Fun Trivia : Galaga

Structure Sub-topic of: Video Games G-K Quizzes Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 25 general entries.

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Galaga

'Galaga' became a popular hit in arcades in its year of release in 1981. What company that would later become renown for its arcade game success developed the game of 'Galaga'?

'Galaga' - The Arcade Game


Namco. The company of Namco was founded in Tokyo in 1955 as a toy company. In 2005 Namco merged with the Japanese toy company Bandai.



'Galaga' is actually a sequel to a popular arcade game released in 1979. What was the name of the predecessor to 'Galaga,' a popular fixed shooter arcade game in its own right?

'Galaga' - The Arcade Game


Galaxian. Like most other sequels, the core gameplay of 'Galaga' was very similar to 'Galaxian.' Both games have been big hits in arcades for over 25 years.



Although some people engage in 'button-mashing' when they play arcade games, it is actually advantageous to learn strategies for each game. As you might expect, 'Galaga' is no exception. In the game, how many shots can a player have being fired on screen at a time no matter how often he/she presses the fire button?

'Galaga' - The Arcade Game


4. Two shots can be fired from each ship so if a player has a double ship four shots can be fired on screen at one time. Being able to fire only two shots from each ship encourages players to actually aim and plan their shots. A shot that hits an enemy ship will travel a shorter distance and thus will allow a player to fire the next shot quicker.



'Galaga' is a game based on scoring as many points as possible. Extra lives are obtained by reaching certain point levels. At what amount of points will a player first receive an extra spaceship in the game of 'Galaga?'

'Galaga' - The Arcade Game


20,000. Twenty thousand is also the point level at which the High Score is set when a game of 'Galaga' is played for the first time (or its scores are reset). The 20,000 point level can easily be obtained after the first Challenging Stage (Stage 3). The next extra spaceship is awarded at 70,000 points.



The lowest point valued and most common enemies in the game of 'Galaga' award players either 50 or 100 points when destroyed. What do these enemies look like?

'Galaga' - The Arcade Game


Blue and yellow space bugs. These enemies usually appear first on the screen and will normally fire two shots when attacking players. Depending on whether it is the first or second shot and how long the player has taken to destroy the enemy, 50 or 100 points are awarded.



What type of animation is made on screen when a player's spaceship gets hit by either an enemy spaceship or an enemy spaceship's fire in the game of 'Galaga?'

'Galaga' - The Arcade Game


The player's ship disappears in a white, smoke-filled explosion.. This sight is not a very pleasant one when playing 'Galaga.' The same animation is created whether or not it is caused by an enemy projectile or a collision with an enemy ship. When an enemy spaceship is destroyed the animation is less dramatic (they almost just disappear) which is a good thing because complex animations for enemies would likely slow the gameplay down.



Unfortunately arcade games and even video games of today are not made without errors. What is the most well-known 'bug' in relation to the game of 'Galaga?'

'Galaga' - The Arcade Game


If a player beats the 255th round, the game must be reset because the next round will have no enemies on screen.. A term called integer overflow is often cited as the reason for this error in the games of 'Galaga' and 'Pac-man' which both encounter major problems at the 256th stage. The other choices are not errors that are found in the game of 'Galaga.'



What on-screen statement opened up the 'challenge rounds'?

Galaga '88


That's galactic dancin'. As in the earlier versions of "Galaga," the game was comprised of combat rounds augmented by challenge levels. In the latter, waves of enemies flew past the player's ship but did not return fire. The goal was to shoot as many as possible before they escaped. A perfect score netted the player an even higher bounty of points.



In previous versions of "Galaga," the player could attach a ship to the one in flight by letting it be captured by the enemy, then shooting the ship that blocked it. However, this edition changed the process. What was the new rule?

Galaga '88


The player could attach up to two extra ships to the original. Luckily, the super-ship couldn't be pulled in by the enemy tractor beam. However, it was still vulnerable to attack by laser fire.



The player could skip levels in the game. How was this done?

Galaga '88


By flying through a dimension gate. Fly through, and you would be deposited at a random level. The higher the destination round, the more difficult the opposition!



In regular rounds of play, how many attackers were in each swarm?

Galaga '88


40. This was the same as in the earlier editions of the game. The series had been inspired by games like "Space Invaders," but added far more variety to the attacks and to the ships' abilities.



"Galaga '88" featured several new types of enemies. Which was *not* one of them?

Galaga '88


Some could release a web and catch the player's ship. "Galaga '88" also featured massive boss creatures. These appeared at the end of certain levels. They required a huge number of hits to destroy, and released lots of little ships to get in your way during the battle.



What appeared in the background of the on-screen graphics in stage 1 of the game?

Galaga '88


A space station and a planet. The player could not land on either of them. They were just part of the artwork. On stages 19 to 21, a red sun also appears.



In higher levels of the game, an alien might leave behind canisters, which the players could collect. What happened if you picked up two blue canisters?

Galaga '88


You opened a dimension gate. The containers could be found by blowing up certain obstacles on the screen. A player could acquire a maximum of two containers per level of the game.



At the "Game Over" screen, as in other versions of "Galaga," the player was shown the accuracy rating for shots fired. What other image also appeared onscreen?

Galaga '88


A picture of the distance covered in dimensions. Fans continued the classic debate of the "Galaga" series: whether total points scored, or a higher accuracy rating, was a better indicator of skill. None of the previous "Galaga" games had featured a dimension map.



What happened at the end of a level if the player only managed to collect one of the available canisters?

Galaga '88


The container rose to the top of the screen and exploded. There were a total of five dimensions in the game. If you hadn't teleported anywhere by the end of dimension one, stage ten, you got a little help. A gate opened automatically, and took you straight to dimension two.



What was indicated by a series of emblems in the lower right corner of the screen?

Galaga '88


The current level of play. As in earlier "Galaga" titles, a logo in the corner depicted what level you had reached. The higher the stage, the more elaborate the pictogram--up to and including very colorful items that resembled military medals.