September 23 marked the 35th anniversary of one of the most popular and iconic games in arcade history: Galaga. To celebrate, Bandai Namco Entertainment hosted a birthday bash for their classic game at Level 257 near Chicago featuring Galaga, World’s Largest Pac-Man (which has the Galaga game on it) and their new ticket-focused Galaga Assault.
The less popular Galaxian preceded Galaga, and both games spawned numerous sequels and iterations, including Galaga Arrangement, Gaplus, Galaga ’88, Galaxian 3 and more.
Beyond the games themselves, their impact on popular culture cannot be understated. Some fans have even gone so far as to create an entire history and timeline that connects the universe of BNE arcade games. The website compiles “historical” data on fan-imagined events that transpire throughout the many BNE games, telling the story of the heroic United Galaxy Space Force (UGSF) and how games like Dig Dug, Cyber Sled and others play into events.
Check it out for yourself here! For more information on the many things BNE is up to, look to RePlay’s October issue Cover Story, headed to subscribers right now!