What G-Darius HD is
G-Darius HD is a horizontally scrolling shooter from TAITO, built around the Silver Hawks fighting huge space warships shaped like aquatic life-forms. The core loop is simple to read: shoot down enemies, then use the Capture Ball to grab most of them and turn them against their side. Release a captured enemy as the α Beam, a wide burst of destructive energy that clears a path. Bosses push back with their own β Beam, and firing your α Beam into it triggers a Counter Beam that hits harder than either one alone. Zones branch midway and after each boss, so your route through the game is a choice you make as you go, and the game has multiple endings tied to where you end up.
The five versions in one package
This release bundles five takes on the game. You get arcade-perfect ports of G-Darius and G-Darius Ver.2 plus an HD version of each, and the console port G-Darius CS. Ver.2 adds a beginner mode, a rapid fire button, game speed adjustments, enemy endurance and shield capacity changes, mid-bosses in some zones, a boss timer with bonus scoring, and reworked boss attack patterns. G-Darius CS is the Japanese console version with its own extras: VS BOSS mode for fighting any or all of the 30 bosses, beginner's mode, and the opening and endings viewable from the options menu. It does not carry the gadgets or enhancements from the other versions. There is also Exhibition, a PC-exclusive widescreen bonus mode where a handful of selected bosses are fought in wide-screen, imagining a dual screen arcade cabinet.
Playing together
Local Multiplayer and Local Co-Op are listed for this game, so a group can sit around one screen and take turns or share the fight. Remote Play Together is supported, which lets friends join in over Steam without everyone owning a copy. Score Attack is on the table too, so comparing runs is a natural way to keep a session going between attempts.
Before you start
The Capture Gallery tracks which enemies you have yet to capture, and the gadgets give extra info during play, but those are tied to the G-Darius and G-Darius HD versions only. Subwoofer support, which recreates the in-seat arcade cabinet speaker, is Steam only. Pick your version deliberately: Ver.2 is the tuned, more adjustable arcade build, CS is the console port with boss practice but fewer extras, and Exhibition is a short widescreen boss showcase rather than a full run.