a strange, atmospheric arcade shooter with an equally unique soundtrack. While the OST was originally released in the late 80s, and is therefore very much out of print, it was recently added to Taito’s expanding iTunes catalog for digital distribution, making it cheaply and readily available once again.

Though the series has been mostly dormant since 1997’s G-Darius, it recently came back to life with the release of the brilliant Darius Burst. Taking a look back at the series and its accomplishments, it’s easy to see that the three-screen-wide Darius II was a landmark worth revisiting.

Hit the jump for an in-depth look at this strange and historically significant soundtrack.

Much like the first game, the musical soundscape in Darius II (pronounced duh-RYE-us, unlike Darius the Great) is hollow, tinny and empty, especially compared to the rocking melodies of its contemporaries, such as Gradius III and Xexex. However, the sparsity works here, adding to the game’s distinctly eerie atmosphere. The game itself even seems to scroll slower and more deliberately than other shmups, with a vibe of fearful exploration rather than guns blazing. The underlying melodies ooze the “Darius sound” mentioned in Carl’s Darius Burst interview, but in a very gritty, stripped-down style than the later, more epic soundtracks of Gaiden, G-Darius or Burst.

Present in Darius II are the series’ musical staples – spacey, operatic vocals, unusual synthesizer effects, and a good mixture of beat-driven tunes alongside some atmospheric, eerie songs – something fairly unique among shmup soundtracks, which lean towards the fast-paced side. There is also a hint of 80s anime flavor within Darius II‘s music, both in terms of instrumentation and writing style. The soundtrack is more melodic and less obtuse than the later, more experimental Darius soundtracks, but still rather strange when compared to other games in 1989.

After the mysterious “Opening” and “Coin” chill your spine, standout tracks include the famous “Olga Breeze,” named so for the planet where humanity has temporarily taken up shelter after the first game. A fairly standard rock sound (as far as Darius goes) accompanies the opening stage, set above the surface of the sun, and around the 1:30 mark is a nice break with some impressive keyboard work. “Muse Valley,” Mercury’s stage, is drastically slower, with minimal percussion and abstract synth melodies, and “Jamming,” encompassing Venus, picks things up again with some sweeping 80s rock.

“Warning!, War Oh!” starts with a now-famous alert sound that is very characteristic of the series, and is shortly followed by an unusual boss theme, with an almost “island” feel, complete with synthesized steel drums. Weird, but this is Darius. “Boss 2” is a very slow, almost dreamy song. Normally contrasted by intense boss encounters within in game, on its own, the song is easy to get lost in. Crossing the Moon and Earth, Mars and Jupiter, the OST closes with an ending suite, beginning with “Say PaPa.” As the longest track on the album, it goes through a few musical styles and tempos, before settling in at a steady rock beat. The triumphant “All Clear” signals you’ve reached the end, followed by “Name Set,” where skilled players get to leave their mark on the game, then finally closing with “Ending,” which is essentially a reprise of “Say PaPa.”

During the first level, the game has a few spoken lines of English. I was pleased to find that Taito left these in the soundtrack recording. “I always wanted a thing called tuna sashimi!” – a little bit of classic gaming Engrish that is cute yet menacing (all of Darius‘ enemies are derivative of sea life, so I’m going to assume turning them into sashimi is not going to be a fun experience for them). As a side note, the sound quality of the voices are fairly impressive for an old PCB game, perhaps using up some of the space that would have otherwise been reserved for instrument samples.

Darius II is a stepping stone for the series – in visuals, gameplay and music – and it is clear that the series has always had a unique spin on the genre. With the release of the excellent Darius Burst, and the series’ back catalog becoming available once more, it seems our pisciform nightmares are coming back after a decade-long absence. I hope this is only the beginning for Taito’s overdue comeback.