User:Namcokid47/Galaga '88

Galaga '88 (ギャラガ'88) is a fixed-shooter arcade game developed and released by Namco in December 1987. It is the fourth title in the Galaxian video game series, and was released in North America by Atari Games in January 1988. In the game, the player takes control of a lone star fighter in its efforts to wipe out the Galaga armada and destroy their home planet. Several new additions have been made to this game compared to the original Galaga, including new enemy types, branching stage paths and the ability to have the player transform into a "triple fighter" with increases firepower.

Galaga '88 would be the last title in the Galaxian series to be released in arcades up until the release of Galaga Arrangement in 1995. In North America, the game sold a total of 986 arcade units by the end of 1988. Several ports of the game would be released on a number of home consoles, including the TurboGrafx-16, Game Gear and Wii Virtual Console, sometimes changing the title to reflect the home port's release year. Galaga '88 would gain a favorable critical reception upon release, winning the 2nd Gamest Prize award in Japanese magazine Gamest.

Gameplay
Galaga '88 is a fixed shooter arcade game. The player controls a lone starfighter in its efforts to wipe out the Galaga armada and their home planet from taking over Earth. Aliens will fly in from the sides of the screen into a set formation, before swooping down towards the player whilst firing projectiles in an attempt to hit the player's ship. New enemy types would be added to the game, including balloon-like aliens that explode into a group of minature versions of itself, enemies armored with shields, and aliens that will inflate when shot and eventually pop. Certain stages will feature objects at the middle of the screen, such as ice crystals or mines, which will leave behind a warp capsule when shot. Collecting two of these will allow the player to warp to a new stage, known as "dimensions" in-game, at the end of each challenging stage.

Much like the original Galaga, the top of each formation will have four aliens known as "Boss Galagas", which will eventually fire a tractor beam at the player to capture their ship, costing the player a life. By shooting down a Boss Galaga with a captured starship, the player will be awarded with a "duel fighter", increasing the number of projectiles. New to this game is the ability to transform into a "triple fighter", which is earned by rescuing a captured duel fighter. A triple fighter can also be earned from collecting a pink capsule found in certain areas of the game.

The third stage and every fourth after will have the player participating in a "challenge stage", indicated by the text "THAT'S GALACTIC DANCIN'", which will have the aliens fly in a pre-determined path without attacking the player. Shooting all the aliens in these stages will award the player a large sum of bonus points, however the player can also earn this amount of points for simply remaining idle and not touching any buttons. If the player has two warp capsules at the end of the challenge stage, the player will warp to a new dimension, featuring different enemy types and stage layouts. Defeating the game's final boss will show the player one of four possible endings, depending on how well they did in the game.

Ports
Galaga '88 was ported to the NEC PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16, but was released outside Japan as Galaga '90. It was also ported to the Sega Game Gear as Galaga '91 in Japan and Galaga 2 in Europe. In 2005, the arcade version of Galaga '88 finally arrived on home systems as part of the Namco Museum: 50th Anniversary compilation for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PC platforms. The arcade version is also on Namco Museum Virtual Arcade for Xbox 360 and Namco Museum for Nintendo Switch.

The PC Engine version of Galaga '88 was released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in Japan on March 27, 2007 and later as the game's arcade version on June 23, 2009. In North America, Galaga '90 was released via Virtual Console on August 6, 2007, and in Europe on August 10, 2007. The game was also re-released as part of the Pac-Man's Arcade Party arcade machine in 2010.

Galaga '88, along with Galaxian, the original Galaga, and Gaplus, was "redesigned and modernized" for an iOS application compilation called the Galaga 30th Anniversary Collection, released in commemoration of the event by Namco Bandai. The collection app comes with Galaxian as a free game, with the remaining three games available in-app for $3 each or the complete set for $8. The app also features "Galaga points", collected as the games are played and used to unlock various consumable power-ups and special arcade cabinet designs, including the original art for each game.

Legacy
Galaga '88 is the second sequel to Galaga, and the fourth title in the Galaxian series. The complete series is depicted below:


 * 1) Galaxian (1979)
 * 2) Galaga (1981)
 * 3) Gaplus (1984) - also known as Galaga 3
 * 4) Galaga '88 (1987)
 * 5) Galaxian 3 (1990)
 * 6) Attack of the Zolgear (1994)
 * 7) Galaga Arrangement (1995) - released as part of Namco Classic Collection Vol. 1