ARCADE GAME SERIES: GALAGA

Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It was released by Midway Manufacturing in North America. It is the sequel to 1979's Galaxian, and the second game in the Galaxian series. Controlling a starship, the player is tasked with destroying the Galaga forces in each stage while avoiding enemies and projectiles. "Boss Galaga" enemies can capture a player's ship via a tractor beam, which can be rescued by another ship to give the player a "dual fighter" with additional firepower. Shigeru Yokoyama led development with a small team. Initial planning took about two months to finish. Originally developed for the Namco Galaxian arcade board, it was instead shifted to a new system as suggested by Namco's Research and Development division. Inspiration for the dual fighter mechanic was taken from a film that Yokoyama had seen prior to development, in which a ship was captured using a large circular beam. The project became immensely popular around the company, with Namco's president Masaya Nakamura even taking interest. Although early location tests were unsuccessful, Galaga went on to become one of the most successful titles of the golden age of arcade video games, routinely appearing on Japanese and American arcade charts through 1987. It was acclaimed by critics for its engaging gameplay and for its improvements made over its predecessor, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time. Several home ports were released for a multitude of platforms, including the MSX, Atari 7800, and NES, alongside releases on digital distribution platforms such as Xbox Live Arcade and appearances in many Namco compilations. It was followed by Gaplus in 1984.