Screenshots
Star Guards
星际卫士
Star Guards is an arcade action game released by Bally Midway in 1987. Players control a space defender tasked with protecting a base or territory from waves of incoming enemies. The game follows a fixed-screen or scrolling format typical of arcade shooters from the era, requiring players to aim and fire at enemy formations while avoiding return fire and collisions. Controls use a joystick for movement and a button for shooting. Enemy waves increase in speed and complexity as stages progress, challenging players to maintain accuracy under pressure. The game features multiple stages with distinct enemy patterns and escalating difficulty. Bally Midway developed the title as part of their catalog of coin-operated arcade titles during the mid-1980s arcade period.
- Developer
- Bally Midway
- Released
- 1987
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Rating
- 4.4 / 5 (3.9K)
- Last updated
Star Guards Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Star Guards on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Star Guards Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Star Guards on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Star Guards" Arcade longplay 1987
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Star Guards released?
Star Guards was released in 1987 for the Arcade.
Who developed Star Guards?
Star Guards was developed by Bally Midway, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
What type of game is Star Guards?
Star Guards is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Star Guards for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Star Guards runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Star Guards in the browser?
No. Star Guards streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Star Guards?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does Star Guards work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Star Guards this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Star Guards. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
