Galaga 88 theme series#

(Some might claim that Galaga ’88 is only a sequel, but this idea overlooks Gaplus, the 1984 follow-up to Galaga that didn’t reuse its immediate ancestor’s title.) The souped-up presentation of Galaga ’88 reveals the desperation of a development team attempting to top a lean mean classic. Galaga ’88 must live up to the braggadocious implications of its title, to its suggestion that the mega pop hit Galaga has been reincarnated in a superior body.

Look at how the sports video game market persists.

As consumers, we go to a car dealership with the expectation that we will see the latest year’s offerings on the lot. The citation of the year is a way of telling us that the game is for people of a modern age with more sophisticated demands. The reference to 1988 is not just technical acknowledgement of the approximate time of the release. Galaga ’88 wants to be a superior version of the 1981 masterpiece. With all of these changes, director Shigeru Yokoyama produced one of the most beloved games of any era and made Galaxian a forgettable footnote in the history of shooters. Most importantly, players can double their firepower by allowing a ship to be taken hostage and then freeing it. The aesthetic of the main ship evokes the offensively minded X-Wing from Star Wars rather than the more passive Enterprise spacecraft from Star Trek. Bonus stages emphasize accuracy and provide a suitable break from the game’s kill-or-be-killed paradigm.

Enemies zip onto the screen in graceful sychronization as opposed to automatically being in rows. Though a fixed vertical shooter like its predecessor Galaxian, Galaga is a more exhilarating, dynamic affair.

Galaga 88 theme series#

Note: This is the second essay of a seven-part series on game remakes.