Line #12 VideoGame/Galaxian


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10	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/galaxian.png]]
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12	->"All modern games are vain, they're evil, and they're the product of the dark lord that is Satan."
13	->"What about ''Galaxian'', would you play that?"
14	->"Oh no, 1983."
15	-->-- "1982 Amish", ''Series/FistOfFun''
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17	''Galaxian'' is a fixed shooter arcade game that bears a lot of similarities to the ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders'' series. You've got one ship to use against an encroaching army of space bugs that move back and forth at the top of the screen in perfect formation. Occasionally, one or two of them will swarm out of formation to attack you. Shooting the flagship enemies (the ones at the very top) garnered bonus points, depending on how many escorts it carries and in what order you shoot them. (Saving the flagship for last is ''always'' worth a big bonus.)
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19	''Galaxian'' was one of Creator/{{Namco}}'s earliest successes, and it introduced concepts such as multi-colored sprites and explosions (as opposed to the black-and-white in games that came before it) and running background "music". Sure, [[OnceOriginalNowCommon they may sound mundane to us gamers]] ''[[OnceOriginalNowCommon now]]'', but back in 1979 when this first came out, these were a ''big deal''.
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21	The game spawned several spinoffs and sequels, the most famous being ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}'', [[SequelDisplacement which greatly exceeded its predecessor in popularity]]. Both games are staples on ''Namco Museum'' [[CompilationRerelease home collections]], [[PortOverdosed and have been ported to almost every system imaginable]].
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23	A sequel named ''[=Galaxian3=]'' (the "3" as in "cubed", not the number three), also known as ''[=Galaxian3=]: Project Dragoon'', was released as an attraction that ran in Namco's Wonder Eggs theme park in Tokyo from 1990 to 2000. Now a 3D polygonal RailShooter similar to ''VideoGame/{{Starblade}}'' (hence the [[VideoGame3DLeap "3"]] in the title), the game allowed for 28 players sitting in 2 levels surrounded by a massive 360 degree screen powered by 16 projectors. Smaller versions of the game for 16 players and 6 players were later released for arcades in 1991 and 1992; the latter was followed up by another sequel, ''Attack of the Zolgear'', in 1994. In 1996, a home port of ''[=Galaxian3=]'' for the Platform/PlayStation was released in Japan and Europe, this time without the ''Project Dragoon'' subtitle. This version would see a digital release on the [[Platform/PlayStationNetwork PlayStation Store]] in 2014 under Bandai Namco Games' ''Games Archive'' brand.
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25	''[=Galaxian3=]'' has a notable legacy of its own, with a single-player prototype of the game going on serve as the basis for the aforementioned ''VideoGame/{{Starblade}}'', which in turn inspired games like ''VideoGame/StarFox1'' and ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoon''.
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27	In 2011, Bandai Namco would give the ''Galaxian'' series more relevance by [[CanonWelding retroactively linking it together with several previously unrelated titles]] ([[https://namco.fandom.com/wiki/United_Galaxy_Space_Force such as]] ''VideoGame/DigDug'', ''Starblade'', ''VideoGame/AceCombat''[[labelnote:*]]specifically ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere''[[/labelnote]], and ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer''), forming an overarching ''[[https://ugsf-series.com/en/ United Galaxy Space Force]]'' series (or ''UGSF'' for short) that happens to share its name with the organization mentioned in [[AllThereInTheManual (the scant amount of) background material]] for the original ''Galaxian''.
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30	!!Tropes used in ''Galaxian'':
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32	* AdaptationDistillation: The arcade version of ''[=Galaxian3=]'' reduces the screen to a pair of screens rather than the 360-degree juggernaut used in the theme park version. It also reduces the number of players from 28 to 6. Even then, the cabinet is still ''huge'' by arcade cabinet standards, to the point of being billed as "THE WORLD'S LARGEST VIDEO GAME!" at the time. A four-player, single-screen port for [=PS1=] exists as well, which included a new story mode named ''The Rising of Gourb'' as a compensation.
33	* BugWar: The aliens vaguely look like bugs, and the cabinet art seems to reflect the idea. The sequel ''Galaga'' makes this a bit more pronounced.
34	* TheCameo: That flagship is ''everywhere''.
35	%% It might be a good idea to provide some examples of these cameos so that this entry doesn't get written off as a ZCE.
36	* GameMod: Nichibutsu's ''Moon Alien'', which adds an energy meter that causes your ship to explode if you run out.
37	* InconsistentSpelling: Officially, the title of the sequel has no space between the "Galaxian" and "3", being stylized as "[=GALAXIAN³=]" (since, as noted above, the "3" is supposed to stand for "cubed" due to [[VideoGame3DLeap the polygonal models used]]). Most other mentions of the game, with the notable exception of [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]], spell it as "Galaxian 3", usually prompting questions from gamers about [[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo the title]]. Not helping matters is the Japanese title using the characters ギャラクシアン3 (''Gyarakushian 3'') as opposed to ギャラクシアン3乗 (''Gyarakushian Sanjou''[[note]]3乗 being "cubed/raised to the third power"[[/note]]).
38	* MovingTargetBonus: Hitting an enemy while it's attacking scores more points than hitting it while it was in formation. The Galaxian flagship can score up to 800 points with two escorts during its bombing run and you hit the escorts first.
39	* OneBulletAtATime: Only one bullet shot by the player ship can be on screen.
40	* PostDefeatExplosionChain: In ''[=Galaxian3=]: Project Dragoon'', if the [[WaveMotionGun Cannon Seed]] is damaged enough to get destroyed, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHIMumv3GEM&list=PL9PErHPb5c3TBCpA7SyanJNMRc9R2i5Ou&index=6&t=651s it will start to explode with progressively larger explosions.]]
41	* RailShooter: [[EnforcedTrope Due to the limitations]] of the UsefulNotes/LaserDisc format, players could not control Dragoon's movement in ''[=Galaxian3=]'', only where they shot. It's essentially a video game with a prerendered animated background.
42	* ShootEmUp: Similar to ''Space Invaders''.
43	* TimedMission: [[EnforcedTrope By necessity]] in the ''[=Galaxian3=]'' games due to the limitations of the UsefulNotes/LaserDisc format: the final segments of those games task the players with destroying a target within a given time limit. Failure to do so results in an instant GameOver.
44	* WaveMotionGun: The Cannon Seed is a large laser that can cause an EarthShatteringKaboom, and the mission in ''[=Galaxian3=]'' is to destroy it before it can destroy Earth.
45	* WombLevel: The final stretch of ''Attack of the Zolgear'' entails launching an assault on the titular space monster from within.
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47	->''WE ARE THE GALAXIANS''

Context VideoGame / Galaxian