development of Galaga Legions DX. The majority of the developers behind Pac-Man Championship Edition DX assisted him in production, such as producer Toshiko Tamura. The project goal was to create a game that was intuitive and welcoming to both newcomers and franchise veterans, and to find a balance between simplicity and complexity in its gameplay. With the original Galaga Legions, Iguchi felt that it trying to be original instead distanced it from previous Galaxian games, resulting in a niche target audience. Iguchi's experience with developing Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, a well-received update to the original Pac-Man, provided him with a basic idea of how Galaga Legions DX should be designed. The game's design was themed around the word "crush", referring to the destruction of large hordes of enemies in the original. Simplicity was a focal point for the project, as the development team didn't wish to create something too easy it lacked difficulty or something too complex it confused players. A number of changes were made to the gameplay structure of Legions to accommodate the team's design goals. The level progression system, a linear series of stages in the original Legions, was omitted and instead allows players to select whichever stage they choose. Iguchi didn't enjoy the first game's progression for having only one specific way to clear stage formations, believing the new non-linear structure allowed for variations within each level to accommodate different playstyles: "We want it to be both intuitive and flexible. There shouldn't be one specific way of clearing the game or obtaining a high-score." The controls were also simplified so that players were able to focus on the gameplay. Among the new design choices for Legions DX was its heavy focus on earning high scores and competing with other players, as the team believed part of the rise in popularity of the shooter genre came from high-score tournaments. Iguchi in particular suggested it would ignite a "competitive spirit" within players, fueling them to compete against others for the highest-score possible on leaderboards. Other additions include improved visuals, reworked enemy patterns, and a slowdown feature that takes effect when the player is about to collide with an enemy. Like Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, the development team hoped to make the game "more exhilarating and satisfying" than before, and to feel like a proper evolution of its arcade game predecessors. The game was described as an "enemy curtain