Galaga Clones and Ports (Galaga-likes)

Clones & Ports of Namco's Galaga 1981

This article is concerned with computer-game clones and ports of Namco's Galaga coinop of 1981. Galaga-likes are defined by me as fixed-screen shoot 'em ups that feature alien wave-formations that come from off-screen and swoop sideways or downward while firing at the player's starship, which is confined to horizontal movement at bottom-screen. There are also other mechanics at work, such as the employment of tractor beams by Galaga bosses.

The article is only concerned with Galaga clones and ports that appeared on Western computer game machines. The clones and ports are presented chronologically.

Galaga games are not the same as Space Invaders or Galaxian games.

Galaga Clones

Arcade Galactic Firebird TRS-80 1982

Mike Chalk's Arcade Galactic Firebird of 1982 on the TRS-80 shifts around a number of sprites in smooth arcs and circles, à la Namco's Galaga coinop of 1981. Mesmerizing. And as hard as hell.

Demon Seed TRS-80 1982

Jeff Sorensen and Philip Mackenzie coded Demon Seed for the TRS-80 in 1982. Demon Seed is a clone of Taito's Galaga-like Phoenix coinop of 1980. Note the size of the demon-objects.

Galaxy Commodore 64 1983

Kingsoft released Galaxy in 1983 for the Commodore 64. Galaxy was programmed by Walter Brewer. Galaxy was also released for the Atari 800 in 1983. The Atari 800 version was programmed by Steve Hinkle and Dave Johnston.

Deluxe Galaga Amiga 1995

Coded by Edgar M. Vigdal in 1995, Deluxe Galaga on the Amiga features smooth sprite-shifting and 2-player coop. It also runs at 50 FPS. Deluxe Galaga is best Galaga clone ever coded.

Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom IBM PC 1995

Pop Software's Galaga-likes Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom and Return of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom were released as Shareware in 1995 for IBM PC MS-DOS. Both games feature big and colorful sprites that move smoothly around the viewport in waves.

Galaga Ports

Galaga Commodore 64 1982

Henrik Wening's Commodore 64 rendition of Galaga might not have looked like much even in 1982, but its controls are responsive and its gameplay is fast and fun. I booted this up in 2024 and played it for a few hours. The challenge stage bestows a bonus based on the number of hits accrued.

cf.

• History of Shoot 'em Ups 1976-2000
• TRS-80 Shoot 'em ups Listed in Chronological Order
• Amiga Shoot 'em ups Listed in Chronological Order
• Commodore 64 Shoot 'em ups Listed in Chronological Order
• IBM PC Shoot 'em ups Listed in Chronological Order
• Invader-likes: clones and ports of Taito's Space Invaders 1978
• Galaxian-likes: clones and ports of Namco's Galaxian 1979
• Asteroids-likes: clones and ports of Atari's Asteroids 1979
• Berzerk-likes: clones and ports of Stern Electronics' Berzerk 1980
• Defender-likes: clones and ports of Williams' Defender 1981
• Scramble-likes: clones and ports of Konami's Scramble 1981
• Robotron-likes: clones and ports of Vid Kidz's Robotron 1982
• Xevious-likes: clones and ports of Namco's Xevious 1982
• Gravitar-likes: clones and ports of Atari's Gravitar 1982
• Gyruss-likes: clones and ports of Konami's Gyruss 1983
• Gradius-likes: clones and ports of Konami's Gradius 1985
• Commando-likes: clones and ports of Capcom's Commando 1985
• Salamander-likes: clones and ports of Konami's Salamander 1986
• R-Type-likes: clones and ports of Irem's R-Type 1987
• Western Computer-game Machines
• History of Computer Games 1976-2024
• History of 1990s Computer Games
• cRPG Blog (Master Index)