Galaga by Kimberly Keyes Stark
I can remember when I got into Galaxian because it was an improvement over Space Invaders. Not only were the alien creatures in multiple colors (as opposed to Space Invaders' white aliens) but they were also capable of divebombing, which made it even more challenging.
A couple of years later Namco took its own Galaxian game and improved it further, which resulted in the creation of another classic videogame cal led Galaga. How improved was it? In Galaxian the spaceships looked like a bizarre cross between an insect and a spaceship (even though the promotional art for Galaxian showed a spaceship shooting at a giant dragonfly, the ships on the screen bore little resemblance to dragonflies). In Galaga your enemy clearly looked like giant bugs. When you successfly shot at the bugs they made a short buzzing sound.
In Galaxian the spaceships were already in formation, ready to strike at you. In Galaga the game began with only your ship and the bugs start to fly in circles as they take their places in the formation. Here you got a chance to shoot as many of them as possible before they take their places in the formation and it led to less space bugs you would have to shoot later.
Like Galaxian they began to divebomb towards you and dropped their bombs at the same time. It was just as challenging to avoid the enemy as it was in Galaxian.
The giant locust-like insects were not only the largest of the enemies but they were also the trickiest. Not only did you have to shoot them twice in order to eliminate them, they were also capable of hovering over your ship, sending out a laser beam, and kidnapping your ship (thus causing you to lose a life). Your own kidnapped ship is then used against you by the giant locusts.
But there was one neat trick you could use in this instance. If you shoot down the offending locust, not only would you get your kidnapped ship back but it would also join your current ship so you can shoot down the space insects faster with double the firing power.
Another cool feature that this game had (and neither Space Invaders or Galaxian had) was a bonus round where you can shoot down the giant insects as they whizzed past you.
I can remember when I and many of my college friends pronounced this game as "Gull-lag-guh." Well, I've since heard that other people have been known to pronounce this game as "Gala-guh." Namco has never revealed the official pronunciation of this game but that didn't stop p eople from playing this game and turning it into one of the most enduring classic videogames ever.
Galaga eventually became my second favorite space shooting game of all time. Only Phoenix was better (which I'll write about in my next entry). In fact, there are times when I'll still fire up Galaga on the Playstation 2 for a few quick rounds of shooting down space bugs.
The original Galaxian flagship made a cameo appearance in Galaga on levels 12 through 14 after being transformed from a bee-shaped alien.
As I perused the various web pages and sites devoted to Galaga, I learned that Galaga made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the 1983 film "WarGames," where Matthew Broderick can be seen playing the arcade game. While I did see that movie when it was first released in theaters 20 years ago, I don't recall Galaga's cameo. Either the scene was very brief or I was too engrossed with the rest of the movie to notice Galaga's appearance.
In any case, Galaga still lives on in the arcades since it is one of the few classic games that one is most likely to find among the newer 3D games. In fact, many arcades today tend to have the Galaga/Ms. Pac-Man hybrid arcade machine as their one token classic gaming machine.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is based on one person's biased opinions of which videogames should be considered to be classics and why. It is not meant to provide a complete history of the videogame industry, the latest videogame news, technical support, or hints on how to play a certain videogame. None of the videogame manufacturers or programmers mentioned here have endorsed or supported this blog in any way, shape, or form.
NOTE: If there are any errors or update s to what I have written about Galaga, please send an e-mail to [link=mailto:kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com]kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erol s.com[/link] (remember to remove the capital letters from my mailing address before sending or else it will get rejected) and I'll edit this piece when time permits.
GALAGA GAMES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
TELEVISION SET
Namco Arcade TV 5 Games in 1 Joystick--This is a joystick-only piece that plugs directly into your television set. It's also a pretty cheap option for those who want to play classic games on their TV set but don't own a Game Cube, Playstation 2, or X-Box because you don't need to buy or rent any consoles to play the games, which are embedded directly into the joystick. The joystick games include Galaga along with Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, Rally-X, and Bosconian. ([link=http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_review_namco_arcade_clas sics_5_in_1_joystick.php]Click here[/link] to read a review about this item, which looks pretty neat.)
DREAMCAST
Namco Museum Volume 1--In cludes Galaga along with Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Pole Position, and Dig-Dug.
GAME BOY
Galaga/Galaxian--You get two similar classic games for the price of one.
GAME BOY COLOR
Galaga--Here is a portable version of the classic game in color.
GAME BOY ADVANCE
[link=http://www.amazon.com/exe c/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005BZE0/theunicornwithan/]Namco Museum[/link]--Includes Galaga along with Ms. Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, Pole Position, and Galaxian.
GAME CUBE
Namco Museum--Includes Galaga in both original arcade mode and in a souped-up 3D version. Also includes Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Dig-Dug, and Pole Position.
NINTENDO 64
Namco Museum 64--Includes Galaga along with Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Pole Position, and Dig-Dug.
PLAYSTATION 1
Galaga--This is a souped-up 3D version of the arcade classic.
Namco Museum Volume 1--Includes Galaga along with Pac-Man, Pole Position, Bosconian, Rally-X, New Rally-X, and Toy Pop.
PLAYSTATION 2
Namco Museum--Includes Galaga in both original arcade mode and in a souped-up 3D version. Also includes Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Dig-Dug, and Pole Position.
WINDOWS 95/98/ME
Galaga--This is a souped-up 3D version of the arcade classic.
Galaga (Jewel Case)--This is a souped-up 3D version of the arcade classic.
X-BOX
Namco Museum--Includes Galaga in both original arcade mode and in a souped-up 3D version. Also includes Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Dig-Dug, and Pole Position.
RELATED PURCHASES
WarGames in VHS and [link=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/079 2838467/theunicornwithan/]DVD[/link] Formats--The videogame Galaga makes a cam eo at the beginning of this 1983 movie, which is a cautionary tale about how a teenage computer hacker inadvertantly comes close to starting a nuclear war between th e United States and the Soviet Union. At the time this film came out, the Reagan Administration was in the process of increasing its nuclear arsenal with the Soviet Union doing the same in response. Many people worried that this latest surge in the nuclear arms race would start World War III with no winners and the planet Earth being one big loser. It resulted in an anti-nuclear movement all over the world (including even the Soviet Union) and many people calling for the end of the Cold War. When I saw this movie in the theater years ago, I can remember the statement it made about the futility of the Cold War. The movie is probably a little bit dated now but it still stands out as an interesting Cold War/1980's era artifact.
"Zombies In Robots Out" CD by 14 Year Old Girls--This CD is devoted to videogames and it includes the song "Galaga" along with "Big Grab," "1-800-255-3700," "Castlevania Punk," "Slushy Puppy," "Animal Forest," "Elevator Action," "Run Lolo Run," "Rayden on Prom Night," "Pacman's In Egypt," "This is a Devo Cover," "Grand Theft Auto 3," "Starworld," "Renegade," "Veggie Sandwiches Are The Best Sandwiches," and "Tomb Raider UK Pop."
GALAGA LINKS
Classic Gaming.com's Game of the Week: Galaga--A brief history of the game.
The Deluxe Galaga Website--You can download a sharewa re version of Galaga for either the Amiga or the PC.
Galaga Download--You can download freeware versions of Galaga for your PC.
The Galaga Worship Page--Like this site's title says, this is a fan site t hat's devoted to Galaga. It includes the webmaster's personal memories of playing the game in the early 1980's and how he became totally devoted to the game.
The Internet Movie Database's Informati on on Galaga
The Internet Movie Database's Entry on "WarGames"--This is the movie where Galaga makes a cameo in the first few minutes of the movie.
The Killer List of Video Games' Galaga Exhibit
My Gameroom: Galaga--Here is one person's short story on how he obtained a vintage Galaga arcade game machine for his home.
Namco--The official site of the company that's responsible for Galaga as well as a bunch of other classic games (such as Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, and Dig-Dug).
Namco Arcade.com's Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga--This page is aimed at videogame arcade owners but it does provide information about a specially designed arcade machine that has both Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga games installed together in the same cabinet. At the bottom of the page there is information about a special Easter Egg where, if you move the joystick around in a certain sequence at the select screen input, you'll also access Pac-Man as well. (At the select screen input, you move the joystick up, up, up, down, down, down, left, right, left, right, and left then press the start button.)
RETROARCADE.COM: Galaxian an d Galaga
SmilieGames.com's Galaga--Play an online Java version of Galaga.
WarGames: A Shrine on the World Wide Web--This fan site, devoted to the film "WarGames," has a unique entrance to the site that not only mentions Galaga but also tries to simulate the computer that Matthew Broderick's character hacks into in the film. Once yo u get into the main part of the site, go to the Phun section wher e you can read the webmaster's personal memories about Galaga.<
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