No, we're not talking about Liam and Noel. Arcade shooter "Galaga" celebrates its 45th anniversary this month, and there’s a lot to be thankful for. Developed by Namco, few know the game was actually a sequel to 1979’s "Galaxian", thanks to the massive success this title eventually brought.
Arcade games of the late 70s and early 80s were saturated with space theming, but "Galaga" rose above the rest thanks to its innovative gameplay and thoughtful little touches, like the Challenging stages. You’ve likely played it in two ways: via an arcade machine if you're old enough to remember those, or on the loading screen for the first "Tekken" game on Sony PlayStation, released in 1995 (which you may still not be old enough to remember). Beyond that, "Galaga"'s most recent pop culture claim to fame is Tony Stark's declaration of "That man is playing "Galaga"" during The Avengers.
You control a starship fixed at the bottom of the screen, where you must shoot down any alien craft that fly in predictable patterns. The more you hit, the more points you score. There are bosses who mix up the difficulty and add to the fun factor too. Although "Galaga" didn’t inspire the band Oasis’ Gallagher brothers a decade later, it did help spur the Arcade years some look back on as a golden age. To celebrate 45 years since "Galaga"’s debut, we’re looking back to see why it still stands the test of time in the sea of retro space shooters.
A Galaxian Quest
It sounds strange to assume that "Galaga" was made to clear out a hemorrhage of "Galaxian" arcade boards, but that’s exactly how the sequel began. 1979’s "Galaxian" was a huge success for Namco, and back then, games were few and far between, so it wasn’t unusual to see the same game in arcades for a few years. But once 1981 came around, Namco knew it needed something else.
Namco had a lot of "Galaxian" arcade boards, so they decided to clear them out with new games, such as "King" and "Balloon". Galaxion arrived in 1980 as a fixed shooter where you had to save the King before he got carried away. But in September 1981, the second title arrived in the form of "Galaga", adding innovative new features that kept players coming back, like the ability to capture another ship, so your firepower could double against enemy ships.
The Challenging Stage was another highlight, where multiple ships flew in with multiple formations. "Galaga" creator and designer Shigeru Yokoyama explained in an interview, via Shmuplations, how this came about. “At first there was only one pattern they’d fly in, which was the pattern that a bug had created.
During the course of the development, we realized we wanted this to be a game with a lot of replay value, so we decided to add more patterns.” Yokoyama says further that he owes this to programmer Tetsu Ogawa, who went on to create even more patterns to make the stages more fun and challenging. It’s little touches like these that made "Galaga" the iconic arcade shooter it became.
In addition, "Galaga" even has some unused graphics, thanks to The Cutting Room Floor. There’s a ‘500’ point graphic, but no enemy has that. Another is a laser beam graphic that could have been a weapon.
There’s even an Easter Egg you can try out in "Galaga"’s arcade version. When in Service Mode, press and hold Button 1, then press Right (×5), Left (×6), Right (×3), Left (×7). If done correctly, "©1981 NAMCO LTD.” should appear.
"Galaga" was a smash hit, coming in at sixth place in Japan for the highest-grossing arcade game of 1981, and climbing to 3rd the following year. But it was its longevity throughout the 80s that gave "Galaga" its classic status and made it a big moneymaker for Namco. Of course, sequels appeared over the years — like "Gaplus" and "Galaxian3" — but 45 years later, people only remember "Galaga".
But in 2026, how can you play this arcade legend?
A Rave War Return
One of the most common ways that players discovered "Galaga" (this writer included) was by playing Namco’s fighting game, "Tekken", on the original PlayStation console. Allegedly placed as a way of masking the long loading screen, it also came with the secret of unlocking Devil Kazuya if you cleared all eight stages with a perfect score.
But in 2026, there are various ways to play "Galaga". On the Switch, you can play it via the Arcade Archives series, as well as on Steam, PS5, and Xbox. But "Galaga" was a seismic game and a huge part of the arcade golden age; it feels like there should be more to celebrate it.
This goes back to Namco itself. The company doesn’t seem to have a drive to celebrate their past games like "Tekken" and "Ace Combat" in remastered collections - it’s worth noting that only the first "Tekken" game was made available on Switch 2 this year, with no other modern ways to play available at the time of writing.
It’d be great to see an entire "Galaxian" collection that celebrates "Galaga" as well as the other titles in the series, similar to how Digital Eclipse has made their spin on other franchises like "Tetris Forever" and "Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection".
Nevertheless, it’s still easy to find and play "Galaga" on PC and consoles in 2026. It’s an iconic game, and for good reason. It tests your reaction skills and has that ‘one more go’ factor that was an important attribute for any arcade game in the 1980s. It rose above other space games and gave players something unique to come back to.
If you have a spare evening, buy the game for console or PC and see why one of the best-selling arcade games of all time has lasted 45 years.
"Galaga" is available to play via the Arcade Archives series on Steam, PS5, Switch, and Xbox.
