P-tew, p-tew! Shooty shooty!

Galaxian - King and Balloon

Galaxian - 1979 - Personal high score: 13470

Namco’s first big breakout hit and one that is still widely beloved to this day. Galaxian is another simplistic shoot-em-up, but unlike the earlier SOS, this game succeeds far more at creating a genuinely engaging and unpredictable game. Unlike other shooters of the time, Galaxian actually has what could be considered an early example of enemy AI resulting in more erratic and challenging enemy movements. The enemies swoop in, aggressively charge for you, wave left and right in a way akin to orbiting around you, stop and start as they fly side to side at the top of the screen and attack in formations in an attempt to overwhelm you. The patterns are unpredictable with a lot of variables, but after a few attempts you start to get a feel for the way the enemies behave, especially with the inertia they carry when swooping, preventing them from suddenly changing directions. Once you’ve got the hang of this the game becomes this constant split second battle with each enemy where both of you are attempting to bait each other into your own shots, at which point the game gets extremely satisfying. Just like SOS, you can only have one projectile on screen at a time, leaving you open without any defense if your shot misses as you have to wait for the projectile to fly off the screen before you can fire again. In SOS this made the game feel sluggish, but in Galaxian it makes the game far more intense constantly. You’re wanting to make every shot count, especially when an enemy is charging for you and you may not have enough time to fire a second shot if you miss. You have to aim carefully just a bit ahead of the enemy, firing where you think they will be on the board by the time your shot reaches their height. As the enemy gets closer to you it’s easier to accurately fire at you, but waiting for this moment can be risky too since if you do miss you have even less of a chance to move out of the way of their attacks. This is nothing new, Space Invaders required this kind of precise timing with your shots as well, but Galaxian’s erratic and aggressive AI makes this far more intense than Space Invaders ever was. Adding to the intensity is the yellow and blue alien at the top of the enemy formation. When they attack you, they bring two of the red aliens with them in a formation, resulting in more targets to shoot and more projectiles to dodge. If you manage to shoot down the two red aliens and then shoot the formation leader afterwards before they fly off screen you will earn a significant 800 points. Attempting this can be a big risk in itself as this requires firing three accurate shots in a row while weaving through heavy fire, yet pulling it off is so satisfying that I’m constantly aiming for it. Galaxian is a classic for good reason and continues to be a fun thrill to this day.