History VideoGame / Galaxian

* BugWar: The Galaxians vaguely look like bugs, and the cabinet art seems to reflect the idea. The sequel ''Galaga'' makes this a bit more pronounced.

''Galaxian'' was one of 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, [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny these may sound mundane to us gamers]] ''[[SeinfeldIsUnfunny now]]'', but back in 1979 when this first came out, these were a ''big deal''.

* BugWar: The Galaxians vaguely look like bugs, and the cabinet art seems to reflect that idea. The sequel ''Galaga'' makes this a bit more pronounced.

* BugWar: The Galaxians vaguely look like bugs, and the cabinet art seems to reflect that idea. The sequel game ''Galaga'' makes this a bit more pronounced.

* MovingTargetBonus: Hitting an enemy while it was 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.

''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).

->We are the Galaxians
->Mission: Destroy aliens

----

* MovingTargetBonus: Hitting an enemy while it was attacking scores more points than hitting it while it was in formation.

The game spawned several spinoffs, the most famous of those being ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}'', which greatly exceeded its predecessor in popularity. Both games are staples on ''Namco Museum'' home collections, and have been ported to almost every system imaginable.

!!Tropes used in ''Galaxian'' and all of its spinoffs:

%%* BugWar

%%* OneBulletAtATime
%%* OneHitPointWonder
%%** Averted in ''Galaxian 3''.
%%* PaletteSwap
%%* WordPureeTitle

''Galaxian'' was one of 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, [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny these may sound mundane to us gamers now]], but back in 1979 when this first came out, these were a ''big deal''.

* BugWar

* OneBulletAtATime
* OneHitPointWonder
** Averted in ''Galaxian 3''.
* PaletteSwap
* WordPureeTitle

A sequel named ''Galaxian 3'' (also known as ''Galaxian 3: 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, the game allowed for 28 players sitting in 2 levels surrounded by a massive 360 degree screen powered by 16 projectors. A smaller version for 6 players was later released for arcades in 1994, this was followed up by another sequel ''Attack of the Zolgear''.

A sequel named ''Galaxian 3'' (also known as ''Galaxian 3: Project Dragoon'') was released as an attraction that ran in Namco's Wonder Eggs theme park in Tokyo from 1990 to 2000. Now a rail shooter, the game allowed for 28 players sitting in 2 levels surrounded by a massive 360 degree screen powered by 16 projectors. A smaller version for 6 players was later released for arcades in 1994, this was followed up by another sequel ''Attack of the Zolgear''.

* TheCameo (that flagship is ''everywhere'')

* IAmNotShazam: Contrary to popular belief, the Galaxians are not the aliens but TheFederation represented by the player's spaceship.

-->-- '1982 Amish', ''FistOfFun''

* PropRecycling: The Galboss has been seen in many other Namco games - such as a "fruit" in ''[[Videogame/PacMan]]''.

-->-- '1982 Amish' ''FistOfFun''

''Galaxian'' is a fixed shooter arcade game that bears a lot of similarities to the ''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).

The game spawned several spinoffs, the most famous of those being ''{{Galaga}}'', which greatly exceeded its predecessor in popularity. Both games are staples on ''Namco Museum'' home collections, and have been ported to almost every system imaginable.

Tropes used in ''Galaxian'' and all of its spinoffs:

* BreatherLevel: Every four levels or so in ''Galaga'' and ''Gaplus'', you'll get to play a "Challenging Stage", where the enemies fly in formation, but don't drop bullets on you.