• Studio: Namco
  • Design: Kazunori Sawano
  • Music:
  • This Game is: 46 years old / 1979
  • Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Manual: Not available
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Description

"Galaxian is a revolutionary fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco in 1979. As a player, you assume control of the Galaxip starfighter, with the mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. This game was designed by Kazunori Sawano, a Namco engineer, as a response to the success of Space Invaders, a similar space shooter game by rival developer Taito. Galaxian's gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens who dive down towards the player in an attempt to hit them. The game design draws inspiration from the cinematic space combat scenes in Star Wars. Remarkably, Galaxian is one of the first video games to feature RGB color graphics. It was also the first to use a tile-based hardware system, capable of animated multi-color sprites and scrolling. The game was a major hit for Namco, becoming one of the best-selling arcade games of all time in the United States and the second highest-grossing arcade video game of 1979 and 1980 in Japan. Its success led to numerous sequels and reimaginations, including Galaga, which gained even greater popularity.

Game Controls

Q
(Eject)
E
(Swap Disks)
Enter
(Start)
Z
(A)
X
(B)
V
(Select)