Gaplus

About

Gaplus is a fixed shooter sequel to Galaga that adds vertical movement to the formula. You pilot a spaceship that can drift halfway up the screen, letting you dodge enemy swarms that dive in formation. Each level resets if you die before all aliens appear, but surviving a full wave advances you. Powerups let you unleash up to sixty bullets on screen, a record for the Galaxian series. It plays like a sharper, more aggressive version of its predecessor with tighter controls and riskier positioning. The game ran on Namco’s rare Phozon hardware and was sold in the US as Galaga 3 via a renamed kit. Its limited vertical screen real estate creates tense close-quarters combat that separates it from other shooters. Retro players praise its density and bullet-spam potential, with some high-scores requiring hundreds of on-screen projectiles. Available on outdated platforms like the Commodore 64 and PC-9800, it feels preserved in a time capsule of 80s arcade design.