''Galaga'' is a fixed shooter arcade game and the sequel to ''{{Galaxian}}''. It was released by Namco in 1981; the US version was released the same year under license to Midway.

The objective of ''Galaga'' is to score as many points as possible by destroying insect-like enemies. The player controls a fighter spaceship that can move left and right along the bottom of the playfield. Enemies fly in groups into a formation near the top of the screen, then begin flying down toward the player, firing bombs at and attempting to collide with the fighter. Occasionally, a "boss Galaga" attempts to capture the player's fighter using a {{tractor beam}}. If successful, the fighter joins the formation and must be freed by the player (using another ship and costing him/her a life), enabling him/her to control two ships simultaneously and doubling the players' firepower. Galaga '88 even allowed the player to do the same with a third ship. The game is over when the player's last ship is destroyed or captured.

''Galaga'' introduces a number of new features over its predecessor, ''{{Galaxian}}''. Among these are a realistic explosion sound that occurs when the player loses a life, a count of the player's "hit/miss ratio" at the end of the game, and a bonus "Challenging Stage" that occurs every four levels, in which a series of enemies fly onto and out of the screen in set patterns without firing at the player.

Galaga is one of the few classic arcade games to still be profitable. It was released in a combination arcade game with ''Ms. Pac-Man'' and ''{{Pac-Man}}'' in 2001.

[[http://www.shiftylook.com/comics/galaga And now there's a webcomic based on it written by]] RyanNorth, as part of ''Webcomic/ShiftyLook''.
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''Galaga'' has examples of:
* AttractMode
* BonusStage
* BugWar
* ChainReactionDestruction: The final boss in ''Galaga '88'' is chain-explosive.
* DifficultButAwesome: Dual ships (and triple ships [[UrbanLegendOfZelda in '88 only]]) have wider shots that are easier to land on targets and minimize OneBulletAtATime, but it also effectively doubles your hitbox making it harder to dodge.
* DifficultyByAcceleration
* EasterEgg
* EndlessGame: Until ''Galaga '88'', there is no ending.
* TheEighties
* FasterThanLightTravel: Used in ''Galaga '88'' to move between stages. You can also move to other dimensions after the Challenging Stage by collection two blue crystals.
* [[spoiler:HappilyEverAfter]]: The GoldenEnding to ''88''.
* HostageSpiritLink: Subverted. If you hit a captured fighter, nothing happens other than a point bonus, because you already got punished by losing one life.
* KillScreen: Except on the highest difficulty level.
* MultipleEndings: In ''Galaga '88''.
* NintendoHard: ''Gaplus'' and ''Galaga '88''.
* OlderThanTheNES
* ShootEmUp
* TractorBeam: With a side of EverythingsBetterWithSpinning. You can shoot while you're spinning, possibly hitting an enemy (including the boss capturing you, in which case you're released).
* UrbanLegendOfZelda: The triple ship legend. However, it was finally made possible in ''Galaga '88''.
* WordPureeTitle
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