Galaga
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Midway
Release date(s)	1981
Genre(s)	Fixed shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Platform(s)	Arcade, NES, MSX, Game Boy Color, Atari 7800, BBC Micro, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Windows, Game Boy Advance, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, Virtual Console, Mobile phone
Input	2-way Joystick; 1 button
Arcade cabinet	Upright, cocktail, cabaret
Arcade system(s)	Namco Galaga
Arcade CPU(s)	3x ZiLOG Z80 @ 3.072 MHz
Arcade sound system(s)	1x Namco WSG (3-channel mono) @ 3.072 MHz 1x Namco 54xx @ 1.536 MHz Additional discrete circuitry
Arcade display	RGB raster, vertical orientation (19-inch diagonal)

Galaga is a fixed shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1981 (and also licensed to Midway). It was one of the most popular arcade games and is still sought after by collectors. Screenshot from the arcade game Galaga, stage one. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Namco Ltd ) is a amusement company based in Japan, best known overseas for video games development. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) is an American video game publisher. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Video games are generally categorized into genres. ... A fixed shooter game, also known as a 2-D shooter or shoot-em-up (shmup for short), is a video game where the player has limited control of their character and the focus is almost entirely on annihilation of their enemies. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... “NES” redirects here. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ... The Game Boy Color , shortened to GBC) is Nintendos successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan and in November of 1998 in the United States. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... The BBC Microcomputer System was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the BBC Computer Literacy Project operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... The Nintendo 64 ) is Nintendos third home video game console, and its third home video game console for the international market. ... The Dreamcast , code-named Black Belt, Dural, Dricas, Vortex, Shark and Katana during development) is Segas fifth and final video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. ... The PlayStation 2 , abbreviated PS2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... The Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. ... The Nintendo GameCube (Japanese: ゲームキューブ; originally code-named Dolphin during development; abbreviated as GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the 128-bit era; the same generation as Segas Dreamcast, Sonys PlayStation 2, and Microsofts Xbox. ... 1. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts Xbox video game console, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Information on the console first came through viral marketing campaigns and it was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged... The PlayStation Portable , officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... A logo from Nintendos Virtual Console website Virtual Console ), sometimes abbreviated as VC, is a specialized section of the Wii Shop, a video game download service that is currently offered by Nintendo for its Wii gaming console. ... Joystick elements: 1. ... This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ... An arcade system board is a standardized printed circuit board or group of printed circuit boards that are used as the basis for multiple arcade games with very similar hardware requirements. ... The Namco 8-bit Galaga arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1981. ... Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor (actual size: 12×6. ... Zilog, often seen as ZiLOG, is a manufacturer of 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit CPUs, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Z80 series. ... One of the first Z80 microprocessors manufactured; the date stamp says well before July 1976. ... MegaHertz (MHz) is the name given to one million (106) Hertz, a measure of frequency. ... A sound chip is an integrated circuit (i. ... MegaHertz (MHz) is the name given to one million (106) Hertz, a measure of frequency. ... MegaHertz (MHz) is the name given to one million (106) Hertz, a measure of frequency. ... A computer display monitor, usually called simply a monitor when the meaning is clear from the context, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays viewable images generated by a computer without producing a permanent record. ... A representation of additive color mixing—In CRT based (analog electronics) television three color electron guns are used to stimulate such an arrangement of phosphorescent coatings of the glass, the resultant reemission of photons providing the image seen by the eye. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it is locally aligned with the gradient of the gravity field, i. ... A diagonal can refer to a line joining two nonadjacent vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, or in contexts any upward or downward sloping line. ... A fixed shooter game, also known as a 2-D shooter or shoot-em-up (shmup for short), is a video game where the player has limited control of their character and the focus is almost entirely on annihilation of their enemies. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Namco Ltd ) is a amusement company based in Japan, best known overseas for video games development. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) is an American video game publisher. ...

Gameplay

Galaga is a sequel to Galaxian and has similar gameplay. The player controls a spaceship (which can move only right or left) and shoots at swarms of incoming insect-like aliens that fly in formation above him and occasionally swoop down to bomb him in a kamikaze-like dive. The enemies in the top row will sometimes dive with one or two escorts. Enemies that survive a dive will rejoin the formation from the top. When all enemies are destroyed, the player moves on to the next level. The game is over when the player's last ship is destroyed or captured. Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade game by Namco. ... One of the fictional ships called the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, one of the most famous fictional starships. ... A 1967 Soviet Union 16 kopeks stamp. ... It has been suggested that Personnel involved in the development of World War II suicide attacks be merged into this article or section. ...

Differences from Galaxian

The game differs from Galaxian in several ways:

• Two player shots can appear on the screen simultaneously.

• At the beginning of each level, enemies fly into the formation in groups, which the player can shoot on their way in. In later stages, extra enemies in each group break off and dive at the player.

• Boss Galagas (green-and-yellow aliens that replace the Galaxian Flagship) take two hits to destroy. They also occasionally stop in mid-dive and attempt to capture the player's ship with a tractor beam. See Captured Fighters below for more information.

• Galaga introduces a bonus stage, referred to as the Challenging Stage, in which a set of 40 enemies (including 4 Boss Galagas) fly in predetermined patterns. The player's goal is to destroy all 40 enemies before they exit the playfield.

• Starting on Stage 4, a single non-boss enemy splits into three special enemies, two of which exit the playfield if not destroyed first. Destroying all three of the split enemies yields extra bonus points.

• When destroyed, the player ship emits a much more realistic explosion sound effect than the effect heard in Galaxian.

• The game keeps track of all of the player's shots and displays the player's "hit-miss ratio" at the end of the game.

Galaga can be played by a single player or by two players alternating turns (Galaxian is one-player only). Two-player mode can be unpopular, however, as it is possible for an experienced player to play his entire game before the second player gets his first turn. A tractor beam is a hypothetical device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. ... Bonus stage from Super Mario Brothers 2 (in Super Mario All-Stars). ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ...

Captured fighters

Perhaps the most famous element of Galaga is the ability for the player's ship to be captured by the enemy. Boss Galagas (the green enemies at the top of the formation) occasionally stop mid-dive and attempt to capture the player's ship with a tractor beam. If the ship is captured, the boss carries it back up into the formation. If the captured ship is the player's last ship, the game ends.

The captured player ship acts as an escort to the boss Galaga that captured it, and dives down simultaneously with the Galaga. To free the ship, the player must destroy the Galaga in mid-dive — if the Galaga is destroyed in the formation, the player ship will attack on its own and leave the playfield, returning with another boss Galaga in the next round.

If the player successfully frees the captured ship, the two ships join together side-by-side, moving and shooting as one and effectively doubling the player's firepower. If one of the ships is hit, only that ship is destroyed and the player continues with the surviving one. Because of the obvious benefit of double firepower, a common Galaga strategy is to purposely let a boss Galaga capture a player ship early in the game, then immediately free it.

Contrary to rumor, the double ship cannot be recaptured and released to form a "triple ship". Boss Galagas only attempt to capture when a single player ship is in play. However, the triple ship is a feature in the sequel game Galaga '88. Galaga 88 is a 1987 arcade game by Namco. ...

Bugs

Attract mode self-test screen on a Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga arcade unit

There are at least four well-known bugs in Galaga: Image File history File links GalagaStuckSwitch. ... Image File history File links GalagaStuckSwitch. ... A computer bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result. ...

• One bug causes enemies to cease dropping bombs for the rest of the game. To trigger it, the player must destroy all enemies but the two bees in the bottom two rows of the left-most column, then wait, dodging their shots for fifteen minutes or so until they stop dropping any bombs. From that point onward until the end of the game, all enemies will effectively be disarmed (but can still be dangerous kamikazes). This bug was fixed in a later revision of the game. (This bug is not present in arcade and console re-releases since they use the latest revision of the game's code.)

• It is possible to control the game during its attract mode. During the game demonstration, at the moment that a boss Galaga begins emitting its tractor beam, the game for some reason pays attention to the joystick and fire button. A player can shoot the boss and continue to play the game for a short while. Sometimes the player's ship will move oddly or be invulnerable until the game demonstration ends; sometimes the game will crash and reset itself harmlessly. In later revisions of the software (most especially the Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga combination machines), the game may freeze on an error screen reporting a stuck switch.

• Unless the machine is set on the hardest difficulty, the game "wraps around" from Stage 255 to Stage 0. Because the game does not contain programming for Stage 0, no enemies appear and the game effectively locks up, requiring the machine to be reset or power-cycled to resume play.

• Player 1's score wraps around at 999,990 (and never registers internally as greater than this number), but Player 2's score has been known to display entire scores over 10,000,000.

An arcade games attract mode is the display it shows when nobody is playing the game. ... A crash in computing is a condition where a program (either an application or part of the operating system) stops performing its expected function and also stops responding to other parts of the system. ...

Galaga Arrangement

In 1995, Namco rereleased this game and a game titled Galaga Arrangement, a remake of sorts. The game featured a number of changes from the original: 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Galaga Arrangement is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1995 as part of Namco Classics Collection Volume 1. ...

• Music and sound effects have been altered.
• Rounds have been named; one is called the Asteroid Field, and the background varies (such as asteroid belt, nebulas, etc.).
• When a boss Galaga captures a fighter, a player can shoot and retrieve the fighter while the boss Galaga is still in formation. Also, the game does not stop while the fighter comes back; game play still goes on.
• Boss Galagas have been split into three different types: yellow, blue, and red. Blue has a stronger, smaller shot; yellow gives rapid-fire; and red gives reflecting shots.
• Boss Galagas still use tractor beams even if the player has a double-ship; the boss Galaga simply steals one of the ships.
• In Challenging Stage, there are more varied formations, and the screen tilts around, making it tougher to secure a lock on the Galagas.
• There are more varied formations; Galagas come in different ways now, and there may be 2-3 formations before completing a stage.
• A screen (intermission) after beating a stage will pop up, stating destroyed-to-miss ratio and percent of defeated Galagas.
• Shooting rules have been considerably relaxed, with the player able to shoot more rounds faster than in Galaga
• Simultaneous two-player action is available. The second player will appear as a blue fighter.
• If two-player is enabled, then the intermission will display a WIN-LOSE screen for the two players before going on to the next stage.
• In addition, after the Challenging Stages the player that shot the most Galagas will receive a 10,000 point bonus as a reward.
• By inputting Left-Right-Left-Right-Up-Down-Up-Down, the game displays a clock at the bottom of the screen, showing total time played in the game. The clock does not run in the Challenging Stage nor between the intermissions.
• 30 stages of gameplay, with a final boss at the end of stage 30 named "King Galspark" (a huge purple and red bug in the "Enemy-Comb Zone").

The game has seen arcade and home console releases. The home version has been released on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Gamecube releases of Namco Museum.

This game was released alongside Galaga in the 128-bit version of Namco Museum in 2001. Namco Museum refers to the series of compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ports

Galaga on the Atari 7800

The original arcade version of Galaga has been ported to several systems. These include: screenshot Atari 7800 Galaga by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... screenshot Atari 7800 Galaga by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed (e. ...

• Nintendo Entertainment System (distributed by Bandai America)
• MSX
• Game Boy Color
• Atari 7800
• BBC Micro
• GameTap
• Xbox 360 (as part of the Xbox Live Arcade - released July 26 2006 for 400 Microsoft Points)
• Wii (as part of Virtual Console, NES version - released April 9 2007 (In North America) for 500 Wii Points)

Galaga has also been released as part of the Namco Museum series of collections across several platforms: “NES” redirects here. ... This article is about the Japanese toy manufacturer. ... Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. ... The Game Boy Color , shortened to GBC) is Nintendos successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan and in November of 1998 in the United States. ... The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari in June 1986 (a test market release occurred two years earlier). ... The BBC Microcomputer System was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers Ltd for the BBC Computer Literacy Project operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... GameTap is a subscription-based video game service by Turner Broadcasting System (TBS). ... The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts Xbox video game console, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Information on the console first came through viral marketing campaigns and it was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged... Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... The Wii (pronounced as the pronoun we, IPA: ) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. ... A logo from Nintendos Virtual Console website Virtual Console ), sometimes abbreviated as VC, is a specialized section of the Wii Shop, a video game download service that is currently offered by Nintendo for its Wii gaming console. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... Namco Museum refers to the series of compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. ...

• Sony PlayStation (as part of Namco Museum Volume 1)
• Nintendo 64 (Namco Museum 64)
• Sega Dreamcast (Namco Museum DC)
• Game Boy Advance {Namco Museum Advance)
• PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft Windows (Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection)
• PlayStation Portable (Namco Museum Battle Collection)

In 2001 Namco released a "20 Year Reunion / Class of 1981" arcade unit which contained the original Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga games. The bugs described above are still present in this version. The original PlayStation was produced in a light grey colour; the more recent PSOne redesign sports a smaller more rounded case. ... The Nintendo 64 ) is Nintendos third home video game console, and its third home video game console for the international market. ... The Dreamcast , code-named Dural, Dricas and Katana during development) is Segas fifth and final video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The PlayStation 2 , abbreviated PS2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... The Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. ... The Nintendo GameCube , GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the sixth generation era. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... The PlayStation Portable , officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... Namco Museum Battle Collection is a collection of Namco arcade games such as Dig Dug, Pac Man and Galaga. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ms. ...

Namco most recently released Galaga on mobile platforms, in 2004. The game is available for play on most game-enabled cell phones, Palm devices and Pocket PCs. [1] In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the game, Sprint is also offering their wireless subscribers the chance to start the game in Dual Fighter Mode.[2]. The Palm corporation produces a number of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) which run the Palm operating system. ... The Dell Axim x30, a Pocket PC A Pocket PC, abbreviated P/PC or PPC, is a handheld-sized computer that runs a specific version of the Windows CE operating system. ... Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. ...

Clones

Galaxy, a Galaga clone for the Commodore 64

Although Galaga was never officially released for the Commodore 64, a game called Galaxy, released by Kingsoft, was an almost exact clone. Gameplay was somewhat slower, but the tractor beam and tandem fire features were included. Image File history File links Galaxy_Game_Screen. ... Image File history File links Galaxy_Game_Screen. ... The Commodore 64 is the best-selling single personal computer model of all time. ... The Commodore 64 is the best-selling single personal computer model of all time. ...

A popular remake of the game was created by Edgar Vigdal in the early nineties for the Amiga called Deluxe Galaga. He also released a Windows compatible version called Warblade. Edgar M. Vigdal is a Norwegian game programmer. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... The original Amiga 1000 (1985) with various peripherals The Amiga is a family of personal computers originally developed by Amiga Corporation. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... Warblade is a shareware computer game for Microsoft Windows written by Edgar M Vigdal. ...

In 1998, an updated classic version was released for Windows, PlayStation, Game Boy Color called Galaga: Destination Earth. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... In the video game subculture, an enhanced remake (also called updated classics) is an updated version of a video or computer game that was originally developed for a less advanced system. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... The Game Boy Color , shortened to GBC) is Nintendos successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan and in November of 1998 in the United States. ...

Also, in the late nineties, Ambrosia Software released Swoop for MacOS. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Ambrosia Software is a predominantly Macintosh software company located in Rochester, New York. ...

The open source xgalaga ([3]) runs on systems using X Window, such as Linux. Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ... In computing, the X Window System (commonly X11 or X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays. ... It has been suggested that Criticism of Linux be merged into this article or section. ...

Legacy

Galaga was so successful that it spawned several follow-up games, though none were as popular as the original.

The Complete Arcade series:

1. Galaxian (1979)
2. Galaga (1981)
3. Gaplus (1984)
4. Galaga '88 (1987)
5. Galaga Arrangement (1995) - released as part of Namco Classics Collection Volume 1

Because of its significance and success in the video game industry, Galaga is popular among collectors. Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade game by Namco. ... Gaplus, far more commonly known as Galaga 3, is a fixed shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1984. ... Galaga 88 is a 1987 arcade game by Namco. ... Galaga Arrangement is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1995 as part of Namco Classics Collection Volume 1. ... Namco Classics Collection Volume 1 is an arcade game that was released by Namco in 1995. ... Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable video games ever created. ...

Two "rapid fire" modifications are available. One replaces chip 3J on the original Galaga CPU board, allowing the player to hold down the fire button and fire continuously. The other modification changes the speed of the player's shots, occasionally causing shots to pass through enemies due to the animation speed.

Galaga in Popular Culture

On the TV series LOST, there was a submarine named Galaga in honor of the arcade game, which is played often between writing episodes of the series.^[1] Look up lost in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Penny Hardaway is a purported fan of Galaga.

Further reading

• Sellers, John (2001). Arcade Fever: The Fan's Guide to the Golden Age of Video Games. Running Press, 160 pages. ISBN 0-7624-0937-1. 

References

1. ^ Official Lost Podcast/April 16, 2007

External links

• Galaga at the Killer List of Videogames
• Galaga at MobyGames
• Galaga wiki guide at StrategyWiki
• Official Namco Galaga Cell Phone Game Webpage
• The Arcade Flyer Archive entry for Galaga by Midway Mfg.
• Galaga Maniax - Unofficial Fan Site