Arcade Video game published 35 years ago:
Galaga 3 (c) 1984 Namco.
The general gameplay formula is the same as it was for both "Galaxian" and "Galaga", with the player controlling a spaceship that moves along the bottom of the screen and fires up at the enemy formations at the top of the screen. Movement is not confined to left and right, however, as players can also move anywhere in the bottom half of the screen.
The insectoid enemies fire down upon the player's ship, and both individual and groups of enemies will break away from the armada to make attack runs on the player. Most of the Galagans can be killed with a single shot, and shooting specific enemies will earn the player a tractor beam. This gives them the ability to capture one or more enemy ships; these prisoner ships will then sit alongside the player's ship and add to its firepower.
Every few levels, players will enter a 'Challenging Stage', where formations of enemy ships will fly in and out of the screen. Players must shoot them as many times as possible to try and spell out a word.
- TECHNICAL -
Game ID : GP
Main CPU : Motorola M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sub CPU : Motorola M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Motorola M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sound Chips : Namco 8-channel WSG, discrete circuits (for the ship explosion sound)
Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 1 (FIRE)
- TRIVIA -
Galaga 3 was released in October 1984 in the USA as a conversion kit that changed the game's title, possibly to increase recognition among American fans of the Galaxian/Galaga series. The game initially appeared in the USA in July 1984 under its original title, "Gaplus".
James Struckle holds the official record for this game with 137,000 points.
- SERIES -
1. Galaxian (1979)
2. Galaga (1981)
3. Gaplus (1984) : also known as "Galaga 3"
4. Galaga '88 (1987)
5. Galaxian 3 Theatre 6 - Project Dragoon (1990)
6. Galaxian 3 Theatre 6 J2 - Attack Of The Zolgear (1994)
7. Galaga Arrangement (1995) : part of "Namco Classics Collection Vol.1"
8. Galaga - Destination Earth (2000, GBA, PC CD-ROM and PlayStation)
9. Galaga Legions (2008, XBLA)
10. Galaga Legions DX (2010, PSN, XBLA)
11. Galaga 3D Impact (2011, Nintendo 3DS) : part of "Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions"
- CONTRIBUTE -
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