When comparing F-Zero vs Darius, the Slant community recommends F-Zero for most people. In the question“What are the best and the most revolutionary games of all time?” F-Zero is ranked 103rd while Darius is ranked 104th. The most important reason people chose F-Zero is:
The NES brought a revolution to console gaming, and F-Zero was a part of that by being one of the launch titles.
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Pros
Pro Launch title for the NES
The NES brought a revolution to console gaming, and F-Zero was a part of that by being one of the launch titles.
Pro The first game to use "Mode 7 Scrolling"
The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) was the first console to allow for what Nintendo called "Mode 7 Scrolling", and as a launch title F-Zero was the first game that took advantage of that feature.
Mode 7 Scrolling refers to the newest (at the time) graphic mode which brought new ways to configure the background layers. Background layers could be manipulated in new ways than what was available before. It allows layers to be scaled and rotated, and for background layers to move in the foreground in front of some sprites.
This was at a time when backgrounds were flat and could only consist of 2D objects. Mode 7 scrolling - and F-Zero as the first game with it - brought a much more dynamic background to RPGs and racing games especially.
Pro widescreen with cinescopes
Darius was the very first arcade machine using 3 cinescopes in a mirror system. This positioned the center screen normally, but the two extra screens were actually projected onto a display making the illusion of a single 3X wide display.
Pro Multiple endings
Because of it's non-linear design, you could choose your own path which could result in different endings. This is a much more immersive game experience, as you feel more invested in the game as your decisions actually matter.