About the Game
History
How to Play
Links

Original Release
Arcade

Other Releases
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Atari 8-Bits
Commodore 64
ColecoVision
Famicom / NES

Picture Galleries
Coming Soon

Screenshot Galleries
Title
Formation
Satellites and Power-Ups
Asteroid
Destination Reached
Chance Stage
Extra

Audio Clip Galleries
Main Theme
Chance Stage

A Classic Game with a Classical Theme

Space Invaders introduced players to the hoard of enemy aliens attacking in formation. Galaxian made those attacks more versitile, with aliens able to break formation and dive kamikaze-style at the player. Galaga introduced alien swarms that create the formation at the beginning of each new level, and also offered players the chance to earn extra fire power. Gyruss then carried the mantle further, offering all those challenges and treats, and more, with a twist.

Gyruss was created by Yoshiki Okamoto, and released to arcades by Konami in 1983. The game drew inspiration not only from Galaga and its predescesors, but Tempest as well. Employing a "forced 3D" perspective just like Tempest, Gyruss allows the player's ship to sweep in a complete circle around the screen, firing toward enemies in the middle. Gyruss also turns the game into something of a quest. Each game starts at the outskirts of our solar system. The longer the player survives, the further into the solar system the battles will rage, until finally the player reaches Earth. Of course the game doesn't stop there, and after the final battle at Earth, it's off for another tour through the planets. All of these little differences may have been enough to earn Gyruss its audience, but what really made the game stand out was its soundtrack. Using no less than five sound chips, each capable of playing multiple tones at the same time, Gyruss enraptured players with stereo sound effects, all set to an updated, electronic arrangement of Bach's "Toccata and Fugue." A combination of classical melodies and modern drum beats made the song, and the game, instantly recognizable and memorable.

In 1984, Parker Brothers offered Gyruss for a number of home systems, making sure to include what players remembered best about the arcade game. Even the Atari 2600 port takes its best shot at Bach's famous tune. Sadly, the video game crash was well underway at the time, and none of these home versions sold very well. It wasn't long before Parker Brothers was out of the video game business completely. Later on, Konami themselves took to releasing games for the home market. They brought Gyruss to the Famicom Disk System, and then, through subsidiary Ultra Games, to the American Nintendo Entertainment System. These newer versions boast a lot of extra features, but the heart of the game is still there, and so is Bach's toccata.

An interesting footnote to the Gyruss story is what became of the game's developer. Following the release of Gyruss, Okamoto asked his employer for a raise. Instead, they showed him the door. Undeterred, Okamoto continued his game development career with Capcom, eventually helping create the legendary Street Fighter series. Not bad for someone Konami didn't think was worth keeping!