I have mixed feelings about this one. 11 years after the original, the core gameplay is still fun, but it was always a starting point to expand upon. Galaga and the hundreds of other shooters that followed would prove that out, but how do you make a sequel to Space Invaders without just turning it into another vertical shooter? That's the challenge Taito fumbled a bit here.

While it does offer a few variants on the original gameplay, it also just resorts to stereotypical vertical shooter segments that just don't feel like Space Invaders. One notable omission are the bases from the original game. While most retrospectives focus on the aliens, and rightfully so, I think the bases should have been kept and expanded upon to differentiate this from all those other schmups. Maybe they could have you power one up temporarily to act as a turret, or determine your powerups based on how many bases you were able to keep from being destroyed completely. Something of that nature would have made this feel more like an evolution of Space Invaders rather than a name stuck to another arcade shooter.

Basically plays like the original Space Invaders only with much more varied enemies and attack patterns, destroy a UFO that flies by on the top of the screen will give you a shield powerup, a faster attack, or a special weapon. Some levels end with what is usually a fairly simple boss fight. You choose between two stages at the start and that leads to two additional choices with paths going to the left, right, or center until you reach the end. Funny protect the cows bonus stages. Kind of dull now, short, and doesn't do too much to change anything up from the base game. Powerups can basically just wipe all the enemies out if you get them and if you miss you are very likely to get hit.

Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1467738851409940483

Diferente de Return of the Invaders, Majestic Twelve tem uma identidade visual reconhecível com o resto da série. Caso em questão: os aliens têm o formato de aliens que assusta-fofos que todos amamos! Apesar do visual mais tradicional, o jogo traz algumas novidades pra fórmula clássica, com novos tipos de aliens, powerups, estágios bônus, chefes e até estágios alternativos no estilo de Darius. Apesar disso, não é uma obra muito impressionante, ainda mais se comparada ao catálogo de shmups da Taito contemporâneos à ela.