Galaga '88
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| Galaga '88 | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco / Atari Games |
| Designer(s) | Namco |
| Release date(s) | 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Fixed shooter |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, TurboGrafx-16, Sega Game Gear, Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox |
| Input | 2-way joystick, 1 button |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system(s) | Namco System 1 |
| Arcade display | Vertical orientation |
Galaga '88 is a 1987 fixed shooter arcade game by Namco. It is the second sequel of Galaga (Gaplus was the first). It features significantly improved graphics over the previous games in the series, including detailed moving backgrounds, larger enemies and more ship details. Although it was well received, fewer units of this game were produced than of Galaga and Gaplus. Galaga '88 runs on Namco System 1 hardware.
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[edit] Gameplay
The gameplay in Galaga '88 is built upon the same premise as that of the original Galaga, but is in many ways more complex and more difficult. The game is divided into a series of worlds, each with three stages (except for the first world, which has only two). The player's ship warps between stages and worlds, and it has the ability to warp to alternate dimensions as well.
Along the way, the player encounters periodic Challenging Stages, which in this game are set to music and feature "dancing" enemies. As in the original game, the objective is to shoot all 40 enemies before they disappear, yielding a bonus of at least 10,000 points.
In this version, the player can continue the game for an additional credit when they run out of lives, and they can also select how many ships to start the game with (one or two), affecting the number of remaining lives. The game ends after the final boss is defeated at the end of stage 29, or when all player ships are destroyed. The Game Over screen shows the player's hit-miss ratio and a visual representation of their progress. If the player reaches Stage 27, he/she is also shown a picture of the final boss (damaged if defeated, silhouetted if not).
[edit] Enemy Behavior
Galaga '88 introduces a variety of new enemies and behaviors:
- The enemies that acted as escorts to the boss Galagas in the original game now have the ability to combine into a much larger single enemy that takes multiple shots to destroy.
- Some enemies explode in a brilliant shower of fireworks when destroyed, and occasionally these enemies drop a small formation of much smaller enemies that "wiggle" their way down the screen. Destroying all of these smaller enemies yields an additional bonus, the value of which varies depending on the color and number of the enemies.
- Some enemies arrive in spherical "eggs" into the formation and emit a loud, high-pitched noise when hit. These creatures take multiple hits to destroy in flight (just one hit in formation), and their main attack pattern is to move about halfway down the screen, stop, fire multiple shots at once, and then fly straight down off the bottom of the screen. Hitting one of these enemies without destroying it causes it to leave the playfield.
- Another type of enemy takes at least five hits to destroy, and it grows larger with each consecutive hit, making it both a larger target and allowing it to act as a shield to other enemies.
- Most enemies that fly into formation are led by large escorts. These creatures leave the playfield (sometimes diving at the player's ship) as soon as the smaller enemies they've escorted are in formation. They take multiple hits to destroy and score fairly substantial bonus points.
- Sometimes, a creature splits into four smaller enemies that dive toward the player in a coordinated fashion. One of these enemies will continue attacking if the player doesn't destroy it — the other three will simply leave the playfield. If the remaining enemy rejoins the formation, it changes back into its original form. Destroying all four split enemies scores extra bonus points.
- Starting in Stage 15, some enemies are equipped with armor that renders them invincible while in formation. When one of these enemies starts its dive, it will flip over and expose its vulnerable side, then flip over again and become invincible while it moves back up the screen, then flip one more time and finish its dive. While vulnerable, this enemy can be destroyed in one hit, scoring bonus points.
In addition, many different kinds of obstacles appear throughout the game, including blue crystals, boulders and green blobs.
[edit] Captured Fighters
One of the most famous features of the original Galaga returns in Galaga '88. Galagans (referred to as "boss Galagas" in the original game) occasionally stop mid-dive and attempt to capture the player's ship with a tractor beam. If the ship is captured, it returns with the galagan into the formation, and if this was the player's last ship, the game ends. As in Galaga, the player can free his/her ship by shooting down the galagan mid-dive using another ship — if successful, both ships combine to provide twice the firepower as before.
Galaga '88 goes one step further than Galaga: Galagans can capture two fighters at once, causing them to merge into one above the galagan. The player can then use a third fighter to free both captured fighters in the same way as before. Successfully freeing the fighters causes all three to merge together into a "super ship" with triple firepower, and shots now fire faster than before as well. While in formation, a single captured ship appears red, and two captured ships together appear blue. It is not possible to be captured in the "super ship" form.
If the super ship is hit by an enemy or shot, it is reduced to two single ships side-by-side, and if that configuration is hit, the player goes back to having just one ship. In both cases, the player loses a life, and the remaining ship(s) become invincible for about five seconds.
Beginning in Stage 15, the very last enemy on the screen may attempt to escape off the top of the screen. Destroying this enemy before it escapes may cause it to drop a pink item canister. Collecting this canister will immediately upgrade the player's ship(s) to the "super ship" form, regardless of what form they were in previously, and at no cost to remaining lives.
[edit] Challenging Stages
There are six Challenging Stages in the game. Each Challenging Stage begins with the on-screen announcement "That's Galactic Dancin'", and each stage has its own music that the enemies "dance" to. The specific enemy and movement pattern depends on the current dimension (Stage 3 is always the same pattern). The music style for each Challenging Stage is as follows:
- Stage 3: Waltz
- Stage 7: Tango
- Stage 14: Jazz
- Stage 18: Tribal
- Stage 22: Waltz (same as Stage 3, different pattern)
- Stage 26: March
The bonus value for successfully destroying all 40 enemies in a Challenging Stage varies, but is no less than 10,000 points. A "secret bonus" of 10,000 points is awarded for not touching the controls at all during a Challenging Stage.
[edit] Dimensional Travel
One of the most interesting and memorable new features of Galaga '88 is the ability to warp between dimensions. This is done by way of collecting blue items and using them at the end of Challenging Stages.
There are a total of five dimensions in the game, and warping to a new dimension yields a substantial bonus and a significantly higher level of difficulty. Each dimension has a boss enemy (represented at the beginning of each world) and an "end girl" (shown at the beginning of Stage 27). The dimensions are as follows:
| Dimension | Nebula Color |
Warp Bonus | Final Boss | End Girl | Boss Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (start) |
Blue | n/a |  |
n/a | n/a |
| 2 | Red | 10,000 pts |  |
 |
100,000 pts |
| 3 | Green | 20,000 pts |  |
|
200,000 pts |
| 4 | Purple | 30,000 pts |  |
 |
300,000 pts |
| 5 | White | 40,000 pts |  |
|
400,000 pts |
To perform a dimension warp, the player must obtain two blue items (cylindrical canisters) before the next Challenging Stage. The player can hold up to two items at a time, and there are two ways to unlock an item: Destroying an obstacle such as a boulder or crystal, or destroying a large enemy that has formed by two smaller enemies combining together. In both cases, an item will fall toward the bottom of the screen - the player must intercept it before it disappears. If it leaves the playfield, it will not be possible to get another item in the same manner until the next stage, and this can prevent the player from advancing to the next dimension. It is possible to get both items in the same stage by using both methods. Picking up an item will make the player's fighter(s) invincible for about five seconds.
Note: The only way to perform a dimension warp in the first Challenging Stage (Stage 3) is to have collected both items in the first two stages by allowing two enemies per stage to combine into a large one, then destroying it. There are no obstacles in the first two stages.
At the end of a Challenging Stage, any collected items will rise to the center of the screen. If only one item has been collected at this point, it simply breaks apart and the player remains in the current dimension. Two items, however, will explode and create a rift through which the ship will warp, and the player will end up in the next dimension. If the player is already in Dimension 5 and completes the Challenging Stage with two items, they still go through the normal warp sequence, but remain in Dimension 5. No extra bonus is given in this case.
Being in a specific dimension changes the gameplay in a number of ways:
- Enemy designs and behaviors change and increase in difficulty.
- Enemy point values increase.
- The ending of the game changes (see Boss Stages below).
If the player is still in Dimension 1 at the end of Stage 10, they automatically warp to Dimension 2 with no bonus or fanfare.
[edit] Boss Stages
There are two special sets of stages (Stages 8-10 and 27-29) that feature boss enemies. Each stage features a scrolling section with enemies and obstacles flying down at the player, followed by a standing battle. In the first two stages, a full formation of enemies suddenly appears (no fly-in) and begins attacking. In the third stage, an enormous boss character appears and begins firing shots and enemies at the player. Blue items cannot be obtained in the scrolling stages.
The first scrolling world is set in what appears to be a cavern made of blue crystals. The boss encountered in Stage 10 is always the Dimension 1 boss, regardless of which dimension the player has actually reached by then. Defeating this boss causes it to fly away, and all smaller enemies on the screen die immediately and award their bonus points (if applicable). There is no Challenging Stage following Stage 10 — gameplay immediately resumes on Stage 11.
At the beginning of Stage 27, the player is greeted by a girl who talks to them briefly. Then the player battles their way through another set of scrolling stages. At the end of Stage 29, they face the final boss, and defeating the boss destroys it completely. Once this happens, they score an additional 10,000 points for each remaining extra life, then the ship warps away one final time. The player is treated to a brief ending and then taken to the Game Over screen.
The current dimension as of Stage 27 determines which end girl appears, the setting for the final battle, the specific boss faced, and which ending is seen after the final boss is defeated.
[edit] Trivia
The backgrounds for Stages 15-17 (World 4) consist of the green hexagonal space stations first seen in the game Bosconian. Additionally, mines similar to those used in Bosconian are used as obstacles in these stages.
The game Ridge Racer Revolution features Challenging Stage #2 (Dimension 1) during its loading sequence. Shooting all 40 enemies before they fly away unlocks all of the opponent cars.
[edit] Ports
Galaga '88 was ported to the PC Engine in Japan, then renamed Galaga '90 for the TurboGrafx 16 localization. In 2005, the arcade version of Galaga '88 finally arrived on home systems as part of the Namco Museum 50th Anniversary compilation for the Sony Playstation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PC platforms.
[edit] Legacy
Galaga '88 is the second sequel to Galaga, and is the fourth game in the Galaxian series.
The complete arcade series:
- Galaxian (1979)
- Galaga (1981)
- Gaplus (1984)
- Galaga '88 (1987)
- Galaga Arrangement (1995) - released as part of Namco Classics Collection Volume 1
