History VideoGame / Galaga

The arcade game was followed up with two more sequels in the 80s: Gaplus released in 1983, and Galaga '88 released in, well, 1988.

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 ''VideoGame/PacMan'' in 2001.

The series has also been given a downloadable title in the same vein as ''Pac-Man Championship Edition'': ''VideoGame/GalagaLegions'' on Platform/XboxLive Arcade in 2008, with a Deluxe version released as part of the Namco Generations line on Xbox Live Arcade and Platform/PlayStationNetwork in 2011.

2016 saw the series return to the arcades in the form of ''Galaga Assault'', which upgrades the graphics to HD and can now be played for tickets.

''Galaga'' [[note]] [[PretentiousPronunciation pronounced ga-LAG-a]], per WordOfGod. [[/note]] is a fixed shooter arcade game and the sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}''. It was released by Namco in 1981; the US version was released the same year under license to Midway (and later ported to the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem to Bandai (now merged with Namco to form ''Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment'') and the Platform/GameBoy game systems (under license to ''Creator/{{Nintendo}}'') along with ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}'').

''Galaga'' [[note]] [[PretentiousPronunciation pronounced ga-LAG-a]], per WordOfGod. [[/note]] is a fixed shooter arcade game and the sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}''. It was released by Namco in 1981; the US version was released the same year under license to Midway (and later ported to the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem to Bandai (now merged with Namco to form ''Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment'') and the UsefulNotes/GameBoy game systems (under license to ''Creator/{{Nintendo}}'') along with ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}'').

The series has also been given a downloadable title in the same vein as ''Pac-Man Championship Edition'': ''VideoGame/GalagaLegions'' on UsefulNotes/XboxLive Arcade in 2008, with a Deluxe version released as part of the Namco Generations line on Xbox Live Arcade and UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork in 2011.

* UnInstallment: ''Gaplus'', the sequel to ''Galaga'', had conversion kits that changed the title to ''Galaga 3'' in North America. There was no ''Galaga 2'' unless Galaxian was counted as an entry.

There was a webcomic based on it written by [[Webcomic/DinosaurComics Ryan North]], as part of ''Website/ShiftyLook'', but that site is now defunct.

* TurnsRed: The boss Galagas take two hits to destroy, turning darker colors after the first, although this does not change their behavior. Galaga '88 adds new kinds of enemies that change after they are hit. One type of enemy takes three hits to kill and grows larger with each hit until it pops. King Galaspark from the first Galaga Arrangement becomes more and more red as he takes damage and changes his bullet patterns. When his health gets very low he will occasionally try to ram the player's ship.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Fans were split for years on whether the title is pronounced "ga-LAG-a" or "GAL-a-ga". [[WordOfGod A Midway staffer]] [[http://triosdevelopers.com/jason.eckert/blog/Entries/2012/7/14_Entry_1.html confirmed]] that it's pronounced the former way, stressing the second syllable. Because it is the sequel to ''Galaxian'', which is pronounced similarly. Namco themselves seem to be on the fence about this, as the computer voice from ''Legions'' pronounces it the latter way.

Notably, the background of the game was a field of stars that scrolled vertically, creating the illusion of moving through space, This makes Gaalaga one of the earliest examples of a VerticalScrollingShooter. While it was strictly cosmetic in this game, Namco would expand on the idea the following year with ''VideoGame/{{Xevious}}'' (which incidentally ran on the same hardware).

Notably, the background of the game was a field of stars that scrolled vertically, creating the illusion of moving through space, This makes Gaalaga one of the earliest examples of a VerticallyScrollingShooter. While it was strictly cosmetic in this game, Namco would expand on the idea the following year with ''VideoGame/{{Xevious}}'' (which incidentally ran on the same hardware).

* TractorBeam: With a side of EverythingsBetterWithSpinning. You can shoot while you're spinning, possibly hitting an enemy (including the boss capturing you; destroying it releases your ship).

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 ''[[UpToEleven third]]'' ship. The game is over when the player's last ship is destroyed or captured.

* FusionDance: ''Galaga '88'' at the very least has enemies that can fuse to form other, much tougher enemies. In Galaga Arrangement, rescuing a captured ship causes the two ships to combine together to form a more powerful one, how this upgrades the ship depends on which version you are playing. In the first Galaga Arrangement, they will combine into a larger ship, and the larger ship comes in three different flavors depending on what type of enemy you rescued the ship from. In the second Galage Arrangement, the ship does not become larger, but it gains bigger shots, but if you let the enemy capture two ships and rescue both of them, you can merge three ships together to form one that fires bigger shots and fires twice as many. In Galaga '88, if you are hit by a tractor beam while you have two ships they will merge together into a blue ship that if recaptured will fuse with your ship to make a ship with three times the fire power but it twice as wide as a normal one, which splits into two ships if it gets hit.
* GiantMook: Galaga Arrangement occasionally has you encounter giant versions of enemies in the openings of levels. They usually do not join the formation in the main segment of levels and so they usually just leave if not killed quickly enough. In Galaga '88 when the enemies start to run low sometimes two enemies will combine into a much bigger one that takes several shots to kill.

* MercyInvincibility: In the later games, if you get hit while you have a double ship or you are invincible for a few seconds so that you can't lose both ships at the same time.

* MultipleEndings: ''Galaga '88'' has different endings depending on which dimension you took to beat it, [[spoiler:from an image of your fighter returning to base with text mentioning how the aliens stroke back seven years later to a female fighter pilot thanking you for saving her and inviting you to be together as a man and a woman]].
* NintendoHard: On the lower end of the scale compared to other arcade games, but this is still a tough game to get through. Even the Dual Ship will only help you so much by the time you get to later levels, where the enemies don't let up and get much harder to dodge. '88 is even more difficult as it adds several new kinds of enemies and gives new abilities to some of the old ones. Plus, more enemies attack you at a time. Recapturing ships becomes very tricky with the shear amount of enemies and bullets you have to dodge and even if you manage to do it you are not likely to keep it for long.

* ShoutOut: One of the enemies that only appears in the challenging stages are large blue ships called [[Franchise/StarTrek Enterprises]]

* TurnsRed: The boss Galagas takes two hits to destroy, turning darker colors after the first although this does not change their behavior. Galaga '88 adds new kinds of enemies that change after they are hit. One type of enemy takes three hits to kill and grows larger with each hit until it pops. King Galaspark from the first Galaga Arrangement becomes more and more red as he takes damage and changes his bullet patterns. When his health gets very low he will occasionally try to ram the player's ship.

* CallAHitPointASmeerp: ''Gaplus'' calls most stages, "Parsec"s. The Challenging Stages are still called Challenging Stages though.

* DifficultButAwesome: Dual ships (and triple ships [[UrbanLegendOfZelda in '88 only]]) have wider shots that are easier to land on targets, averting OneBulletAtATime, but it also effectively doubles your hitbox making it harder to dodge.

* ShoutOut: One of the enemies that only appears in the challenging stages are large blue ships called [[Franchice/StarTrek Enterprises]]

* AntagonistTitle: The alien race is known as the Galaga.

* BonusStage: The Challenging Stages (marked in ''Galaga '88'' by an "That's Galactic Dancin' announcement), that show up every few stages. You can't die in them, and they just serve as a way of getting extra points, with a bonus awarded if you kill every target [[spoiler:or a hidden bonus if you do nothing, in ''Galaga '88'']]. Getting a dual ship beforehand makes them significantly easier to beat.

* GiantMook: Galaga Arrangement occasionally has you encounter giant versions of enemies in the openings of levels. They usually do not join the formation in the main segment of levels and so they usually just leave if not killed quickly enough.

* PlanetLooters: Galaga: Destination Earth (which is most likely not canon due to being by a different studio) has the Galaga trying to [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} steal Earth's atmosphere]] using giant fans.

* FusionDance: ''Galaga '88'' at the very least has enemies that can fuse to form other, much tougher enemies. In Galaga Arrangement, rescuing a captured ship causes the two ships to combine together to form a more powerful one, with what form it takes depending on what kind of enemy the ship was rescued from. In Galaga '88, if you hit by a tractor beam while you have two ships they will merge together into one ship that if is recaptured will fuse with your ship to make a ship with three times the fire power but it twice as wide as a normal one, which splits into two ships if it gets hit.

* NintendoHard: On the lower end of the scale compared to other arcade games, but this is still a tough game to get through. Even the Dual Ship will only help you so much by the time you get to later levels, where the enemies don't let up and get much harder to dodge. '88 is even more difficult as it adds several new kinds of enemies and gives new abilities to some of the old ones. Plus, more enemies attack you at a time. Recapturing ships becomes very tricky with the shear amount of enemies and bullets you have to dodge.

* OneHitPointWonder: Your default ship. Getting a Dual Ship adds an extra hit point, though.
* PlanetLooters: Galaga: Destination Earth (which is most likely not canon due to being by a different studio) has the Galaga trying to [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} steal Earth's atmosphere]].

* TurnsRed: The boss Galagas takes two hits to destroy, turning darker colors after the first although this does not change their behavior. Galaga '88 adds new kinds of enemies that change after they are hit. One type of enemy takes three hits to kill and grows larger with each hit until it pops.

* NintendoHard: On the lower end of the scale compared to other arcade games, but this is still a tough game to get through. Even the Dual Ship will only help you so much by the time you get to later levels, where the enemies don't let up and get much harder to dodge. '88 is even more difficult as it adds several new kinds of enemies and gives new abilities to some of the old ones. Recapturing ships becomes very tricky with the shear amount of enemies and bullets you have to dodge.

* NintendoHard: On the lower end of the scale compared to other arcade games, but this is still a tough game to get through. Even the Dual Ship will only help you so much by the time you get to later levels, where the enemies don't let up and get much harder to dodge.

* UnexpectedGenreChange: Downplayed in ''88''; at times it goes from a fixed shooter into a scrolling shooter and adds music.

* UpdatedRerelease: The game has been given two Arrangement versions with updated graphics, music, and slightly altered gameplay: one in Arcades in 1996, and another on PSP in 2006.

* VideoGameRemake: The 2006 Arrangement made for ''Namco Museum Battle Collection'' is a remake of both ''Galaga '88'' and the 1996 Arrangement, sharing some of the same enemies, levels, and bosses, with a few unique twists.

* AsteroidsEnemies: Some enemies in Galaga '88 split into four smaller enemies when they are destroyed and give you a bonus for killing all of them before they leave the screen.

* AsteroidEnemies: Some enemies in Galaga '88 split into four smaller enemies when they are destroyed and give you a bonus for killing all of them before they leave the screen.

* EndGameResultsScreen: At the end of the game, the screen displays the number of shots you fired, the number of shots that hit targets, and your hit-miss ratio.

* FusionDance: ''Galaga '88'' at the very least has enemies that can fuse to form other, much tougher enemies. In Galaga Arrangement, rescuing a captured ship causes the two ships to combine together to form a more powerful one, with what form it takes depending on what kind of enemy the ship was rescued from.

* TurnsRed: The boss Galagas takes two hits to destroy, turning darker colors after the first.

* BugWar: Several of the enemies bear resemblance to insects.

* EndlessGame: Until ''Galaga '88'', there was no ending. Galaga Arrangement does give the game an ending, with a final boss at the end.

* FusionDance: ''Galaga '88'' at the very least has enemies that can fuse to form other, much tougher enemies.

* EndlessGame: Until ''Galaga '88'', there was no ending.