Triple your firepower
Improving on one of the most interesting concepts of the original Galaga, the Boss Galagans now have the ability to capture dual ships. By retrieving the captured dual ship, you can triple your firepower, giving you the opportunity to achieve the maximum bonus in the "Galactic Dancin'" Challenging Stages and a better chance of staying alive in the later dimensions. The sequence plays out like that of the original, so it doesn't need to be explained here. However, the triple ship cannot in turn be captured and retrieved to create some kind of "quadruple ship".
Staying alive
If you had a hard time staying alive in the original due to the increased target area of the dual ship, the target area of the triple ship must be even worse - so try and get it for the "Galactic Dancin'" Challenging Stages only. Those who are used to the triple ship's target area should get it as quickly as possible on either of the first two stages and use it up until at least Stage 10 (the scrolling one with the Mini-Boss). If you have a triple ship and it gets turned back into a dual by accident, try to restore it until Stage 15(the first one with the Bosconian space stations in the background) - because starting from this point, the very last enemy remaining on the stage will try to escape. If you manage to kill it before it does, it will leave behind a pink Warp Capsule that instantly transforms whatever kind of ship you have into a triple ship if you catch it - with no cost at all to your remaining lives.
Dimensional warping
By collecting two Warp Capsules in one dimension, you will warp to the next dimension after the current dimension's Challenging Stage. There are two ways to get a Warp Capsule: kill a giant Goei, or destroy an obstacle. As there are no obstacles in the first dimension, the first option is the only way to warp to the second dimension after the first Challenging Stage. The bonuses you get for pulling this off are as follows:
- Dimension 1 to Dimension 2: 10000 points
- Dimension 2 to Dimension 3: 20000 points
- Dimension 3 to Dimension 4: 30000 points
- Dimension 4 to Dimension 5: 40000 points
The dimension you are in at the end of the game also determines which Final Boss you will have to face and which ending you will get if you defeat him. The Mini-Boss on the tenth stage is always the same no matter what dimension you are in, but if you are still in the first dimension after making him retreat at the end of that stage, you will automatically warp to the second dimension with no bonus.
"Galactic Dancin'" Challenging Stages
As in the original, Challenging Stages occur on the third stage and every fourth stage thereafter. As the name suggests, various different types of Galagans will appear and dance to a waltz, tango, jazz ballad or military march while the player attempts to shoot them down for bonus points. However, if you refrain from touching any controls at all during these stages, you will be rewarded with a "secret bonus" - which ranges from 10000 to 25000 points and depends on what dimension you are currently in.