Line #17 VideoGame/SpaceInvaders


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11	''[[{{Leitmotif}} Dun-DUN-dun-DUN-dun-DUN-dun-DUN...]]''
12
13	The {{Trope Maker\|s}} that spawned a thousand other ShootEmUp games, Creator/{{Taito}}'s ''Space Invaders'' debuted in 1978. Although ''VideoGame/{{Pong}}'' had started the industry, this game revolutionized it, virtually launching MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfVideoGames, establishing or [[TropeCodifier codifying]] many tropes used in later games, such as VideoGameLives, progressive difficulty, and a separate score counter for high scores.
14
15	Essentially, it is a shooting gallery game in which the objects in the gallery shoot back. The player controls a planetary defense laser cannon that can move and hide behind shields, and must confront a moving (and shooting) phalanx of BigCreepyCrawlies who are attempting to invade the earth.
16
17	The game was so popular in Japan that the home version was [[KillerApp largely responsible for the runaway success]] of the [[Platform/Atari2600 Atari VCS]] (later 2600) home console system. It also spawned the medical term "Space Invaders wrist". In United States arcades, it was the first video game to out-gross any and all {{Pinball}} machines (the top selling arcade game the year before had been [[Creator/MidwayGames Bally's]] ''Evel Knievel'' pinball). It was the first game in which play could last an [[EndlessGame open-ended amount of time]], given sufficient skill, rather than being timed to a finite clock, and it immediately spawned a host of equally classic imitators, such as ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Gorf}}'', and the entire top-scrolling rail shooter genre.
18
19	2002 saw an ill-fated attempt to update the franchise, with a Gamecube/Playstation 2 game called "''VideoGame/SpaceRaiders''" released that took the familiar gameplay of the original, but set it on the streets of Earth, with the ships of the original series replaced with large bugs. The game was a critical and commercial flop, in particular for its bizarre attempt to update the story and setting. But then, in 2008, Taito released ''Space Invaders Extreme'' for Nintendo DS, PSP and Xbox 360 as part of the [[MilestoneCelebration 30th Anniversary]]. The game turns into a fast paced shooting game, omitting barriers, but adding new varieties of invaders with various weapons and shields, and, most importantly, a complex [[{{Combos}} combo system]] that rewards players with {{Power Up}}s, {{Bonus Stage}}s and {{One Up}}s. A sequel was released for the DS in 2009 featuring even faster gameplay. Additionally, Taito also released ''Space Invaders Get Even'' for [=WiiWare=], where the invaders, rendered in pixelated 2D in a 3D environment, become {{Villain Protagonist}}s and attack Earth's cities.
20
21	In 2009, Taito graced the iPhone with ''VideoGame/SpaceInvadersInfinityGene''. The game begins with the original classic gameplay, then the infinity gene takes over and the game gradually evolves into a modern ShootEmUp, as the player gains selectable ships, powerups, and an unrestricted range of movement, while the Invaders themselves enlist large ships, fleets, armadas, and bosses to take you on. There's also the added threat of terrain CollisionDamage. You can also load up your favorite music to generate custom levels, similar to ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}''. The game gained critical praise, and was later updated to include [[BraggingRightsReward achievements]]. It has been ported to the Platform/PlayStationNetwork and Platform/XboxLiveArcade, and befitting its evolution theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VoUvIQiDIY it has addressed]] the VideoGame3DLeap.
22
23	There was also a less-well-known, though quite good fun, [[http://pc.gamezone.com/gamesell/p13366.htm version]] released by Creator/{{Activision}} in 1999. It would have been InNameOnly but for a very similar gameplay mechanic (most of the time, anyway; it had boss monsters, powerups, and a few levels which were more akin to puzzles than straight shooting galleries). It also contained an unlockable version of the original game.
24
25	"Space Invaders" was at one point used by many non-gamers (in SmallReferencePools style) as a generic term for any game/console, as with "Atari" and "Nintendo" later on, a testament to the game's cultural impact. There are also many references and {{Shout Out}}s in other media: for example, the Invaders show up (randomly) as {{Mooks}} in ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}''' infamous Turbo Tunnel Level, and Creator/TerryPratchett in his novel ''Literature/OnlyYouCanSaveMankind'' (which is about a contemporary 90s space shooter turning out to be taking place in another dimension) has a wrecked Space Invader ship encountered at one point, suggesting that all space shooters take place in the same dimension and the Space Invaders, from the 1970s, were the first wave of aliens.
26
27	Not to be confused with ''Film/SpacedInvaders''.
28
29	[[folder:Games in the Series]]
30	''The following games were released in the arcade first unless otherwise noted.''
31	* ''Space Invaders'' (1978)
32	* ''Pinball/SpaceInvaders'' (pinball, 1979)
33	* ''Space Invaders Part II'' (1980), aka ''Deluxe Space Invaders''
34	* ''Space Invaders II'' (1980; not to be confused with the above)
35	* ''Return of the Invaders'' (1985)
36	* ''Space Invaders 90/91'' (1990; Platform/SegaGenesis)
37	* ''Majestic Twelve: The Space Invaders Part IV'' (1990), aka ''Super Space Invaders '91''
38	* ''Minivaders'' (1990, Japan only)
39	* ''Space Invaders Day of Resurrection'' (1990; Japanese [[Platform/TurboGrafx16 PC Engine]] only)
40	* ''Space Invaders DX'' (1993)
41	* ''Akkanvaders'' (1995), aka ''Space Invaders '95: The Attack of the Lunar Loonies''[[note]]Features {{Crossover}} appearances by Sayo-chan, (AKA: "Pocky") from ''VideoGame/KiKiKaikai'' (AKA: "Pocky and Rocky"), and the Silver Hawk from the ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'' series.[[/note]]
42	* ''Space Invaders X'' (1999; Platform/PlayStation, PC, Platform/{{Nintendo 64}}, Platform/GameBoyColor)
43	* ''Space Invaders EX'' (2002; Platform/GameBoyAdvance)
44	* ''Space Raiders''[[note]]known as ''Space Invaders: Invasion Day'' in Europe[[/note]] (2002; Platform/NintendoGamecube, Platform/Playstation2)
45	* ''Space Invaders Revolution'' (2005; Platform/NintendoDS)
46	* ''Space Invaders Evolution'' (2005; [[Platform/PlayStationPortable PSP]])
47	* ''Space Invaders Extreme'' (2008; Platform/NintendoDS, [[Platform/PlayStationPortable PSP]]. 2018; Platform/{{Steam}})
48	* ''Space Invaders Get Even'' (2008, Platform/WiiWare)
49	* ''Space Invaders Extreme 2'' (2009; Platform/NintendoDS)
50	* ''VideoGame/SpaceInvadersInfinityGene'' (2009; [[Platform/{{IOS}} iPhone, iPod Touch]], 2010; Platform/XBox360, Platform/PlayStation3)
51	* ''Space Invaders Frenzy'' (2016; Arcade[[note]]Uses the same giant LED screen as ''The World's Biggest VideoGame/PacMan''.[[/note]])
52	* ''VideoGame/ArkanoidVsSpaceInvaders'' (2017; [[Platform/{{IOS}} iPhone, Android]])
53	[[/folder]]
54	----
55	!!''Space Invaders'' has examples of:
56	* OneUp: ''Extreme'' and ''Extreme 2'' have lights in the background for shooting aliens in specific patterns: five lights for shooting aliens by the column, three for shooting them by the row, one for shooting enough of the same shape, and one for shooting enough of the same color. Lighting all of these up results in an extra life. You can also get extra lives through Roulette [=UFOs=].
57	* AchillesHeel: In both "Extreme" and "Extreme 2", the Laser power up can annihilate all the aliens in one sweep, and is arguably the deadliest power up, but the moment a single reflector shield alien shows up, it takes a lengthy period of sustained fire to penetrate it. In "Extreme 2", aliens equpied with red blast shields can shrug off bombs easily, but are easily eliminated by a single shot.
58	* ActionBomb: Three of ''Extreme'''s invaders, the Bomb, the Invader and the Diver. The Bomb explodes when you shoot it, and the Invader begins heading down to earth if you hit it once (straight down or side-to-side depending on the shape) and requires another shot to destroy it. The Diver will dip down to the lowest corner of the stage and zoom across from one side to the other. If you shoot it, you'll end up [[TakingYouWithMe getting exploded.]]
59	%%* AdaptiveAbility: ''Space Invaders Infinity Gene''.
60	* AlienInvasion: Well, what else could [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a game named this be about?]]
61	* AliensAreBastards: They presumably want to conquer Earth, and they will destroy the military to do so.
62	* AliensStealCattle:
63	** Bonus stages in ''Super Space Invaders'' have you defending a group of cows from alien flying saucers that try to abduct them.
64	** Wandering cows act as time-increase pickups in ''Get Even''.
65	* ArtShift: ''Infinity Gene'' does this over the course of the game, as part of its evolution theme. First you get sprites and a static gradient background. Then you get a moving grid background. Then the background becomes rendered in full 3D. Finally, the game substitutes sprites for 3D models.
66	* ArtificialStupidity: The Invaders' only mode of movement is to [[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} drop down, increase speed and reverse direction]]. Later incarnations gave them different, but still very predictable, tactics.
67	* AscendedGlitch: The aliens speeding up as their numbers decreased. The behavior is the unintentional result of removing objects from memory, which makes rendering the remaining aliens easier for the system. The developers originally wanted to code out the behavior, but after some playtesting, they determined that it added challenge and the perception that the aliens were doubling down as their numbers fell, so they left it in.
68	* AttackReflector: in "Extreme" and "Extreme 2", some aliens come equipped with yellow shields/gates that reflect a shot back at you. It is notably highly resistant to the standard laser power up, but can't reflect bombs. While the shield can block only one shot, the gate can block as many as the player fires at them, but occasionally will open up, or if the player is precise enough, they can snipe a shot through the thin gap in a closed gate.
69	** The boss in "Extreme 2's" third stage is based entierly around this, with it's whole body (except for its two weak points) reflecting shots and lasers back at you, while it's minions are equipped with reflecting gates of their own.
70	** This is how you defeat the fourth boss of "Extreme", by either reflecting your lasers/shots to the side off of falling aliens (PSP, Xbox, PC), or directly below you (DS)
71	* AwesomeButImpractical:
72	** Yeah, you can shoot through the houses and kill aliens, but it's a poor strategy.
73	** Some of the special weapons in ''Space Invaders X'' come across as this. Diagonal Burst for example fires a missile which then splits into two smaller projectiles upon impact which cut through invaders. Useful for diagonal rows of identical invaders, but sometimes a projectile will hit nothing if it flies in-between them or if the primary shot was used on the side of a wave.
74	** ''Extreme 2'' has Full House Fever, which requires making a three-way bingo, and features jackpots that are worth ''tons'' of points. It is also extremely difficult to trigger, because it requires that the Fever bingo board have 7 of its 9 spaces filled and only two configurations are possible because triggering any Bingo Fever clears the spaces used to make them. Starting the wrong type of Round will cause you to waste time trying to time it out or just deal with ruining your Full House progress. It's much easier to make one- and even two-line Bingos, which are much more efficient for your score.
75	* TheBadGuyWins: [[EndlessGame You're going to lose eventually]]. ''Get Even'' subverts this in the intro by revealing humanity did ultimately succeed in driving off the invaders. But of course, ''Get Even'''s very premise makes this a DoubleSubversion in the end.
76	* BattleshipRaid:
77	** The Giant UFO on ''Infinity Gene's'' Stage 3-3.
78	** And again on the Platform/XBox360 & Platform/{{PS3}} versions' Stage 5-3 against Ultimate UFO.
79	* BeamSpam: In ''Extreme'', a few Fever modes you trigger get you short laser bursts of one of three types: a blue laser that [[OneHitPolykill pierces through enemies]] ([[NoSell even Reflector shields]]), a green laser that does the same but turns left or right 90 degrees upon hitting an enemy, or a similar green laser that splits both left and right upon impact. The green turning laser is also used on the Stage 4 bosses of the single-screen versions (the DS version has a different boss format).
80	* BodyOfBodies: In "Extreme 2", the fourth level's boss is a large jellyfish alien, but later on it splits into multiple smaller jellyfish alien.
81	* BonusStage:
82	** In ''Extreme'', shooting a flashing UFO that's triggered by getting two different Features that are red, green, or blue or a red UFO takes you out of the current wave to do a "Round". If you fulfill a specific objective (such as shooting ''x'' aliens, shooting ''y'' of a specific alien, or picking up ''z'' items) before time runs out, you'll be taken to the next wave in [[SuperMode Fever mode]]. Getting hit in a Round won't kill you, but it will either take one second off the timer or increase the target requirement by one (for example, if you had to shoot 12 aliens, you now have to shoot 13), and if time runs out you'll return to the wave you were in with nothing.
83	** ''Extreme 2'' still has Rounds, but now they take place during waves instead of taking you out of one; the Round takes place on the top screen while the main gameplay continues on the bottom.
84	* BookEnds: The first seconds of gameplay of ''Infinity Gene'' consist of a recreation of the original ''Space Invaders'', before launching you into the first proper stage. After defeating the FinalBoss, the final seconds of gameplay consist of going back to that same recreation, though this time you're trying to shoot down the last alien before it touches down.
85	* BossRush:
86	** Stage 3-5 of ''Infinity Gene'', where you fight every single MiniBoss so far, before fighting the boss. The extra stage X-19 has you fight every boss in the entire game. X-29 has you fight the bosses again, except that they all TookALevelInBadass.
87	** Stages 4-5 and 5-5 of the console version has you fight against all the main bosses from the previous world as [[DegradedBoss Minibosses]].
88	* BossWarningSiren:
89	** ''Extreme'' has a pretty standard "Warning!" alert.
90	** In ''Extreme 2'', the announcer warns you "Don't let the enemy freak you out!"
91	%%* {{Determinator}}: The invaders.
92	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The alien powerups in ''Space Invaders X'' are each given a color that matches the alien you got the powerup from:
93	** Red: Vertical Burst
94	** Blue: Horizontal Burst (left)
95	** Green: Horizontal Burst (right)
96	** Yellow: Diagonal Burst
97	** Silver: A special powerup that depends on the unique alien that resides on the current planet (note that these aliens have various colors, the powerup meter will always be silver).
98	%%* CoOpMultiplayer. The Atari 2600 version.
99	* CoversAlwaysLie: In America, the cabinet art involved a bunch of evil-looking, sharp-fur-covered humanoids, rather than the bug-like critters of the actual game. Funnily enough though they would eventually appear in the games, in ''Space Invaders X'' the boss of Earth is an especially huge version of these aliens.
100	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Space Raiders'', which depicted the invasion from a human perspective and allowed players to see the devastation and violence first hand through the perspective of three playable characters that had each lost people in the invasion.
101	* DareToBeBadass: "Nagoya Attacks". In ''Extreme'', you have to destroy enemies that have descended right in front of you (without letting them cross the line). In ''Infinity Gene'', you have to make contact with certain enemy bullets that have been shot out (they are harmless in the first second). Your reward for Nagoya Attacks is racking up a huge load of points.
102	* DegradedBoss:
103	** Good lord, Infinite Gene must have over a hundred of these in the normal game alone. Usually the demoted versions have far less health, but they'll leave depriving you of points if you can't finish them off quickly enough. There's also usually something else going on to differentiate each battle.
104	** The FinalBoss of ''Space Invaders Extreme'' reappeared as the first boss in the sequel, but much smaller. [[spoiler: It returns again for the final battle, this time even larger than its appearance in the first game.]]
105	* DenserAndWackier: ''Space Invaders '95: The Attack of the Lunar Loonies'' hits quirky-status with some absolutely off-the-wall enemies to fight, such as really chubby kissy-faces that split apart ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}}''-style when shot (and your ships are pretty kooky too, with things like a spacefighting toilet). The core game is still intact, by and large (even including the classic "dun-DUN-dun-DUN" from the original game playing in the background behind the music), but also ups the ante with more traditional vertical scrolling shooter segments and battles against equally-weird boss enemies which would be at home in any strange Japanese curio or tchotchke shop.
106	* DifficultButAwesome: The Variable ship in ''Infinity Gene''. It requires some practice to get the feel of the laser swords' angle adjustment, but once you do you can pretty much slice through waves of enemies effortlessly, and bosses will die very rapidly if touched with all four beams at once.
107	* DifficultyByAcceleration: This was a lucky accident. Just rendering all the sprites of the enemies was a heavy load for [=CPUs=] of the time, but as the player killed more aliens, the computer was able to devote more cycles to moving the enemies, making them faster and resulting in one of the earliest examples of this trope (although not the UrExample--''VideoGame/{{Breakout}}'' did it first).
108	* EndlessGame: Demonstrated with style in [[http://www.retrosabotage.com/spacein/invasion.html this Retro Sabotage game]], where you are pitted against a single, slow moving Invader. Shoot it, and another Invader will come in its place. After shooting that one and the next one comes, [[spoiler:the game screen starts to subtly zoom out, and you can see a row of 18 Invaders, with one of them coming down to replace an Invader you shot, with yet another one coming to take its place in the row. The screen continues to zoom out, and you can see an identical row of Invaders behind the first, doubling the amount of Invaders at the top of the screen into 36. But the zoom won't stop, and gradually starts to pick up speed. Then yet another row of Invaders comes up, bring the total to 57. Then 72... 90... 108... At this point, hopeless music kicks in as the zoom continues and more and more Invaders are revealed, and it becomes increasingly apparent that they're in some sort of formation... until finally, you see '''''[[OhCrap 7,254]]''''' Invaders in a formation in the likeness of themselves, easily dwarfing your playfield. All this goes on while the player is still controlling the cannon and able to shoot the single Invader within his playfield]].
109	%%* EnergyWeapon: Both you and the invaders shoot these.
110	* EveryTenThousandPoints:
111	** Only one score-based extra life can be obtained in the arcade version of the original game-at the first 1,000 or 1,500 points, depending on the machine's DIP switch settings.
112	** The arcade version of ''Part II'' always gives you the extra life at the first 1,500 points.
113	* ExcusePlot: You're fighting aliens. ''Space Raiders'' and ''Space Invaders Get Even'' are the only games to have any plot beyond that, while ''Super Space Invaders '91'' gives a bare-bones plot at the very least in the Platform/SegaMasterSystem version, the action taking place in the year 2073 and you working for what looks like a PrivateMilitaryContractor.
114	* FeedItWithFire: In "Extreme 2", aliens marked with 4 red triangles normally die with a single regular shot. If with a bomb power up, they will instead become a [[GiantMook large alien]].
115	* FlyingSaucer: One will appear across the screen every so often and give you a large amount of points if you hit it.
116	* FreezeFrameBonus: The PC version of Extreme's BossWarningSiren briefly flashes all 5 bosses in sequential order.
117	* GaidenGame: ''VideoGame/GrooveCoaster'', the interface of which heavily borrows from ''Infinity Gene''. Several of the "avatar" items are ''Space Invaders'' aliens.
118	* GameOver: [[EndlessGame In the first installments, the only way out is either losing your final life or having the aliens touch the ground]], and it triggers the message word for word.
119	* GameBreakingBug: Infinity Gene when it comes to some achievementstrophies: after the game is cleared once, it's trivial to get all the difficulty-based trophies. All you need to do is finish the last level on that difficulty, as the levels you have unlocked carry to all difficulties. The last level is basically the same on any difficulty: either impossible or ridiculously easy depending on which weapon you have equipped, so if you can win on Easy you're set for the other 4 (although you do need to play other modes to unlock the last 2 difficulties).
120	* GameMod: In 1983, Atari was commissioned by Coca Cola to create a modified version of the 2600 port called ''Pepsi Invaders'' where instead of invaders, you shoot letters that spell out P-E-P-S-I. In addition, the game was changed to a Time Attack mode, where the player has infinite lives, but is given three minutes to score as many points as they can. Only 125 copies were given out at a sales convention, making it one of the rarest 2600 games out there, going for a little over $2,000. Many believe this to be the URExample of ROM hacks and an official one to boot!
121	* HoldTheLine: Early example. Besides trying to dodge projectiles, one must make sure that none of the aliens reach the bottom of the screen, resulting in an instant game over.
122	* InstantDeathRadius: The Field weapon in ''Infinity Gene'' is pretty much this for most enemies.
123	* KingMook: All of the bosses in the ''Extreme'' games are giant versions of the four classical designs. ''Extreme 2'' one-ups this: the design for the Stage 5 bosses take the Stage 5 boss UFO from the first game and make it ''even bigger''.
124	* LargeHamAnnouncer: The announcer in the first ''Extreme'' game has very simple lines and a polite tone, but the ''Extreme 2'' announcer sounds more like a racetrack commentator[[note]]The announcer is Jack Merluzzi, known for being the announcer of ''VideoGame/FZero GX''[[/note]]:
125	--> "You made it out this time, but this isn't the end! ''It's [[SuperMode Fever time]]!''" \
126	[[BossWarningSiren "Don't let the enemy freak you out!"]] \
127	"Nice moves, maverick!"
128	* LeadTheTarget: The importance of which was also referenced in Futurama, along with ArtificialStupidity.
129	* LethalJokeCharacter: The Classic ship in ''Infinity Gene''. OneBulletAtATime? Yep. Said bullet is a OneHitKill on anything, including bosses!
130	* LuckBasedMission:
131	** Infinity Gene's Challenge Mode in the Platform/XboxLiveArcade version gives you randomly generated levels. You can always win (probably), but sometimes invaders will blindside you out of nowhere unless you're at the bottom of the screen, and the boss is random; could be one that takes 5 seconds to beat, or could be the Gigantic UFO, which consists of nearly a minute of just looking at it in the background, a minute or so of avoiding some simple shots, and finally the actual fight against the UFO itself.
132	** The same applies to scoring. Expect your rank to hit the double digits if you get several of those cone-spread UFO minibosses, which are painfully trivial to grind for Nagoya Attack bonuses.
133	* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe:
134	** Both the player and the aliens can equip shields. Alien shields come in all sorts of varieties, from the standard shield which blocks everything but the [[WaveMotionGun Laser]], Reflector shields which bounce either a single or all of your shots back, and hard counter the Laser, A spiked shield that after being damaged will drop off the alien it's protecting in an attempt to crush you, and the blast shield which can stop the Bomb powerup easily, but doesn't protect against regular shots or lasers.
135	** The player's shield (obtained after defeating 4 black aliens) can block anything, but in "Extreme" it's still curtains if an alien reaches the bottom. "Extreme 2" eliminates this by simply [[InstantDeathRadius insta-killing any alien that crosses the shield line.]]
136	%%* MascotMook: The crab Invaders.
137	* MoreDakka: ''Super Space Invaders'', ''Space Invaders Extreme'', and ''Infinity Gene'' break the OneBulletAtATime limitation that has stayed with the series for decades with large-scale weapons built for destroying large groups of invaders at a time.
138	%%* MultiMookMelee: UrExample
139	* MusicalGameplay: In ''Space Invaders Extreme'' and ''Space Invaders Extreme 2'', the sounds of firing and enemies being destroyed are in sync with the music and contribute to it.
140	* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: If you beat ''Infinity Gene'' in any difficulty [[EasyModeMockery higher than Easy]], you'll get the message, "To everyone who loves games. And UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin."
141	* MythologyGag:
142	** The power up items in ''Infinity Gene'' are the Newalone particles taken directly from ''Metal Black'', an obscure Taito shooter that has more in common with ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'' than ''Space Invaders''. A more direct call back to ''Darius'' comes in the form of BossWarningSiren in the familiar form, "WARNING - A FORMIDABLE ENEMY '[Boss Name]' HAS ENTERED THE BATTLE."
143	** Those particles, at least according to Infinity Gene's achievements, are called "Neurons". The phonetic similarity to Newalone ''cannot'' be coincidence...
144	** The Lock-On ship bears a suspicious resemblance in performance and shape to the R-Gray from the Layer Section/Ray series of shmups...
145	* {{Nerf}}: In ''Extreme'':
146	** Shooting an alien at point-blank range results in a x20 "Nagoya Attack" bonus to the points earned for killing it. This led to a very boring {{Metagame}}, so the Steam version reduces the multiplier to a mere x2.
147	** Some of the spinning waves of aliens in later stages were changed to no longer spin for the Steam version, as the developers felt that this created too much of a [[LuckBasedMission luck-based]] element.
148	* NintendoHard: The original game requires ''very'' precise timing and reflexes--clearing even ''one'' wave, let alone two or more, is no cakewalk for any newcomers.
149	* NoPlotNoProblem: The ''Extreme'' games don't even ''have'' a boilerplate "aliens are invading" plot. It's just you versus wave after wave of multicolored aliens to a pumping electronic soundtrack and trippy backgrounds. The soundtrack for the first game does feature narration before each new depth of stages, but it's just [[WordSaladLyrics word-salad poetry]] with puns based off the subsequent tracks' titles.
150	* NonstandardGameOver: In both the original game and ''Part II'', if an alien hits the bottom of the screen, your game is over regardless of how many lives you have remaining. Subsequent games tend to simply cost you a life.
151	* NostalgiaLevel:
152	** The last wave of ''Space Invaders Extreme'' stage 1 is a recreation of the formation from the original.
153	** In ''Extreme 2'', Stages 5-B and 5-C, as well as Extreme Stages 5-A and 5-B, use remixed versions of "[=invAde yOu=]" and "Outbreak", the themes of Stages 1 and 2 from the first ''Extreme'' game.
154	** Stage 0 of ''Infinity Gene'' plays exactly like a game of the original for the first few seconds, sans score counters and barriers. It's not like you'll need them, anyway.
155	** [[spoiler:The last stage of ''Infinity Gene'' [[BookEnds plays exactly like the end of a game of the original]], with one invader left. But for some reason, the game ends the same way whether you shoot it down or not, achievement and all.]]
156	** [[spoiler: TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of ''Space Invaders X'', the Alien World, is literally an arcade machine of the original. The final boss is a giant classic invader that shrinks as you hit it. By its last hit, it's like one of the normal final invaders, but smaller and faster.]]
157	%%* OlderThanTheNES: By a little more than half a decade.
158	* OneBulletAtATime: Most games let you only have one bullet on the screen at once. ''Extreme'' and ''Extreme 2'' lets you have more if your shot level is high enough or if you're in Fever mode. ''Infinity Gene'' outright averts this trope by employing rapid-fire weapons with gusto, with the sole ship that follows this trope having [[OneHitKill instant-kill]] (even on bosses!) bullets to balance it out.
159	* PinballSpinoff:
160	** A year after its release, [[Creator/MidwayGames Bally]] released a ''Pinball/SpaceInvaders'' [[Pinball/SpaceInvaders arcade pinball machine]].
161	** In early 2008, Taito released a forgettable ''Space Invaders'' [[DigitalPinballTable video game]] for cell phones.
162	* PostFinalBoss: The very last enemy of ''Infinity Gene'' is a lone invader that moves very quickly, similar to how the last enemy in the original game moves very quickly. Even if you fail to shoot it down, you'll still get a credit roll.
163	* SegmentedSerpent:
164	** ''Space Invader Infinity Gene'''s boss: Centipede. Its head is equipped with a gun which shoots lasers at you. When a segment is destroyed, the boss will split into individual serpents; each with guns on their heads. Destroying a head will cause all pieces to scatter and reform into one serpent again. Once enough segments are destroyed, the boss stops reforming, [[TurnsRed and the remaining segments start chasing you, all with guns.]]
165	** The Venus boss from ''Space Invaders X'' is a snake-like machine that flies around the stage trying to collide with you with each of it's segments contributing to the boss's health. Every once in a while, it will break apart and each segment will bounce around for a while. Did we mention that defeated segments can still touch you?
166	* ShoutOut: ''Infinity Gene'' has quite a few:
167	** One of the minor bosses extends a pixel-width tendril that makes a few random right turns, then develops a gunpod at the end; you fight it by shooting the gunpod, forcing it to retract along the tendril until it collides with the main ship. In a sense, the fight's with the tendril. The boss's name? [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Jolyne]].
168	** The "Option" weapon is an obvious reference to the Options from ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'', they even move in the same way!
169	** The iOS version of Infinity Gene has DownloadableContent featuring Silver Hawk from ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'', Inter Gray from ''VideoGame/NightStriker'', Black Fly from ''VideoGame/MetalBlack'', and the [=R-Gray2=] from ''VideoGame/RayStorm''.
170	** The title of the game is one to Moonage Dydream by Music/DavidBowie.
171	* SpritePolygonMix: The home console version of ''Infinity Gene'' uses this from Stage 4 onwards.
172	* SoundTest: ''Infinity Gene'' has this in the form of the unlockable "Sound" menu. ("Collection" menu in the home console version.) [[LevelGrinding You'll need to work for it if you want to hear the whole soundtrack, though.]]
173	* StalkedByTheBell: The PC version of ''Extreme'' shows the bonus you'll get from destroying the current boss, and it decreases with every beat of the background music. Stage 4-B in particular is very difficult to get a good boss bonus on, because it has the fastest music in the game.
174	* StarfishAliens: The Invaders resemble octopuses, crabs, and squids. WordOfGod says the octopus ones were directly inspired by HG Wells' description of the Martians from ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds''.
175	* SuperMode: Getting a Fever in ''Extreme'' and ''Extreme 2'' gives you a more powerful weapon.
176	** In ''Extreme'' if you manage to get a set of two sets of 4 aliens of the same shape as well as color, your reward is generally an even MORE powerful weapon, from a laser that splits in two sideways, to a GIANT laser that ignores reflecting shields.
177	** In ''Extreme 2'', your weapon generally fires faster and you can have more shots up at the same time during a fever. However, if you manage to get a one line bingo, you have a bomb with increased AOE and fire rate. A two line bingo earns you a ''7'' shot boradshot, and lining up the full house bingo gives you the giant laser.
178	* TakeCover: [[OlderThanTheyThink Weirdly enough, this game seems like one of the first shooters out there to have the use of cover as a vital mechanic.]]
179	* TakingYouWithMe: The Kamikaze aliens on Venus in Space Invaders X will attempt this if shot once. [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame Their special weapon allows you to do this to them]], except you don't die when you use it.
180	* ThemeNaming: The stages in ''Infinity Gene'' are named after biology and evolution terms.
181	* TimedPowerUp: In "Extreme" and "Extreme 2" the player can earn different weapon upgrades by shooting 4 aliens of the same colour (or shooting mini-ufos). The player can also switch back to the standard single shot in order to preserve the power up's timer.
182	** Green aliens give the [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter Broad Shot]] power up, letting the player fire a tight choke of 5 shots.
183	** Red aliens give the [[StuffBlowingUp Bomb]] power up, which anihilates tight groups of aliens and demolish alien reflector shields with ease.
184	** Blue aliens give the [[WaveMotionGun Laser]] power up, which is the most destructive of the four power ups, piercing through small aliens and killing large ones quickly but is easily countered by reflector shields.
185	** Black aliens give the [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Shield]] power up, which blocks anything from hitting the player. Keep in mind in "Extreme" if an alien touches the ground the player still dies, whereas in "Extreme 2" the shield will instantly kill any aliens that touch it.
186	*** Fever mode increases the power of each power up, or grant weapons normally not found in regular gameplay, allowing players to just blast through wave after wave of enemies.
187	* TurnsRed: Just try to hit the last enemy. ''Extreme'' and ''Extreme 2'' take this up a step: Sometimes, when there's only one enemy left, they'll start to move faster and leave behind a trail of their image (in an allusion to a glitch from the original game). If you can hit this last enemy, you'll get a "Rainbow Bonus". If you take too long, it will slam down to the bottom of the screen and kill you.
188	* VariableMix: The music in ''Extreme 2'' becomes more subdued during bonus rounds and more intense during fever.
189	* VillainProtagonist: You get to play as the aliens in ''Space Invaders Get Even''.
190	* WaveMotionGun: ''Extreme'' has the Laser powerup, which lets you fire a laser as tall as the screen, or both screens if they're currently both being used for the playfield. Completing a certain type of Round leads to an extra-wide laser.
191	* WhereItAllBegan: [[spoiler: The first stage of ''Infinity Gene'' plays like the start of the original arcade shooter. The final stage has you face off the last invader, in the same style. (See NostalgiaLevel)]]
192	----
193	-> ''You made it out this time, but this isn't the end! IT'S INDEX TIME!''

Context VideoGame / SpaceInvaders