Forgotten Worlds - Galaga Turns 30 (Part 4)

(This post is going to be video heavy, so I hope you guys watch them.)

Last time, I looked at the sequels to Galaga, which is a sequel to Galaxian.  By that logic, it would make sense that Gaplus and Galaga '88 are sequels to Galaxian, as well.  To some people, they are, but there actually was another arcade game that can be considered a direct sequel: Galaxian 3 (which would mean that Galaga would be "Galaxian 2").  Though there really wasn't much of a story to these games to warrant sequels.  After all, the only plot we get from Galaxian is "We are the Galaxians.  Mission: Destroy aliens."  So it's hard to tell how the games flow into each other.

That changed with Galaxian 3 (which has the subtitle Project Dragoon).  While you could only fill out a few pages with the plot, the game does tell the story of a United Galaxy Space Force gunship known as the Dragoon.  It is called out into space to prevent this race of mechanized aliens from destroying Earth with the planet shattering Cannon Seed.  The game used a combination of a traditional arcade board and laserdisc players, similar to some of the laserdisc games of the 1980s.  The laserdisc players provided the backgrounds while the arcade boards made the on screen enemies and other effects, such as explosions or your targeting reticle.

Instead of piloting the Dragoon, players are gunners that aim the ship's turrets at the alien armada that awaits them.  The interesting thing about this game is that it was made for large groups.  In its initial incarnation, in 1990, Galaxian 3 was actually a theme park attraction that had its own building.  The first one, the GH-28 model, actually seated up to 28 people!  Imagine a 28 player video game that wasn't online.  How insane is that?  Only two GH-28 models were ever made, but Namco also created a GM-16 model, which housed, you guessed it, 16 players at once.  While the GH-28 was used in big conventions, such as Osaka's Expo '90, the GM-16 models were installed in Namco's Wonder Eggs amusement parks.  Both models have a similar design: all the "technical stuff" was at the center of a circular room.  The consoles where the players sat ringed around it with the players facing outward.  The game was projected on the outer wall and divided in half (the screen was broken up by the entrance and exit on opposite ends of the room.

 Here's a diagram of the GH-28 model.

The "pilot" and "co-pilot" are the staff that operate the ride.  I say ride because, at least for the GH-28, the central area was actually a platform that had a hydraulic system.  This allowed the platform to rock back and forth while the game played, giving the feeling of the Dragoon listing as it took damage.  From what I've seen, it doesn't look like the GM-16 had this hydraulic system, so that's one of the few differences.  If you look at this promotional video, you'll see the GH-28 in action (as well as other Namco attractions, such as a ride based on the arcade game Tower of Druaga).

(By the way, if you want to find these theme park versions of Galaxian 3, don't bother.  They were all shut down at the turn of the century.)

After creating these attractions for theme parks, Namco was interested in creating a version of this game for game centers (which is what they call arcades in Japan).  Of course, they would have to scale down the number of people who could play to fit the game in smaller buildings.  Namco worked on designing the arcade version, but, for some reason, scrapped the project.  However, something did come out of that research, but it wasn't Galaxian 3.  Compare these two videos: the first one is footage from the arcade version of Galaxian 3 (you don't have to watch the whole thing -- just skip to the middle of the video).



The second video is footage from another Namco arcade game that came out in 1991: Starblade.



If you notice they look a lot alike, it's because Starblade was the remnants of their project to turn Galaxian 3 into a one player arcade game.  My guess is that they felt that Galaxian 3 needed to be a multiplayer game -- one player wouldn't have the same effect.  So they changed the name and released it into arcades.  I actually remember playing Starblade.  The sit down cockpit with a concave mirror display made it feel like you were surrounded.  I also remember the strobe light right above the player's head.  Each time you got hit, it would flash.  Heaven help you if your ship was about to blow up, because that strobe would go nuts on you.  You know those warnings about how certain video games can induce seizures?  This was definitely one of those games.  Anyway, Starblade gets an honorable mention -- it's not really considered part of the Galaxian series, but it is a distant cousin to Galaxian 3.

After a few more years, Namco finally revealed the fruits of their labors.  In 1994, a six player version of Galaxian 3 arrived in arcades, known as the Theater 6 system.  While it definitely was diminished from the GH-28 and GM-16 models, it was still a behemoth.  The "cockpit" was practically the size of a large bathroom.

I could probably set up a sleeping bag

and, theoretically, live in there.

Six players sit, side-by-side, in front of a huge projection screen.  Other than that, its almost the same thing as the GM-16.  Later on, Namco made another game using the Theater 6 system: Attack of the Zolgear, which was the sequel to Galaxian 3.  Sadly, I've never seen one of these in person.  I have heard that some arcades re-purposed the Theater 6 for other games, but I doubt that I will ever find an original Galaxian 3 in the US.

Both Galaxian 3 and Starblade made their way to the original Playstation in 1996, but only Starblade (renamed Starblade Alpha, with an enhanced graphics version) made its way to the States.  Meanwhile the Playstation version of Galaga 3 (again, not available for US Playstations) only has four player support, but adds a new sequel, The Rising of Gorub.

And so ends my Galaga retrospective -- 30 years of classic gaming and still going strong.  If you ever happen to pass by any of these games in an arcade, bowling alley, or neglected corner of a movie theater, drop a quarter and give them some love.

Until next time, keep your scores high and the Earth free from alien bugs.

(Special thanks to the forums at dragonslairfans.com, especially user DarthNuno, who compiled a lot of information involving Galaxian 3.  Images and videos on this post are courtesy of him.)