Free Classic Galaga Game for the iPhone

The sounds of the arcade classic, Galaga, resonate deeply with anyone who was an arcade fan back in the early 80s. The space shooter’s laser sounds, explosions, and famous musical fanfares were all part of the heady time when the videogame industry was new.

Namco’s Galaga Remix Lite brings a reminder of those halcyon days of the 1980s to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Featuring both an exact copy of the original game, and a new updated version with more modern graphics and sounds, this is a free App Store download that’s worth checking out for fans of old school arcade action.

Galaga Remix Lite Features

  • Original Game and Modern Updated Version
  • Various control options to take advantage of iPhone interface
  • Limited gameplay is a teaser for the pay version

An Accurate Old School Galaga

The original version of Galaga in Remix Lite is pretty much a pixel-perfect copy of the original arcade version. The sounds are the same. The graphics are the same. Even the enemy motion patterns are the same. While the graphics are bit too small on the iPhone, it’s still possible to get an old school Galaga fix.

Galaga Remix Lite gives the user three different control schemes for the iPhone version of the game. One option uses virtual direction buttons and a separate fire button. Another uses a slider at the bottom of the screen to move the ship with a screen tap providing firing functionality. Finally for motion-sickness fans, there is a scheme based on the iPhone’s accelerometer, with iPhone tilts moving the ship back and forth with a separate fire button.

The Remixed Version of Galaga

While the nostalgic version of the original Galaga works well, the newer remixed version of the game is a better gaming experience. The basic premise is the same: scroll left and right while firing at attacking alien spaceships weaving back and forth from the top of the screen.

The graphics in Galaga Remixed are significantly better than the original version. One obvious difference is the landscape orientation of the game screen when compared to the portrait orientation of the original game. The extra width of the new game screen works well. Other than the extra graphical and sonic sheen (the original music gets new orchestration), the gameplay is quite familiar to longtime Galaga fans.

Since the Lite version of Galaga Remix is a free download, the game doesn’t continue beyond the first few waves of enemies. Since the full version of the game is only a $2.99 download, Galaga Remix Lite works best as a demo for the full game. It’s a recommended download for fans of old school arcade action.

iPhone users interested in other free iPhone games or apps should also check out the Suite101 profiles of a free mini golf game, a free racing game and a free music synthesizer for the iPhone and iPod Touch.