Like Capcom, Namco has approached the dawn of HD gaming with the resurrection of their most popular classics. Most notable are Galaga Legions and Pac-Man - Championship Edition. Both of which are perfect examples of what an HD remake should be. Namco gave Pac-Man - Championship Edition the necessary HD facelift with complimentary tweaks to the core "chomp-chomp" gameplay, but with Galaga Legions they went all-out. More than just a remake, Galaga Legions is a complete rebirth of the series that evolves perfectly along the lines of everything fans loved in the original. I was blown away by it, and I wasn't even a big fan of the original Galaga! I mean, I was intruiged by it the first time I saw it (at a stupid-ass trailer park "clubhouse"), but it soon took a backseat to up and coming shooters like Tiger Heli and Sky Shark. The whole idea of "catching" enemies made it interesting, but the difficulty didn't.

You Can't Teach An Old Trick New Dogs...
The overall original concept of the series is intact, but has been expanded in such a manner that old tricks and maneuvers will only get you so far. Sure, you can try to play old-style without deploying your satellites, but it would make some parts extremely difficult (or maybe even impossible). Whether its staying alive or getting a high score, much of the game revolves around the positioning of the satellites. The game was pretty-much designed around it (something that is apparent from the strategies provided on the game's website), and that's not a bad thing at all. The game engine has evolved not just within the bounds of the core gameplay of the series, but along a path tried and tested by the genre itself. That path would be the satellite system; similar to the options from Gradius (both in concept and behavior). That path is familiar from the Gradius games, but nothing could prepare most shooting fans for the sheer insanity of Galaga's manic HD debut. It's not the Galaga everyone remembers from back in the day.

It's still Galaga, but with modern influences from a variety of modern shooters. The most obvious example is the satellite/option resemblance from Gradius V, but it doesn't stop there; shots and explosions are reminiscent of controversial Treasure cult-favorite Ikaruga, enemy formation onslaughts may remind fanatics of abstract Takumi gem Night Raid, fans of the underrated Tecnosoft rarity Thunder Force VI will notice similarities in ship design, futuristic presentation brings back memories of Taito classic RayStorm, and screen-filling score multipliers were lifted straight from Cave sleeper hits like Ketsui Extra.

The biggest change, however, was the move from conventional shooting to manic shooting. One of the reasons Galaga Legions can't quite be played the same as its predecessors is because it is a manic shooter. Not manic in the "bullet hell" sense, but in the "enemy hell" sense. I consider the game to be of the manic shooting breed because even though there aren't many kaleidescopic bullet patterns, the screen is jam-packed with kaleidescopic enemy formations that are every bit as mezmerizing and deadly. What other manic shooters throw at you in bullets, GL throws at you in enemies. Even after you first play it, the game is mind-bending, and it's not uncommon to drown in cascading seas of enemy waves converging from every direction. There is rhythm amongst the chaos, though, and Galaga Legions faithfully carries on the series tradition of scripted enemy placement through what Namco refers to as the Predicted Emerging Point and Predicted Path systems. High-scoring requires careful targeting for Induced Enemy Explosions and Emerging Point memorization, giving advanced players plenty to sink their teeth into

GL owes its high playability and depth to great balancing across the board. Your ship is nimble and responsive; unlike some modern shooters, it rarely feels too slow or too fast. Then you got the Galaga Capture, which lasts for just the right duration of time; it's not too short, but not too long, and always bails you out right at the nick of time. It doesn't just waste away sucking in a small group; it will suck in a small group, and even the big groups after it! Successfully performing a Galaga Capture on a large incoming enemy legion is very satisfying, and it's cool seeing all the little "brips" get your back with cover fire. Autofire is another nice feature in the game, and it's incredibly convenient for anyone just looking to conquer the game's blistering Adventure mode. The Autofire option allows casual players to focus more on satellite placement than accuracy, while advanced players can choose Manual to focus on both satellite placement and accuracy for high-scores. In this respect, the game makes itsself more accessible for a wider audience to get into, but its overall difficulty may hamper its appeal. Shooting fans might be right at home with its furious shooting experience, obvious fan service, and moreover, how far the series has come. Longtime fans of the series, however, may be turned-off by its conventional to manic transformation.

Make Believe
Like Pac-Man - Championship Edition, I wasn't a huge fan of the original, but Namco drew me in because they did such a great job with Galaga's HD debut. Galaga Legions is pretty-much a perfect game. The only real qualm I have with it is its relentless difficulty, but gluttons for punishment may find it appealing. There may be only five stages in the game, but they are broken down into parts, and the blistering difficulty can make each part last an eternity. Some might say that still doesn't make the game long enough, but Namco probably didn't put too much development into it because they needed to test the waters to see if a new Galaga could even succeed. At this point, they haven't confirmed or denied plans and/or development of an updates or upgrades. Even if they didn't put much work into it, though, I'd say that the results were outstanding.