Galaga
TECHNICAL DATASHEET
Game Name: Galaga
Manufacturer: Namco
Year of development: 1981
Category: Shooter
Hardware Platform Info:
- Main CPU 2 x Zilog Z80 (@3.072 Mhz)
- Dedicated Z80 Sound CPU
- Namco's custom three-channel sound chip
- Video Resolution 288 x 224 pixels, 16 colors
Main developer: Shigeru Yokoyama
Music Composer: Nobuyuki Ohnogi
GAME STORY
General description of the game:
It's a classic gallery shooter.
In Galaga we control a ship located at the bottom of the screen, which can be moved from left to right and includes a shooting button.
Our mission is to eliminate, during a total of 32 levels, the different alien enemies of which the game is composed, which are repeated cyclically up to level 255, which, once surpassed, will give way to level 0 again. Within these 32 levels there are also eight "Challenging Stages" or bonus levels.
There are the chief ships "Boss Galaga", which are always located at the top of the screen and require two shots to be eliminated. They have the power (in addition to the shot) to hijack our ship with a powerful beam and carry it with them. If we are able to recover it without perishing in the attempt, we will double our shot. The rest of the enemies will try to finish us off in kamikaze mode or through shots.
Curiosities:
Galaga emerged as a sequel to Galaxian (1979). Both games were developed by Namco to counter the success of Space Invaders by the Taito company.
Galaga's world record was set on July 11, 2004 by Stephen Krogman in Boca Raton (Florida). Krogman got 15.999.990 points, adjusting to the rules and settings of the "marathon mode". We can find different references and appearances of Galaga in movies such as War Games, Karate Kid, In No Man's Land, The Avengers and Pixels, among others. Also in the series Losts, one of the submarines was called Galaga, in honour of the video game.
HISTORY OF THE MACHINE IN ARCADE VINTAGE
Status: OPERATIONAL
Information about the location and purchase by Arcade Vintage:
Acquired by José María Litarte on 29 March 2017 from Ian Eason of Instance Automatics, in Sutton On Sea (England). Previously imported from the USA. Dave "smuggler" took care of the transportation to the Association.
Information about the restoration process or repairs carried out:
Total restoration carried out by Ricardo Fernández-Vega from May to July 2017.
Completely emptied, cleaned, control panel dismantled for restoration, repair of power supply, game board and monitor.
After the restoration it is configured with the most restrictive competition settings, specified by Twin Galaxies for Marathon mode: Rank D (Hardest), 3 starter ships and extra ship at 20,000, 70,000 and every 70,000 additional points. In addition, it is set to free play mode for added comfort.
An additional harmonic filter is then installed by our technician Pablo Forcén.
Links to other related websites:
http://shmuplations.com/galaga/
http://galaga.com/en/special/int_vol1.php