Comparison Topic: The Evolution of Chicken Invaders

A few notes before you begin reading:

  • Yes, this topic is parallel to my Universe vs. The Episodes topic, which you can check out here: Comparison Topic: Universe vs. The Episodes
  • This is NOT me hating on Chicken Invaders, this comparison is just done for fun
  • The information is based off of the latest release of each game, so it’s subject to change in future versions
  • This will regularly be updated as time goes on
  • Yes, I did most (if not, all) of the research on the CI Wiki, most of the credit goes to @Sammarald and the other users for the information
  • Most elements of Universe will NOT be listed on this topic, only a few crucial parts, a more in-depth comparison is linked above
  • This is still very WIP, so bear with it for now :man_shrugging:

So, if you remember my other topic, Universe vs. The Episodes (linked above), I compared Chicken Invaders Universe to the episodes, so I have decided to build a similar topic to compare each of the individual Chicken Invaders games. Just like the other topic, multiple areas will be covered.

Anyway, let us begin!


DIFFICULTY

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

  • There are no difficulties/skills, instead the game gets harder as the player progresses

THE NEXT WAVE

  • There are only two difficulties, Rookie and Veteran
  • Difficulties are selected in the options menu

REVENGE OF THE YOLK AND UP

  • Difficulties are selected on the mission screen, and cannot be changed once a mission is started
  • There are three difficulties: Rookie, Veteran and Superstar Hero
  • Superstar Hero needs to be unlocked before it can be used, in CI3 players need to complete the game in Veteran (although chances of getting it are random), and in CI4 and beyond they can buy it for not more than 40 keys

UNIVERSE

  • Difficulties are now called Skills
  • They now define the health of the enemies rather than weapon damage
  • Three new Skills were added: Tourist, Seasoned, and Virtuoso
  • They must be bought before they can be used
  • And when you do have them, you have to mount them before starting a mission!
  • Rookie is still the default
  • Missions have a difficulty value, which affects how hard it’ll be

GAMEPLAY

DOS VERSION

  • Similar to the DX Version, but there were no missiles, no food collecting, and no weapon upgrading

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

  • Players can only move left and right, so they’re stuck at the bottom of the screen
  • No touchscreen, joypad or mouse support

THE NEXT WAVE

  • Players can move freely in any direction
  • Mouse control was added on the initial version

REVENGE OF THE YOLK

  • Players can overheat
  • Joypad support was added

ULTIMATE OMELETTE

  • The camera can zoom out, for larger bosses
  • Players can rotate (a good example being the Gyroscope Malfunction wave)
  • This was one of the first Chicken Invaders games to have touchscreen support, added on a later update
  • Satellites were introduced

CLUCK OF THE DARK SIDE

  • Turning affects object gravity
  • Other than that, not a lot of stuff was changed

UNIVERSE

  • Extra lives and superweapons can no longer be obtained in-game, they must be mounted prior to the stage
  • The behavior from CI1 (stuck to the bottom) is present, but reserved for the Anniversary and Squawk Block mission types
  • Prior to EA v3, weight affected the player’s movement in the mission. Something similar to this behavior is, however, still present with the Heavy Bomber spaceships

WAVES AND MISSIONS

DOS VERSION

  • Only four waves, three classic invasions and a boss
  • The Java version only had a Classic Invasion
  • No, neither version lasted forever like the DX version, instead you got stuck on an empty space after the last wave ended

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

  • The same 10 waves are repeated through the entire game
  • Chickens with 360º animations were featured on “The Invasion Begins!”, “Be Quick or Be Dead!”, and “CrossHatch”
  • This game lasts forever, well, until it crashes

THE NEXT WAVE

  • Waves are more diverse, examples include “Scramble! Breakfast time” “Paratroopers!” and “Berserk Chickens”
  • However, that specific wave type was repeated three times through the chapter! (there were exceptions, in those cases a “Be Quick or Be Dead” wave was added in between)
  • New enemies, like the Parachute Chickens and the large eggs were added
  • 360º chickens have blue vests in the Remastered version, and the opening cutscene of both revisions
  • “Be Quick or Be Dead” was redesigned, but “The Invasion Begins!” and “CrossHatch” were removed
  • The three asteroid waves were condensed into one single encounter per chapter
  • There are 110 waves
  • Asteroid missions were introduced

REVENGE OF THE YOLK

  • Enemy movement is more advanced, allowing for more complex waves, like “Chicken Geometry” and “Bonus Challenge!”
  • 360º chickens were removed, possibly because of the amount of sprites they needed
  • New enemies like Rogue Missiles and Egg Drones were added
  • Only “Classic Invasion”, “Terminator Chickens” (slightly redesigned), and “Asteroids” returned from the previous game
  • This game has 121 waves, with one being sorted as the “Prologue”, guess who?
  • The Asteroids mission type returned, but Comet Chases were also introduced

ULTIMATE OMELETTE

  • Camera changes allow for more dynamic movement on each wave, like “Three-Ring Circus”
  • Chicks were introduced
  • No waves returned from the previous game
  • Only 120 waves were featured
  • New mission types were introduced, these were: Feather Fields, Droid Raid, Retro, and Supernova

CLUCK OF THE DARK SIDE

  • Planetary missions were added
  • Not much has changed other than that

UNIVERSE

  • Missions are shorter, limited to 40 waves
  • Weekly Challenges, however, last 100
  • The Anniversary mission lasts 120, like the episodes
  • The Heavy Bomber test flight lasts 50
  • Most of the mission types from the episodes were reintroduced (Those being: Supernova, Comet Chase, Retro, Droid Raid, and of course, the Chicken Invasions)
  • Squawk Block, Boss Rush and Darkness mission types were added
  • Waves from all previous games will return, alongside new ones to come soon
  • Planetary missions aren’t present, yet
  • Neither are the Feather Fields

BOSSFIGHTS

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

Big%20Chicken%20(CI1)

  • Only one boss, the Big Chicken (pictured above)
  • Just like the rest of the enemies, this boss got harder as the game progressed, to the point of reaching a boss named “Big Chicken #214748363” (unofficial term, coined by the fandom, but more specifically by @Sammarald), which had NEGATIVE health, making it invincible!

THE NEXT WAVE

  • Three bosses were present, the Big Chicken, Military Chicken, and Mother-Hen Ship, but each is fought multiple times
  • Starting from this game, the Big Chicken #214748363 bug (negative health) no longer appears (might need confirmation for this)

REVENGE OF THE YOLK

  • There is more variety in the bosses than the previous game, like the Mysterious Ship and the UCOs

ULTIMATE OMELETTE AND UP

  • Camera controls allowed for more complex and larger bosses, like the Super-Chick, or the bosses of the Planetary missions of Chicken Invaders 5

UNIVERSE

  • All bosses from the previous games have returned, with the exception of CI2 bosses
  • New bosses were added: Henlley’s Comet, Bossa Nova, Magnetic Manipulator, and Master Squawker

WEAPONS

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

  • Only one weapon, a prototype of the Ion Blaster

THE NEXT WAVE

  • The current version of the Ion Blaster was introduced
  • Earlier versions of the Neutron Gun and Laser Cannon were added

REVENGE OF THE YOLK

  • The Vulcan Chaingun, Plasma Rifle and Lightning Fryer were added
  • The current versions of the Neutron Gun and Laser Cannon were introduced
  • A secret weapon, the Utensil Poker, was added

ULTIMATE OMELETTE

  • The Boron Railgun, Photon Swarm and Positron Stream were added
  • The default weapon is now the Boron Railgun
  • The Vulcan Chaingun and Plasma Rifle became unlockables
  • This game introduced the “Weapons Rush” unlockable, that allows for all weapons to spawn from the first wave, instead of per chapter.

CLUCK OF THE DARK SIDE

  • The Hypergun, Corn Shotgun and Riddler were introduced
  • The default weapon became the Hypergun
  • The Weapons Rush unlockable was retained

UNIVERSE

  • Weapons Rush was removed, as the weapon unlocking system has been revamped
  • Weapons are unlocked by tiers
  • The default weapon is the Moron Railgun, also a new weapon
  • Players are, however, not limited to this weapon, as they can purchase weapons from the store to set them as their default
  • The Vulcan Chaingun received a redesign
  • As of Early Access 36, the first ever charging-based weapon was introduced: The Absolver Beam

GRAPHICS

DOS VERSION

Ordinary%20Chicken%20(CI0)

  • Assets used pixel art instead of pre-rendered models

CHICKEN INVADERS 1 AND THE NEXT WAVE (ORIGINAL)

Ordinary%20Chicken%20(CI1)

  • From these games on, assets are now pre-rendered models
  • Low-res graphics
  • Models are very polygonal

THE NEXT WAVE (REMASTERED)

Ordinary%20Chicken%20(CI2)

Same as the original, but:

  • 60 fps on each animation
  • Graphics are double-res

REVENGE OF THE YOLK

Ordinary%20Chicken%20(CI3)

  • Still slightly polygonal
  • Later builds had higher quality graphics
  • This game implemented the “Looks 2D but it’s actually 3D” technique, which allows for sprites to be bent and rotated on 3D, but 2D assets were still used

ULTIMATE OMELETTE AND UP

Ordinary%20Chicken%20(CI4) Ordinary%20Chicken%20(CI5) Ordinary%20Chicken
(left to right: Ultimate Omelette, Cluck of the Dark Side, Universe)

  • Much better detailed models and assets
  • Older versions of Ultimate Omelette had lower resolution graphics

MUSIC

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

  • Only one song: “Also Sprach Zarathustra - Op. 30” by Richard Strauss, the theme of 2001: A Space Oddysey

THE NEXT WAVE

  • The old version had chiptune-style interpretations of three songs
  • The remastered version had orchestral music
  • Later updates allowed for players to choose between both

REVENGE OF THE YOLK AND UP

  • Every game beyond had orchestral music, made by 2dB Music Production
  • The music was different every episode
  • Universe features the music of all past games, purchasable on the shop

BONUSES

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

  • There were no bonuses
  • However, missiles and power-ups were still awarded

THE NEXT WAVE

  • A proper bonus system was added
  • This game had a special “Mystery” bonus for reaching the end of the Asteroid Belt without using any missiles
  • The “Teamplay” bonus was removed in later builds/the remastered version

REVENGE OF THE YOLK

  • Added bonuses: “Super Size Me!”, “Pecking Order”, “Clean Sweep”, and “Extra Missile!”
  • Removed bonuses: “Efficiency”, “Appetite”, “Destroyer”, “Life Assist”, “Mystery”, “Treasure”, and “First Kill”

ULTIMATE OMELETTE

  • Added bonuses: “Satellite Dock”, and “Key Collected”
  • No bonuses were removed

CLUCK OF THE DARK SIDE

  • This game added the Mission Overview, which allows players (single player only) to keep track of their bonuses
  • No bonuses were added or removed

UNIVERSE

  • Bonuses were recolored
  • The “Key Collected” bonus no longer appears, as the key counter was added to the bottom of the screen, the score bonus is still awarded, though

SPACESHIP

DOS VERSION

Handgun

  • No spaceship, instead you controlled a handgun

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

M%C3%BCller%20M40X%20(CI1)

  • The spaceship was fully painted white, and had a blue cockpit
  • This model has two exhaust flames instead of one, rocket-shaped
  • The left player used blue exhaust flames, while the right player used red

THE NEXT WAVE

M%C3%BCller%20M40X%20(CI2) M%C3%BCller%20M40X%20(CI2%20Cutscenes)

  • The base paint became darkened
  • The exhaust flames aren’t rocket-shaped anymore, instead, these are circular, and are always colored blue
  • The mouse player had a purple windshield, while the keyboard player had an orange one (prior to the Remastered edition, these colors were reversed)

REVENGE OF THE YOLK

M%C3%BCller%20M40X%20(CI3)

  • The base paint was lightened again
  • The spaceship now only has one exhaust flame, now extending further
  • The windshield is purple
  • There was now detailing on the fuselage
  • On multiplayer, the exhaust flame changed its color, on single player, though, the exhaust was blue

ULTIMATE OMELETTE

M%C3%BCller%20M40X%20(CI4) Millenium%20Hatchling

  • Additional detail on the entire spaceship
  • The fuselage was repainted purple
  • The exhaust is now purple by default
  • Additional exhaust colors became available on the store, in the form of unlockables
  • Editions repainted the whole spaceship
  • For 1000 keys, players could pilot Hen Solo’s ship

CLUCK OF THE DARK SIDE

M%C3%BCller%20M40X%20(CI5)

  • The base paint was darkened again
  • The fuselage was repainted blue
  • This was the first time the tail wing received paint, in this case, it’s blue
  • The cockpit has a much lighter tone to it
  • The paintjob is fully customizable

UNIVERSE

M%C3%BCller%20M40X H%26C%20X01

  • Five new spaceships were added
  • Starting with EA v26, four more were added, totaling 10 spaceships!
  • The default paintjob of the Müller M40X family was changed a bit
  • This marked the first time a new spaceship family was pilotable, the H&C X01 and BX Heavy Bomber families

EDITIONS

CHICKEN INVADERS 1

  • No editions AT ALL

THE NEXT WAVE

  • This was the first Chicken Invaders game to have an edition, the Christmas Edition that is! Some changes included:

    • Most chickens have santa hats
    • Big chickens wear Santa-like suits
    • Eggs laid by the chickens are changed to ornaments
    • Military chickens are reskinned to look like snowmen
    • UFOs changed to sleighs
    • The Mother-Hen Ship got a ribbon
    • Red GUI
    • Snowsteroids! (Asteroids that look like snowballs)
    • Christmas music
    • Snow on the menu screen
    • Holly leaves for food

REVENGE OF THE YOLK

  • This game’s Christmas edition, interestingly enough, was released before the base game! Changes include:

    • The chicken designs from the previous game returned (the ordinary and the big)
    • And so did the snowball asteroids, albeit only the regular ones were reskinned
    • Again, snow on the title screen
    • More christmas music (while the main theme was changed, the original can be heard on Chapter 12 and the cutscenes)
    • Red GUI (early versions had blue)
    • The Sweater Chicken wears socks
    • Chests changed to presents
  • This was also the first game to have an Easter edition, changes include:

    • Ordinary chickens are changed to chicks
    • Big Chickens are now bunnies
    • Chests changed to egg baskets
    • The eggs the chickens lay have been decorated
    • Orange GUI
    • A rainbow Yolk-Star
    • A ribbon on the UCO
    • Even the Mother-Hen Ship was decorated!

ULTIMATE OMELETTE

  • This game’s Christmas edition included:

    • The red GUI, christmas music, snow on the title screen, and santa hats came back (they put them on the chicks too!)
    • A red version of the Hero’s spaceship
    • The Mother-Hen Ship was decorated
    • Some lights and a HUGE ribbon on the Egg Cannon
    • Super-Chicks are elves
    • Infini-Chicks are Santas
    • Chickens lay ornaments again
    • Alien Containers are presents
    • The Giant Robotic Space Crab had green eyes and bells
    • Some flowers on the Iron Chef, and it launches projectiles from the Loco (another iA game) Christmas edition!
    • Lights wrapped around the Planetary Egg City
  • This game’s Easter edition had:

    • Ordinary chickens are now bunnies, some chickens weren’t, however, reskinned
    • Chicks are inside eggs
    • The Super-Chick is now a massive chick
    • Infini-Chicks are covered in chocolate
    • Alien Containers are chocolate eggs with yellow ribbons
    • A green GUI and Hero spaceship
    • Flowers fall down on the game’s title screen
    • The Mother-Hen Ship too was decorated
    • Flowers on the Egg Cannon and the Iron Chef
    • A similar Giant Robotic Space Crab to the Christmas one, only this one has flowers instead of bells
    • Oddly enough, a Big Bunny was featured in promotional artwork for this game, it doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the actual release
  • This game introduced the Thanksgiving edition to us, major changes include:

    • Every, EVERY single chicken is changed to a turkey, there’s not even a single mention of them!
    • Alien Containers are pumpkins
    • Drumsticks are also pumpkins
    • A blue starfield
    • Orange GUI and Hero ship
    • A pumpkin-like Mother-Hen ship
    • The Giant Robotic Space Crab has a pumpkin on its body, AND shoots pumpkin pies!
    • The Apple Core is a…if you guessed “pumpkin”, you’re correct
    • The Iron Chef has a pilgrim hat and a pumpkin pie on its apron
    • Simply put, pumpkins were a big motif on this one
    • The main theme and boss battle theme were changed to a jolly tune. You can hear it here
    • The feathers were changed to look like, turkey feathers, I guess?
    • Leaves falling in the game’s title

CLUCK OF THE DARK SIDE

  • For the first time ever, we laid our eyes on a Halloween edition, released before the Christmas one! Some changes include:

    • The color green is EVERYWHERE! On the starfield, on the Hero, on the GUI, you get it
    • Chickens are now vampires
    • Chicks and the Party Chicken are under what looks like bedsheets to look like ghosts
    • Speaking of ghosts, there are some flying on the title screen
    • The main theme was changed to a much spookier version, you can listen to it here
    • The Military chicken is a jack-o-lantern…thing
    • The Henperor’s Apprentice is a living skeleton
    • Some cobwebs around the Henterprise
    • Alien Containers are now tombstones
    • A bloody red sky on Earth
    • Even the Hen House has red stuff on it!
    • Skulls for footballs
    • Candy corn for popcorn
  • Later one we DID get a Christmas edition, and this time it had:

    • Red GUI and hero paintjob, snow on the title screen, the usual
    • Chickens are now FULLY dressed as Santa!
    • Chicks are now gingerbread men
    • Loads of detail on the Henterprise, from golden parts, to a sign that says “Merry X-Mas!”
    • This time, for some reason, they used royalty-free christmas music!
    • The Military Chicken is a snowman again
    • The Party Chicken is covered in snow
    • Corn is changed to a spiral look, the candy corn from the Halloween edition returned, with different colors
    • The Hen House is a gingerbread house
    • A white sky on Earth
    • Alien Containers are Santa’s bag this time around
    • The Jellyfish King has a santa hat
    • The Henperor’s Apprentice has lights all over him!
  • We have yet to see an Easter and Thanksgiving edition for this game

UNIVERSE

  • Editions as stand-alone games are NOT planned due to CIU’s size
  • It IS however rumored that holiday content might be re-added in SOME form later on in development

Please let me know if there’s anything that I’ve missed, or if any of this information is inaccurate, as always feedback is greatly appreciated, and I hope you have a great day!

7 Likes

Don’t be offended, but some things are rather simplistic:
“Waves are more diverse”, “There are more bosses”, “Higher detailed models”

2 Likes

Yeah, I need to change that

don’t forget this rather small detail of the music change, how ci2 was a chiptune music and then in ci3 it all gone fully orchestra

1 Like

Thanks! Listed