Space Invaders DX (1993)

A remake of the original with several new options and gameplay elements, including a competitive two-player mode. Introduced a "parody mode" that replaces the traditional sprites by those from other Taito games including Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, The NewZealand Story, and Darius. Early versions use Taito's B system hardware, while later ones use Taito's F3 system hardware. The home versions were released as Space Invaders - The Original Game. Other names include: Space Invaders XL on the Nuon, Space Invaders '​94 on the Game Boy and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Space Invaders 2000 and Space Invaders 1500 on two PlayStation re-releases. The home releases feature variants of the two-player mode. The Game Boy release was an update to the 1990 version of Space Invaders Part II. Extra options similar to Space Invaders DX are available when played via Nintendo's Super Game Boy. The first PlayStation release lacked the two-player mode. Subsequent PlayStation re-releases in 1998 and 2001 restored it. The 2001 release, known as The Invaders and Space Invaders 1500, includes a 3D version, and was part of D3 Publisher's Simple series of budget games that sell for ¥1500. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System version was also released on Nintendo's Virtual Console.

Storyline

Space Invaders DX consists of four different versions of the original Space Invaders plus two additional game modes, versus mode and parody mode. The versions of the original game all have the same gameplay but have different screen types. They are upright cabinet screen, black and white, black and white with cellophane overlay and colour. The versus mode is played by two players simultaneously on a split screen. It's round based and to win the round the player has to prevent the aliens from landing or clear all aliens. When winning a round the player is awarded with a medal and the first player with three medals wins the game. The versus mode has less aliens and only one barricade and some of the aliens are coloured. Shooting coloured aliens trigger certain actions which can be both positive and negative. This include clearing a whole line of invaders or having the aliens jump closer to the player or his opponent. The parody mode plays just like the original Space Invaders but here each level has a theme based on other Taito games such as Bubble Bobble, The New Zealand Story, Arkanoid and Darius.