Trip of the third star for the Galaxian franchise.
Many video game fans know Namco’s shmup classic Galaxianmany people still know about its legendary sequel Galaga, but few people ever reference the second Space shmup sequel, Gaplus. Well, the renaissance is here, as the forming shmup has joined the ranks of Hamster’s Arcade Archives on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Released into the arc in 1984, and lost in the quagmire of the Video Game Crash, Gaplus retains the vertically scrolling shmup action of its predecessor but introduces a completely new scoring system as well as a selection of alternative power-ups and weapons. As players guide a lucky ship and shoot down waves of enemies, they can collect flags for bonus points and unlock a powerful arsenal of picks, including a bunch of tractors and a giant appendage resembling a drill.
Watch in action in the video below, courtesy of Youtuber Old Classic Classic Game.
While Gaplus was well received by critics and enjoyed some success in Japan, the western release suffered due to a series of arcade mall closures and a general move towards home gaming . In North America, Gaplus has been renamed to Galaga 3 in an attempt to draw more eyes to its legacy. Gaplus will not receive multiple main ports, although one has been released for the Commodore 64. The arcade version will not receive an official port until it is re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2009.
Gaplus Currently available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, for around $8.
Chris Moyse
Senior Editor – Chris has been playing video games since the 1980s. Former Saturday Night Slam Master. Graduated with honors from Galaxy High School. Twitter: @ChrisxMoyse
