Category:Space Invaders

Space Invaders
Developer(s)	Taito Corporation, Midway Games, UPL, Backbone Entertainment, Raw Thrills, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Taito Corporation, Midway Games, Square Enix, Degica
Year introduced	1978
Genre(s)	Shooter, Real-time strategy

Space Invaders is a series of seven fixed shooter arcade games that were released by Taito Corporation and Midway Games between 1978 and 1995.

• Space Invaders (1978): The initial title in the series started what is entitled the "Golden Age of Arcade Games", and was so popular that it caused a shortage of 100-yen coins in Japan until the supply was quadrupled; entire arcades were also opened specifically for it. Licensed to Midway Games, and later rereleased along with Taito America Corporation's Qix (1981) in the compilation arcade game Space Invaders: 25th Anniversary (2003).
• Space Invaders Part II (1979): The second title for the series was released a year after the original, and introduced several new features (including invaders which break into two smaller ones when they are shot and a new type of flashing spaceship which can only be destroyed when visible and drops in reinforcement invaders); it was also the first arcade game to feature a cutscene. Licensed to Midway Games, as "Space Invaders Deluxe", and later rereleased with the original in the Virtual Boy title Space Invaders Virtual Collection, which also featured new 3D and challenge modes.
• Space Invaders II (Midway) (1980): The third title for the series was created by Midway Games without Taito's authorization, and was housed in a cocktail cabinet; as a result, the ships (and invaders) looked different to those of the first two games. Two players could also play it simultaneously, which made the game like a cross between its two predecessors and Irem's Space Beam (for one player could kill the other, then acquire his ship).
• Return of the Invaders (1985): The fourth (and third official) title in the series was released five years after the third and six years after the second official one, and was the only one not to have "Space" in its title; it also refers to the invaders as "Flector", the barricades as "Xero-Guards" and the player's ship as "Xerovy" on the title screen. Once only three or more "Zicon" (master invaders) remain on any stage, it shall invoke a bonus stage.
• Majestic Twelve: The Space Invaders Part IV (1990): The fifth, and fourth official, title in the series was released five years after the previous one and introduced several more new features (including: officially allowing two players to play simultaneously, giving the ships shields so they don't die immediately when hit, the spaceships leaving powerups behind when destroyed, boss battles, and a new "Cattle Mutilation" bonus stage); released in the United States as "Super Space Invaders '91", where it became the first of two SI titles to feature the FBI's "Winners Don't Use Drugs" screen.
• Space Invaders DX (1994): The sixth, and fifth official, title in the series was released four years after the previous one and featured three different modes; Normal Mode (which replicated the original in four different ways), Versus Mode (which again allowed two players to play simultaneously), and Parody Mode (which replaced the characters with those from several other Taito games such as The NewZealand Story, The FairyLand Story, Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, Mizubaku Daibōken, Arkanoid, KiKi KaiKai, Darius, and Don Doko Don, all got released between 1985 and 1990).
• Akkanvader (1995): The seventh, sixth official, and final title in the series was released a year after the previous one and again introduced several more features (including several different ships to choose from, one of which was piloted by "Sayo-Chan" from the aforementioned KiKi KaiKai, the ability to charge your shot like Apollo's sword in Namco's Phelios, and "cuter"-styled characters); released in the United States as "Space Invaders '95: Attack of the Lunar Loonies" where it went on to become the second of the two SI titles to feature the EPA's "Recycle It, Don't Trash It" screen.
• Space Invaders Extreme (Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360 & Microsoft Windows, 2008): An eighth, and seventh official, title in the series was developed by Taito Corporation for Square Enix thirteen years after the previous one; it's the first direct-to-console title in the series.
• Space Invaders: The Beat Attacker (2008): A ninth and eighth official title for the series was released only a few months after the previous one to mark the series' thirtieth anniversary; it is a video ticket-redemption game, where the player must step on foot switches to fire shots at the invaders.
• Space Invaders Get Even (Nintendo Wii, 2008): A tenth, and ninth official, title for the series was again developed by Taito Corporation for Square Enix and released only a few months after the previous one; it's the second direct-to-console title in the series, and unlike all its predecessors, it's a real-time strategy game in which the player has to take control of a UFO with a swarm of invaders circling around it on a mission to take over Earth.
• Space Invaders Extreme 2 (Nintendo DS, 2009): An 11th (and 10th official) title in the series was again developed by Taito Corporation for Square Enix and released a year after the three previous ones; this is the third direct-to-console title in the series, and it was only released on Nintendo DS.
• Space Invaders Infinity Gene (iOS, Sony PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 & Android, 2009): A twelfth and eleventh official title for the series was released only a few months after the previous one; it's the fourth direct-to-console title in the series, but it was never released on either DS, PSP or Windows.
• Space Invaders Frenzy (2016): A thirteenth and twelfth official title in the series was released seven years after the two previous ones; as with The Beat Attacker, it's a video ticket-redemption game, but this time the players must use lightguns mounted on the cabinet to fire shots at the invaders.
• Arkanoid vs Space Invaders (Nintendo Switch, 2020): A fourteenth (and thirteenth official) instalment in the series was put out four years after the previous one as part of Space Invaders Invincible Collection, which also featured monochromatic and colour versions of the original, Part II, both versions of Majestic Twelve, and Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE; the "Special Edition" of the title also includes 1979's Lunar Rescue (which is not a Space Invaders game, but seven invaders were present on its title screen and after its third stage), 1980's Space Cyclone and Space Invaders DX.
• Minivader (1990): This title is not officially part of the series, and was only created by Taito as a test board on account of a Japanese law stating it was illegal to sell an arcade cabinet without a game in it; it features monochromatic graphics, no sound chips, no scoring system, and the invaders will not fire any bullets. This means that the only way it is possible for the player to lose this game is if the invaders reach the bottom of the screen.