Joystick: Use the 2-way joystick, to direct your chosen ship along the bottom of the screen; none of them can wrap round from one side to the other.
Firing Button: Use this button to make your chosen ship fire bullets up at the invaders; holding it down charges their shot (much like the R9 in Irem's R-Type and Apollo's sword in Namco's Phelios), and upon releasing the button the ship fires a more powerful shot up at the invaders. Every ship has their own unique type of shot - and some are more effective against invaders than others, so you should select the character who works best for you.
1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin the game as player 1 or player 2; the choice determines which of the characters you may select.
The Silver Hawk originally appeared in the Darius series, beginning in 1987, while Sayo-Chan originally appeared in KiKi KaiKai earlier in 1986, and both characters have also appeared in the eighth and seventh stages of Space Invaders DX's "Parody Mode" respectively, in 1994; for the US version, Kusai-Wa 1 was renamed to "Toilet I", Poribaketsu 1 to "Bucet I" (the misspelling of "Bucket" is correct), Wanko to "Harry", Clyde's name misspelled as "Cride", and Goriyaku Ichi renamed to "Amulet I". The descriptions of the ships that appear during the attract mode (one pair for each loop, so you would have to watch the full sequence five times in succession if you wanted to see all 10 descriptions) are also changed to feature badly-translated "Engrish" phrases.
In the US version, Kusai-Wa 2 was renamed to "Toilet II", Danboru-Bako 2 to "Corrugated Carton II", Nyanko to "Nancy", Bonnie misspelled as "Bonny", and Kaiun Ni was renamed to "Amulet II"; this also meant that the character of Nyanko was changed from a male (the only one on 2P side), to a female.
The alien invaders still behave the same (again); they remain in formation (as they advance towards the bottom of the screen). The entire formation will either circle around as they move downwards, move to the right or the left until the far column reaches the side of the screen then drop down and move back towards that other side of the screen, or move downwards - and, the lowest invader of every column shall fire bullets down to the ground (and you will receive 10 extra points for every one you block, or for those that cannot be blocked, attempt to). If any one invader manages to reach the bottom of the screen, both players will die immediately while either the Kanji text Senryō (占領) for the Japanese version, or the English text "INVADE" for the US version, appears on the screen (but, like in Majestic Twelve, your game will not end; the invaders will just return back to their original starting positions).
Original Large Invader
Original Medium Invader
Type 1 Invader
Type 2 Invader
Type 3 Invader
Type 4 Invader
Type 5 Invader
Type 6 Invader
Type 7 Invader
Type 8 Invader
Type 9 Invader
Type 11 Invader
Type 12 Invader
Type 13 Invader
Type 14 Invader
Type 15 Invader
Type 16 Invader
Type 17 Invader
Type 18 Invader
Type 19 Invader
Type 20 Invader
Type 21 Invader
Type 26 Invader
Type 27 Invader
Type 28 Invader
Type 29 Invader
Type 30 Invader
Type 31 Invader
Chair Invader
Table Invader
Vase Invader
Wardrobe Invader
Type 33 Invader
Type 34 Invader
Type 35 Invader
Type 36 Invader
Type 37 Invader
Type 38 Invader
Type 39 Invader
Type 40 Invader
Type 41 Invader
Type 43 Invader
Type 44 Invader
Type 45 Invader
Type 46 Invader
Type 47 Invader
Type 48 Invader
Type 33 Invaders also serve as UFOs in World 4, and Type 34 Invaders also serve as shields there (but shall occasionally fire three bullets into the air).
These types of invaders only appear on the "Bonus Stages" (4, 10, 18, 25, and 31); they will fly into view from the left side, right side or top of the screen and you can kill them, for bonus points. At the end of the stage, the amount of bonus points you received for the killed Bonus Invaders will get tabulated.
As in all six previous games, UFOs shall appear randomly over the formation; they appear on one side of the screen and cross over to the opposite side. During this time you can attempt to shoot them for bonus points - however, the point value that is awarded for one can now only range from 500 to 3000.
Type 1 UFO (Worlds 1 and 5)
Type 2 UFO (World 2)
Type 3 UFO (World 2)
Type 4 UFO (World 3)
Type 5 UFO (World 3)
Bonus UFO (All Worlds)
The Bonus UFOs are common to all five worlds of this game, and when they are destroyed, they shall leave one of four different powerups behind which shall fall down to the bottom of the screen and bounce three times before falling off it (for a two-player game, the third of them will work for both players):
Bowling Ball: When either player collects this powerup, they will receive a large bowling ball; when they press their Firing Button, they will roll it, and it shall bowl over any invader it hits. This is particularly useful for stages where the invaders adopt a vertically-moving formation.
Missile: When either player collects this powerup, they will gain that ability to fire more rapidly for twenty normal (non-charged) presses of the Firing Button; this is particularly useful for certain stages, where the invaders move at a faster speed than those on some other stages.
Clock: When either player collects this powerup, all invaders currently on screen shall stop moving as an "eyeless" alarm clock appears at the top of the screen; once it's reached the time of 11:05, it shall ring and disappear, and all the remaining invaders will start moving again.
Bomb: When either player collects this powerup they shall receive a large bomb; when they press their Firing Button, they will throw it into the air, and it shall kill any invader in its blast radius when it explodes; this is particularly useful for stages where there are lots of invaders.
Type 1 UFOs also play the part of regular invaders on Stage 27, where they shall adopt a horizontally-moving formation, and for the first time fire bullets.
World 1 (Stage 5): Once your two chosen ships have stopped moving on forward, the first Boss Invader will drop down into view from the top of the screen and speak the threescript text Kondo ha, 'bosu' no oresama ga aitedā!! (今度は、「ボス」のオレ様が相手だー!!) in the Japanese version, or "THIS TIME, I, THE BOSS FIGHT AGAINST YOU!" in the US version; he will now start flying around up above you while spewing a volcanic hail of bullets and bombs down at you (the latter of which can get blocked, for extra points). He'll then throw two bowling balls down at you, and spew out twenty-four small versions of himself - which will adopt a vertical formation as they descend towards the bottom of the screen, so you shall have to kill them as well. Once you have fired out enough shots at him to defeat him, he will explode, and speak the Hiragana text Chikushō, oboe terō!! (ちくしょー、おぼえてろー!!) in the Japanese version; you'll then receive 10000 bonus points, as your chosen pilots speak the Kanji/Hiragana text of Rakushō! Chō rakushō! Pīsu! (楽勝! ちょー楽勝!! ぴいすっ!) (in the Japanese version), or "WALKAWAY!! A VERY EASY VICTORY!" (in the US version). You'll now proceed to World 2, which appears to be based on food.
Type 10 Invader
World 2 (Stage 11): Once the game's "boss" theme starts to be heard from the ES-5505 for the second time the text of "WARNING!! A HUGE BATTLE SHIP #106780 YAMATO IS APPROACHING FAST" will appear upon the screen (this is a reference to Darius, which was released in 1987 but used two Yamaha YM-2203s instead of just one); the second Boss Invader will then come down into view from the top of the screen and start firing hails of bullets down at you from its three bottom-mounted cannons. Once you have fired enough shots at each of them to destroy them, it will start launching Type 22, 23, 24 and 25 Invaders at you (which will adopt a horizontally-bouncing formation as they advance towards the bottom of the screen so you will have to kill them as well) - and the mechanical sturgeon perched on the top of the ship (which is actually a super deformed version of the first boss from the original Darius, King Fossil) shall then begin to spit out five spreading bullets from its mouth at you. Once you have fired enough shots at it to destroy it the mechanical octopus on top of the ship will start spitting five more spreading bullets from its mouth at you; once you have fired enough shots at it to destroy it the entire ship will explode and you will receive 20000 points. The two Kanji characters that are painted black on its mainsail in both versions of the game also read as Taigyo - which literally means "Big Fish".
Type 22 Invader
Type 23 Invader
Type 24 Invader
Type 25 Invader
World 3 (Stage 19): Once your two chosen ships have stopped moving forward (and come up to an island with a jewelled conch shell on it), a Type 5 UFO will emerge from the ocean at the bottom of the screen and hit the shell ten times with a hammer; the world's Boss Invader (the only female one in the game) will then emerge from it and speak that Hiragana/Kanji text Atai no ie wo, doi tsuita no ha, omae ka! (あたいの家を、どいついたのは、お前か!) in the Japanese version or "IT'S YOU WHO HIT MY HOUSE, ARN'T YOU?" in the US version, to which your two chosen pilots shall reply with the Katakana/Hiragana text Ore janai! UFO no shi wazadā!! (オレぢゃない! UFO のしわざだー!!) in the Japanese version or "IT'S NOT ME. THAT'S UFO'S ACT!" in the US version. She will now fire a hail of bullets into the air (which will rain down upon your two chosen pilots, and can get blocked for extra points), before retreating back into her shell, and bouncing up and down, while releasing twenty Type 32 Invaders (which will adopt a horizontally-moving formation, as they descend towards the bottom of the screen, so you will have to kill them as well) - and she shall then re-emerge from her shell and spin her arms around in a clockwise direction as twenty more Type 32 Invaders appear around her (which will, again, adopt a horizontally-moving formation as they descend towards the bottom of the screen so you shall again have to kill them as well). Once you have fired enough shots at her to defeat her her shell will explode and she will speak the Hiragana text Hārehore hīreharē... (はーれほれひーれはれー...) in the Japanese version; your two chosen pilots will then start moving forward again, as you receive 30000 points. You'll now proceed to World 4, which was previously represented by the Kanji text Kōji-chū (工事中) on the overworld map.
Type 32 Invader
World 4 (Stage 26): Once your two chosen ships have stopped moving forward, a lot of Type 35, 36, 37, and 38 Invaders shall escort the world's Boss Invader up into view from the bottom of the screen; they shall then all start flying around above you, while firing a hail of bullets (and fireballs) down at you. Once you have fired a shot at all of the Type 35, 36, 37 and 38 Invaders to kill them, the background will fade out as the Boss Invader turns into a pair of ghostly eyes (similar to those seen at the start of this world) - and, one formation of sixteen Original Large Invaders, sixteen Original Medium Invaders, and eight Original Small Invaders shall then appear above you, and adopt a horizontally-moving formation as they descend towards the bottom of the screen. Once you have fired a shot at all of them, to kill them, the background shall fade back in (and the Boss Invader will return to his original form), and a lot of additional Type 35 Invaders materialize in the centre of the screen to start flying round him as they fire another hail of bullets and fireballs down at you; once you have fired off a shot at each of the additional Type 35 Invaders to kill them (and enough shots at the Boss Invader himself) he will explode and reveal himself to be a melon-like robot then move horizontally down towards the bottom of the screen while launching a hail of Type 42 Invaders down at you. Once you have fired enough shots at him to defeat him, he will explode and you will receive 40000 points as your two chosen pilots speak the threescript text of Ore, obake ha nigatena nda yo nā... (オレ、おばけは苦手なんだよなぁ...) in the Japanese version - and you'll then go on to the fifth & final world.
Original Small Invader
Type 42 Invader
World 5 (Stage 32): Once this game's "boss" theme starts to be heard from the ES-5505 for a fifth and final time, the world's Boss Invader will walk down into view from the top of the screen; it will then punch down towards your two chosen ships with its arms, while firing eight spreading bullets down at them from its antennae (which can be blocked for extra points). It will then start firing green, rectangular blocks (which, if you shoot them enough times, can be destroyed for extra points) at you from its eyes, while launching a hail of Type 49 Invaders at you from its nose - and it will then start firing laser beams at you from its eyes while firing green, zigzag blocks (which, again, if you hit them enough times, can get destroyed for extra points) at you, from its nose. Once you've fired enough shots at it to defeat it, it will explode and fall over on its back as a "King UFO" and its two escorts emerge from it, and your two chosen pilots speak the Hiragana/Kanji text A! Ōsama no UFO ga, nigete iku zo! (あっ! 王様のUFOが、 逃げていくぞ!!) in the Japanese version; your two chosen ships will then start moving forward as an invader with a rickshaw cart blows up a bulging blockade of debris, and tries to escape off the top of the screen. A lot of invaders will then fly away off the top of the screen (which you can kill off for some final extra points) as the text "CONGRATULATIONS! YOU DESTROYED FINAL WEAPON OF INVADERS THEN...THE EARTH IS SAVED! BONUS 50000 PTS" appears on the screen - and the screen will then fade out to the overworld map as the text "ALL WORLD CLEAR!!" appears on the screen. You can then sit back, and enjoy this game's ending sequence.
Type 49 Invader
Note: If either, or both, of the players selects Benben and/or Penpen in both versions of the game, they will speak random toilet-related symbols instead of the standard phrases, and if either or both of the players selects Wanko and/or Nyanko in the Japanese version, they'll only speak the Hiragana texts of Wan (わん) and Nyan (にゃん), as they are Japanese onomatopoeia for barking and mewing; in the US version, where they were renamed to "Harry" and "Nancy" (the latter also becoming female), they'll only speak the texts "BOW" and "MEOW" instead, as they're English onomatopoeia for the same.
