Galaga is a 1981 video game created by Namco for arcades in Japan and Europe. Midway Manufacturing released it in North America. It is the follow-up to the 1979 game Galaxian and the second game in the Galaxian series. In the game, players control a spaceship and must destroy enemy forces while avoiding attacks. Some enemies can trap the player’s ship using a tractor beam, but another ship can rescue it, giving the player a "dual fighter" with stronger weapons.
Shigeru Yokoyama led the development team. Planning for the game took about two months. Originally designed for the Namco Galaxian arcade board, the game was moved to a new system as suggested by Namco’s Research and Development team. The idea for the dual fighter came from a movie Yokoyama saw before development, where a ship was captured using a large circular beam. The project became very popular at Namco, even catching the attention of the company’s president, Masaya Nakamura.
Although early tests in some locations were not successful, Galaga became one of the most popular games during the golden age of arcade video games. It often appeared on Japanese and American arcade charts until 1987. Critics praised the game for its fun gameplay, creativity, and improvements over its predecessor. It is widely considered one of the greatest video games ever made. Versions of the game were released for many platforms, including the MSX, Atari 7800, and NES, as well as digital platforms like Xbox Live Arcade and in Namco compilations. It was followed by the game Gaplus in 1984.
Gameplay
Galaga is a fixed shooter game. The player controls a single starfighter at the bottom of the screen. The goal is to stop the Galaga aliens from destroying Earth. In each level, the player must defeat all Galaga aliens that appear from the top and sides of the screen. Like in Galaxian, the aliens dive toward the player and fire projectiles. Hitting a projectile or an alien causes the player to lose a life.
At the top of the enemy group are four large aliens called "Boss Galaga." These aliens need two shots to be destroyed. They can use a tractor beam to grab the player's ship, taking it back to the top of the formation and costing the player a life. If the player has more lives, they can shoot the Boss Galaga holding the captured ship. Shooting the Boss Galaga while it dives toward the player rescues the captured ship, combining it with the player's ship to form a "dual-fighter" with more power and a bigger hit area. However, destroying a Boss Galaga with a captured ship while it is in formation makes the ship attack the player as an enemy. The ship reappears later as part of the enemy group.
Some enemies change into new types with different attack styles, including the Galaxian Flagship. Each level is shown by a symbol at the bottom-right corner of the screen. As the game progresses, enemies become more aggressive, firing more projectiles and diving faster. The third level and every fourth level after that are bonus levels where aliens move in a set pattern without attacking the player.
Bug
In the original arcade version, if a player finishes stage 255 (the highest number that can be stored using 8 bits), the next stage is shown as stage zero. Depending on the small switches on the arcade machine, the game might reset, display levels in the wrong order, stop working completely, or change the difficulty level incorrectly. This issue is called a kill screen.
Development
Galaga was created by Shigeru Yokoyama, a longtime employee of Namco, a Japanese game company. Namco's first major success in arcades was Galaxian (1979). The game's popularity caused Namco to produce many Galaxian arcade boards to meet demand. By the early 1980s, selling Galaxian became difficult. To help sell remaining boards, Yokoyama was asked to create two new games that could use the Galaxian hardware. The first game, King & Balloon (1980), was a fixed shooter and is known as the first video game to include spoken words. The second game was made for newer hardware, as suggested by Namco's Research & Development team. This new hardware was named the Namco Galaga board and was used in games like Bosconian (1981) and Dig Dug (1982). Although Yokoyama was not told to make a shooting game, company leaders wanted a game similar to Galaxian. Planning for the project took two months.
Yokoyama wanted to create enemies with different attack styles, leading to the idea of a dual fighter. The tractor beam used by the Boss Galaga was inspired by a movie where a spaceship was captured by a laser. In Galaga, an enemy could trap the player's ship with a beam, requiring the player to rescue it. At first, rescuing a ship gave the player an extra life, but this was later changed to allow the ship to fight alongside the player. This idea caused problems because the game's hardware could only display a limited number of graphics. To fix this, Yokoyama used smaller graphics for the ship and bullets, reducing the total number of graphics needed.
Yokoyama was inspired by special levels in Pac-Man (1980) and Rally-X (1980) to add a bonus stage to Galaga. During planning, programmer Tetsu Ogawa discovered a bug where enemies would leave the screen instead of forming patterns. Ogawa suggested using this idea, leading to the addition of Challenging Stages. Enemies originally moved in one pattern, but more patterns were added to improve replay value. Graphic designer Hiroshi Ono created many of the game's visuals, including the player's ship and the Boss Galaga alien.
Before testing the game in locations, the team focused on designing an instruction card that explained how to play. The card originally showed the controls and basic rules but was changed to highlight the dual fighter mechanic, which Yokoyama believed would attract players. The team repeatedly showed designs to Namco president Masaya Nakamura, who rejected them until he asked the team to create the card in front of him.
Namco allowed the team to set their own deadlines due to the company's relaxed work environment. Feedback came from Nakamura and others, including Toru Iwatani, the creator of Pac-Man. Despite the game's popularity within the company, early tests showed players could progress far with one coin, leading to low income. Yokoyama believed the game's popularity would still generate income, but Namco executives asked the team to increase the difficulty. Galaga was released in Japan in September 1981. Midway Manufacturing, which had previously licensed Galaxian, released the game in North America in November 1981.
Ports and re-releases
Sega-Galaga, the first home version of Galaga, was created and released by Sega for the SG-1000 in 1983. An MSX version was released in 1984. A version for the Family Computer was made available in Japan in 1985, and later released internationally by Bandai for the Nintendo Entertainment System, with the title "Demons of Death" in North America. Atari Corporation released a version for the Atari 7800 in 1986 as one of the console's launch games. In Europe, Aardvark Software made an unofficial version for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron called Zalaga in 1983. This version was described by Computer and Video Games as "true to the arcade original."
Namco released a Game Boy version in Japan in 1995, which was sold together with Galaxian. Nintendo released the game outside Japan under the Arcade Classic brand. Two mobile phone versions were released, both only available in Japan: the first for i-Mode in 2001, and the second for EZweb in 2006. The original arcade version was made available on the Xbox Live Arcade service in 2006, including online leaderboards and achievements. The NES version was later released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2007, followed by the arcade version in 2009. A version for Roku was published in 2011. In 2013, the NES version was released on the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console. Galaga was one of four games released under the Arcade Game Series brand, which was made available for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows in 2016.
Galaga was included in several Namco compilations, such as Namco Museum Vol. 1 (1995), Namco Museum 64 (1996), Namco Museum 50th Anniversary (2005), Namco Museum Virtual Arcade (2008), Namco Museum Essentials (2009), and Namco Museum Megamix (2010). The 2010 Wii game Pac-Man Party and its 2011 Nintendo 3DS version included Galaga as a bonus, along with the arcade versions of Dig Dug and Pac-Man. To celebrate the game's 30th anniversary in 2011, a high-definition remake was released for iOS devices as part of Galaga 30th Collection, which also included remakes of Galaxian, Gaplus, and Galaga '88. Alongside the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sequel Galaga Legions, it was released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011 as part of Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions. The original version was also added to the iOS Namco Arcade compilation in 2012. The NES version is one of 30 games included in the NES Classic Edition.
Reception
Galaga received praise for its engaging gameplay, improvements over its earlier version, and innovative features. It was a popular game during the golden age of arcade video games. In Japan, it was the sixth most profitable arcade game in 1981, the third most profitable in 1982, and the ninth most profitable table arcade cabinet in 1986. In North America, it appeared regularly on RePlay magazine’s monthly sales chart from April 1980 to April 1987, only being surpassed by Sega’s Monaco GP (1979). In the United States, it was among the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1983.
Computer + Video Games praised its challenge and improvements over Galaxian, while Arcade Express named it an "Honorable Mention" in their 1983 awards. Amusement Life in Japan called it a "must play" for its thrilling action and unique feature of controlling two fighters at once, along with its colorful graphics. Vidiot magazine ranked it seventh among the best arcade games of 1983, noting its variety of gameplay, dual-fighter mechanic, and bonus stages.
In 1998, AllGame said its strategy was unique compared to other games of its type, calling the gameplay "perfectly balanced." GameSpy praised the NES home version for accurately copying the arcade game’s graphics, sounds, and gameplay. IGN highlighted the strategy in the dual-fighter mechanic and the game’s addictive nature. GameSpot said the Xbox 360 version kept the original gameplay’s difficulty and praised the inclusion of online leaderboards. Eurogamer agreed, saying the leaderboards added to the game’s appeal.
Versions of Galaga on other systems were praised for staying true to the original arcade game. Nintendo Life said the 3DS Virtual Console version of the NES game was accurate and still enjoyable years later. Games magazine noted its improvements over earlier games like Space Invaders and Galaxian, saying it remained strong over time. Joystick magazine praised the NES version’s accurate graphics and gameplay. Famicom Tsūshin said the Game Boy version was faithful to the original and worked well with the Super Game Boy. Electric Playground said the Game Boy version should be a top choice for players. Some sources criticized home versions for missing extra features. GameSpot disliked the lack of online multiplayer and updated graphics in the Xbox 360 version, calling it "bare bones." Eurogamer also disliked the Xbox 360 version’s high price and easy achievements.
Galaga has been listed by many publications as one of the greatest video games of all time. Flux magazine ranked it #57 on their "Top 100 Video Games" in 1995. Game Informer listed it #23 in their "Top 200 Games of All Time" in 2010 and called it the 19th greatest game ever made in 2001. Next Generation ranked it #96 for its influence on shoot 'em up games and #17 in their "Top 50 Games of All Time." Electronic Gaming Monthly listed it #20 in their "100 Best Games of All Time" in 1997 and #28 in their "Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time" in 2006. GameFAQs users ranked it 15th in 2004 and 10th in 2009. GameSpy staff called it the eighth best arcade game of all time in 2011. IGN ranked it #93 for its lasting appeal. The Killer List of Videogames listed it #27 in their "Top 100 Video Games" and said it was the second most popular arcade game on their site. Electronic Gaming Monthly named Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga – Class of 1981 the second best arcade game of all time for including both games.
Related media
After the game was released, Namco created small Galaga arcade cabinets for use on buses and airplanes. These cabinets used small 17-inch CRT monitors. In 2000, Namco made a special arcade cabinet to mark the game's 20th anniversary. This cabinet included Ms. Pac-Man and was named Ms. Pac-Man / Galaga – Class of 1981. In 2005, a similar cabinet was released to celebrate Pac-Man's 25th anniversary. It included the original Pac-Man and Galaga. Galaga is also part of two later games: Pac-Man's Arcade Party (2010) and Pac-Man's Pixel Bash (2019).
Galaga appeared in several movies, including WarGames (1983), The Karate Kid (1984), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), The Avengers (2012), and Pixels (2015). A submarine named after Galaga appeared in the TV show Lost. In 2009, Hallmark Cards made a Galaga-themed ornament that played sounds from the game. In 2019, scientists at North Carolina State University named an extinct shark species Galagadon nordquistae because the shark's teeth looked similar to Galaga aliens. High score competitions for Galaga continue today. As of 2020, the highest score was achieved by Jordan Dorrington, who scored 20,980,450 points.
Galaga was used as a minigame in the PlayStation version of Tekken. In 2015, an iOS game called Space Galaga was released as part of a collaboration with the anime Space Dandy. This game combined characters and spaceships from Space Dandy with Galaga gameplay. Another crossover game, Galaga: Tekken Edition, was also released in 2015. It replaced Galaga enemies with characters from Tekken. A Galaga-themed costume is available as downloadable content in LittleBigPlanet 3. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and its sequel Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Boss Galaga appears as an item. It can grab opponents and carry them off-screen. Ultimate also includes a new version of the Galaga soundtrack. An animated TV show called Galaga Chronicles is currently being developed.