# Gaplus

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1984 video game

1984 video game

Gaplus North American arcade flyer Developer Namco Publishers JP/EU: Namco[4] NA: Bally Midway EU: Mastertronic (ports) Series Galaxian Platforms Arcade, PC-98, Commodore 64, mobile phone Release April 1984 Arcade JP: April 1984[2][3] NA: September 1984[1] EU: 1984[4][better source needed] PC-98 JP: 1985 C64 1988 Mobile JP: January 25, 2007 Genre Fixed shooter Modes Single-player, multiplayer Arcade system Namco Phozon

***Gaplus***[a] is a 1984 [fixed shooter](/source/Fixed_shooter) [video game](/source/Video_game) developed and published by [Namco](/source/Namco) for [arcades](/source/Arcade_video_game). It was released in North America by [Bally Midway](/source/Midway_Games). It is the third game in the *[Galaxian](/source/List_of_Galaxian_video_games)* series, serving as a direct sequel to *[Galaga](/source/Galaga)* (1981). In North America, a modification kit was later released to change the name to ***Galaga 3***, possibly to reflect its position in the series.[5] It was the only game other than *[Phozon](/source/Phozon)* to run on the [Namco Phozon](/source/Namco_Phozon) hardware. A contemporary home port for the [Commodore 64](/source/Commodore_64) was released in 1988. A [demake](/source/Demake) version of the game (in the style of [Nintendo Entertainment System](/source/Nintendo_Entertainment_System) games) was included in *[Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2](/source/Namco_Museum)* as a bonus title.

## Gameplay

The player's Ogre Header shooting down formations of enemies

The objective of *Gaplus* is to score as many points as possible by defeating successive waves of enemies in levels called "Parsecs". Its core gameplay is very similar to both *[Galaxian](/source/Galaxian)* and *Galaga*: Enemies known as "Gorgs" will fly onto the screen in rows and join a formation near the top, then begin attacking the player's ship Ogre Header with [kamikaze](/source/Kamikaze)-like dives. The ship can move left and right, as well as vertically. Bonus lives are earned at certain score intervals, and can also be gained by collecting ship parts dropped by some enemies, as well as collecting *[Rally-X](/source/Rally-X)* bonus flags from shooting stars. The player loses a life when struck by an enemy or one of their shots; the game ends when all lives are lost.

Certain enemies drop upgrades that include a [tractor beam](/source/Tractor_beam) which the player can use to capture enemies (similar to how Boss Galagas from the previous game, *Galaga*, can use a tractor beam to capture the Gyaraga), a large drill that can destroy many enemies at once, powerups that temporarily slow down enemies or nullify their shots, and parts to create a new ship that awards an extra life when completed. Some stages begin with the star field reversing direction, with harder and faster waves of enemies appearing before resuming a normal formation.

The game features bonus "Challenging Stages" just as the previous game, *Galaga* did. However, instead of defeating a certain number of enemies, the objective of the challenging stage in *Gaplus* is to juggle enemies (3rd race Zako) by hitting them as many times as possible. Each hit grants a dot (represented by a bee) in a word or phrase, with extra hits adding to horizontal lines above and below the word. Spelling the entire word or phrase will earn a bonus related to that phrase, and each hit scores bonus points at the end of the round.

## Reception

In Japan, *Game Machine* listed *Gaplus* as the most successful table arcade unit of May 1984.[6]

## Legacy

The arcade version of *Gaplus* was released for [mobile phones](/source/Mobile_phones) on January 25, 2007,[7] and is also part of *[Namco Museum Remix](/source/Namco_Museum_Remix)* (2007) and *[Namco Museum Megamix](/source/Namco_Museum_Megamix)* (2010) for the [Wii](/source/Wii) with its original title being used. The original version was later re-released under its original name for the [Wii Virtual Console](/source/Wii_Virtual_Console) on March 25, 2009.[8] In 2011, *Gaplus* was released for [iOS](/source/IOS) devices as part of *[Galaga 30th Collection](/source/Galaga_30th_Collection)*, featuring updated visuals, sound, and achievements.[9][10]

In 2020, Bandai Namco released a [demake](/source/Demake) version of the game as a bonus game in the *[Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2](/source/Namco_Museum#Namco_Museum_Archives)* compilation. Developed by [M2](/source/M2_(game_developer)), this game emulates the visual style of the [Nintendo Entertainment System](/source/Nintendo_Entertainment_System), similar to the NES-style remake of *[Pac-Man Championship Edition](/source/Pac-Man_Championship_Edition)* in Vol. 1.[11]

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Japanese](/source/Japanese_language): ギャプラス, [Hepburn](/source/Hepburn_romanization): *Gyapurasu*

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). [*アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005)*](https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n125) [*Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)*] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 124–5. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-4990251215](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-4990251215).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Gaplus (Registration Number PA0000225732)"](https://cocatalog.loc.gov). *[United States Copyright Office](/source/United_States_Copyright_Office)*. Retrieved June 1, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). [*アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005)*](https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n53/mode/2up) [*Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)*] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 52. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-4990251215](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-4990251215).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-EU_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-EU_4-1) ["Video Game Flyers: Gaplus, Namco (EU)"](https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=6434). *The Arcade Flyer Archive*. Retrieved June 1, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RGamer_6-0)** ["The Definitive Galaxian"](https://archive.org/stream/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_032#page/n73/mode/2up). No. 32. [Imagine Publishing](/source/Imagine_Publishing). [Retro Gamer](/source/Retro_Gamer). December 2006. pp. 68–75. Retrieved September 22, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25"](https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19840515p.pdf#page=15) (PDF). *[Game Machine](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3)* (in Japanese). No. 236. [Amusement Press](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%9F%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA%E3%83%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E9%80%9A%E4%BF%A1%E7%A4%BE). May 15, 1984. p. 29.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["「ギャプラス」「ファミリースタジアムDX」が登場──ナムコEZゲームス"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150502233757/https://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0701/23/news086.html). *ITMedia*. January 23, 2007. Archived from [the original](https://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0701/23/news086.html) on May 2, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Fahey, Mike (March 25, 2009). ["Wii Virtual Console Goes To The Arcade"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190528032550/https://kotaku.com/wii-virtual-console-goes-to-the-arcade-5183950). *[Kotaku](/source/Kotaku)*. Archived from [the original](https://kotaku.com/wii-virtual-console-goes-to-the-arcade-5183950) on May 28, 2019. Retrieved August 4, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** IGN Staff (June 6, 2011). ["New Galaga Titles Arrive This Summer to Commemorate 30th Anniversary"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181125233957/https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/06/06/new-galaga-titles-arrive-this-summer-to-commemorate-30th-anniversary). [IGN](/source/IGN). Archived from [the original](https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/06/06/new-galaga-titles-arrive-this-summer-to-commemorate-30th-anniversary) on November 25, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Tan, Maurice (June 9, 2011). ["E3: Galaga 30th Anniversary hits iOS with free Galaxian"](https://www.destructoid.com/stories/e3-galaga-30th-anniversary-hits-ios-with-free-galaxian-203392.phtml). *[Destructoid](/source/Destructoid)*. [Enthusiast Gaming](/source/Enthusiast_Gaming). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200817060539/https://www.destructoid.com/stories/e3-galaga-30th-anniversary-hits-ios-with-free-galaxian-203392.phtml) from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NLife_2_12-0)** Scullion, Chris (June 24, 2020). ["Namco Museum Archives Vol 2 Review (Switch eShop)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200627083307/https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/namco_museum_archives_vol_2). *[Nintendo Life](/source/Nintendo_Life)*. [Gamer Network](/source/Gamer_Network). Archived from [the original](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/namco_museum_archives_vol_2) on June 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.

## External links

- [*Gaplus*](https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7911) at the [Killer List of Videogames](/source/Killer_List_of_Videogames)

- [A site with in-depth details on *Gaplus* (Japanese)](http://kani.no.coocan.jp/gaplus/gaplus.htm)

v t e Galaxian List of games Video games Arcade Galaxian Galaga Gaplus Galaga '88 Galaxian3: Project Dragoon Attack of the Zolgear Galaga Arrangement (1995) Console Galaga '91 Galaga: Destination Earth Galaga Arrangement (2005) Galaga Legions Galaga Remix Galaga Legions DX Galaga 3D Impact Compilations Namco Museum Microsoft Arcade Arcade Classic Galaga 30th Collection Arcade Game Series Other Galaxian 2 Shadow Labyrinth Related Namco Bandai Namco Entertainment Namco Generations Cosmo Gang the Video Gorf Tinkle Pit Pixels Atari 50

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gaplus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaplus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaplus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.