Gaplus

Gaplus[lower-alpha 1] is a 1984 fixed shooter arcade game developed and released by Namco. It is the third game in the Galaxian series, serving as a direct sequel to Galaga (1981). In North America, a modification kit was later released to change the name to Galaga 3, possibly to reflect its position in the series.[4] It was the only game other than Phozon to run on the Namco Phozon hardware. A contemporary home port for the Commodore 64 was released in 1988. A "demastered" version of the game (in the style of the Nintendo Entertainment System) was included in Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 as a bonus title.

Gaplus
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)
SeriesGalaxian
Platform(s)Arcade, Commodore 64, Mobile phone, NES
Release
Genre(s)Fixed shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemNamco Phozon

Gameplay
The player shooting down formations of enemies
Galaga 3 conversion kit marquee

The objective of Gaplus is to score as many points as possible by defeating successive waves of enemies in levels called "Parsecs". Its core gameplay is very similar to Galaga: Enemies fly onto the screen in rows and join a formation near the top, then begin attacking the player's ship with kamikaze-like dives. The ship can move left and right, as well as vertically. Bonus lives are earned at certain score intervals, and can also be gained by collecting ship parts dropped by some enemies, as well as collecting Rally-X bonus flags from shooting stars. The player loses a life when struck by an enemy or one of their shots; the game ends when all lives are lost.

Certain enemies drop upgrades that include a tractor beam which the player can use to capture enemies, a large drill that can destroy many enemies at once, powerups that temporarily slow down enemies or nullify their shots, and parts to create a new ship that awards an extra life when completed. Some stages begin with the star field reversing direction, with harder and faster waves of enemies appearing before resuming a normal formation.

The game features bonus "Challenging Stages" just as Galaga did. However, instead of defeating a certain number of enemies, the objective of the challenging stage in Gaplus is to juggle enemies by hitting them as many times as possible. Each hit grants a dot (represented by a bee) in a word or phrase, with extra hits adding to horizontal lines above and below the word. Spelling the entire word or phrase will earn a bonus related to that phrase, and each hit scores bonus points at the end of the round.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Gaplus on their May 15, 1984 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[5]

Legacy

The arcade version of Gaplus was released on mobile phones,[6] and is also part of Namco Museum Remix (2007) and Namco Museum Megamix (2010) for the Wii with its original title being used. The original version was later re-released under its original name for the Wii Virtual Console on March 25, 2009.[7] In 2011, Gaplus was released for iOS devices as part of Galaga 30th Collection, featuring updated visuals, sound, and achievements.[8][9]

In 2020, Namco released a "demastered" version of the game as a bonus game in the Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 compilation. Developed by M2, this game emulates the visual style of the Nintendo Entertainment System, similar to the NES-style remake of Pac-Man Championship Edition in Vol. 1.[10]

Notes
  1. Japanese: ギャプラス, Hepburn: Gyapurasu

References
  1. "Video Game Flyers: Gaplus, Namco (EU)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  2. "Gaplus (Registration Number PA0000225732)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  3. Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 124–5. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  4. "The Definitive Galaxian". No. 32. Imagine Publishing. Retro Gamer. December 2006. pp. 68–75. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  5. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 236. Amusement Press. May 15, 1984. p. 29.
  6. "「ギャプラス」「ファミリースタジアムDX」が登場──ナムコEZゲームス". ITMedia. January 23, 2007. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  7. Fahey, Mike (March 25, 2009). "Wii Virtual Console Goes To The Arcade". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  8. IGN Staff (June 6, 2011). "New Galaga Titles Arrive This Summer to Commemorate 30th Anniversary". IGN. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  9. Tan, Maurice (June 9, 2011). "E3: Galaga 30th Anniversary hits iOS with free Galaxian". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  10. Scullion, Chris (June 24, 2020). "Namco Museum Archives Vol 2 Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
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