Tokens Only » Galaga

Galaga reproduction cpo

cnlmoore — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:00:24 +0000

Not too exciting I suppose, but Galaga is a true classic and worthy of recognition, even if it’s just about the cpo. This is one of the Namco reproduction overlays that I picked up awhile back to use in my Gaplus project. I have a Galaga UR and wanted to add Gaplus to the cab. I figured I could just install one of the double jamma adapters from Mikes Arcade and have both games in my Galaga cabinet. Gaplus uses an 8-way joystick and I wasn’t about to hack up my nice Galaga panel, so I picked up a crappy one and cut a hole for the 8-way joystick. (see that post here) This overlay is destined for that panel, if I ever get around to finishing the project!

Galaga upright no. 5922 – sold

cnlmoore — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:00:15 +0000

I got lucky with this game pickup, right place right time and all. Way back in November 2004, I was returning a Uhaul trailer to a location in Cicero after having just hauled home a load of games. I noticed some commotion in the Uhaul garage and heard some familiar sounds. I went to check it out and there were two employees playing an upright Galaga, pretty funny to see at the time because it was cold out and they were bundled up in winter gear.

I asked what the deal was with the game and one of the workers told me it had been left behind on one of the rentals. I gave it a quick inspection, it was beat from route operation, but worked just fine. I offered $50 and 10 minutes later I had it loaded into the back of my SUV. Not bad!

I already had a nice restored Galaga in my collection, so this one would either get sold or traded off. After a post on RGVAC, I quickly found someone interested in the game. Galaga was still bringing decent money back in 2004, even in this condition. I traded the Galaga for an upright Gyruss, Elevator Action, Sanyo EZ monitor and an NOS Elevator Action overlay. (later identified as a Spy Agent) I was happy with the trade as I had been looking for a Gyruss. I ended up selling the EA for $75 to another collector so I made all my money back.

You may notice the brand new monitor that’s been installed in this game. I thought it was strange that someone would spend the $140 plus on a new monitor and then just abandon the game. In hindsight I probably should have pulled the monitor…now that CRT’s have gone the way of the dodo. At least it got a good home.

Willis Galaga CPO

cnlmoore — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:47:46 +0000

Of all the funky Willis control panel overlays that exist, this has got to be my all time favorite. The fabulous 70′s color scheme with swirls and patterns that jump right out of the famous sesame street 12345 song. You just can’t go wrong with this particular piece of arcade nostalgia. The Willis made, Galaga control panel overlay, is a fantastic example of the aftermarket artwork produced during the height of the video game boom. This particular piece is in excellent shape with most of the colors still rich and vibrant. The glare from the flash washes them out a bit and the photos do not do this cpo justice.

Considering Galaga was produced by Midway (with a Namco license) in 1981, it didn’t take long for the people at Willis to scoop up the rights to make this alternate cpo, dated 1982. I imagine that new original replacement overlays were still available, so my guess is that Willis was the cheaper, licensed alternative to buying a new cpo directly from Midway. Perhaps this was one way the major manufacturers dealt with piracy, which was rampant throughout the industry. Cabinets, pcbs and artwork were all getting bootlegged. Anything an operator could do to save a buck. Offering the op a lower cost alternative overlay, might keep him from making his own cpo’s and bypassing the system completely.

Galaga restoration

cnlmoore — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:36:42 +0000

Flash back all the way to October of 2001, not too long, but an eternity when you think about the advances in technology since that time. I had picked up my very first cabinet, a Galaga UR and was anxious to restore it to its former glory. I think it is very important to document the strip down of any cabinet, primarily so you can remember where stuff goes, but also to share the details with the collecting community. I didn’t have a digital camera back then and was taking pics with my 35mm camera, a slow process.

I decided to borrow a friends digital Sony Mavica for instant results. Cutting edge at the time with its little 3″ removable disc media. Wow, what a difference, I can’t imagine using a 35mm ever again! I stripped the cab of all its parts and started to clean it up. The bottom and lower back of the cabinet were water damaged and the cab was missing a wheel, so drag damage. I figured I could just swap in some new panels and repaint/laminate. Easier said than done as Midway used these bizarre RTA (ready to assemble) connectors all around the bottom piece. I guess for ease of assembly.

I was able to find replacement RTA fasteners that were almost exact duplicates of the originals. They weren’t cheap (imports from Germany) but I was trying to repair it correctly. I cut new blanks for the bottom, back and back door. I sanded, patched and sanded the entire cab to make sure it was nice and smooth. I would paint the back components, but for the sides I was going to install some nice black laminate for durability.

I installed leg levelers and casters. I couldn’t find a spare original caster and since I only had one was forced to settle for a pair I found at Ace Hardware. I had rewired the cabinet after bringing it inside to install the artwork and Lisa was in charge of play testing to make sure it was working properly. Well, she hit level 21 and got this lovely message, “This player too hot. My electronic brain is scrambled. Immediate shutdown. Danger, danger, danger.” Then the darn game would reset. WTF is that? She tried it again and sure enough, same thing, but this time I got the pictures below. Apparently some Operator wanted to make sure you couldn’t play too long on just one quarter! Funny stuff.

I know I have more data and pics about my first restoration around somewhere, just need to dig. Until then, happy gaming.

Galaga High Score

cnlmoore — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 04:42:32 +0000

If you know me well enough then you probably know that my lovely wife Lisa is also a huge video game nut. She isn’t too interested in the fixing part, she’s more interested in playing. Not really playing, more like destroying anyone in her path. A bit competitive you might say.

Back when I got started in the hobby, my friends invited us to a party in a basement full of games and talked trash the weeks leading up to the party. Lisa calmly accepted their Galaga challenge and waited for the day to arrive.

After half a red stripe, Lisa proceeded to play Galaga with a buzz, she’s a lightweight. They taunted and heckled, but all jibes quickly subdued after she surpassed the current HS on the game, around 250k. People just walked away after she more than doubled it. I’m not positive, but I think she put up about 750k that night on my friends machine. A respectable score.

Years later at our old house in the city, I was sitting around working and keeping an eye on Nathan, when I realized Lisa had vanished. I searched and found her in the basement playing Galaga. Not just playing it but kicking its butt. She ended with a score over 1.3million and could have gone farther as she still had 4 lives left. She just got tired and had sore wrists. I think with a little effort we could easily get her name in the top 10 Galaga scores on Twin Galaxies. Game on!