Space Invaders is one of the most influential arcade shooter games in the gaming industry. Without it there would be no Galaga, no Defender or even the numerous bullet hell and shmups that have followed it years after its release. While it’s rare to see an original arcade cabinet in working order or any of its sequels, spin offs and re-releases in arcades (or in any place for that matter) Space Invaders still lives on thanks in part to rereleases on home consoles over the years. From being included in variations of Taito Collections compilation games to having a Arcade1Up arcade cabinet, there are many ways to play the seminal shooter. But the best way to play it and actually several of its sequels and spinoffs is the Space Invaders Invincible Collection for the Nintendo Switch.
ININ Games is back with another digital completion of the arcade classic Space Invaders with Space Invaders Invincible Collection, packing in 11 games (10+1, Arkanoid vs Space Invaders is a separate download) into one very convenient package. I’m going to get my major complaint of this collection out of the way first. My major complaint is that this is what the previous release, Space Invaders Forever, should have been. The Space Invaders Forever compilation has in it Space Invaders Extreme, Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE and Arkanoid vs Space Invaders while Space Invaders Invincible not only has those games but as well as two versions of the original Space Invaders (black & white and color), Space Invaders Part II, Majestic Twelve: The Space Invaders Part IV, Super Space Invaders ‘91 (Western release of Majestic Twelve), Space Invaders DX (more on that in a bit) Space Cyclone and Lunar Rescue. In all $59.99 for 11 games compared to the $29.99 for Space Invaders Forever’s three games. Point is that this release makes Space Invaders Forever redundant.
As for the gameplay, with the exception of Space Cyclone, Lunar Rescue and Arkanoid vs Space Invaders, all of the games are variations of the original Space Invaders. Here’s a breakdown of each of these variations:
- Space Invaders Black &White/Color- The original Space Invaders game in its original black & white version and later a colored version.
- Space Invaders Part II- Sequel to the first game and introduced new mechanics such as enemy reinforcements, aliens splitting in two and rainbow showers.
- Majestic Twelve- Keeps the traditional gameplay of the original, but now includes various power ups, stage select and depending on the stage, the alien and ship sprites are changed. This is where power ups are first introduced into the series that are later seen in Space Invaders Extreme.
- Super Space Invaders ‘91- Is the Western version of Majestic Twelve, only that the levels are played in order
- Space Invaders DX- Has three different game modes: original, versus and parody. Original mode allows you to select from four version of the game: upright cabinet, black & white, black & white with cellophane (to make look like it had color, and color. Versus is a two player competitive mode. And in parody the aliens and ships are replaced with sprites from older Taito games.
- Lunar Rescue- The game has players landing on the surface of the moon to rescue fellow humans and take them back to Earth while avoiding enemies.
- Space Cyclone- Players are tasked to shoot down insectoid cyborgs before they land on the ground. If enough of them land they create a giant robot that instantly kills the player.
As for Extreme, Gigamax 4SE and Arkanoid vs Space Invaders, you can read more about them in my review of Space Invaders Extreme here.
Even though all of them (with the exception of Lunar Rescue and Space Cyclone) use the same mechanics and basically play all the same, each one gives a different experience. For archival purposes its great to see so many versions of Space Invaders in one collection. Though some versions do seem redundant. Take the black & white and color version of Space Invaders and Space Invaders DX for example. Space Invaders DX hasl (not counting the parody and versus modes) four variations of Space Invaders that are based on the ordinal, two of which are black & white and color versions. Why have the black & white and color versions as standalone games when Space Invaders DX already has them built in?If the two standalone versions were omitted/not included, maybe the price of the game would have been lower. While this is more of a personal nitpick, it’s great to see that players have a choice of which version to play. There will be those who will think that the gameplay for the majority of the games is a bit slow and outdated compared to other shooters, both modern and classic, and that is a valid concern.
The Space Invaders Invincible Collection is a fun look at an arcade classic’s past. While some versions of the games seem redundant, its great to see them added into the collection for archival sake. I still do believe that this should have been the collection released instead of Space Invaders Forever. Space Invaders Invincible Collection is a must own for those who are die hard fans of the franchise, retro gamers and for those who can appreciate the history of the games.
