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The Galaxip is the main protagonist of the 1979 shoot 'em up Galaxian and a recurring character in the Galaga series. It is a spacecraft built by the United Galaxy Space Force to defend Galaxians from Aliens and Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Though it is only armed with a single laser cannon, the ship is more than capable of taking down hordes of the antagonists.
The Galaxip's success led to the development of a more powerful successor known simply as the Fighter, which would take on a more advanced race of aliens later on. Both ships are considered icons in the Shoot 'Em Up genre.
History[]
Galaxian[]
In the year 2279, an intergalactic war broke out when the Galaxians (humans), made contact with an unidentified species of bug-like aliens (dubbed Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence and later known as Galaga). The United Galaxy Space Force (or UGSF), whose armada was well-versed with taking on larger targets, found itself struggling to fight back this new, smaller foe, who proved to be more agile than anything they ever fought. In response, the UGSF developed a new, smaller spacecraft to combat these persistent adversaries that would become Galaxians' only hope: the Galaxip.
The starfighter proved to be an effective weapon against the ETI, as it was able to crush many hordes the aliens and their leaders the "Galaxian Flagships" or "Galbosses", successfully repelling the invasion. Following the battle, the Galaxip's design would serve as the basis for future UGSF ships and military tactics, to further improve their combat effectiveness. However, despite the ETI's initial defeat, they would continue to evolve into new species; it would not be the last time the Galaxians would encounter this familiar foe.
Gaplus[]
While the original Galaxip doesn't appear in-game, a more up-to-date version known as the Hyper Galaxip is introduced as one of the form's the protagonist ship can evolve into if it if a certain criteria is met when destroying particular enemies.
Galaga Wars[]
The Galaxip returns alongside other veterans from Namco shoot 'em ups (including its successor the Fighter). Once again, the United Galaxy Space Force deploys this craft to fight off the Galaga in yet another war. The craft has now been updated, as not only does its main cannon now have rapid-fire capabilities, but it is given a new arsenal of weapons to better its odds against the Galaga. The Galaxip travels to eleven sectors were it battles against various waves of Galaga aliens, as well as giant motherships that act as bosses, all the while rescuing captured fighters. Eventually, it comes to a black hole designated Ross 256 (a reference to the "final" level of Galaga), where it battles an endless horde of Galagans...
Weapons[]
The Galaxip is armed with a single weapon in the form of a laser cannon. It can only fire a single shot at a time, preventing the craft from firing another one until the previous shot destroys an enemy or flies off of the field of vision. Its slow fire rate requires the Galaxip to aim carefully in order to boost its chances of survival.
In Galaga Wars, the arsenal of the Galaxip is updated, its default laser cannon can now fire at a faster rate, and it is now capable of using a new set of weapons that act as temporary power-ups.
- Piercing Bullets - fires an upgraded version of the laser cannon that can penetrate through weaker enemies, making it useful for destroying entire flying formations or columns of enemies.
- Plasma Barrier - creates a energy barrier that covers roughly 1/3 of the width of the field of vision, blocking out enemy fire and destroy any Galagans that come in contact with it for a temporarily duration.
- Explosive Shot - the Galaxip will activate a laser guiding system, which after a delay will deploy three explosive bombs that will destroy almost every enemy in the field of vision. Though very powerful, the weapon's main drawback is that the Galaxip's weapons are disabled during the duration of the guiding system, leaving the craft vulnerable to enemy fire.
- Ricochet Bullets - fires a volley of penetrating shots that will bounce off of the edges of the field of vision several times before flying off-screen. The weapon is arguably the Galaxip's most powerful weapon, as it is capable of clearing entire hordes of Galagans.
Trivia[]
- The Galaxip's name is a combination of the words "Galaxian" and "ship."
- A playable character bearing a great resemblance to the Galaxip, named "Cozmoxian", appears in the game Shooty Skies, created by Hipster Whale.
- The Galaxip was likely inspired by the Y-Wing from the Star Wars franchise.