Bosconian (Arcade)

Bosconian
Also known as: Star Destroyer Bosconian (Title Screen) Developer: Namco Publishers: Namco (JP), Midway Manufacturing (US) Platform: Arcade (Namco Galaga) Released in JP: November 20, 1981 Released in US: February 1982 This game has hidden developer credits. This game has revisional differences.

Take Asteroids and replace the asteroids with alien ships and bases. Lots of bases.

This game was one of the first ever arcade games to feature a continue screen, allowing you to continue on the level where you lost your last life at the cost of one credit, and if time ran out on said screen, it was back to the start for you.

It was also an early example of an arcade game featuring digitized voice sampling.

BLAST OFF! ALERT ALERT! BATTLE STATIONS! SPY SHIP SIGHTED! CONDITION RED!

Easter Egg

In Service Mode, keep Button 1 pressed and press Up (x5), Right (x6), Down, Left (x4). If done correctly, "© 1981 NAMCO LTD." will appear on-screen.

Revisional Differences

To do: What version is the Midway release based on, and does it have any additional revisional changes as well?

There are at least two known versions of Bosconian: the old version and the new version. Some of the differences include:

• Different map layouts.
• In the old version, fire rate was limited and there was no auto-fire. The new version increased the fire rate and allowed for auto-fire.
• A No-Miss bonus was added in the new version for finishing a level without losing a life.
• In the old version, the game ends upon reaching round 256. The new version loops endlessly.

(Source: shmups.system11.org)

Oddities

While the player's ship normally uses a design very similar to the one seen in Galaga, the ship's explosion graphics feature what is seemingly a leftover from an older design. The old design bears a striking resemblence to the Starship Enterprise, which was presumably why it was changed.