"Galaga" - NES/Famicom

----- Introduction -----

Okay, our step away from the caviar of video-games was short lived.

Now we're coming back with Galaga, and I don't think it needs to be said but this basically can't be a review, because everyone already knows what Galaga is, and whether it's fun. So instead, let's consider it a celebration of what we already know is basically one of the best games ever made. Okay? Okay.

Galaga came out in 1981 to the ready and waiting arcade world, which after some initial so-so tests in various locations, eventually welcomed it with open arms. Rightly so. The project was so big at Namco that at one point even the president of the company was taking interest (according to Wikipedia).

It's easily knowable that it was liked pretty well, because you may have noticed that if you've ever been in a real life arcade, 10:1 chances there was a Galaga (and probably Ms. Pac-Man) machine sitting in there. Usually with something broken on it, because nothing is sacred and people are monsters.

So instead of playing your local arcade's broken machine in 2019, how about booting it up on your NES (you could also emulate the arcade version... but I would never suggest such scandalous behavior)?

Don't be alarmed by the 1988 stamp-- this is the US version. The Famicom release was 1985.

----- Playthrough -----

This is probably completely redundant, but I'll describe Galaga anyway, in-case you haven't played it before, you poor, broken husk of a person.

Galaga has one mode for us, and that's the one we'll play (obviously). It's basically like Galaxian's much younger, sexier brother. We have another modification of the general Space Invaders formula (which by the way, has a Famicom port of its own coming up!), again with Galaxian's main twist in place: the ships will fly down the screen and start to attack you.

But immediately, you'll see the next big, shocking twist.

[Audible excited sweating]

Yes, that's right, the enemy bugs fly into the screen in interesting patterns! Which is, like, cool! Also it introduces an element of memory into the game, because it allows you to master the sequence of these patterns for better chances at a higher score. Cool! But that's not the innovation that made Galaga a winner for the whole world.

That was something even more surprising that I can just imagine made the first guy who played it in an arcade and experienced it dynamically crap his pants.

That's right... the ship stealing secret (or, in 2019, "secret," because everyone and your grandma knows all about it).

Crap, I lost-- WAIT A MINUTE!?

Yes, in Galaga, having your ship stolen doesn't necessarily mean you instantly lost a life. It just means your ship was stolen. Idiot. How about you wait and see what happens before you just give up like that? You make me sick.

Supposing you wait a few minutes (you make me SICK!), you'll notice that the ship that stole your ship simply returns to the top of the screen. At some point, he'll swoop down as expected, and at that moment, if you aim carefully and kill the leading ship, your ship will drop down and be recovered... creating a double fighter formation that allows you to deal out twice the destruction, twice as fast.

And that? That was the last time I had fun in a video game.

The downside of course is that your ship is now wider than your grandma's backside, and it's basically a guarantee you're going to get one of your ships destroyed pretty soon, unless you have incredible reflexes. I find it very hard not to eat a bullet almost immediately after forming the double ship, and sometimes feel like my life is better spent if I just remain a single ship (much like my dating life), but that's up to each individual player.

If you do choose to do it, you can use all that extra pew-pew-ing capacity to take down some of those relatively tough bonus stages for extra points. Increase your score, and you make your way into extra lives at higher point values, giving you more chances to play. It can be done with an individual ship, but it's much tougher.

'Special bonus' sounds kind of redundant. It also sounds kinda patronizing.
"Congrats on earning the 'special bonus for special people,' like yourself."

Eventually, you'll stop being good enough to counteract the increasing wave sizes and speed, and you'll die however many times it takes to get that Game Over screen, and then you'll start it over and play it again.

Because it's fun.

----- Review -----

Innovation:

Does the game show anything not yet seen on this system/ever before?

The double ship system was a real innovation in 1981. Perhaps it's not exactly an innovation by 1985, but it is the first time such a thing has been seen on the Famicom. We have to take it.

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Spitting Rage:

Does the game make you want to tear your own organs out of your body?

There can be a little, if you're going for a top score. The only thing that I feel is sometimes a little unfair in this game are the shots that come from the ships that are at the bottom of the loop. These are avoidable if you stay away from them, but I like to call it unfair when I'm too stupid to learn from my mistakes, and get mad instead of trying to play better.

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Intuitive Design: 

How easy is it to intuitively understand the game?

You can move, and you can shoot. You can also discover the two ship thing completely by accident, it really doesn't need to be an intentional thing and will probably happen accidentally at some point, and that, my friends, is intuitive game design.

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Satisfying Gameplay: 

How rewarding does playing the game feel?

I'll always say that shooters feel good to me regardless, so I'm biased, but Galaga feels really good even for a shooter. The controls are responsive, and because you can only shoot two shots on screen at a time, you're really encouraged to make them count. So when you shoot twice, hit twice, and can shoot again right away, it's really satisfying. Memorizing and performing bonus stages for extra points is also a lot of fun.

And sometimes they induce the spitting rage.

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Game Depth: 

How deep/long is the game?

Puddle. Move and shoot. Don't get shot.

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Sound Design: 

How's the sound?

Galaga has a pretty unique sound, though one that I tend to mentally associate with Namco arcade games. The little ditties are pretty cool for 1981 (by Nobuyuki Ohnogi, whom we've seen on Mappy and Pac-Man, so far), but they're nothing compared to some of the music we've been hearing from "Chip" Tanaka and Akito Nakatsuka on contemporary Famicom titles. Serviceable, but not going to blow you away on the NES hardware.

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Graphics:

How's it look?

Pretty good! The little enemy bugs are pretty cute, and your ship has an iconic design. Again, not going to blow you away, but as good as Galaxian and maybe a little better. It's an 80s Namco arcade look and feel.

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Personal Chord: 

Does the game have that undefinable "something" for me?

Absolutely. I love Galaga, and have many times in the past said that it's one of my favorite games ever made. I might be exaggerating a little for effect, but it's just because I want to emphasize how good of a game you can make with a simple ruleset. Galaga takes a simple concept and polishes it into something fantastic. Consider my review of Exerion (why, it seems like only yesterday...), which is very nearly the same sort of game. Given, I had fun playing it, but the difference in quality feels striking as a player.

Galaga is a master class video-game.

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Should You Play: 

Is there a reason to even bother with this one?

100%. Play the arcade version if you can, but there's no shame in the NES/Famicom version. It's very nearly just as good in my opinion.

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There's a reason they call me 100% Lifey (It's because they haven't seen me play Galaga).