The arcade version appears as part of the Namco Museum collection for Nintendo Switch, which is also available physically alongside Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 as the Namco Museum Arcade Pac. Today, there are a few places you can enjoy Galaga ’88 without having to get your hands dirty with hunting down ROMs for emulation. Like in Ridge Racer, this version of Galaga ’88 allowed you to unlock various special features in the main game once it had loaded, such as new vehicles and a “Rally-X” mode with small cars (unlocked with a perfect performance), or the ability to change the time of day (unlocked by not shooting anything).Ī Challenging Stage from Galaga ’88 also showed up in Ridge Racer 64 on Nintendo 64 as an unlockable extra if you beat Ridge Racer Extreme Extra in first place - though in this instance the traditional Galactic Dancin’ music was replaced by music from Ridge Racer. Much like a stripped-down version of the original Galaxian appeared while the first Ridge Racer was loading on PlayStation, a Galaga ’88 Challenging Stage showed up while its follow-up Ridge Racer Revolution was loading. Like some other entries in the Galaxian series, Galaga ’88 put in a guest appearance in a couple of other, later Namco games. “That’s Galactic Dancin’,” as the game proudly proclaims the musical accompaniment actually helps somewhat with the critical memorisation aspect of these sequences if you want to take aim for high scores. In traditional Namco style, the regular stages in Galaga ’88 are punctuated by “Challenging Stages”, affectionately known by some as “Cha Cha Stages” owing to their delightfully incongruous Latin-style music and choreographed, music-synchronised enemy movements. The pace at which these new enemy types are introduced means that the game always feels like it’s teaching you something new - and yet nothing reinvents the game to such a radical degree that it feels like it doesn’t fit with the established mechanics. There are enemies that actively dodge your shots, baddies that split into smaller pieces and even armoured foes that can’t be damaged while they’re in the convoy. Not only that, but you’ll encounter a much wider variety of enemy types in Galaga ’88 than in previous entries in the series. As well as fighting in the conventional “convoy” stages, you’ll also encounter scrolling stages with obstacles and hidden items that, if you survive long enough having collected them, allow you to jump through dimensions on your path towards the Galaga homeworld. But I digress.Īs you progress through Galaga ’88, its differences from its predecessors become more apparent. If that sounds familiar, it will probably not surprise you to learn that Galaga ’88 received a very good port to PC Engine, which was also an 8-bit system that punched well above its weight in terms of performance and audio-visual fidelity. Technically System 1’s 6809 processor was still 8-bit, but it featured some 16-bit features, allowing for more impressive titles and solid performance. This obvious improvement was down to the game switching from running on dedicated hardware to Namco’s multi-purpose System 1 board. While the last few Galaga games have all had a distinctly “8-bit” look about them with limited colour palettes, Galaga ’88 makes a noticeable jump in graphical fidelity and detail, with higher resolution graphics using considerably more colours. So far, so Galaga - albeit with noticeably nicer visuals. Shoot them while they’re swooping in and get more points shoot them in the convoy and you’ll likely be a bit safer. The game provides one of the most significant shakeups of the Galaxian and Galaga formula since the series began - though that might not immediately be apparent, since the first level features the familiar sight of insectoid enemies swooping in from the sides of the screen to make a “convoy” at the top. In Galaga ’88, first released in 1987 (I know), you take on the role of the Blast Fighter pilot as the attack on the Galaga homeworld begins.
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