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Stargate

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Arcade

Save the humanoids from the impending aliens in the sequel to Defender. The task is still rescuing humanoids before Landers can turn them into Mutants, while avoiding and shooting other foes, however you must now carry humanoids to safety through the Stargate of the title. Entering this Starga...

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Developer
Williams Electronics

Released on
1981

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

Publisher
Vid Kidz

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Save the humanoids from the impending aliens in the sequel to Defender. The task is still rescuing humanoids before Landers can turn them into Mutants, while avoiding and shooting other foes, however you must now carry humanoids to safety through the Stargate of the title.

Entering this Stargate not only warps you to the nearest humanoid in jeopardy, but can also warp you ahead (while on the first 15 levels) if you enter it with 4 or more humanoids, and give you extra lives if you warp with 10 humanoids, so there is a trade-off between guaranteeing the safety of existing humanoids, and trying to advance your position

There are more enemies on screen than ever before. The Inviso button makes you invisible to enemies, but also to yourself, so you will have to follow your bullets to work out where on the screen you are.

Stargate

Overview & History

Released in 1981 by Williams Electronics, Stargate is the ingenious, high-octane sequel to Eugene Jarvis’s legendary arcade hit, Defender. While retaining the side-scrolling, dual-axis flight dynamics and the iconic mini-map scanner of its predecessor, this masterpiece ramps up the chaos and complexity. Designed by Jarvis and Larry DeMar, the game challenges players to pilot a specialized spacecraft across a wrapping landscape to rescue doomed humanoids from hostile alien abductors known as Yllians, Yorgs, and Phodons. Unlike standard sequels that merely reskin the original, Stargate introduces revolutionary mechanics that forced players to master advanced spatial awareness and high-speed reflexes, cementing its legacy as one of the golden age's most demanding and rewarding coin-op experiences.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

The core objective revolves around protecting ten vulnerable humanoids traversing the planet's surface. Alien landers constantly attempt to capture these humans and transform them into terrifying mutants. Players must intercept the abductors using a diverse arsenal, including standard laser fire, smart bombs that wipe the screen clean, and the game's namesake mechanic: the Stargate. Entering the Stargate instantly warps the ship to a randomly selected sector of the map, providing a tactical escape or an immediate way to hunt down escaping mutants. The gameplay loop demands frantic multitasking, balancing dogfights in the upper atmosphere with precision ground-level rescues, all while managing dwindling fuel and firepower against an increasingly relentless alien armada.

Keyboard Controls

Arrow Keys / D-Pad: Steer ship up, down, left, and right
Action Keys: Fire lasers (Space), Reverse direction (Shift), Invisibility/Cloak (Control), Smart Bomb (Alt), Enter Stargate (X)
Enter: Start / Pause