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Galaga Clones and Ports (Galaga-likes)


Clones & Ports of Namco's Galaga 1981



This article is concerned with clones and ports of Namco's Galaga coinop of 1981 that have appeared on Western home computer game machines.

The original Galaga coinop was programmed by Toru Ogawa, drawn by Hiroshi Ono and composed by Nobuyuki Ohnogi.

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 home 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.


Cosmic Crusader IBM PC Booter 1982


Michael Abrash released Cosmic Crusader for IBM PC self-booter in 1982. Cosmic Crusader requires an i808x with 64 kbtytes RAM. Cosmic Crusader is one of the best early shoot 'em ups for IBM PC.


Not only is Cosmic Crusader highly playable even in 2025, but it is technically impressive as well due to the sheer number of on-screen sprites that it smoothly and simultaneously shifts across the playfield with its 60 kbyte of code. Cosmic Crusader displays in CGA 320x200 Cosmic Crusader and supports joystick input and keyboard control.

Xtron Atari ST 1986



RDS-Software released Xtron for the Atari ST in 1986. A Galaga-like, Xtron was programmed by Christoph Sing and Rolf Wagner. Xtron v2.0 was the first Atari ST game to require 1 meg of RAM.

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.


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