Galaxian/Walkthrough

Controls

 * Joystick: Use this to direct the ship along the bottom of the screen. Push left to move the ship to the left, and right to move the ship to the right.  Your ship cannot pass beyond the side of the screen.
 * Fire button: Press the fire button to send one missile directly above your position. You can only send one missile out at a time, but you have an unlimited supply of them.
 * 1 or 2 Players: Push these buttons to begin a one or two player game.

Galaxip
Your ship is named the Galaxip. It is referred to as the Galaxip after you enter a quarter and the screen says "BONUS GALAXIP AT 7000 PTS." You and the Galaxip are Earth's last hope against the Galaxians. You must use the Galaxip to position yourself beneath the Galaxians and fire up to destroy them, while directing the ship so as to avoid collision with the bombarding aliens and their shots. Collision with anything results in one loss of life.

Blue Galaxian
The blue Galaxians are the most numerous of every Galaxian formation. They make up the bottom three rows of the formation. They are the slowest of all the Galaxians and make slow sweeping turns during their bombing runs. They are the first to leave the formation and the most frequent until the majority of them are eliminated. (On some home versions, they are green instead.)

Purple Galaxian
Eight purple Galaxians occupy the fourth row of the Galaxian formation. They are faster and deadlier than their blue cousins, but not as dangerous as the red ones. Their dives tend to be a little more direct, and are harder to dodge, so it's best to eliminate them on the way down, or steer clear of their projected collision point.

Red Galaxian
There are only six red Galaxians in each formation occupying the highest row beneath the Flagships. Although they are as fast as blue galaxians, they have a special role in the Galaxian empire. They serve as escorts to the flagships when the flagships descend. Up to two red Galaxians will defend a flagship on bombing run, and will remain in tight proximity with the flagship the entire way down.

Flagship
Almost as recognizable a Namco icon as Pac-Man, two Galaxian Flagships adorn the very top of the formation. When flagships begin a bombing raid, they will take up to two red Galaxians with them as defense. The more red Galaxians you destroy while diving towards you, the more points the Flagship will be worth to you if you can destroy it in flight. Go for the points if the cluster is a safe distance from your ship, but don't allow greed to compel you in to crashing in to them when they get too close. If one Flagship is left alive and escapes at the end of a round, he will return for the next round, resulting in three Flagships at the top. 4 galaxian flagships can be on one stage at the same time with this tactic.

Gameplay

 * Each round begins with a fresh Galaxian formation falling in to place from the top of the screen. In order to finish each round, your goal is to completely eliminate every Galaxian in sight.
 * Your ship will remain a set distance from the formation. You can move left and right, but never up or down.  You can fire exactly one bullet at a time.  As soon as the bullet hits an enemy or rises off of the top of the screen, another bullet becomes available for you to fire.
 * After a short while, Galaxians will peel off from the formation and begin bombing raids on your ship. It is necessary to eliminate them with fire, or avoid them when they reach your level of the playfield.  Once the fly off of the screen (the bottom or either of the sides,) they will reappear at the top a few seconds later and typically return to their place in the formation.
 * As the Galaxians descend, they fire a few bullets of their own at you. The bullets are only nominally faster than they are, but collision with either one is equally deadly.  If you do not feel that you can safely eliminate the Galaxian in flight, it is best to head towards the corner that is farthest from the direction that the Galaxian is heading in.  Be sure to account for who may be coming behind the Galaxian closest to you.
 * As you eliminate more and more Galaxians, the intensity of the bombing raids will increase, with more numbers of Galaxians breaking from the formation to attack you. As you progress through each round, the intensity and the frequency of the attacks also increases.
 * Towards the end of a round, every Galaxian will break formation and fly at you continuously. They will not even stop to return to their formation.  If a Flagship is one of the Galaxians left remaining by the end of the round, it will attempt to escape.  If it succeeds, it will return with the next formation, resulting in a third Flagship at the top instead of the usual two.