Ornament Review: Galaga - 2009 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Excellent recreation of the looks and sound of the classic arcade machine

Cons: Not exactly Christmasy

The Bottom Line:

Shoot the aliens!

Hang the classic looks and sounds

On your Christmas tree

If Having the Galaga Ornament Doesn't Label Me a Geek, I Don't Know What Will

While I don't play very many video games these days, I still love the classics I grew up on.  So when I saw the arcade machine ornaments that Hallmark had released, I had to get them.  Galaga was the second of these, and it's a lot of fun.

Galaga was originally released in 1981, and was one of several Space Invaders clones.  In the game, you were a fighter in space trying to defeat wave after wave of insect like aliens.  While the majority of them would stay in formation at the top of the screen, one or more (depending on your wave) would dive bomb you, shooting at you.  And the leaders could capture your ship.  If you survived long enough, you might free that captured ship and get to fight side by side.

This ornament recreates the classic machine from all those years ago.  It's the classic arcade shape.  It's all black, which was the original color.  And it's got all the old decals.  The sides have the same decal, which features Galaga and an enlarged, drawn version of the alien space ships.  The front features a small decal down at the bottom and the Galaga written in the logo over the top.

The front is actually pretty detailed.  You've got the coin slots in the bottom half.  They have painted on a screen featuring a full wave of aliens and one of the leaders capturing the current ship fighting them.  And they've got a joystick and fire button sticking up from the machine slightly.  The joystick doesn't actually move, however.

This is a magic ornament, which means it lights up and makes sound.  When you press the fire button, you hear the theme song from the very beginning of the game along with the sound effects of the ships flying and firing.  After about 25 second, you die, and the game becomes quiet.  While all this going on, the top panel and the "screen" light up.  To do all this, the ornament takes 3 1.5 volt batteries.  Your first set are included with the ornament.

The ornament is well sculpted.  The base is perfectly flat, so you can set it out on display.  Or, you can hang it from the brass hook on top; it hangs perfectly straight as well.  The batteries and other electronics do make it a little heavy, but it's not as bad as I expected.  Still, you'll want to hang it from a branch with a little space underneath it.  The battery panel is hidden in the back, and is held closed by a tiny screw.

I know, this isn't very Christmasy; that's why I hesitated at first about getting these ornaments.  I usually go for the ornaments that fit the Christmas theme in some way.  But the more I looked at it, the more I just couldn't resist getting it.  It's just way too much fun.

Seeing this ornament makes me want to sit down and play Galaga.  So if you'll excuse me, I think I hear a video game calling my name.

Original Price: $18.50