Comparison

Galaxy Invader 1000 vs BigPEmu

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Galaxy Invader 1000

Relive the golden age of handheld gaming with this authentic recreation of a classic 80s VFD LSI game. Experience addictive gameplay, retro sounds, and a nostalgic vacuum fluorescent display. Enjoy three difficulty levels for endless fun.

Highlights
  • Accurate VFD LSI simulation
  • Full retro sounds
  • Three difficulty levels
  • Simple and addictive gameplay
  • Nostalgic experience
  • iCade support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

First there was the original Galaxy Invader (Galaxy Invader 1978). Now this sequel, also known as Cosmic Fire Away, blasts you back to the 1980's again when games were simple but very addictive. An accurate recreation of the VFD LSI game by CGL, Gakken, Tandy and other companies of that time. Fun for all ages with three difficulty levels. All those retro sounds and that vacuum fluorescent display are here. This was a classic and very popular toy back then. Now it is a rare and collectable item but YOU can own it right now! These types of machines were made by companies such as Grandstand, Tomy, Entex, CGL, Tandy, Bandai and Epoch to name but a few. *Screenshots show actual app in action and original artwork based on the original packaging. See how close to the real thing it is! • Accurate simulation of the classic handheld machine • Full retro sounds • 3 difficulty levels • Simple and addictive • Totally nostalgic • iCade support HOW TO PLAY 1. Set speed control to the desired level. Slide power on/off switch to "on" 2. Move the Missile Launch lever side by side to aim at Invader or UFO and press Missile Launch button. 3. Game ends when you obtain 1,000 points or when all 3 Missile Launchers are destroyed or when Invader captures G-zone or when you have shot all of your 250 Missiles. * When you obtain 700 points, one Missile Launcher and 50 Missiles are given as a bonus. 4. To start a new game simply switch slide to "off" and then to "on" again. 5. If using with iCade or compatible controller, press the iCade button on top left and you can now use a joystick and red fire(5) button. NOTE: pressing this without connection to a compatible Bluetooth controller will bring up the keyboard. If this happens just press the button again to turn it off. The original version is also available by us called "Galaxy Invader 1978"

About

BigPEmu

This application emulates the Atari Jaguar console, offering high accuracy and performance for its entire retail game library. It provides advanced features like saved states, movie recording, and customizable controller support, enhancing the classic gaming experience.

Highlights
  • Full retail library compatibility
  • High performance emulation
  • Accurate emulation
  • Saved states and movie recording
  • Jaguar CD support
  • Customizable controller overlays
  • Fast forward and rewind
Features
Read full description

BigPEmu is the first Atari Jaguar emulator to feature compatibility with the entire retail library, along with excellent performance and a wide variety of unique features: • Fast. The emulator runs the entire Jaguar retail library (with default settings) at full speed on most devices. • Accurate. It's the most accurate Jaguar emulator to-date, although it's still being improved all the time. • Better than hardware. Although the emulator defaults to settings which are catered toward compatibility and accuracy, it's capable of far more. BigPEmu enables you to play lots of Jaguar games at a full 60 frames per second for the first time ever! • Saved states and movies. Everything is completely deterministic, just like real life. That's right, I went there. This means that all "randomness" is also controlled by a preserved seed. BigPEmu can record movies from nothing but controller inputs, and play them back with perfect accuracy. You can even interrupt a movie's playback and start playing yourself at any point. • Jaguar CD support. In addition to supporting the entire retail disc library (along with Memory Track), complete hardware emulation means that the Virtual Light Machine is fully functional. Also featured is a virtual disc system with an audio loopback option, allowing the VLM to be used as a native audio/music visualizer. • Excessive presentation detail. There's native support for the Jaguar Game Drive's MRQ format in the software browser (as well as box art sourced from PNG files), support for global and per-game backgrounds, and even support for controller overlays! Everything about the touch overlay for the iOS port is fully customizable, from appearance to collision boxes. • Extra device support. Featuring emulated device support for analog controllers (both via external bank switching and the ADC), driving controllers, rotary controllers, and Team Tap. For native input devices, the iOS port supports any MFi "Extended Gamepad" type device as well as keyboards through Apple's Game Controller API. • Glorious shaders. The emulator comes equipped with a powerful, fully customizable postprocessing system. The system supports any type of effect you can imagine, from applying smoothing filters to simulating CRT displays. • Per-game profiles. Mapping the Atari Jaguar controller to anything other than a telephone with wings can get a little complicated, so you might want to switch your controller mapping up for different games. You can do that! With per-game profiles, you can automatically load up a new input scheme (or any other emulator setting) each time you load a game. • Time travel. Native fast forwarding and rewinding capability means you can speed forward through time or go back in time whenever you please. • Flexible scripting. BigPEmu features a powerful scripting system. The emulator comes with a variety of scripts to enhance popular Jaguar games in amazing ways, from analog controller support to native-resolution and stereoscopic rendering! • The usual. Enjoy all of the emulator niceties you've come to expect in modern times. Automatic preservation of EEPROM, PAL support, custom boot ROM images, native support for multiple display aspect ratios, resolution scaling, custom display cropping, extremely customizable input, and a whole lot more. BigPEmu and Swinecrafters LLC are in no way affiliated with Atari. The name "Atari" and all associated game console names are the property of their respective owners.

Screenshots

Galaxy Invader 10001 screens
BigPEmu3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Galaxy Invader 1000 at $1.99 against BigPEmu's $9.99. Galaxy Invader 1000 also leads on chart position (#198 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 15). BigPEmu's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 9 months). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Galaxy Invader 1000 costs $1.99 and BigPEmu $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Galaxy Invader 1000 against 5.0 for BigPEmu. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 27 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Galaxy Invader 1000's written reviews are positive against 94% of BigPEmu's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Galaxy Invader 1000 ships an update every 9 months, BigPEmu every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Galaxy Invader 1000 versus BigPEmu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGalaxy Invader 1000BigPEmu
Price$1.99 — better$9.99
Rating5.0 (17 ratings)5.0 (27 ratings)
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews94.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1727 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#198 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.1 — better15
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB16 MB
Age rating4++9
DeveloperRob WilmotSwinecrafters LLC

Customer experience

Galaxy Invader 1000

All ratings17 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative5.9%

BigPEmu

All ratings26 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%

Bugs and requests

Galaxy Invader 1000

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Controls hard to grasp on touchscreen
  • Left joystick placement awkward on some phones
  • Game doesn't fit screen on some iPhones
  • Lag/delay with left slider
  • Left joystick fails to respond sometimes
Show 5 more
  • Screen ratio issues on XS Max
  • Sound not working for one user
  • Game doesn't fit properly on 10r iPhone
  • Left hand joystick tricky to work
  • Left rudder too far left, hard for app to pick up

Requested features

8 requests
  • Make more emulations of other games
  • Emulate Merlin or Master Merlin
  • Emulate Simon
  • Add haptic feedback
  • Bring Galaxy Invader 10000 to iOS
Show 3 more
  • Option to remove social media decals
  • Fix sound issues
  • Fix screen fitting issues on specific iPhones

BigPEmu

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Galaxy Invader 1000

No in-app purchases

None

BigPEmu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Galaxy Invader 1000 free?
Galaxy Invader 1000 costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is BigPEmu free?
BigPEmu costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Galaxy Invader 1000 or BigPEmu?
Galaxy Invader 1000 and BigPEmu are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 17 and 27 ratings respectively.
Do Galaxy Invader 1000 or BigPEmu have ads?
Neither Galaxy Invader 1000 nor BigPEmu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Galaxy Invader 1000 or BigPEmu?
Galaxy Invader 1000 ships an update every 9 months, and BigPEmu every 4 months. Most recently, Galaxy Invader 1000 was updated on November 6, 2026 and BigPEmu on November 4, 2026.

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