Sagaia

Sagaia for the Game Boy

Sagaia is a side-scrolling shooter for the Game Boy released in 1991 exlusively in Japan. As part of the Darius Series the game features similar gameplay and many common themes; as pilot of a Silver Hawk class spaceship, players need to survive through eight zones of increasingly difficult attacks. Numerous enemy spacecraft, ground fighters, missiles, and other obstacles are encountered along with the possibility of acquiring weapons and shield upgrades for the Silver Hawk after certain opponents are destroyed. This version of Sagaia is unique to the Game Boy and features overall new level designs while incorporating many elements from the original Darius and Darius II arcade games.

Due in part to limitations of the hand-held platform, some changes to the formula were made. Since the Game Boy only offers monochrome graphics, the types of weapons upgrades are indicated with icons instead of colors and only one player is supported rather than the 2 simultaneous players common in the series. Additionally, the game is linear and does not offer the branching level design found in other games in the series. Zones 4 and 8 are unusual and each include battles with 4 large enemies; the first three are repeats of the end of level bosses from zones 1 - 3 for zone 4 and 5 - 6 for zone 8 respectively, and the final boss in the sequence is unique to the stage. Several skill levels are available along with the ability to customize the controls.