Gaplus (c) 1984 Namco.
The 3rd game in Namco's classic 'Galaxian' series, Gaplus 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.

>>> TECHNICAL DETAILS
---------------------
Gaplus machines came in an upright dedicated cabinet that was similar in appearance to the cabinet used on the original 'Galaga'. These machines were black and were decorated with multi-color stripes, and sticker sideart with a realistically drawn scene from the game. There were several different marquees made. The American Gaplus marquee had a blue 'Gaplus' logo surrounded by a scary looking bee. The 'World' version had a green 'Gaplus' logo. Finally, many machines in the US will be labeled 'Galaga 3' on the marquee, but will have 'Gaplus' sideart and ROM chips (lots of lazy operators who didn't bother to install the whole name change kit, made these common). All Machines are decorated with red t-molding. The control panel has a single 8-Way joystick mounted in the center, with fire buttons on either side. This panel was not decorated at all, it was simply black. The monitor bezel had a few game instructions on it, but was not overly decorated either. The game itself was displayed on a 19'' Electrohome open frame monitor that was mounted vertically. This title uses the same wiring harness as 'Galaga', and the 2 titles can be interchanged very easily. Many other games (such as 'Dig Dug') use this same harness as well).
Game ID : GP
Main CPU : M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sub CPU : M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sound CPU : M6809 (@ 1.536 Mhz)
Sound Chips : Namco 8-channel WSG, discrete circuits (for the ship explosion sound)
Screen orientation : Vertical
Video resolution : 224 x 288 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.61 Hz
Palette colors : 32
Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 1 (FIRE)

>>> 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.

>>> TRICKS AND TIPS
-------------------
* 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.

>>> GAME 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])

>>> DESIGNERS / PROGRAMMERS / STAFF
-------------------------------------
Music by : Junko Ozawa

>>> GAME PORTS TO OTHER SYSTEMS
-------------------------------
* Consoles :
Sony PlayStation (1996, 'Namco Museum Vol.2')
Nintendo Wii (2007, 'Namco Museum Remix')
Nintendo Wii (2009, 'Virtual Console Arcade')
* Computers :
NEC PC-9801 (1985)
Commodore C64 (1989)

>>> OTHER GAME RESOURCES
---------------------
Game's rom.
Machine's picture.