3. Design

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Narrative Structure

In Galaga '88, the story revolves around the return of the Galaga Legions, an alien force that has learned from its past failures. This time, they are not only attacking Earth, but have taken control of every planet in their galaxy, using them as military bases. Throughout the game, players face a much more strategic enemy than in previous installments.

The story kicks off when the Galaga Legions acquire advanced technology called Icems, which enhance their fighters and allow them to travel at incredible speeds, giving them a tactical advantage over humanity’s defenders. Meanwhile, the UGSF (Unified Galactic Space Force) has prepared for war, keeping their best pilots and ships stationed at base, waiting for the Legions to make their move.

The attack comes when the alien forces invade a UGSF outpost, triggering the launch of all the fighters from the Lunar Command Center, with orders to destroy any Galaga fighters on sight. From here, players take control of one of those fighters, facing wave after wave of alien enemies while traveling through different dimensions, encountering new challenges and upgraded foes.

Game Endings

Galaga '88 is the first game in the series to feature multiple endings. The difference lies in the dimension where the player defeats the final boss, leading to different story conclusions.

Canonical endings: Depending on the dimension in which the player defeats the final boss, they will witness up to four different endings, adding an element of replayability where players can explore different routes and discover new conclusions.

Non-canonical ending: If the player fails and their ship explodes at the end of the game, an alternate non-canonical ending plays, offering a different conclusion to the story.

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Analysis of each level - Dimension 1

Stage 1

Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates X8 left + right x4 X2 X2 lower left x4 x4 lower right X1 x4 X2 X2 upper left X1 X4 X2 X2 upper right Stage notes Enemies won’t collide with you when they appear, but they will shoot (on default difficulty). Lure their fire to one side and move to safety once they start attacking. There are no crystal-like containers for blue warp capsules. To reach Dimension 2 by Stage 4, wait for two blue goeis to merge and dive. Shoot the first one three times to get a warp capsule—you must do this in both this stage and the next to advance. Whether you start with a single or double Fighter, letting it get captured can help you reach a triple Fighter. Just remember, this leaves you with no extra lives until you earn more points. Shoot the Boss Galaga capturing you only once (if undamaged) to make recovery easier. The special enemies in Dimension 1 are balloon-like Dons. They usually explode into harmless fireworks, but sometimes split into four smaller enemies that drop straight down. Destroying all four before they leave the screen earns bonus points.

Stage 2

Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates X2 X8 left + right X2 x4 X2 X2 lower left X2 x4 x4 lower right X2 x4 X2 X2 upper left X2 X4 X2 X2 upper right Stage notes Enemies appear in the same order as before, but now always in pairs, each led by two large escorts worth 600 points if destroyed. They won’t dive into you, so just focus on dodging bullets. To reach Dimension 2 by Stage 4, wait for two Goei to merge and destroy the first one you see to get a second blue warp capsule. If you reach Stage 3 with only one capsule, you’ll lose it at the end and have to start over. Capturing a capsule makes your Fighter invincible for a few seconds, so you can take risks grabbing it—just make sure no threats reach you first. If you already have a triple Fighter, there’s no need to keep Boss Galagas alive—take them out as fast as possible.

Stage 3

Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates X10 upper left + upper right X10 bottom left + bottom right X10 upper left + upper right X6 x4 bottom left + bottom right Stage notes Ten Hitodes will appear—five from the upper left and five from the upper right. They drop straight down, spin in circles, then fly back up without crossing the middle. Take out one side as they descend and the other before they escape. The second wave is similar but reversed enemies rise from the bottom, spin, then drop back down. Use the same strategy to shoot them. The third wave is the same as the first. The fourth wave is the same as the second, except that four of the enemies are Boss Galagas, and must be shot twice before they are destroyed.

Stage Boss (stage 10)

Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates Enemies Originates X2 X2 upper X1 right side X4 x3 X2 upper + left side X4 middle X4 middle X1 top Stage notes Two zakos will appear at the start, followed by two goei flying in a line. A red asteroid field will form on the right side. Then, four more zakos will show up, along with three Dons. Meanwhile, two red asteroids will hover on the left. four brown asteroids will fall down the center. Four Pans will then swoop around the middle before dropping to the bottom. At this point, a mini-boss battle begins. A giant purple Galaxian will appear at the top, attacking with bullets and spawning enemies like zakos, goeis, Dons, Boss Galagas, and combined goeis. It takes 15 shots to defeat, after which it retreats through the top. Once the mini-boss is defeated, you’ll move on to Stage 11—and be sent to Dimension 2 without any announcement.

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Gameplay

Fighter/Player

You can move left or right, but you are relegated to the bottom of the screen. As in the previous Galaga games, your Fighter has a special ability to link up with other Fighter ships, allowing the two to work side by side, firing simultaneously. In order to accomplish this, you must allow one of your Fighters to be captured by a boss Galaga (the one that shoots tractor beams). At this point, your Fighter will turn red as it becomes cotrolled by the Galaga, and the next available Fighter will take its place. (Note that if you have no more available Fighters when you allow your current Fighter to be captured, the game will end.) In order to enable a double Fighter, you must rescue a red captured Fighter ship first.

Once you rescue a red captured Fighter ship, it will line up with your existing Fighter. At this point you can fire up to two missiles on to the screen at a time per ship. This means if you have two Fighters linked together, you can fire up to four missiles at a time. If you are struck by an enemy or a bullet, you will lose only one Fighter, while the other will remain.

New to Galaga '88 is the potential for a double Fighter configuration to be captured by a boss Galaga. If this happens, the two Fighters will merge and create a blue captured Fighter.

If you manage to rescue a blue captured Fighter ship while in double formation, the blue ship will join your duo and create a triple Fighter, the most powerful formation available. A triple Fighter can shoot three bullets simultaneously, creating a wave of force that few enemies can escape. It is not possible to have your triple Fighter captured by a boss Galaga. If this formation is struck by an enemy or a bullet, it will revert back to a double Fighter formation.

Capsule/Item

The blue capsules can be collected in one of two ways. They are left behind by the obstacles that appear on most non-bonus stages when you destroy them, and they are generated by the enemies which are generated when two small enemies join together to make one bigger enemy. Collecting one will make your ship invincible for a very short period. Once you have collected two of them, they will create a dimensional rift after you have cleared the next bonus stage.

Stage Indicators

Like its predecessor, Galaga '88 has indicator badges to show what level you are currently on. A combination of these will add up to your current level. However, while there are indicators for going up to 20 stages, we'll be using the one that signalizes 1 stage and add them together to signalize stage 3.

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Controls

The controls of Galaga 88 are pretty simple, In the arcade machine, you use the joystick to move the player side to side, then with the yellow button you can shoot the enemies. Like you can see in the following image.

In the game we are making on pc, you can use either the A,D and the arrows to move side to side, and to fire you can press space. Is not implemented but we are thinking of the possibility to use the left click to shoot as well.

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References

• https://galaxian.fandom.com/wiki/Galaga_%2788

• https://www.retroplace.com/es/juegos/184838--galaga-

• https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Galaga_%2788

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