Beyond the blocky bugs: 3 brilliant Space Invaders sequels you should play
Think you know Space Invaders? Think again. Will Llewelyn explores the surprising sequels—from the dark grit of '91 to the zany parody of '95—that redefined a classic.
Typing ‘Space Invaders’ and ‘sequel’ in the same sentence feels a bit surreal to me, even as someone with an esoterically obsessive interest in the series. The 1978 original is a title recognised around the world. Even the most avid and casual players alike will default to the same mental image of blocky insectoids over a black backdrop.
Tomohiro Nishikado’s runaway phenomenon practically jumpstarted the burgeoning arcade industry, but honestly, that just covers the surface level.
The shockwaves of its success swelled into an indeterminable abundance of influence, branching into every form of gaming media that would follow in its footsteps. It inspired the likes of Shigeru Myamoto and innovated the high score system, and humbled anyone who considered gaming a cheap novelty by generating a billion dollars in three years. It also helped to invigorate a home console market bloated by a litany of tired Pong repaints (albeit before the biggest gaming crash in history, never mind that though).
In a broader more indirect sense, it did its fair share in shaping the nucleus of everything we hobbyists take for granted, in an industry that now dwarfs both its music and movie counterparts. Without drowning you in any more superlatives, I think that explains why perhaps nobody save for your 5-year-old son ever asks if there’s a “Space Invaders 2.”
Space Invaders Part II
Of course, there is a “Space Invaders 2.” The sequel was called Space Invaders Part II and given everything we’ve just discussed I wouldn’t blame you if it slipped your mind, after all, you might think updating Space Invaders is like reinventing the wheel; the game did everything it had to and honestly everything it possibly could within the constraints of its era.
To put things into perspective, there was no other game at the time concerned with atmosphere like Invaders was. Think about the daunting descent of the alien rows (explained in-depth in a Guardian interview) and their iconic Lovecraftian aesthetic; sure, we can take all of this for granted now, but this was 45 years ago.
Perhaps most immersive of all these features, though, was the manipulation of its simple soundscape. How do you inspire dread when all you have is bleeps to work with? Nishikado had the answer- a metronomic rhythm that accelerated in tandem with enemies, taking pointers from Jaws, a film that had terrified audiences with its accelerando three years earlier.
It seems Nishikado himself was concerned with painting a moustache on his Mona Lisa; Space Invaders Part II was little more than an excuse to replace his old cabinets with new ones. The 80s had arrived, but Space Invaders had little more to offer. New, post-level animations and enemies that split in two upon taking damage was the most you could expect from this sequel.
New Cabinets
Part II wasn’t nearly as successful as its predecessor, owing all vestiges of its continued memory to a scattering of emulations on console compilations. It’s still Space Invaders, so it still consumed coins on a ridiculous scale, but it couldn’t compete with number 1. The question is, does this prove our redundant sequel hypothesis true?
After 45 years of content, the answer is a resounding no.
Whilst it is true that Space Invaders’ key formula doesn’t allow for serious innovation, the fact is it doesn’t need to and it never did. With four and a half decades of technological advancements and a timeless formula that still entertains, even at its most basic function, there will always be room for welcome variations (many of which can be found on the Space Invaders Invincible Collection).
Today we’re going to look at a mix of lesser-known sequels, to establish which of them brought the best out of the granddaddy of gaming.
So, having established that the Space Invaders formula isn’t just ‘redundant,’ but actually a canvas for decades of innovation, we have to look at the gems that prove it.
The following three titles (’91, ‘95, and the gritty, millennial-anxiety-fuelled 1999) are usually considered mere sequels. However, they are the best ways to experience the evolution of TAITO’s masterpiece. Read on for my deep dive into the weirdest, darkest, and most fun corners of the Invaders archive…
