Ludography
Space Cruiser cover

1981 · Taito · Arcade · Shoot 'em up

Space Cruiser

Nintendo console exclusive

A vertical scrolling space shooter.

Released
1 October 1981
Platforms
ArcadeFM-7NEC PC-8800 seriesNintendo SwitchPC-8800 SeriesSharp MZ-2000Sharp MZ-2200Sharp X1
Genres
ArcadeShoot 'em upShooter
Developers
TaitoHamster CorporationCarry Lab
Publishers
TaitoHamster Corporation
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
ActionScience fiction
Country
Japan
Languages
English

About

Space Cruiser is a 1981 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Taito for arcades. It was released only in Japan in September 1981 alongside Space Seeker. Hamster Corporation released the game outside Japan for the first time as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in August 2021.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The player controls a spaceship who travels throughout space and defeats aliens. Compared to Taito's earlier Space Invaders, the game introduces a number of innovations, including a variety of different levels and enemies moving in different patterns. The player starts off intercepting and destroying an unidentified flying object followed by flying aliens. Multiple similar levels are bridged with different sequences such as navigating an asteroid belt and gaining power-ups at space stations. The game ends after the spaceship destroys the planet spawning the aliens.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Arcade5 June 1981Worldwide
Sharp X131 December 1983Japan
Sharp MZ-220031 December 1983Japan
FM-731 December 1983Japan
PC-8800 Series31 December 1983Japan

Editions and related releases

Ported as
Arcade Archives: Space Cruiser

Games like this

Collections1 collection

Platform libraries

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.