List of Galaxian video games
Galaxian[lower-alpha 1] is a shoot'em up video game franchise developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. Some entries were outsourced to other developers, such as Hasbro Interactive, Bandai and Paladin Studios. The series first began in 1979 with the arcade game Galaxian, which was Namco's first major hit in the video game industry, seeing ports for multiple home consoles, handheld systems and mobile phones. Most games in the series have been fixed shooters, although some have delved into other genres such as rail shooters and twin-stick shooters. Entries in the franchise have been ported to several home consoles and included in many Namco video game compilations for multiple platforms. Galaxian is one of the most successful arcade games of its time, selling over 40,000 arcade cabinets in North America alone.[1]
Galaxian | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | Shoot'em up |
Developer(s) | Namco Bandai Namco Studios |
Publisher(s) | Namco Bandai Namco Entertainment |
Creator(s) | Kazunori Sawano |
Platform(s) | Ports
|
First release | Galaxian November 1979 |
Latest release | Galaga Revenge January 2019 |
Galaxian and its sequel Galaga are cited as some of the most influential games of the genre, the latter being called one of the greatest video games ever made by several publications. Later entries in the series have been met with a more mixed reception — some, such as Galaga Legions and its DX update, have been praised for expanding upon the gameplay in earlier titles, while others, such as Galaga: Destination Earth, were criticized for being poor updates of the original. The success of the series has lend itself to other forms of media, including soundtrack CDs, apparel, garage kits and literature. Including re-releases, the Galaxian franchise has sold over 12 million copies, making it one of Bandai Namco's best-selling franchises of all time.[g 1]
Arcade games
Title | Details |
---|---|
Original release date(s):[5][6] |
Release years by system: 1979 – Arcade (Namco Galaxian) 1982 – Atari 8-bit family, tabletop LCD game[7] 1983 – Atari 2600,[8] Atari 5200,[9] Commodore VIC-20[10] 1984 – Family Computer,[11] MSX[12] 1990 – Famicom Disk System[11] 1995 – Game Boy (Galaga & Galaxian)[13] 1997 – LCD pocket game 2001 – Mobile phone[14] 2009 – Wii Virtual Console[15] |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[20][21] |
Release years by system: 1981 – Arcade (Namco Galaga) 1984 – Family Computer,[11] MSX[12] 1987 – Nintendo Entertainment System,[22] Atari 7800[23] 1990 – Famicom Disk System[11] 1995 – Game Boy (Galaga & Galaxian)[13] 2007 – Xbox 360[24] 2009 – Wii Virtual Console[25] 2011 – Roku[26] 2013 – 3DS Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console[27] 2016 – PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC[28] |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[37] |
Release years by system: 1984 – Arcade (Namco Phozon) 1987 – Commodore 64[38] 2007 – Mobile phone[39] 2009 – Wii Virtual Console[40] |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[37] |
Release years by system: 1984 – Arcade (Namco System 1) 1988 – PC-Engine[38] 1990 – TurboGrafx-16, Sharp X68000[38] 1991 – Game Gear[38] 2008 – Mobile phone[41] 2009 – Wii Virtual Console[42] 2011 – PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):
|
Release years by system: 1990 – Attraction 1992 – Arcade (Namco Theater 6) 1995 – PlayStation 2013 – PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[45]
|
Release years by system: 1994 – Arcade (Namco Theater 6) |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[37] |
Release years by system: 1995 – Arcade (Namco ND-1) |
Notes:
| |
Galaxian Fever Original release date(s):[47]
|
Release years by system: 2000 – Arcade |
Notes: | |
Mass Destruction VR Shooting: Galaga Fever Original release date(s):[48]
|
Release years by system: 2018 – Arcade |
Notes: |
Home console and handheld games
Title | Details |
---|---|
Galaga & Galaxian Original release date(s):[49][13] |
Release years by system: 1995 – Game Boy |
Notes:
| |
The Rising of Gourb Original release date(s):[49] |
Release years by system: 1996 – PlayStation |
Notes: | |
SD Gundam Over Galaxian Original release date(s):[49]
|
Release years by system: 1996 – PlayStation |
Notes: | |
Original release date(s):[50]
|
Release years by system: 2000 – PlayStation, PC, Game Boy Color |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[49] |
Release years by system: 2005 – PlayStation Portable |
Notes: | |
Original release date(s):[53]
|
Release years by system: 2008 – Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):
|
Release years by system: 2011 – Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 2012 – Windows Phone[56] |
Notes:
|
Mobile games
Title | Details |
---|---|
Galaxian Mini Original release date(s):[38]
|
Release years by system: 2000 – Mobile phone |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[59]
|
Release years by system: 2009 – iOS |
Notes: | |
Original release date(s):[62]
|
Release years by system: 2011 – iOS |
Notes: | |
Galaga Kai Original release date(s):[63]
|
Release years by system: 2011 – Mobile phone |
Notes: | |
Galaga: Special Edition Original release date(s):
|
Release years by system: 2012 – Android |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[64][65] |
Release years by system: 2014 – iOS |
Notes:
| |
Galaga Wars Original release date(s):[66]
|
Release years by system: 2016 – iOS |
Notes: |
Other titles
Title | Details |
---|---|
Original release date(s):[68] |
Release years by system: 1981 – Arcade (Bally Astrocade) 1982 – Atari 2600, Commodore VIC-20 1983 – Atari 5200[69] |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):
|
Release years by system: 1981 – Handheld game |
Notes:
| |
Original release date(s):[37] |
Release years by system: 1992 – Arcade (Namco System 2), Super Famicom 2009 – Wii Virtual Console[42] |
Notes: | |
Galaxian Heroes Original release date(s):
|
Release years by system: |
Notes:
|
References
- Galaxian series:
- Galaxian3 sales: 66,770 units (JP)[2]
- SD Gundam: Over Galaxian sales: 27,905 (JP)[2]
- Namco Museum Vol. 1 sales: 1.65 million units (US),[3] 167,786 units (JP)[2]
- Namco Museum Vol. 3 sales: 2.24 million units (US),[3] 148,758 units (JP)[2]
- Namco Museum 64 sales: 1.04 million units[3]
- Namco Museum (GBA) sales: 2.96 million units[3]
- Namco Museum (PS2) sales: ≈1.80 million units[3]
- Namco Museum Battle Collection sales: 79,527 units (JP)[2]
- Namco Museum Vol. 2 (PSP) sales: 24,934 units (JP)[2]
- Namco Museum DS sales: 33,393 units (JP)[2]
- Namco Museum Virtual Arcade sales: 5,912 units (JP)[2]
- Namco Arcade downloads: 2 million[4]
- Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions sales: 10,785 units (JP)[2]
- "MIDWAY MFG. CO. v. ARTIC INTERN". 10 March 1982. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
- "Game Search (based on Famitsu data)". Game Data Library. March 1, 2020. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
- "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- "Namco Arcade". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- Microcomputer BASIC Editorial Department (December 1986). All About Namco (in Japanese). Dempa Shimbun. ISBN 978-4885541070.
- Midway Debuts 'Galaxian' Video (PDF). Cashbox. April 5, 1980. p. 40. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
- "Coleco Mini-Arcades Go Gold" (PDF). Arcade Express. 1 (1): 4. August 15, 1982. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
- "Atari 5200 and Atari 2600 News Releases". Atari, Inc. 1983. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- "New Advanced Home Game System Unveiled" (Vol. 2, No. 3). Atari Age. September 1983. p. 7. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- "Now Your Computer Fits the Arcade Hits". Atarisoft. 1983. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (2003). Family Computer 1983 - 1994. Japan: Otashuppan. ISBN 4872338030.
- "Dempa Micomsoft Super Soft Catalogue". Dempa. May 1984. p. 4. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- Lucas, Victor (June 26, 1996). "Galaga & Galaxian". Electric Playground. Archived from the original on August 4, 1997. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- Softbank (January 18, 2001). "「パックマン」「ギャラクシアン」が携帯電話に登場!". Soft Bank News. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- "バーチャルコンソール - ギャラクシアン" (PDF) (52). Namco Bandai Games. B-Nours. October 21, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- Video Game Museum Project (June 1988). Terebi gēmu (in Japanese). You B You. ISBN 978-4946432316.
- Kent, Steven L. (2002). The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-7615-3643-7. OCLC 59416169. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016.
- Arcade Games (1 ed.). JoyStik. September 1982. p. 10. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- Bureau of National Affairs (1983). "United States Patents Quarterly, Volume 216". United States Patents Quarterly. Associated Industry Publications. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
Since February 1980, Midway has sold in excess of 40,000 Galaxian games
- Cummins, Chris (November 8, 2016). "Celebrating 35 Years of Galaga". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- Galaga Parts and Operating Manual. Midway Games. October 1981. p. 82. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- Galaga: Demons of Death instruction booklet (PDF). Bandai. 1988. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- "Atari unveils advanced video game that is expandable to introductory computer" (Press release). Atari, Inc. May 21, 1984. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- Gerstmann, Jeff (July 26, 2006). "Galaga Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- "バーチャルコンソールアーケード - ギャラガ". Namco Bandai Games. November 24, 2009. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- Pierce, David (October 31, 2011). "Roku 2 gets new firmware, games; Pac-Man, Galaga, and more". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- J. Reed, Philip (March 19, 2014). "Galaga Review (3DS eShop / NES)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- Romano, Sal (December 21, 2015). "Bandai Namco bringing classic Arcade Game Series to PS4, Xbox One, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- Namco Bandai Games (2011). "Galaga - 30th Anniversary Developer Interview". Galaga WEB. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- "The Top 100 Video Games" (4). Flux. April 1995. p. 31. Archived from the original on July 14, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- Cork, Jeff (November 16, 2009). "Game Informer's Top 100 Games of All Time (Circa Issue 100)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- "100 Best Games of All Time" (100). Electronic Gaming Monthly. November 1997. pp. 101–155.
- "Top 100 Games of All Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 2001. Archived from the original on December 20, 2001. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- "IGN's Top 100 Games of All Time". IGN. 2003. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- Birnbaum, Mark (April 18, 2007). "Galaga Review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- Kohler, Chris (October 2009). "Playing the SG-1000, Sega's First Game Machine". Wird. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
- Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) (First ed.). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 51. ISBN 978-4990251215. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- "The Definitive Galaxian" (32). Imagine Publishing. Retro Gamer. December 2006. pp. 68–75. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- "「ギャプラス」「ファミリースタジアムDX」が登場──ナムコEZゲームス". ITMedia. January 23, 2007. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- Fahey, Mike (March 25, 2009). "Wii Virtual Console Goes To The Arcade". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
- "「ギャラガ'88」、携帯アプリで復活──ナムコEZ ゲームス". ITMedia. February 26, 2008. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- Spencer (March 26, 2019). "Namco Bandai Backs Virtual Console Arcade In A Big Way". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- Davies, Jonti (October 2009). "The Making of Starblade" (68). Retro Gamer. p. 44. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- "The Game Fan 32Bit System Shoot Out - Who Will Lead Us Into The Next Generation?". GameFan. Vol. 2 no. 7. Shinno Media. June 1994. pp. 146–147.
- "Attack Of The Zolgear - Videogame by Namco". Killer List of Videogames. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- Gerstmann, Jeff (May 17, 2006). "Namco Museum Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- "ナムコ、業務用メダルゲームの新ジャンル" シューティングメダルシリーズ"「シューティングパラダイス」「ギャラクシアンフィーバー」を同時発売". Namco. July 14, 2000. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- Giant Suzuki (March 1, 2018). "懐かしのギャラガが360度から迫る「ギャラガフィーバー」が新宿に登場。新型HMD「VIVE Pro」もいち早く体験". Engadget Japan. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- "Product Catalog". Namco. Archived from the original on July 4, 1997. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- Mielke, James (December 4, 2000). "Galaga: Destination Earth Preview". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
- Gibson, Ellie. "Namco classics for PSP". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 18, 2005.
- Geddes, Ryan (November 6, 2008). "Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade Review". IGN. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- Saeki, Kenji. "バンダイナムコ、Xbox LIVE「Galaga Legions」8月20日配信開始 PVを公開". GAME Watch. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
- Saeki, Kenji. "Xbox LIVE Arcade「ギャラガ レギオンズ」インタビュー". GAME Watch. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- DeVries, Jack (January 19, 2012). "Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions Review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- Rubino, Daniel. "Galaga Legions DX now available on the Windows Phone Marketplace". Windows Central. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- "Galaga Legions DX developer interview". Namco Bandai Games. 2011. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- Fletcher, JC (November 16, 2010). "'Namco Generations' series includes Galaga Legions DX, Aero Cross". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- IGN Staff (April 8, 2009). "Galaga Remix Now Available for iPhone". IGN. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- Buchanan, Levi (April 8, 2009). "Galaga Remix iPhone Review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- Priestman, Chris (March 30, 2015). "Bandai Namco Terminating i Love Katamari, Noby Noby Boy, Splatterhouse, Many More On iOS". Siliconera. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- Crecente, Brian (July 6, 2011). "Tiny Ships, Tiny Aliens, Tiny Galaga 30th Collection". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- "ギャラガをアレンジしたケータイオリジナルのシューティングゲーム「ギャラガ改」配信開始!". Galaga 30th WEB. Namco Bandai Games. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- "「スペース★ギャラガ」をリニューアルした「スーパースペース☆ギャラガ」登場". 4Gamer.net. July 24, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- Dotson, Carter (June 16, 2015). "'Space Galaga' is Another 'Galaga' Crossover, This Time with Anime Series 'Space Dandy'". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- Nelson, Jared (November 1, 2016). "Previously Soft-Launched 'Galaga Wars' Officially Hits the App Store". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- Nelson, Jared (February 16, 2017). "'Galaga Wars' Adds New 'Pac-Man' Ship with New Visuals and New Enemy Battles". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- Gorf Operator's Manual. Midway Games. February 1981. p. 1. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- Povisils, Karlis. "Atari 5200 Review: GORF". Atari Gaming Headquarters. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- Kono, Kazutoki (March 31, 2015). "なぜにGHだったのか?本当にそんなものが存在したのか、しなかったのか? 今日なら、何が嘘でホントか判らんハズ。 #4月1日". Twitter. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- Kono, Kazutoki (March 11, 2015). "因みにACEINFのサントラに入ってる『GH』は、エースエンジンを使った宇宙戦闘機モノの企画でした。デモトレイラーの曲。トレイラーは面白いけれど、諸事情により門外不出。". Twitter. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2019.