Difference between Gaplus and Galaga 3?

nanoryan

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Hey guys,

Played Galaga 3 for the first time today and really liked it. Looking for a dedicated PCB now. Somebody on eBay is basically calling Gaplus and Galaga 3 the same thing. Is this correct? Whats the difference?

What does a working Galaga 3 PCB typically go for these days? Are the pinouts the same as Galaga?

Thanks! Ryan
 
Same game. Gaplus didn't do as well as they hoped, so they released "Galaga 3" marquees after the fact for name recognition.

Gaplus is the best game of the series.
 
They may have revised some of the dipswitch settings on different revisions, but about the only difference between Gaplus and Galaga 3 is the title screen has been changed (and a replacement marquee). The game itself plays identically, including one of the bonus levels spelling out "GAPLUS" on Galaga 3 :) Even the manual has the free man settings different than the actual game (the manual says "preliminary" on the cover). I've got a dedicated Gaplus, and the marquee is much better (has actual artwork, rather than just "GALAGA 3"). I agree that it's the best of the series. I always describe it as Galaga on crack :D Here's a pic of the dedicated cab.
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I have a Namco flyer/newsletter that came with a Galaga 3 Marquee and a rom swap for Gaplus.
The flyer said something about replacing the Gaplus Marquee and the Rom because "Galaga" was a strong earner and had name recognition.

Jon
 
It's true that Galaga 3 and Gaplus are just a ROM swap. But there are also two different PCBs out there. There is the very large Bally/Midway board and the much smaller Namco board. The Namco board is also better quality (although the BM board is probaby easier to work on).
 
First, yes this is correct, although I don't think I have ever seen the second Galaga 3 board. Most of what you find will be a Gaplus board, running 2 different rom chips that make it Galaga 3. I know this because I ordered a the roms from hobby rom to change mine back. He sent me 3 chips and the last chip was not a position on my board so I had to leave it off and it worked fine. As for the games being the same, I have heard that there was a small difference within the game that makes Gaplus the one to have. You can read about it on KLOV but from what I recall heres the deal. First, one of the weapons is a blue drop down ship. Collect it and get double shot/double speed. But if you do the right thing in the game like shoot the shooting star 20 times, you get a different ship entirely and that ship is triple speed fire. Gaplus has some additional way to get that ship in it. And although I have swapped mine back, I have not verified that this is indeed the case. But that triple ship is certainly coool as hell when you get it. Hope that helps.

It's true that Galaga 3 and Gaplus are just a ROM swap. But there are also two different PCBs out there. There is the very large Bally/Midway board and the much smaller Namco board. The Namco board is also better quality (although the BM board is probaby easier to work on).
 
Thanks for all the info! Are either of the PCB versions compatible with a Galaga cab without an adapter?
 
The only difference in the pinout is that the Gaplus has an up and down for the joystick that is an unused pin in the Galaga. But honestly, it plays fine without it. But you can also add it to the Galaga pcb connector if you are willing to change out the joystick to an 8 way.
 
So, in coming up with Galaga 3, they counted Gaplus as being Galaga 2? If not, which one was considered Galaga 2? Galaga 84?
 
The only difference in the pinout is that the Gaplus has an up and down for the joystick that is an unused pin in the Galaga. But honestly, it plays fine without it. But you can also add it to the Galaga pcb connector if you are willing to change out the joystick to an 8 way.

How do you do the boards where the formations fly along the bottom row? They'd run right into you if you couldn't move up/down.
 
So, in coming up with Galaga 3, they counted Gaplus as being Galaga 2? If not, which one was considered Galaga 2? Galaga 84?
Their logic (which isn't exactly Aristotle) was:

Galaxian (first game in the series)
Galaga (second game in the series)
Gaplus (third game in the series, or Galaga 3)

Yeah, Galaxian couldn't be "Galaga 1" since the name Galaga wasn't coined when it was released, but by the time they got to "Galaga 3" they went all Lucas on the names.
 
That's a great question. On the first "push back" level after the challenge stage, the simple answer is to position your ship on the side the bottom sweepers come in from. Do a wide strafe to the opposite side (right to left I think) firing all the way. the ships will come down and sweep the bottom back off the side they came in on. Shortly after, a similar line of ships will come in from the opposite side. Repeat the strafe from left to right this time. I think a third line of ships come in from the other side (right to left this time). After the 3 rows of sweepers, you get to beat the level and advance. After the second challenge stage, the side the first line comes in from reverses. So the trick is to just feel the groove and set yourself on the proper side at the beginning of the level then work your way to the opposite side killing all the way. Do it right and the stage is pretty easy. I'm out of practice at the moment, but I used to put up 250K+ scores and get to the green bugs where they drop the killer marsh mellows after you kill them. I'm sure there are better players, but I thought that was pretty good. Hope all that makes sense. I have since added the up and down buttons and I honestly think the game was easier before I had the up and down. Course I think I am using a 4 way Ms pac/galaga repro stick.

How do you do the boards where the formations fly along the bottom row? They'd run right into you if you couldn't move up/down.
 
Yeah, I'm not too impressed with those Ms Pac/Galaga repro sticks either. As to playing with an 8-way, I can make it to the next set of bugs, usually ending around Parsec 21. One of the later bonus stages almost requires you to move up to the middle of the screen to shoot them, if you want to get any decent bonus points.
 
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