Given the runaway success of Galaga, Namco wanted to see if they could make lightning strike twice. There have been a few sequels, not to mention remakes and arrange versions, but none of them seemed to capture the gaming public quite like Galaga. This isn't to say that they aren't enjoyable, so don't discount them so easily.
In 1984, Namco updated the formula started with Galaxian further with Gaplus. This time, Gaplus added loads more new features than its predecessors: faster action, power-ups, collecting parts to get a 1-up, secret "easter eggs," and the ability to move your ship up and down (instead of just left and right). One of the power-ups you can get from shooting the "Queen" Gaplus (similar to the "Boss" Galaga) is the capture beam (again, similar to the "Boss" Galaga -- the poor guy). Getting the capture beam allows you to capture dive-bombing Gaplus and use them for extra firepower. You would think that this makes the game too easy, but, in later levels, it's really hard to survive without some Gapluses (Gapli?) backing you up. The "Challenging Stages" have changed, too. Instead of trying to shoot a bunch of enemies that swoops by, you have to juggle them by continuously shooting them. Each time you hit one, the game slowly starts to spell out a word. Complete the word and you get a bonus (all of this should make sense in the video below, even if you don't speak Japanese).
Despite coming from a pedigree of great shooters, Gaplus wasn't a big hit. It was renamed Galaga 3 because some people thought the game strayed too far from Galaga to be recognized as a sequel. Even so, the video game crash of 1983 sealed this game's fate. While this game is not as well recognized as others in the series, you can still find this game, especially if you have a Nintendo Wii. It can be found on Namco Museum Remix or available for the Virtual Console for $6.
That makes no sense. Where's Galaga 2?
Three years later, Namco tried again with Galaga '88 (yes, that means it was released in 1987). This time, the gameplay didn't stray too far from the original Galaga -- gone were all of the features of Gaplus. Instead, they significantly improved the graphics and sound. The only added feature to Galaga '88 was the ability to travel to higher dimensions. Higher dimensions have different looking enemies with increasing difficulty, but reaching them nets you bonus points.
Even though Galaga '88 was better received than Gaplus, less units of the arcade game were made, so it wasn't as widespread. There are only two ways to play this game (with the exception of the Galaga 30th Anniversary Collection for the iPhone, which I don't own), on the Namco Museum 50th Anniversary collection for last-gen consoles or on the Wii's Virtual Console.
In 1995, there was a compilation arcade cabinet in Japan that included arrangement versions of Galaga, Xevious, and Mappy. Galaga Arrangement is of note here because it's the only Galaga game to support two players simultaneously. Other features, such as faster shooting and new rules for "Boss" Galagas, have been added, too. This version of Galaga is only available in the US through Namco Museum for last-gen consoles. I really don't know very much about this version, so I'll let this video speak for itself.
Well, those are the direct sequels to Galaga (not including that mediocre PS1 title, Galaga: Destination Earth -- Namco didn't even make that one). There are a few more games dealing with Galaxian, though, but we'll save that for next time.
Until then, keep your scores high and the quarters flowing.
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