Play Galaga (Japan) Online Free

Galaga is a classic shoot-'em-up game released by Namco of Japan in September 1981. As the sequel to Galaxian, it lets players control a space fighter at the bottom of the screen to wipe out alien insects swarming from above, while dodging enemy fire and dive attacks. The goal is to clear all enemies in each stage to advance to the next one. Enemies appear in formations and launch dive attacks. The green "Boss Galaga" insects at the top of enemy formations have a special ability: they fire a tractor beam to capture the player's fighter and take it back to the enemy side. Players then continue with a new fighter. If you destroy the Boss Galaga carrying your captured fighter during its dive, you can reclaim the lost craft to form a "dual fighter" for boosted firepower. But if you accidentally hit the captured fighter, it will be destroyed. Players start with three fighters, and the game ends when all are lost. Extra fighters are awarded when scores reach 30,000, 70,000, and every 70,000 points after that. Galaga first launched in arcades, then was ported to many platforms including the NES, MSX, Game Boy Color, Atari 7800, BBC Micro, Xbox 360 (via Xbox Live Arcade) and Wii (via Virtual Console). It is also included in multiple Namco Museum compilations for PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation Portable. A landmark of the shoot-'em-up genre, Galaga is beloved by players for its unique mechanics and challenge, standing as one of the most iconic arcade games of the 1980s.

Game Overview

Namco's September 1981 arcade hit and the sequel to Galaxian came to the Famicom on February 15, 1985, published by Namcot at 4,500 yen. Waves of insect-like enemies fly onto the screen and settle into formation, then peel off in groups to dive at you; you clear each wave completely before the next one arrives.

Core Gameplay

The green Boss Galaga at the top of the formation takes two hits to kill and can fire a tractor beam that captures your fighter. When it later dives carrying your captured ship, shoot the Boss and not the ship and the captured fighter links up alongside you as a Dual Fighter: double the firepower, but also double the target. Hit the captured fighter by mistake and you simply lose it. Roughly every third stage is a Challenging Stage where the enemies never shoot back and never ram you - clear all of them for a 10,000 point perfect bonus. Extra fighters arrive at 30,000 and 70,000 points, and every 70,000 after that.

Japanese Version Specifics

The Japanese cartridge arrived in 1985, three and a half years before the North American release, which Bandai did not publish until September 16, 1988 under the retitled name Galaga: Demons of Death. The Famicom version's graphics and sound sit closer to the arcade board, and its menu offers one player or two taking turns. There is no story text anywhere - just the title, the score and the stage counter - so the Japanese release plays exactly like the international ones and there is no language barrier to speak of.

• The Boss Galaga's tractor beam captures your fighter; shoot the boss down to win it back and form a Dual Fighter
• Dual Fighter doubles your firepower and your hitbox - and hitting the captured fighter destroys it
• Boss Galaga takes two hits and turns blue after the first, which is exactly when it is safest to rescue a captured ship
• A Challenging Stage roughly every third stage where nothing shoots back, worth 10,000 for a perfect clear
• Extra fighters at 30,000 and 70,000 points, then every 70,000 after that
• Triple-split formations pay 1,000 to 3,000 bonus points if you destroy all three before they reform
• One or two players alternating; the Japanese release is identical in content to the international ones, so there is no language barrier