How to play Galaxian online
- Move your ship: left and right arrows (the cartridge also supported the Trak-Ball; here the arrows do that job)
- Fire: Z (the lower buttons; the upper ones are not used)
- One or two players: the = key (the keypad’s # button)
- Pick a skill level: keyboard keys 0 to 8; for level 9 open the on-screen keypad with K, move to 9 and press Z. The game starts as soon as you press a level.
- Easy practice game (no return fire): the – key (the keypad’s * button)
- Start at level 0, or restart after a game: Enter
- Pause: P
- Player 2: J and L to move, N to fire, when two players take turns on separate controllers
- Full screen, restart and save states: move the mouse over the screen to open the emulator’s toolbar
Gameplay
A fleet of Galaxians sits in formation at the top of the screen and your command ship slides along the bottom. Unlike Space Invaders, the aliens do not simply march down: alone or in small groups they break away, swoop down firing and loop back to the top. You can only have one missile in the air at once, so every shot counts. Clear the fleet and the next wave is faster and more aggressive. The manual promises 32 waves and says anyone who gets past wave 16 is “a real pro”.
You lose a ship when a missile hits you or an alien crashes into you. You start with three, earn one more after 5,000 points, and the game ends when the last is gone. Points depend on rank: drones 30, emissaries 40, hornets 50 and flagships 60. A flagship shot while diving pays more, and the value climbs with its escorts: 150 alone, 200 with one, 300 with two. Shoot both escorts first and then the flagship for 800 points.
Skill levels
Levels 0 to 9 change how fast and how often the fleet fires; in some levels the shots follow a pattern, in others they are random. In the easy version chosen with the * key the aliens hold their fire, so the only way to lose a ship is a collision. Every mode can be played by two players taking turns.
Tips
- Use the mourning pause. When a flagship dies in flight, the rest of the fleet stops shooting for a few seconds. Use the gap to pick off its escorts and anything else nearby.
- Always have an exit. Divers come in patterns; decide where you will slide to before the shots arrive.
The story behind Galaxian on the 5200
Namco’s arcade Galaxian, designed by Kazunori Sawano, reached Japan in September 1979 and North America, through Midway, in early 1980. Atari licensed the game for its home machines and released the Atari 8-bit computer and 5200 versions in 1982, with the Atari 2600 cartridge following in May 1983.
The 5200 cartridge, model CX5206, was programmed by Joseph Tung with graphics by Marilyn Churchill. Tung signed his work: according to AtariProtos, from wave 10 a destroyed Galaxian occasionally turns into a special symbol, a Pac-Man on wave 10, the Atari logo on wave 12 and the initials “JT” on wave 14. The manual only hints that the fleet “may surprise you with some special screen graphics”. Electronic Fun with Computers & Games gave the 5200 version an A; AllGame later rated it two stars out of five, and AtariProtos praises the sharp graphics but calls the sound weak. Atari planned a 5200 Galaga as a follow-up, but cancelled it when the console sold below expectations.
