Darwin 4078
Darwin 4078 is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Data East for arcades. It was released only in Japan in March 1986. The game's designer, Tomo Furukawa, would go on to become the vocalist of the band Guniw Tools.
Darwin 4078
- Date
- 1986
- Publisher
- Darwin 4078 was published by Data East.
- Genre
- shoot 'em up
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Documentary summary
Darwin 4078 is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Data East for arcades. It was released only in Japan in March 1986. The game's designer, Tomo Furukawa, would go on to become the vocalist of the band Guniw Tools.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5225928 · wikipedia · Darwin 4078
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Darwin 4078 • Developer — Data East • Publisher — Data East (arcade) Hudson Soft (MSX) • Designer — Tomo Furukawa • Released — March 1986 • Genre — Scrolling shooter • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Arcade, MSX
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Screenshot of Darwin 4078 (arcade version) The player controls a spaceship who navigates dimensions and defeats microorganisms. The player is armed with standard ammunition for airborne attacks and a bomb attack for ground enemies. The player can kill microorganisms to earn capsules, which causes the ship to temporarily "evolve" when collected. There are 19 different evolutionary forms which differ in abilities and attack patterns. The player's airborne attacks can be improved indefinitely while their grown attacks receive relatively less enhancement. Failing to collect capsules on time causes the evolutions to wear off, causing the ship to "devolve" level by level over time. Certain evolutions may mutate while being hit by certain enemy projectiles, resulting in powerful forms unavailable through conventional means. A "reverse evolution" form is also available, granting the game's most powerful abilities, such as invincibility and shooting mini versions of itself, with the cost of a tighter time limit.
History of the object
Dated record
History of the object
The full dated record · 2 entries
1986
Darwin 4078 published.
1986
Darwin 4078 is recorded as published in 1986.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Japan
Named but not plotted · 1
Darwin 4078 is associated with Japan.
Country
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Darwin 4078 on their April 15, 1986 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5225928: Darwin 4078
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Darwin 4078”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Data East. ライセンス一覧表.
- 2.Akagi, Masumi. アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005). Amusement News Agency. 48. October 13, 2006. 978-4990251215.
- 3.Whitehead, Thomas. Nintendo Download: 22nd July (North America). Nintendo Life. 2021-07-22.
- 4.Moyse, Chris. Data East's evolutionary shmup Darwin 4078 joins the Arcade Archives. Destructoid. 2021-07-17.
- 5.Amusement Press, Inc. Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos). Game Machine. 282. 21. 15 April 1986.
References
Citations
References
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Darwin 4078 was issued for arcade video game. Developed by Data East. Published by Data East. Recorded as video game.
The circumstances in which Darwin 4078 stands
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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