The Basics of Game Play in Words and Video

Read the official documentation that accompanies Deluxe Galaga, converted to HTML from AmigaGUIDE format.

This is a great starting point to read while you are downloading the game or just to pick up some basic game playing pointers. If you want to learn the REAL deep dark secrets, check out the Secrets & Strategies area. You won't get any spoilers here.

The Basics of Game Play

The game of Deluxe Galaga has very basic elements and very complex elements. Let's go over the basic elements first.

Stick and Dodge - As with any arcade shootemup, the basic premise is to kill bad guys without getting killed yourself. Fortunately, you can get weapon powerups to increase your firepower. There are auto-fire units, double shots, triple shots, quad shots, and 'death' weapons that will grant you death-dealing blows to the aliens and the alien bosses you will have to fight. Aliens fire a lot of rounds at you - and the sub-bosses tend to shoot lateral shots at you - so stay out of the corners when they are on the screen.

Recruiting Help from the Enemy - Since money is often scarce (and when it isn't it gets taken by the Thief ship) and bonus weapon drops go though dry spells, you will need to have some help. While you can take a friend with you in Deluxe Galaga, you can capture enemy ships with the Scope bonus. Capture up to two aliens to fire along side you and it will help you vanquish your enemy. The greatest thing about the Scope is that if you have two aliens flanking you already, the Scope's powerful beams will instantly kill descending ships. Use this to clean out large alien sets like the Bonus Stages and the waves of them coming in during the start of the wave.

Get the Money - In some games, you get money to upgrade your ship and help you play better. In Deluxe Galaga, money is CRUCTIAL to the success of your game. Money buys stuff - not just weapons, but game secrets, armour, extra lives, more speed, and many other things that (especially later in the game) you cannot live without. Learn the ones that are worth the most - no sense in putting your life on the line for $10 - but for $200, it might be worth getting snuffed for. Fortunately, there are many ways to get money. You can pick them up from dead aliens, in the Meteor Storm you can grab chests of money, in the Memory Game you can match dollars and win cash, and there are 'secret' ways (check out the LEARN THE SECRETS area for more). Oh, you can buy a life too ($400) - and most important, you can buy your BUDDY an extra life too! In two player mode, you will be prompted as to whom should get the ship.

Play the Mini Games - Sub Games (games within games) are nothing new. But within an ACTION type game, they are pretty rare. In most cases, they are pure entertainment and you don't really get much from them. Deluxe Galaga is the opposite. In fact, if you want to get the high scores and get to the upper levels, you will need to master these two mini games.

The first is Meteor Storm - a simply game of 'dodge the rocks'. Rocks fall through the sky - getting faster and faster as you progress through the meteor shower (ever wonder why meteors are different colors when you go into them?). If you make it through, stand back and enjoy the riches. If not, you are no worse for wear. While this sounds simple, Deluxe Galaga throws in some twists. They throw meteors with point values on them - if you catch'em, you get the points. There are also chests of money to get too (these at least don't look like meteors).

The second mini game is called Memory Station. This is your standard game of Concentration - match the squares and win the prize. Prizes are extra credits, money, points, rank markers, letters (to help you spell E-X-T-R-A and win an extra life), and more.It is all timed, and if you find a skull behind a box, you are all done. Nicely enough, you can gain extra time from some boxes. It is all a crapshoot. You will learn to get through the boxes quickly because sometimes there is an extra life hiding behind the boxes.

Other Elements - Deluxe Galaga is a rich game. There are many more elements of game play that, while not as major of a player in the whole schema of things, can increase your game scores and enjoyment.

Catch the letters - ANYTIME you can. They spell E-X-T-R-A and you will get an extra life when you catch one of each of those letters. If you DO have the letter already, getting it again will score you a little something extra. Make sure to share with your buddy.

There are timed bonus multipliers (x2, x5) that will give you a multiplier on your achieved points (shame it doesn't work for money caught). Get one of these whenever possible and you will see your end scores rise.

There are bonuses that aliens drop like SHIP ARMOUR (protects you against a single hit against yours ship - and they are cummulative), EXTRA SPEED (essential for the Meteor Storm), EXTRA BULLET (increase your 'shots allowed on the screen'), SHIELD (temporary invincibility), and several more.

Weigh the risks versus the benefits. Knowing your enemy shot patterns and such will help make good descisions.

Be sure to know your weaponry too - while TRIPLE SHOT may seem better than a DOUBLE SHOT, there are many cases that DOUBLE SHOT will be much more helpful (curious why? Check out the Secrets & Strategies area).

For more strategies and help, check out the Secrets & Strategies area.

Demonstration Videos

Below are movies (more coming) that will show you Deluxe Galaga in action (sorta like the intro). Enjoy! Feedback is always appreciated and helpful. What would YOU like to see?

Please check back soon - we'll have some for ya!