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Index › 1980s › MagMax
MagMax cover art

MagMax

マグマックス, AKA: Arcade Archives: MagMax, Mag Max
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MagMax

Nintendo eShop $7.99

A horizontal scrolling shooter, players control the title hover ship in an attempt to completely construct the ship into a giant robot and to destroy any enemies attempting to stop it. The three-headed mechanical dragon found as a boss character in the game, known as Babylon, strongly resembles Mecha-King Ghidorah from the Godzilla franchise.

Year
1986
Developer
Nichibutsu
Publisher
Imagine Software
Orientation
Horizontal

SCREENSHOTS

PHYSICAL

HISTORY

MagMax is a 1985 horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Nichibutsu for arcades. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System, released in Japan on March 19, 1986, and by FCI in North America in October 1988. The game was also ported to the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC by Ocean Software and released on their Imagine label in 1987.

The three-headed mechanical dragon found as a boss character in the game, known as Babylon, strongly resembles Mecha-King Ghidorah from the Godzilla franchise. Hamster Corporation acquired the rights to the game alongside Nichibutsu's intellectual property, and released the game as part of their Arcade Archives series for the PlayStation 4 in 2015 and the Nintendo Switch in 2020. Hamster scheduled the NES version of MagMax to be re-released as part of Console Archives for the Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5.

Gameplay

Players control the titular spaceship in an attempt to completely construct the ship into a giant robot and to destroy any enemies attempting to stop it. The ship must avoid various obstacles while shooting enemies on a 3D field. After a successful transformation into the robot, the ship gains increased mobility, while the gameplay becomes that of a typical horizontal scrolling shooter.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed MagMax as the second most successful table arcade unit of April 1985.

1CC RUNS

One-credit clears we point to as the benchmark for this game.

STORES

Store
Price
Discount
Lowest ever

Prices are cached from each storefront and may be out of date. Last checked 24 Sept 2026.

SCORES

Source
Audience
Score
Reviews
Users
6 / 10
14
Users
73 / 100
10

ACHIEVEMENTS 1 set

Tracked by RetroAchievements and earned in an emulator that reports to it. A game tracked on more than one machine gets a set for each, because they are different lists earned on different hardware.

NES/Famicom 21 achievements, 235 pts
  1. Desert Storm 10
    Defeat Babylon in the desert
  2. What Lies Beneath 10
    Defeat Babylon beneath the desert
  3. Taking the Fight to Them 10
    Defeat Babylon in the automated city
  4. Beneath a Steel Sky 10
    Defeat Babylon beneath the automated city
  5. Seeing Double 10
    Defeat Babylon in the desert during the second loop
  6. Stay Buried 10
    Defeat Babylon beneath the desert during the second loop
  7. Fight for Right 10
    Defeat Babylon in the automated city during the second loop
  8. In the Dark Corners of the Earth 10
    Defeat Babylon beneath the automated city during the second loop
  9. Desert Power 10
    Defeat Babylon in the desert with MagMax fully assembled
  10. Underground but Overpowered 10
    Defeat Babylon beneath the desert with MagMax fully assembled
  11. Machine City Master 10
    Defeat Babylon in the automated city with MagMax fully assembled
  12. Darkness Can't Save You 10
    Defeat Babylon beneath the automated city with MagMax fully assembled
  13. Scorcher 10
    Defeat Babylon in the desert during the second loop with MagMax fully assembled
  14. No Cavern Too Deep 10
    Defeat Babylon beneath the desert during the second loop with MagMax fully assembled
  15. Destined to Do This Forever 10
    Defeat Babylon in the automated city during the second loop with MagMax fully assembled
  16. Just Getting Warmed Up 10
    Defeat Babylon beneath the automated city during the second loop with MagMax fully assembled
  17. Hundred-Thousandaire 5
    Earn 100,000 points
  18. Twice a Hundred-Thousandaire 10
    Earn 200,000 points
  19. Together at Last 5
    Fully assemble MagMax
  20. Mag to the MAX 5
    Reach 5 lives
  21. MEIGETSU! 50
    Finish loop three for MEIGETSU

Achievement names, descriptions and badges are the work of the RetroAchievements community. View this set on RetroAchievements

RELEASES 8 systems

System
Platform
Year
Notes
ARC
Arcade
1986
Original release
C64
Commodore 64
1986
Original release
ZX
ZX Spectrum
1987
CPC
Amstrad CPC
1987
NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
1988
PS4
PlayStation 4
2015
WIIU
Wii U
2016
NSW
Nintendo Switch
2020

PHYSICAL RELEASES 1 box

MagMax box art, Nintendo Entertainment System
NES Nintendo Entertainment System

GAME DATA

Orientation
Horizontal
Series
Wingman

SOURCES

Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
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