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How Many Levels Does Space Invaders Have?

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Everybody has probably played Space Invaders at least once or twice. The mythical shooter video game was released by Taito back in 1978.

 In Space Invaders, you are the last line of defense on Earth against waves of alien ships coming down the screen. A wave is composed of 5 rows of 11 aliens. Once you destroy all the alien ships in the first wave of invaders, another wave appears on the screen. 

The next wave is slightly lower than the previous wave and it is also a little faster. 

Now on to the question at hand, how many levels does Space Invaders have? The original Space Invaders is designed as an endless loop which means there is no maximum number of levels, just non-stop waves of aliens. It is designed to be impossible to finish it, no matter how many waves you destroy, at one point you will die. 

Space Invaders not only was a revolution in terms of video gaming, but it is also the first video game with endless gameplay.

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But Can I Win Playing Space Invaders?

If you are playing the original Space Invaders, there is no way you can beat the game. What you will win is most likely having  wrist tendinitis from the joystick and some bad burns on your fingers from hitting the fire button non-stop. 

If you are playing a clone version, then yes, you can beat the game as they have a system of levels and bosses to beat in order to achieve victory but that does not apply to the original 1978 Space Invaders. 

Don’t lose all hope though, you can still make a name for yourself on the official score leaderboard. Yes, that’s right, there is an active official leaderboard for Space Invaders!

The number one player with the highest score (as of this writing) is Jon Tannahill from Australia. He posted on the Twin Galaxies Board with a video recording him reaching a high score of 218,870. 

The Space Invaders High Score video can be viewed below:

Now you know what is the best ever score achieved on Space Invaders. Grab your spare change, you might need a lot, rush to the closest arcade and get ready to kill as many waves as you can.

Tips For Winning Space Invaders

Want to learn some additional tips on the best ways to win or at least get better at Space Invaders? Check out this video below that has some net tricks/hacks to help you get better.

It will also only take a few minutes instead of a few hours like the video above! 

What About Other Versions Of Space Invaders?

Since Space Invaders is the most successful shooter ever produced even if it is from 1978, there are a lot of clones very similar to the original game on many different platforms.

Taito, the original publisher of the game, came out with many different spin-offs available on different platforms and handheld portable devices. The concept of the original game remains the same but every new release adds a new novelty such as power-ups, new end-level bosses and of course improved graphics and soundtracks. 

As video gaming technology has been developing every year, the newer Space Invaders have become more advanced. In the ’90s, Space Invaders game became available on home computers including Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, PC, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. 

By 1994 Space Invaders was brought to the Super Nintendo and the Game Boy and later to the Sega Saturn and first PlayStation by Sony. The latest version was released in 2017 and is named “Space Invaders Frenzy”.

This latest version is just an updated version of the original 1978 classic game arcade and keeps all the elements that made Space Invaders one of the most successful and addictive video games ever created.

How Space Invaders Created A Revolution In The Video Game Industry

When Space Invaders was first released in Japan in 1978 it took the gaming world by storm! The game became the most popular video game nationwide to the point it created a shortage of 100 Yen coins. 

The success of Space Invaders was not only due to its intense gameplay but the new graphics and music played a very important role. The graphics are directly inspired by the two very popular movies of the time: The War of the Worlds and Star Wars.

Riding the popularity of science fiction, the choice for graphic design was also a way to adapt to the limitations of the technology available back in 1978. The soundtrack also played a very important role in the popularity of the game.

For the first time in video games, the music was interactive with the on-going action. The tempo accelerating as aliens are getting closer to your line of defense mixed with the sound of your laser beam destroying them created an extra level of stimulation for the player. 

For the first time in a video game, the music and the sounds were working together to bring to the player a much more immersive experience.

The Video Game Industry Breakthrough

Space Invaders was so revolutionary it was soon exported from Japan to the United States where it also became the most popular arcade game of the ’80s. In a few years, video games went from a niche market dedicated to geeks to a mass adopted form of entertainment. 

SpaceInvaders cabinets were not just found in a dedicated arcade either. They were popping up in bars,gas stations, hotel lobbies and more! 

Everybody was experiencing a new form of entertainment and everybody wanted more. Soon after its release and because of its popularity, Atari bought the license to commercialize Space Invaders on its early consoles such as the Atari 2600, Atari 5200 and the well known MSX series. 

Video games had been adopted by consumers all over the world. The digital entertainment era was a reality all because of Space Invaders. 

By 1982 the game generated almost 4 million US dollars and a net profit of half a million. The original version was put onto many different platforms as the video game industry expanded and by 2016 all the different versions of Space Invaders had grossed over 13 billion US dollars. 

This made it the most profitable video game of all time. If one game really contributed to the golden age of video games, it is definitely Space Invaders and all its clones.

Conclusion

Space Invaders is the most popular and well known video game of all time and is still quite popular today. The original game did not have a set number of levels and is evidenced by the video above, you can play it for hours without stopping if you have enough luck/skill. 

Space Invaders is available on many different video game systems as well as on a variety of computers via download or game discs. 

If you have never played Space Invaders you can play a free version of the game online without any download or anything at the Triplets And Us Website.