Thirty years ago, arcade history was made. Namco released one of the most popular video games in the world, Galaga. Now, Namco has had a storied history of some of the greatest arcade games ever made, including Dig Dug, Pole Position, Tekken, Soul Edge/Soul Calibur, and, of course, Pac-Man, but Galaga is special. It's one of those few games from the golden age of arcades that just about everyone has played. Even kids today have played this game. It begs the question of how a simple shooter from 1981 became such a phenomenon.
The answer is simple: Galaga was friggin' everywhere. Galaga is one of the most prevalent arcade cabinets (whether by itself, or with Ms. Pac-Man in the 20th Anniversary arcade cabinet, which means Ms. Pac-Man is also 30). You could find it at thousands of arcades, movie theaters, laundromats, bars, pizza places, etc. Many major video game systems, from the Atari 7800 to the XBOX 360, have a version of Galaga. It's even been available on most cell phones (I know I had a copy of the game on an old phone of mine). On top of that, there have been a couple re-imaginings of the classic game, such as Galaga: Destination Earth on the original Playstation and Galaga Legions (along with the forthcoming DX version) on the XBOX 360.
Okay, perhaps the answer is not as simple as that. No game would be an established part of the video gaming consciousness if it sucked. While Galaga was not the first top down shooter, it certainly did revolutionize the genre with action never seen before in an arcade game. Even when other shooters eventually surpassed it in technological advancement, Galaga remained a steadfast favorite of arcade goers. Perhaps it was the waves of oncoming enemies, or the classic arcade strategy needed for scoring the most points. Maybe it's the iconic visuals and sounds. Personally, I just think it has that "x-factor" -- a combination of challenge and fun that is so hard to attain. Not even its predecessor, Galaxian, nor its multiple successors could duplicate the phenomenon that was Galaga.
But there's much more about this franchise than Galaga, including many other games. Games which I will go over in the upcoming weeks. For now, enjoy this anniversary present: a papercraft of the classic Galaga cabinet, courtesy of WayoftheRodent.com. Just click on the image below, print it out, and start cutting, folding, and gluing.
Until next time, keep your scores high and don't let your last ship get captured.
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