Lost In Translation/Gaplus

This page is a stub for arcade games that are part of the Lost In Translation series using information based on MAME (version 0.113u2).
For an example of preferred content and layout please refer to Out Run or The Ninja Warriors.

Gaplus
Manufacturer	Namco
Released	1984
Control Method	8-way Joystick 1 Button(s)
Main CPU	(3x) M6809 (@ 1.536 MHz)
Sound CPU	Mono Namco 15XX (@ 24.000 kHz) Discrete
Video Details	Raster (Vertical) 288 x 224 pixels 60.61 Hz 768 Palette colours
Screens	1
ROM Info	20 ROMs 100,652 bytes (98.29 KiB)
MAME ID	gaplus · galaga3 · galaga3a · galaga3m · gaplusa · gapluso

About The Game

Gaplus is an arcade video game shoot-em-up.

This is the third game in Namco's classic "Galaxian" series and picks up where 1981's "Galaga" left off. While maintaining the same classic 'look' of its predecessor, Gaplus's graphics a definite improvement over those of Galaga; the game's increased colour palette and subtle use of shading making the attacking aliens look rather more solid.

Another enhancement over its prequel is in the addition of a player-acquired 'Tractor Beam'. In Galaga, only the enemies had access to the beam; enabling them to capture one of the player's ships (the player then had to shoot the captor to release the ship). For the sequel, however, the player can now acquire the Tractor Beam. This is achieved by shooting one of the alien formation's 'generals' - a visibly more colourful alien than its comrades. The Tractor Beam will then activate for a limited time and any aliens the players captures (up to a maximum of six) will dock alongside the player's ship for enhanced firepower.

One final yet important addition is in the movement of the player's ship. In previous installments, the ship could only move left and right along the bottom of the screen; in Gaplus, however, the ship can now move UP the screen - although only to the halfway point. This is important as the alien's aggressive attack patterns will often see enemy craft swirling around the bottom of the play area.

As with "Galaga", Gaplus features regular 'challenge' stages, with benign aliens swooping across the screen for the player to shoot, in order to earn extra bonus points.

Trivia

Released in April 1984.

This game is also known in US as "Galaga 3" (October 1984).

Dennis Gori holds the official record for this game with 1,393,200 points.

Tips and tricks

Easter Egg

1. Enter service mode.
2. Keep Start and Button 1 pressed, move joystick Left until sound reaches 19. '(c) 1984 NAMCO' will appear on the screen.

These tips are all variations on the same theme:

1. On level 1, allow all of the enemies to appear and fly into formation without shooting any of them. After the boss alien appears (the one that carries the tractor beam attachment), you'll see a pulsar similar to the ones the aliens appear from fly from just above the boss alien to the middle-right of the screen. Once it's gone by, shoot only the second alien from the left in the bottom row of the formation. A 'Special' flag will appear just below where it was; pick it up and you'll get a bonus ship.
2. In Parsec 1, go up to the very front and wait for all the bugs to come out. Then kill the 2nd bug from the left in the bottom row to make the special flag appear. Now, when the boss is coming down, move your ship and kill yourself by touching it. Don't touch the blaster head, just the boss. Your ship is turned into the blue one, and go get the special flag.

• Another Approach To The Same Situation : At the start of the first round, push straight up until you stop. DON'T shoot! Just sit there and let all the bugs form. Right after the last row of bugs get into formation a star will shoot from the top left side of the screen to the bottom right. If you time this right you can get up to 5 shots on it. After about 10 hits on the star (it will come out at random times during the game) it will transform your ship into a new ship that can shoot 3 shots on the screen (3 shots verticaly in a row) instead of just 2.

Series

1. Galaxian (1979)
2. Galaga (1981)
3. Gaplus (1984) also known as "Galaga 3".
4. Galaga '88 (1987)
5. Galaxian3 (1990)
6. Galaxian3 Theatre 6 : Project Dragoon (1990)
7. Galaxian3 Theatre 6 J2 : Attack Of The Zolgear (1994)
8. Galaga - Destination Earth (2000, Nintendo Game Boy Color, PC CD-ROM and Sony PlayStation)
9. Galaga Legions (2008, XBOX 360 [Xbox Live Arcade])

Staff

Music By

Junko Ozawa

Cabinet and Artwork

• 

  Gaplus cabinet.

• 

  Gaplus flyer.

• 

  Back of the Gaplus flyer.

• 

  Alternate Gaplus flyer.

• 

  Galaga 3 flyer.

Ports

Consoles

Sony PlayStation (1996, "Namco Museum Vol.2")

Computers

NEC PC-9801 (1985)

Commodore C64 (1989)

Soundtrack Releases

Album Name	Catalogue No.	Released	Publisher	Comments
The Return of Video Game Music	ALC-22004	1985-06-25	Alfa	Cassette version.
The Best of Video Game Music	32XA-66	1986-04-25	Alfa	CD version.
The Return of Video Game Music	ALR-22004	1985-06-25	Alfa	Vinyl version.
The Return of Video Game Music	SCDC-00122	2001-12-05	Scitron Digital Content	CD version.
Famison 8BIT - iDOLM@STER 02 Haruka Amami / Miki Hoshii	FVCG-1012	2008-04-02	5bp. Records	CD version.
Legend of Game Music ~Premium Box~	SCDC-00410~7	2005-03-24	Scitron Digital Contents	8 CD version.
Arcade Ambiance 1986	N/A	2004-08-27	Andy Hofle	Digital download only.

References

The contents of this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
The sources used include MAME (version 0.113u2) and history.dat (revision 1.28 - 2008-10-18).
Please see http://www.arcade-history.com for credits.