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{{Header Nav|game=Galaga '88}}
{{Header Nav|game=Galaga '88}}
<center>[[File:Galaga '88 intro.png]]</center>
[[Namco]]'s [[1987]] fixed [[shooter]] arcade game [[Galaga '88]] (which is the fourth title in their {{c|Galaxian}} series) is divided into twenty-nine stages over five dimensions, each one tougher than the last. The first three stages of the game will always take place in the first dimension and do not feature any obstacles at all, which means that the only way to collect a blue Warp Capsule in either of the first two stages is to wait for two Goei to meld with each other and create an enormous version of themselves; once you have hit the aforementioned enormous Goei three times to kill it (it will change color each time you do so, much like the Octy did in Namco's own [[Baraduke]]), it will leave a blue Warp Capsule behind. The next four stages of the game will take place either in the first or second dimension (depending on whether you collected two blue Warp Capsules over the course of the first two stages) and feature '''Crystal''' as obstacles until the formations of enemies have fully assembled - they take one hit to destroy, and will leave a blue Warp Capsule behind once you have done so. The next three stages of the game will take place either in the first, second or third dimension (again, is depending on whether you collected two blue Warp Capsules over the course of the first six stages) and will always be scrolling forward until the surface of the planet vibrates and a formation of enemies instantly appears in front of you; they also feature '''Asteroid''' and '''Amoeba''' as obstacles, which take eight and sixteen hits to destroy respectively but will not leave a blue Warp Capsule behind once you have done so. The next four stages of the game will take place either in the second or third dimension (yet again, depending on whether you collected two blue Warp Capsules over the course of the first seven stages and the fact that you will automatically warp into the second dimension without a bonus if you are still in the first dimension after clearing the tenth stage), and feature '''Asteroid''' as obstacles for a second time - once again, they take eight hits to destroy but ''will'' leave blue Warp Capsule behind once you have done so this time. The next four stages of the game will take place either in the second, third or fourth dimension (for a fourth time, is depending on whether you collected two blue Warp Capsules over the course of the first thirteen stages) and feature '''Cosmo-Mine''' (from Namco's own [[Bosconian]]) as obstacles; as with the Crystals, they take one hit to destroy, and will leave blue Warp Capsule behind once you have done so. The next four stages of the game will take place either the second, third, fourth or fifth dimension (for a fifth time, this is depending on whether you collected two blue Warp Capsules over the course of the first seventeen stages) and feature '''Asteroid''' as obstacles for a third time - yet again, they take eight hits to destroy and ''will'' leave a blue Warp Capsule behind once you have done so, even if you are in the fifth dimension.  The next four stages of the game will, once again, take place either in the second, third, fourth or fifth dimension (for the sixth time, this is depending on whether or not you collected two blue Warp Capsules over the course of the first twenty-one stages) and feature '''Ameoba''' as obstacles for a second time - once again, these take sixteen hits to destroy, and will leave a blue Warp Capsule behind once you have done so, even if you are in the fifth dimension (again). The final three stages of the game will, yet again, take place either in the second, third, fourth or fifth dimension (for a seventh and final time, it is depending on whether you collected two blue Warp Capsules over the course of the first twenty-six stages) and will always be scrolling forward until the ground of the spacestation vibrates and a formation of enemies instantly appears in front of you for a second time; they also feature '''Asteroid''' and '''Amoeba''' as obstacles for a fourth and third time, which, yet again, take eight and sixteen hits to destroy respectively but will, once again, not leave a blue Warp Capsule behind once you have done so. The ending message you will receive after clearing twenty-ninth stage depends on which dimension you were in for the final three stages of the game - [[Galaga '88/Endings#Ending Message No. 1 (Dimension 2)|second]], [[Galaga '88/Endings#Ending Message No. 2 (Dimension 3)|third]], [[Galaga '88/Endings#Ending Message No. 3 (Dimension 4)|fourth]] or [[Galaga '88/Endings#Ending Message No. 5 (Dimension 5)|fifth]].


The Boss Galagans will attempt to capture your ship by flying down and engaging their tractor beams much like they did in the original [[Galaga]], and this time around they have this power to capture it if it is a double ship; as in the original Galaga, a captured single ship will turn red, but a captured double ship will turn blue as the text "FIGHTER CAPTURED" appears on the screen. An updated version of the original "Fighter Captured" theme will then be heard from the Yamaha YM-2151 as the Boss Galagan takes your captured single or double ship back to the top of the screen while your next single ship materializes at the bottom of the screen - you will then have to fire two shots at the Boss Galagan that captured your single or double ship while it is attacking to kill it. Once you have done so, your captured single or double ship will return to its original silver color and spin around in mid-air for a few seconds before rejoining your current single or double ship at the bottom of the screen in order to become a double or triple ship (the latter of which was created especially for this game); however, that triple ship cannot in turn be captured by the Boss Galagans and retrieved in order to create some kind of "quadruple ship", and the game will be over if you get captured without any lives remaining.
== Starting a new game ==
[[File:Galaga '88 select screen.png|right]]
Before you begin a new game, you are given the opportunity to make a selection.  You can choose between starting the game off as a single Fighter, or starting off as a double Fighter.  As a single Fighter, you start the game off with more extra lives, but weaker fire power.  As a double Fighter, you start the game off with one fewer life, but better fire power.  You're also more exposed to enemy fire and collision as a double Fighter.  However, if you start off as a double Fighter, it will take less effort to achieve the Triple Fighter, since you only need to be capture by a Boss Galaga once.
 
If you're new to the game, and aren't familiar with the movement of your Fighter, as well and the enemy and their bullets, start off as a single Fighter until you get the hang of things.  If you're goal is to achieve maximum firepower as quickly as possible, definitely start off as a double Fighter.
 
== Stage flow ==
Most stages follow the same basic flow; pre-formation, formation, and break down.
;Pre-formation: In the majority of stages, the pre-formation portion of the stage involves the arrival of the enemies which will occupy the formation.  They can come from any side of the screen except for the bottom. They fly across in various patterns before flying to their designated locations within the formation at the top of the screen.  Many enemies appear with a larger escort that takes several shots to destroy.  The escorts will always flee the stage when they enemies they escort have reached the formation.
 
:In some stages, {{~|Stages 8-10|8 through 10}} and {{~|Stages 27-29|27 through 29}}, the pre-formation portion actually involves a vertically scrolling background as different sets of enemies attack you from the top of the screen.  These enemies may or may not be the variety which will appear at the top of the screen once the pre-formation portion is complete.
 
;Formation: The formation portion begins as soon as the pre-formation portion is complete.  All surviving enemies occupy a position in the formation, which moves back and forth in a variety of patterns.  Various members of the formation will break away and do a solo run to the bottom of the screen to attack your Fighter.  Any enemy who survives this run and reaches the bottom of the screen will return to their place in the formation through the top of the screen.  An enemy that remains in the formation is safer and easier to defeat than an enemy who has broken away from the formation.  It should be noted that in stages 8, 9, 27, and 28, the entire enemy formation will instantly appear after the pre-formation period.  Since you aren't given the opportunity to attack members of the formation before hand, they are unique in that you will always have to contend with a complete formation.
 
;Break down: The break down portion of the stage is reached when none of the enemies remain in the formation. Once you are down to a handful of enemies, they will no longer return to their positions in the formation.  Instead, they will continuously fly down from the top of the screen to the bottom in bombing runs.  Some enemies will speed up if they are permitted to cross below the bottom of the screen more than once. 
== Dimensions ==
There are five different Dimension in Galaga '88.  Dimensions differ from one another primarily by the enemies that they are composed of.  Basic enemies like zako and goei only differ cosmetically; they behave exactly the same in all dimensions.  However, some enemies are unique to particular dimensions, e.g. you will only encounter Dons in the first dimension, and Nins in the second dimension.  The only exception to this is the fifth dimension which can draw on enemies from any of the previous four dimensions.  Going up in dimensions doesn't necessarily increase the difficulty like rising through stages does, but it does alter the strategy that you need to employ against the enemies you encounter.  Dimensions also determine which final boss you will face at the end of the game, as well as the ending message you receive.
 
You can only rise through dimensions; once you are in the second dimension, you can never return to the first.  To change your dimension, you must collect two blue warp capsules.  There are two means of collecting warp capsules.  The first involves destroying any of the container objects that occupy the middle of the screen during the pre-formation portion of the stage.  This method is not available in every stage, including the first two.  The second method is to destroy the combined form of a goei enemy.  You will only be given one warp capsule for either method per stage.  Destroying a second container object or combined goei will not provide you with any more capsules.
 
Provided you collect two capsules by the time you reach a bonus stage, the two capsules will rise up after the bonus stage is complete and rip a hole in the fabric of space, transporting your Fighter to a new dimension.  Also note that you will automatically travel to Dimension 2 if you complete Stage 10 while still in Dimension 1.  As a result, it is impossible to complete the game from Dimension 1.  If you only have one capsule, or you are already in the fifth and final dimension, the capsule will rise to the middle of the screen and disappear.
 
''Note: the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine version of the game only contains 4 dimensions.  As a result, there is no forced increase from Dimension 1 to Dimension 2 after Stage 10.''
 
== Bonus stages ==
The original [[Galaga]] game introduced the world to bonus stages.  So it's only natural that Galaga '88 contains them as well.  Regardless of what dimension path you take through the game, you will be given six opportunities to participate in bonus stages before the end of the game.  Which bonus stage you participate in is determined by your dimension.
 
In each bonus stage, a number of enemies appear from both sides of the screen.  These enemies take various choreographed paths across the screen, often "dancing" to the music that accompanies the stage.  Your goal is to destroy as many of the enemies that appear as possible.  If you manage to destroy every enemy, you are given a large sum of bonus points.  The number of enemies that appear is usually 40, but not always.  Since your score is determined by the number of enemies you destroy out of 40, any bonus stages that do not contain 40 enemies gives you credit for the difference for free.
 
Normally, you have to destroy every enemy to earn the large bonus point reward, but there is a secret method to obtain it as well.
{{spoiler|title=Bonus stage secret|content=You can also obtain the large bonus point reward by not shooting your Fighter's guns once throughout the entire stage.  If you do that, you will be awarded the bonus as a "secret bonus".  Note, however, that you effectively forfeit any of the other points that come with destroying the enemies throughout the course of the stage.}}
 
== Game over ==
[[File:Galaga '88 ending screen.png|right]]
Your game will end under two conditions: you lose all your lives, or you defeat the final boss at the end of Stage 29.  Either way, you are presented with a screen similar to the one shown on the left, which reports your progress through the game.  You are shown the number of shots you fired, the number of hits you made, and your hit-to-miss ratio.  Below these numbers is a graph showing which dimensions you traveled in as you played through each leg of the game.  If you beat a final boss, an image of the defeated boss will appear in the middle of the graph.


The third, seventh, fourteenth, eighteenth, twenty-second and twenty-sixth stages of the game are Challenging Stages; once your ship has rematerialized at the bottom of the screen, the text "THAT'S GALACTIC DANCIN'" will appear on the screen as an updated version of the original "Challenging Stage" introduction is heard from the Yamaha YM-2151. There are sixteen different types of Galagans that are exclusive to these six stages, and three of them are smaller versions of the escort enemies that are exclusive to the twenty-three regular stages - but, unlike their enormous counterparts, they will not fire a hail of bullets down at you (much like the other thirteen bonus enemy types). If you manage to fire a shot at all forty of the Galagans on one Challenging Stage to kill them, the text "PERFECT! NUMBER OF HITS: '''40'''. SPECIAL BONUS! 10000 PTS" will appear on the screen as an updated version of the original "Perfect Challenging Stage" theme is heard from the Yamaha YM-2151; however, if you missed even one of the Galagans, the text "NUMBER OF HITS: '''XX'''. BONUS XX00 PTS" will appear on the screen ("XX" being the number of Galagans you have killed). But if you refrained from touching the controls at all, you will receive a "Secret Bonus" which can range from 10000 to 25000 points and it depends on the dimension that you are currently in - and if you managed to collect two blue Warp Capsules, they will rise up from their positions at the bottom of the screen and explode, creating a dimensional rift in the process. Your ship will then pass through the rift to the next dimension; however, if you only managed to collect one blue Warp Capsule, it will rise up from its position at the bottom of the screen and dissipate while your ship dematerializes and proceeds to the next stage in the same dimension. But if you didn't manage to collect any blue Warp Capsules, your ship will simply dematerialize and proceed to the next stage in the same dimension in the manner of it had only collected one blue Warp Capsule.
{{Footer Nav|game=Galaga '88|prevpage=Getting Started|nextpage=Stages 1-3|nextname=Stages 1-3 (Dimension 1)}}
{{Footer Nav|game=Galaga '88|prevpage=Getting Started|nextpage=Stages 1-3|nextname=Stages 1-3 (Dimension 1)}}

Revision as of 03:52, 27 June 2016

Galaga '88 | Table of Contents | Gameplay | Walkthrough

Table of Contents

Gameplay

Galaga '88 logo

Walkthrough
Appendices

Starting a new game

Galaga '88 select screen.png

Before you begin a new game, you are given the opportunity to make a selection. You can choose between starting the game off as a single Fighter, or starting off as a double Fighter. As a single Fighter, you start the game off with more extra lives, but weaker fire power. As a double Fighter, you start the game off with one fewer life, but better fire power. You're also more exposed to enemy fire and collision as a double Fighter. However, if you start off as a double Fighter, it will take less effort to achieve the Triple Fighter, since you only need to be capture by a Boss Galaga once.

If you're new to the game, and aren't familiar with the movement of your Fighter, as well and the enemy and their bullets, start off as a single Fighter until you get the hang of things. If you're goal is to achieve maximum firepower as quickly as possible, definitely start off as a double Fighter.

Stage flow

Most stages follow the same basic flow; pre-formation, formation, and break down.

Pre-formation
In the majority of stages, the pre-formation portion of the stage involves the arrival of the enemies which will occupy the formation. They can come from any side of the screen except for the bottom. They fly across in various patterns before flying to their designated locations within the formation at the top of the screen. Many enemies appear with a larger escort that takes several shots to destroy. The escorts will always flee the stage when they enemies they escort have reached the formation.
In some stages, Template:~ and Template:~, the pre-formation portion actually involves a vertically scrolling background as different sets of enemies attack you from the top of the screen. These enemies may or may not be the variety which will appear at the top of the screen once the pre-formation portion is complete.
Formation
The formation portion begins as soon as the pre-formation portion is complete. All surviving enemies occupy a position in the formation, which moves back and forth in a variety of patterns. Various members of the formation will break away and do a solo run to the bottom of the screen to attack your Fighter. Any enemy who survives this run and reaches the bottom of the screen will return to their place in the formation through the top of the screen. An enemy that remains in the formation is safer and easier to defeat than an enemy who has broken away from the formation. It should be noted that in stages 8, 9, 27, and 28, the entire enemy formation will instantly appear after the pre-formation period. Since you aren't given the opportunity to attack members of the formation before hand, they are unique in that you will always have to contend with a complete formation.
Break down
The break down portion of the stage is reached when none of the enemies remain in the formation. Once you are down to a handful of enemies, they will no longer return to their positions in the formation. Instead, they will continuously fly down from the top of the screen to the bottom in bombing runs. Some enemies will speed up if they are permitted to cross below the bottom of the screen more than once.

Dimensions

There are five different Dimension in Galaga '88. Dimensions differ from one another primarily by the enemies that they are composed of. Basic enemies like zako and goei only differ cosmetically; they behave exactly the same in all dimensions. However, some enemies are unique to particular dimensions, e.g. you will only encounter Dons in the first dimension, and Nins in the second dimension. The only exception to this is the fifth dimension which can draw on enemies from any of the previous four dimensions. Going up in dimensions doesn't necessarily increase the difficulty like rising through stages does, but it does alter the strategy that you need to employ against the enemies you encounter. Dimensions also determine which final boss you will face at the end of the game, as well as the ending message you receive.

You can only rise through dimensions; once you are in the second dimension, you can never return to the first. To change your dimension, you must collect two blue warp capsules. There are two means of collecting warp capsules. The first involves destroying any of the container objects that occupy the middle of the screen during the pre-formation portion of the stage. This method is not available in every stage, including the first two. The second method is to destroy the combined form of a goei enemy. You will only be given one warp capsule for either method per stage. Destroying a second container object or combined goei will not provide you with any more capsules.

Provided you collect two capsules by the time you reach a bonus stage, the two capsules will rise up after the bonus stage is complete and rip a hole in the fabric of space, transporting your Fighter to a new dimension. Also note that you will automatically travel to Dimension 2 if you complete Stage 10 while still in Dimension 1. As a result, it is impossible to complete the game from Dimension 1. If you only have one capsule, or you are already in the fifth and final dimension, the capsule will rise to the middle of the screen and disappear.

Note: the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine version of the game only contains 4 dimensions. As a result, there is no forced increase from Dimension 1 to Dimension 2 after Stage 10.

Bonus stages

The original Galaga game introduced the world to bonus stages. So it's only natural that Galaga '88 contains them as well. Regardless of what dimension path you take through the game, you will be given six opportunities to participate in bonus stages before the end of the game. Which bonus stage you participate in is determined by your dimension.

In each bonus stage, a number of enemies appear from both sides of the screen. These enemies take various choreographed paths across the screen, often "dancing" to the music that accompanies the stage. Your goal is to destroy as many of the enemies that appear as possible. If you manage to destroy every enemy, you are given a large sum of bonus points. The number of enemies that appear is usually 40, but not always. Since your score is determined by the number of enemies you destroy out of 40, any bonus stages that do not contain 40 enemies gives you credit for the difference for free.

Normally, you have to destroy every enemy to earn the large bonus point reward, but there is a secret method to obtain it as well.

Bonus stage secret

You can also obtain the large bonus point reward by not shooting your Fighter's guns once throughout the entire stage. If you do that, you will be awarded the bonus as a "secret bonus". Note, however, that you effectively forfeit any of the other points that come with destroying the enemies throughout the course of the stage.

Game over

Galaga '88 ending screen.png

Your game will end under two conditions: you lose all your lives, or you defeat the final boss at the end of Stage 29. Either way, you are presented with a screen similar to the one shown on the left, which reports your progress through the game. You are shown the number of shots you fired, the number of hits you made, and your hit-to-miss ratio. Below these numbers is a graph showing which dimensions you traveled in as you played through each leg of the game. If you beat a final boss, an image of the defeated boss will appear in the middle of the graph.

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Table of Contents

Gameplay

Galaga '88 logo

Walkthrough
Appendices
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