We are INVADERS, from SPACE! The Space Invaders Support Thread

[MAtgSy]

As classic as it gets. Debuting in 1978 in an arcade game of the same name, the Space Invaders are amongst the oldest & most iconic characters of all video gaming, predating even Pac-Man by a good solid two years. They are arguably the 1st true mascots in history, the game took Japan by storm with some arcades filled with nothing but Space Invaders machines for a time. & naturally it was just as popular overseas.

The impact Space Invaders has had on the gaming landscape simply can not be emphasized enough. In an interview with Time magazine years ago, Shigeru Miyamoto credited SI as the inspiration for him getting into the games business: https://web.archive.org/web/2007082.../time/magazine/article/0,9171,1645158,00.html

What one game has revolutionized the industry?
Space Invaders. Before I saw it, I was never particularly interested in video games and certainly never thought I would make video games.

Holy Cow, Batman! If it weren't for SI Miyamoto wouldn't have joined Nintendo. There would never have been Mario, Zelda, SSB, Nintendo probably would never have entered the console market at all & revive said market from the crash of 1983. & the countless thousands of other people in the video game industry who were all inspired by Miyamoto wouldn't be where they all are today. SI effectually created the whole industry as we know it today.

Many versions of Space Invaders have been released on various Nintendo platforms all through the ages but there are a couple I particularly wanted to highlight for moveset purposes.

SPACE INVADERS EXTREME

Released on DS & other platforms, Extreme lived up to it's name with faster gameplay & more aggressive aliens. It also introduced (to the best of my knowledge) boss fights to the series with giant versions of the common aliens that players had to destroy each individual "pixel" of.

SPACE INVADERS GET EVEN

For the 30th anniversary of the franchise, Taito could've just put out a couple of remakes & left it at that. But no, they decided to go crazy with the occasion & created a Pikmin styled Wii Ware title where this time the players are the Space Invaders! The UFO is the protagonist that players directly control, taking the Olimar role in this game. The swarm of Invaders can either shield the UFO with their numbers or be sent out to attack whatever human buildings & military war machines need destroying.

Get Even is actually a canonical sequel to the original arcade game, with an opening narration that explains the backstory of the 1978 classic. No, seriously. Thanks to Get Even we actually have a name and an origin for the hero of SI, but this thread isn't about that guy so moving on.

Spoiler: Example Moveset

In general the player is controlling the UFO, much like in Get Even. The UFO hovers just a foot or 2 off the ground so it can be on eye level with the other fighters. Three Invaders circle around it continuously in a an erratic pattern. The Invaders can shield the UFO from enemy attacks, although they will die in a few hits. In compensate for the passive protection, the UFO suffers from higher than average knockback, the logical drawback of being a perpetually hovering character.

Typically the Invaders do the fighting for UFO when they are in formation. When UFO is dashing or jumping the invaders following behind it. In these moments the UFO will do a basic spinning attack that isn't as strong when A is pressed.

SIZE: Invaders & UFO are each about the size of smaller characters like Olimar or Pichu.

JUMP: Get 3 jumps instead of 2, each with higher than normal height. Knockback is stronger if UFO is hit while jumping.

GRAB: The circling invaders reach out & latch unto a fighter. Mid-range grab with half the reach of grapple beam.

SHIELD: The invaders cling tightly to the UFO when the bubble appears.

JAB: 1 of the aliens, selected at random, flies out a few feet in front of the UFO to strike a nearby enemy.

TILT: similar to but with 2 Invaders moving in the direction pressed.

SMASH: All 3 Invaders strike out this time.

N AIR: Invaders circle the UFO very quickly for a second, damaging whoever they touch in the process.

SIDE AIR: Invaders strike at the side of the UFO.

UP AIR: Invaders strike above the UFO.

DOWN AIR: The space invader fire their lasers downward.
B: A random Invader fires a small laser horizontally. Can be rapid firing with the invaders taking turns firing.

SIDE-B: The Invaders quickly fly out across the screen in a slightly upward arc, firing laser below them at they travel & striking whoever they touch in their path. The invaders retreat back to the UFO when they reach the edge of the screen but can be manually called back with another press of B.

UP-B: UFO flies upward while using a tractor beam to carry any fighter that's directly below

DOWN-B: Spawns replacement invaders to replaced the killed ones.

FINAL SMASH: Transforms into a giant boss Space Invader that hovers on the upper half of the stage, firing many lasers downward. Opponents actually can conceivably damage the boss enough to end the FS early, but it takes a lot of hits to achieve that.

 

[Wonks]

I understood that reference. The invaders' tactics of changing direction and speeding up would be too much for the other Smashers.

 

[SEGAGameBoy]

I've played Space Invaders for my Atari back when I was 8 years old. I still love it to this day. I support!

 

[Ornl]

I support.
Edit: update in another post.

 

[Deleted member]

Someone is invading our space.
We need to shoot them out of it.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

Support! TBH I feel SI deserves a rep more than a lot of 3rd parties that are already in Smash.

 

[SSBCandidates]

I feel they would rather get in as ATs.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

I've been thinking about SI in Smash a lot lately. I feel SI would be an amazing character to end off FP2 - a reveal in the veins of Mr. G&W in Melee, it would be such a wonderful moment to end the ultimate celebration of gaming history with the first ever iconic gaming character(s).

An SI trailer basically writes itself: something like this, except it goes backwards in history (possibly with only main characters included) until you eventually get to 1978, then the booming heartbeat sound starts as Crab marches along.

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

It isn't much, but I'll leave this here:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

It isn't much, but I'll leave this here:

There was a problem fetching the tweet

Awesome!

In the replies people seem to be treating SI as simply "AT fodder", and I never really got that. Making an SI moveset is pretty easy, there's enough elements in the original game alone to use for a moveset (the UFO, the invaders' aquatic-esque body shapes, the lasers, the shields, the general B-movie/alien aesthetic, the speed-up bug), and if you wanted to you could slide in references to other Taito games like Pac-Man does for Namco (through I'd prefer not to go with this approach. Compared to Pac, who's a complete blank slate, Space Invader has a very specific theme so it wouldn't really work for it to spit bubbles or rewind time.)

 

[SSBCandidates]

I would love to see them at least as AT or a spirit battle as Space Invaders is a true video game landmark legend!

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

I kinda imagine SI in Smash would look kinda like its interpretation in this UK PSA.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

One idea I had is: what if SI had something like Pac-Man's Namco Roulette, but for non-RPG Square Enix games? Truth be told I'm only suggesting this because Square Enix owns Gex. Pulling out a Gex taunt after a sweet combo would be more satisfying RNG than a Mr. G&W 9.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

Idea for SI: you know how Bowser Jr's alts have "mass-produced" clown cars with more robotic faces? what if SI's alt costumes are "inferior clones" to fit the B-movie aesthetic, and as such don't have eye emotions? so for example, the default Invader's (either white or green would make the most sense as default) eyes will turn angry, or increase in size when hit, e.t.c., but the other Invader alts just have cold, unchanging, static eyes, like robotic clones.

 

[DanganZilla5]

This is something that I never thought I needed. But you all convinced me. I support this.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

When Mario was looking around in the Steve trailer and saw the pixelated eyes, I genuinely thought it'd be Space Invader. Still happy with Steve though.

 

[Ornl]

Delete: removal of excess pollution.

 

[Ornl]

[Pop culture] Artist Invader
The french street artist Invader worked hard to spread in the world the pop culture of pixel invaders. Space Invaders inspired him, then Splatoon pays homage to him ("Squidvader Cap"* and street mosaics).

Invader artwork / Splatoon

Spoiler: Other artworks

 

[Ornl]

[Charadesign] Using Pixel
Steve is the ultimate pixel heir, who turns pixels into vexels. Over 40 years old, the ultimate pixel benchmark is Space Invaders, so it would be inappropriate to adapt them other than with pixels.

Spoiler: game covers

[/ SPOILER]

 

[Ornl]

Delete: update in another post.
(Be ultimate to end the pass!)

 

[Torgo the Bear]

I absolutely support this. The idea of the UFO controlling some Invaders is perfect.

 

[Torgo the Bear]

sorry i double posted again. my internet is stupid

 

[Janx_uwu]

Support! We could always use more retro reps!

 

[Mamboo07]

I support them!

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

Is it just me or has SI support been on a slow increase as of late? I've noticed they've got 155 votes on Global Smash Roster, and the thread's got 3 new supporters in the span of about 4 hours! Not that long ago we were just considered a "meme pick", but I think the invasion is going smoothly now... first Smashboards, then the WORLD-uh, I mean official roster. Totally meant the official roster.

BTW, I found this rad concept art - some ideas I'm not too keen on, but overall it's a great set of ideas. Credit to thegourggorg

 

[Ornl]

[Legacy] Referencing trivia

Pioneer
• Tomohiro Nishikado, the creator of SI, is The Pioneer of Japanese Video Games:*
— early team sport games Soccer then Davis Cup (1973),
— early scrolling racing video game (1974),
— early dual-stick on-foot multi-directional shooter Gun Fight (1975).
• He received a Special Award from CEDEC 2015 at the same time as Toru Iwatani (creator of Pac-Man) to honor the first generation of video games, and Masahiro Sakurai was here.*
• SI is a pioneer game.*
— first to be fixed shooter and set the template for the shoot 'em up genre,
— first to save the player's score,
— first to use an original creative universe (and background soundtrack), which features monsters, instead of being a simulation of something that exists,
— first to sell over a million cartridges as one of the first "killer app",*
— first to have an e-sports event,
— first to attract political controversy.
• SI series holds the record for the oldest Japanese video game series in the world still active.
• SI series sales grossed over $14 billion, making it the 7th highest grossing series of all time, behind Mario, Pokémon, Call of Duty, Dungeon Fighter Online, Wii Series and Pac-Man.*
• SI is inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame, like Mario, Super Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon Red & Green, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac-Man, Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy VII and Minecraft...*

– Masayuki Uemura (creator of the NES and the SNES), Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoshi Tajiri.
History of Nintendo
• Nintendo decided to go into the video game business when SI appeared ; Masayuki Uemura created the Famicom after Hiroshi Yamauchi (ex President of Nintendo) making SI the subject of study among all his employees, which caused them to become obsessed.*
• Nintendo R&D1 and HAL Laboratory each created a Space Invaders clone.°,*
• Shigeru Miyamoto stated that he wasn't interested in video games until he discovers SI.*
• Satoshi Tajiri (creator of Pokémon) drew into video games thanks to SI.*

Proximity with Nintendo
• Sheriff and Donkey Kong 3 (with Stanley) are games influenced by SI that appear in the Smash Bros series ; SI and Sheriff use one sprite in common:

• Taito's sound team Zuntata has made five remixes for Nintendo in Ultimate: Kapp'n's Song, The Mysterious Murasame Castle Medley, Wii Shop Channel (Remix), Staff Credits - Kirby's Dream Land and Splattack! (Remix).*
• Orville, the protagonist of Takt of Magic, appears as a spirit, but he is'nt representative of Taito.
• SI is one of the few series to appear on Virtual Boy, like Bomberman and Shin Megami Tensei series.*
• Space Invaders Get Even is the only game in which Space Invaders are playable and is a Wii Exclusive.*
• Taito developed 8 games on Switch: Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, Touhou Spell Bubble, Darius Cozmic Collection/Revelation, Densha de Go! Hashirou Yamanote Line, Groove Coaster Wai Wai Party !!!!, Pocky & Rocky (coming soon), Space Invaders Forever/Invincible Collection, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors.
• Splatoon refers to SI, in the gamedesign of the Hasta La Vista Station mission°, and in its homage to the street artist Invader.°,*

Masahiro Sakurai's focuses
• He mentioned SI when he commented the TV-Game 15 assist trophee in Smash Bros.*
• He used SI (20 postings) in his talk on GDC Risk and Return from 500th column Famitsu livestream.°,*
• He used SI in a twwet about Apple AirTag.*
• He showcased some of his creations in Dragon Quest Builders 2, starting on a SI sprite, then ending by showing off the Super Smash Bros logo.*
• He mentioned "many Taito games" and the TV Vader clone when he talked about his childhood.*
• He mentioned "Space Invaders" when he talked about video games that have had an impact on him during his childhood.*
• He mentioned "Space Invaders" when he answered which game is at the beginning of his interest in video games.*
• He exclaimed: "Whaaat !? That’s amazing" when Fumito Ueda (cretaor of Team Ico / GenDesign) said he had a SI arcade cabinet in his childhood house.*
• His creation Meteos refers to SI in the Alien soundtrack.*
• His creation Kid Icarus: Uprising quotes "invaders from space" in Chapter 15 and refers to SI in Chapter 24.*

Pop culture
• Using the pixelated alien graphic as an icon for video games in general for many publications and websites.
• Inspiration for disco and electronic music.
• Appearance in movies and series about geek/SF: E.T., Wreck-It Ralph, Pixels, Ready Player One, Futurama, The Big Bang Theory...*

 

[Ornl]

Delete: update in another post.

 

[Starlight Liger]

I support Space Invaders in Smash Bros. Their legacy with video game history alone earns them the privilege to be part of the roster.

The fact that so few people have even considered the Space Invaders aliens is quite shocking. Maybe its because they're not defined characters that adhere to a storytelling narrative, or maybe they're too retro for both Millennials and Gen Z's? who knows, but I guarantee you that he will be the biggest WTF reveal after Pirahna Plant, Cloud, Joker and Minecraft Steve. The Space Invaders could be like Pac-Man in which their attacks fire out other Taito characters. Speaking of Taito, they're owned by Square Enix. That's usually not a big deal because aside from Lufia and Densha De Go, Taito's intellectual properties have been autonomous from Square Enix... except for Space Invaders. Square Enix loves to slap their copyright on Space Invaders which means that there's the unfortunate likeness of Square Enix being stingy and limiting the amount of representation that the Space Invaders have in terms of music and spirits.

The image on the left is what I believe Space Invader's final smash will be, it's a transformation of the Space Invaders that was introduced in Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders. As far as OST goes, if that is delegated with Taito and not Square Enix, I'm expecting a celebratory soundtrack that could end up as large as Terry Bogard's which celebrates all the memorable Taito tunes throughout their history, a tribute I'm sure Taito will appreciate.

 

[Ornl]

A 4h30 live-streamed video by a Japanese.
Here Space invaders are seen as wanted and likely.

• lower axis / upper axis = Least / Most wanted.
• left side / right side of the horizontal axis = Unlikely / Likely.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

A 4h30 live-streamed video by a Japanese.
Here Space invaders are seen as wanted and likely.

View attachment 291231

View attachment 291233
• lower axis / upper axis = Least / Most wanted.
• left side / right side of the horizontal axis = Unlikely / Likely.

That's really interesting to know, especially that the idea of SI as the final newcomer of FP2 is somewhat of a global thing. Unrelated but it's pretty strange that Waluigi is completely absent from both those images, like I've always known he isn't as popular in Japan as he is elsewhere, but the lack of him is a legit shock.

 

[Ornl]

Delete: update in another post.

 

[DanganZilla5]

I'm loving the recent activity in here. We might actually get some power in the speculation scene!

 

[Ornl]

Series on Nintendo consoles. CyberWolfJV grouped 50 franchises to compare*. It appears that Taito takes an important place.

Spoiler: Some series

 

[Ornl]

Hat concepts

 

[Mamboo07]

My Final Smash would be having the UFO become gigantic as it abducts the opponents in a tractor beam like the old running gag of aliens taking cows.

 

[Starlight Liger]

View attachment 293281
Hat concepts

This is what I picture Kirby to be like if he swallowed a Space Invader.

 

[pupNapoleon]

I mean, am I gonna be the douche who downplays SI? Hell no.

 

[Ornl]

[Gameplay] Ideas

Fighter ability #1 - Evolving speed: The fighter speed would evolve with the timer.

Spoiler: Existing run and air speeds (sorry for phone users)

Run speed​	3.85​	2.402​	~2.25​	2.167​	~1.98​	~1.85​	~1.73​	~1.67​	~1.6​	~1.5​	1.271​
Squid & 2D
Space gunners
Multi jumpers								(Peach)
3rd-party * FP			*		*	* *	*			*
?			←	←	←	←	←	←	←	←

Air speed​	1,332​	1.281​	~1,23​	~1,15​	~1.12​	~1.1​	~1,07​	~1,03​	1,01​	~0,98​	0,95​	~0,94​	0,92​	~0,85​	0,735​
Squid & 2D
Space gunners
Multi jumpers						(peach)
3rd-party * FP						*			*		* *		*	*
?			←	←	←	←	←	←	←	←	←	←	←	←

Fighter ability #2 - Invasive aliens: The fighter would be more or less powerful and resistant depending on his ability to minions spawning, and the enemies may be faced with their flood and harassment.

Fighter ability #3 - Multiple Fighter: The fighter would have multiple bodies with separate hitboxes. Crab minions will split into two smaller aliens when they are shot like in SI part II.

Special attacks ideas
Various inspirations: Bullet Seed, Luma Shot, Pikmin Pluck, Robo Beam, Thunder, Wild Gunman...
SI would have different moves than Pac-Man's Galaxian and Boss Galaga.
Web ideas: I have looked at several concepts on the web. Although the basics are different (controlling the UFO, 1 Invader, 3 Invaders, or even the cannon), the ideas for special attacks are relatively similar. The most interesting concerns the Side-B.

• Neutral special: Laser Beam (I saw 7/8 concepts agree), with or whithout multiple shots or directions.

• Up special: UFO (7/8 concepts agree).
• Down special: Bunker / Barrier Shield (5/8 concepts agree).
I prefer Spawn of an alien or Switch tactical formation.
• Side special
Rush (round trip) by the Fighter or one of the minions (6/8 concepts agree).
— MAtgSy: The Invaders quickly fly out across the screen in a slightly upward arc, firing laser below them at they travel & striking whoever they touch in their path. The invaders retreat back to the UFO when they reach the edge of the screen but can be manually called back with another press of B.
— Wario Wario Wario: the Space Invader summons another Space Invader to go from left to right and back a few times, hurting any foes in it's path.
— Retro Enthusiast Sunshyne: (Rainbow Tractor) The Octopus Invader is launched forward, creating a trail. Any fighter caught in the beam is trapped and pulled towards the UFO. If no one enters the beam for 5 seconds, it automatically snaps back to the UFO.

— J.K.: The Invaders charge forward at a ligh speed damaging the foes in their path. This attack has three formations that are cycled through if the attack button is held: Arrow Formation, Vertical Formation, and Horizontal Formation.

 

[Ornl]

An army from the sky, a squid as a shooter, an alien as a villain.
Space Invaders would be the best character to form a loop in Ultimate ^^

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

View attachment 293714 View attachment 293715 View attachment 293716
An army from the sky, a squid as a shooter, an alien as a villain.
Space Invaders would be the best character to form a loop in Ultimate ^^

That Samus mock up is amazing! an SI trailer I feel should feature them as actual, competent threats - these guys are basically the first game characters ever, they need to be treated with the utmost respect even if they are goofy looking little pixel crustaceans. Try to reignite the fear early gamers felt when facing the invader armada in a time before Pyramid Head and Freddy Fazbear.