Galaxian 3
Encyclopedia
Galaxian 3 is an arcade game
released by Namco
in 1994. It is a walk-in style arcade game run on a hybrid of laserdisc
and traditional arcade hardware
and it uses two synchronized laserdisc players to create the pre-rendered backgrounds of the game. Each player shares the same life meter and takes the role of one of six stationary gunner positions defending a spaceship against an onslaught of enemy ships. It was one of only two games released for Namco's "Theater 6" arcade system, the other being its immediate sequel Attack of the Zolgear
.
The arcade cost $150,000 (USD). Its dimensions are W: 16'7", D:16'4", H:8' and has dual 120" inch screens giving a single super wide display and high quality Bose audio.
The arcade game was largely based on a theme park attraction which debuted in 1990, four years before the arcade version was released. The theme park version had a 360 degree display using 16 projectors each being 120 inches diagonally and seated 28 people simultaneously in a hydraulic gaming arena. There was also a simplified version of the attraction for 16 players which didn't have as many of the bells and whistles as the original 28 player version. The attraction eventually closed in 2000.
and rushes into the days of space exploration
. Several of the planets, including the planet Alpha, which is located at the edge of the galaxy cut off the communications, following an observational data of uncontrollable crustal movements. As a response to this incident, the United Galaxy Space Force (UGSF) is sent to investigate, only to discover the first threat to humanity: the Unknown Intellectual Mechanized Species (UIMS), a race of machines in various sizes, made up of inorganic substances, one is which is called "Live-Weapon". A countermeasure agency is started, and the UGSF is kept up with a series of investigations relating to the UIMS. After the result in which they had kept on developing as a weapon, they became an ultimate doomsday planet-busting
weapon, Cannon Seed, which could compress the planet's internal energy and discharge it to destroy an entire planet, turning it into fragments. This is the last from the UGSF supervisory satellite after giving a report about the Cannon Seed aiming at the Earth
. The bravest elite gunners went on board the UGSF's most powerful spacecraft, Dragoon.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
released by Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
in 1994. It is a walk-in style arcade game run on a hybrid of laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
and traditional arcade hardware
Arcade system board
An arcade system board is a dedicated computer system created for the purpose of running video arcade games. Arcade system boards typically consist of a main system board with any number of supporting boards...
and it uses two synchronized laserdisc players to create the pre-rendered backgrounds of the game. Each player shares the same life meter and takes the role of one of six stationary gunner positions defending a spaceship against an onslaught of enemy ships. It was one of only two games released for Namco's "Theater 6" arcade system, the other being its immediate sequel Attack of the Zolgear
Attack of the Zolgear
Attack Of The Zolgear is a video game implemented as a conversion kit for Namco's "Theater 6" system, which was used for the 1994 arcade version of Galaxian 3...
.
Specifications
The arcade game was largely based on a theme park attraction which debuted in 1990, four years before the arcade version was released. The theme park version had a 360 degree display using 16 projectors each being 120 inches diagonally and seated 28 people simultaneously in a hydraulic gaming arena. There was also a simplified version of the attraction for 16 players which didn't have as many of the bells and whistles as the original 28 player version. The attraction eventually closed in 2000.
Story
Galaxian3 set in the time when humanity makes their first attempt to travel beyond their Solar SystemSolar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
and rushes into the days of space exploration
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
. Several of the planets, including the planet Alpha, which is located at the edge of the galaxy cut off the communications, following an observational data of uncontrollable crustal movements. As a response to this incident, the United Galaxy Space Force (UGSF) is sent to investigate, only to discover the first threat to humanity: the Unknown Intellectual Mechanized Species (UIMS), a race of machines in various sizes, made up of inorganic substances, one is which is called "Live-Weapon". A countermeasure agency is started, and the UGSF is kept up with a series of investigations relating to the UIMS. After the result in which they had kept on developing as a weapon, they became an ultimate doomsday planet-busting
Planet killer
In science fiction, a planet killer, planet buster, or similar variations on that meaning, is a fictional object or device capable of either destroying an entire planet or otherwise rendering it uninhabitable - a variety of a doomsday device....
weapon, Cannon Seed, which could compress the planet's internal energy and discharge it to destroy an entire planet, turning it into fragments. This is the last from the UGSF supervisory satellite after giving a report about the Cannon Seed aiming at the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The bravest elite gunners went on board the UGSF's most powerful spacecraft, Dragoon.