It doesn’t matter whether it’s sci-fi in the form of a book, series, or cinema. In many cases, science fiction cannot do without spaceships. And almost every sci-fi series accordingly has one and often even several legendary spaceships that genre fans are familiar with. And the video game industry has also produced several well-known spaceships in its history that are burned into the players’ minds.

And these take a variety of forms. Whether a freighter, a smaller and less fighter, or a battleship bursting with weapons, everything from large to small is represented. These spaceships also come from a wide variety of genres. At least one of these legendary spaceships can be found in many areas: first-person shooters, strategy, role-playing games, and of course, space simulations.
So get ready for a little journey through video game history and look at the most legendary things the gaming industry has to offer here.

Viper – Battlestar Galactica, Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock
I was a teenager and sat in front of the TV watching Battlestar Galactica on RTL on Sundays. I don’t know about you, but the design of the Colonial Viper stuck in my mind. The catapult launch, which I always thought was excellent, did the rest. And as much as I like the original design, I like the Viper Mark II from the Battlestar Galactica reboot better. Its design looks a bit more modern and rounded.
The Viper is the workhorse of the Colonial fleet and played an essential role in the fight against the Cylons. A Viper Mark III followed later. After the surprise attack and the destruction of the colonies by the Cylons, the Mark II came back into focus in the reboot because many of the fighters were housed in the Galactica Museum. And as is the case in times of need, you use whatever you can get.

Spaceship – Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds’ Spaceship is central to the game. It doesn’t look like the most modern spaceship, but it has all the high-tech equipment you need to survive. Not only do you end up in the same time loop repeatedly, but it also serves as a base of operations where you collect clues to escape from the said time loop.
There is room for one pilot. Therefore, taking more people with you is not recommended unless you like it cozy. The onboard computer provides you with essential information about all the planets you’ve visited so far when you’re underway. But you shouldn’t fly thoughtlessly through space with the spaceship. Although its shell consists of several parts, the individual subsystems fail directly when hit. So make sure you don’t hit the important parts if you want to avoid a hard landing or a slow death in space.

Milano – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
The Milano used to not appear in the comics at all. It was created especially for the Guardians of the Galaxy films and most recently adapted for the associated video game. The Milano belongs to the class of M-Ships used by the Ravagers for scouting and hunting. The ship serves as a means of transportation and a home for the Guardians. All of them have their own little space for privacy.
Your engine consists of parts from at least five different black markets. While her weaponry may not be the most advanced, the Milano can take on many other ships, including larger ones.
The ship is named after Alyssa Milano, Peter Quill’s childhood crush. On top of that, the boat is painted in the same colors as the Ford Mustang that Quill’s biological father Ego once drove on Earth.

Forsaken – Chorus
How do you like it when your car talks to you? Thanks to Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Co., we already know smartphones or PCs. But what if there is a real AI in your vehicle? While not a car, Forsaken is an intelligent spaceship that once fought alongside Chorus’ protagonist, Nara, on the side of evil.
After leaving her past and her old companion behind, she later returns in times of need to resurrect Forsaken. For a good reason, because Forsaken is packed with state-of-the-art technology that is still extremely useful even after many years of inactivity. The ship’s weapons and abilities, along with her skills, help Nara take on her enemies, even if you wouldn’t expect it given the size of Forsaken.
Forsaken is a central part of Chorus and an integral part of Nara’s side.

TIE Phantom – Star Wars: Rebel Assault 2
The Empire developed the TIE Phantom during the fight against the Rebellion. It was a direct response to the Rebel victory at the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star. Darth Vader planned to use the new fighters in a devastating attack on the Rebel fleet after the Battle of Hoth.
This did not happen, however, because the rebels found out about the existence of the new hunter. Thanks to pilots Rookie One and Ru Murleen, the Alliance managed to destroy the Super Star Destroyer Terror, on which the fighters were based, and the factory that manufactured them.
The TIE Phantom was a dangerous opponent for the rebels. Not just because he had both shields and hyperdrive, the fighters could sneak up on Alliance ships and take them out quickly due to the cloaking device. While Rookie One and Ru Murleen managed to steal a TIE Phantom, they could not analyze it more closely due to its self-destruct mechanism. As a result, the few remaining TIE Phantoms were only awarded to the most capable Imperial pilots.

Raven – EVE Online
The Raven is an absolute powerhouse of the Caldari Navy. This is mainly due to its strong armament and no less powerful shields. Few other ships can match it.
The Raven is one of the Tier 2 battleships, and the strength of its missiles results not only from their penetrating power but also from their long-range. Therefore, the Raven is often referred to as the “King of PvE” because it can dish out a lot of damage.
In PvE, the ship is particularly effective when you know what damage an opponent is vulnerable to. However, cruise missiles with their long flight times and torpedoes with their short-range are not necessarily the best choice in fleet battles.

Rogue Shadow – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1 and 2
The Rogue Shadow served in Star War: The Force Unleashed as the personal transport of the protagonist Starkiller, who is also the secret apprentice of Darth Vader. Also on board were the training droid Proxy and eight Imperial officers, including Juno Eclipse, leader of Vader’s Black Eight Squadron.
The Rogue Shadow was primarily designed for covert and infiltration missions. To that end, she had state-of-the-art cloaking technology and an advanced hyperdrive to move without the risk of detection.
The design of the Rogue Shadow is based on the Scimitar, Darth Maul’s Sith Infiltrator. There are also influences from other Imperial ships, such as the TIE series starships or the Eta-2 Actis Interceptor used by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the battle at the beginning of Episode 3.
A ship perfectly tailored to the needs of an assassin. The project was so secret that all people and droids involved would be eliminated after completing the ship. Their deaths were presented as “accidents.”

Phoenix – Star Lancer
The Phoenix is ​​a medium Alliance prototype fighter in Starlancer. It is designed to be a fast, agile attack fighter with plenty of firepowers, representing all the available technical know-how.
The focus of the design is another prototype: the Nova cannon. The pilot of the fighter thus has the opportunity to use all currently available energy reserves for a single, focused shot. And that does a lot of damage, and you just have to be good at aiming and hitting.
Along with the Shroud and the Reaper, the Phoenix is ​​one of the best hunters to use later in Starlancer’s campaign. The Nova cannon is handy if you want to save on rockets on larger, less mobile targets. It is less suitable for fighting enemy hunters.

Royal Guard TIE Interceptors – Star Wars Galaxies
You know the Emperor’s all-red guards in Star Wars. And of course, they also need suitable spaceships. That was the thought behind creating the Royal Guard TIE Interceptor, which also comes in a dangerous-looking red. Chic and deadly.
It’s not just a red-painted TIE Interceptor. On the contrary: under the supervision of Darth Vader, many improvements were installed, such as a hyperdrive and a shield generator. The ship was also faster and more maneuverable than the regular version.
The Royal Guard Interceptor was first introduced in the Rage of the Wookiees expansion for the MMO Star Wars Galaxies. Imperial pilots could obtain it there as a playable starship after completing a series of quests. In other words, a ship for the elite and adequate protection for the Emperor’s shuttle on his travels.

Mothership Zeta – Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta
Mothership Zeta visits her in the Fallout 3 DLC of the same name. It is one of two known alien motherships orbiting Earth in the year 2277. The aliens have been watching the planet for over 600 years.
The Death Ray (Death Ray) can be used for orbital attacks and in the fight against other spaceships. In terms of destructive power, it corresponds to a nuclear bomb, so it causes a lot of damage. Since it comes from far away, it naturally has the latest technologies and is well protected with its shield technology. There is no lack of offensive skills either.
Furthermore, the ship has extensive equipment, for example, to record and freeze material from planets or kidnapped species. Teleporters are distributed throughout the ship for rapid movement. Various more miniature alien spaceships can swarm out for support in the hangar.

Spaceship – Civilization
Anyone who doesn’t necessarily want to reduce the world to rubble in Civilization strives to build the spaceship to win.
It is always a lengthy undertaking, for which you first have to research the necessary technology. Then you build a series of individual parts to construct the spaceship from them ultimately.
The original version of Civilization 4 or Civilization 5 was enough to build the spaceship. But that changed with the Civ 4 expansion Beyond the Sword. As in the first two parts, the journey to Alpha Centauri was then on the agenda. And the better your drive, the faster you could reach the planet and possibly catch up a little bit.

Mothership – Homeworld
Nothing works in Homeworld without the mothership. Originally intended as a colony ship and base of operations, it can also serve as a flagship and mobile shipyard.
Especially with the development of hyperdrives, the production of the otherwise rather cumbersome mother ships made sense since they are not exactly among the fastest space ships due to their size.
The mother ship can act entirely independently by mining the raw materials required to produce new ships from smaller escort ships and transferring them to the mother ship.

TIE Defender – TIE Fighters
The TIE Defender is one of the Empire’s most powerful fighters. The fighter-bomber first appeared in LucasArts’ TIE Fighter but has since become somewhat mainstream, appearing in other games and novels.
In contrast to the other TIE models that are also known from the films, the TIE Defender was also designed from the start with a hyperdrive and protective shields, which of course, gave it clear advantages over the rest of the Imperial fighters and made it possible for pilots to do it without the direct involvement of carrier ships to operate.
A feared and powerful enemy. As a fighter-bomber, the TIE Defender also has substantial armament in the form of four laser cannons, two ion cannons, two launchers for missiles and torpedoes, and a tractor beam. The TIE Defender thus fulfilled two roles: once as a fighter, once as a light bomber.

USG Ishimura – DeadSpace
The USG Ishimura is almost like the Nostromo of the Dead Space universe. Some kind of giant freighter infested with all sorts of nasty creatures.
To be more precise, the Ishimura is a so-called planet cracker. As the name suggests, the ship was able to cut large chunks of planets and moons to extract resources. The Ishimura was also able to “swallow” and exploit whole asteroids without further ado.
Aside from that primary role, the Ishimura was also a research vessel with an extensive medical department that conducted significant research on viruses, toxins, and genetics.

UNSC Infinity – Halo 4, Halo 5, and others
UNSC Infinity, belonging to the Infinity class of the same name, is more than rightly called a “supercarrier.” Constructed after the end of the war between the humans and the Alliance, she was initially conceived as a mobile colony ship during the war.
There is room on board for ten frigates of various types and 150 Pelicans or attack fighters. Also on board are 7,150 troops, including 5,400 Marines and an unknown number of Spartans.
The Infinity is 5.7 kilometers long, making it the largest ship in the UNSC Navy. The Infinity class even trumps the Alliance Assault Carrier, which is 5.3 kilometers long. The ship’s propulsion system is based on a Forerunner design, and the ship certainly can take a beating. The Infinity was able to ram and destroy an Alliance Armored Cruiser without losing its shields.

Avengers – UFO: Enemy Unknown
It doesn’t get any better than this in the first part of the XCOM series. At the time, the Avenger was the technological masterpiece of humanity and, like the Firestorm, was based on extraterrestrial technology.
At the same time, the Avenger combines the best of both worlds and is a troop carrier and interceptor in one. Says: First, shoot down the UFO and then land immediately at the crash site instead of sending two different aircraft on their way. The Avenger is so mighty that it can single-handedly bring down an alien battleship when equipped with two plasma beams.

At the same time, the Avenger offers space for up to 26 soldiers, although it is advisable to take a few tanks with you instead of filling everything with soldiers. At the same time, the Avenger is necessary for the end to achieve the (temporary) victory over the extraterrestrials. Only with the Avenger can you get to the Cydonia region on Mars, where the invaders’ base is.

TCS Midway – Wing Commander Prophecy
Big, more significant, TCS Midway. The excellent piece is a proud 1.8 kilometers long and can carry up to 252 hunters. In other words: Size does matter! Was that the motto when building the Confederacy’s new carrier ship?
The Midway is something like a mobile space station. However, the goal in designing the Midway was to combine all aspects of an entire battle group into a single ship. With her research, development, surveillance, and supply departments, the Midway does not need escort ships and can also operate in enemy territory without any support.
The Midway was put into service in 2681, mainly to fight remaining Kilrathi raiders and pirates. Likewise, the Midway was instrumental in stopping the initial Nephilim advance while the Confederacy mobilized the rest of the fleet.

USS Enterprise – Judgment Rites, Elite Force 2 or Star Trek, among others
Of course, the USS Enterprise had its great moments in film and television, but the flagship of the Federation is no less legendary in various games.
Whether it’s under Captain Kirk in early adventures like 25th Anniversary or Judgment Rites, under Captain Picard in games like A Final Unity or Elite Force 2, or under Captain Kirk again in the latest Star Trek game – which simply goes by the name Star Trek -, the Enterprise loses nothing of its fascination in any of these games.
The ship always radiates a certain majesty and is an impressive sight across all different models and ship classes, as befits a flagship of the fleet.

Protoss Carrier – StarCraft
The Protoss Carrier is the heart of the Protoss fleet. It is significant, heavily armored, and has powerful shields. Aside from a few forward-facing energy weapons, the carriers rely primarily on their computer-controlled interceptors.
They can be used both in space and in a planet’s atmosphere. The Protoss Carrier is not as heavily armored as a Terran Battlecruiser, but the ship is faster.
Initially, the carrier was supposed to be removed from StarCraft 2 and replaced by the Tempest. Still, Blizzard decided not to remove the page, so it continues to do its rounds over the battlefields.

Ebon Hawk – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
A light freighter and smuggler simultaneously, the Ebon Hawk has had many owners over the years. Many of these belonged to the Exchange, and the deaths of many of their captains led some to believe that the Ebon Hawk was cursed in some way.
Ultimately, the Ebon Hawk landed on Taris and was used as a smuggling ship. Here it proved helpful in getting Bastila Shan and Revan off the planet when it was under a Sith Empire blockade.
The ship later searched for the Star Forge, using the Ebon Hawk as a base of operations and ferrying the group Revan had gathered from planet to planet.

Moldy Crow – Jedi Knight
What’s the best way to travel the Galaxy unnoticed? Maybe in an old freighter. This is probably true for many well-known personalities of the Star Wars universe – Han Solo, anyone? – and certainly also for Kyle Katarn, ex-stormtrooper, ex-mercenary, and later Jedi.
The Moldy Crow was a modified HWK-290 freighter initially designed during the Old Republic, so it’s quite a few years old. Nevertheless, the just 29-meter-long and fast freighter proves to be perfect for the transport of Katarn and his co-pilot Jan Ors.
The Moldy Crow was used, among other things, when Katarn stole part of the Death Star plans. The Moldy Crow met its end after being hit by a shock wave from an exploding ship, grazed a mountain, and crashed, damaging it beyond repair.

Lunar Whale – Final Fantasy
Just look at the first picture here on this page. How legendary is it supposed to be? A flying whale! You only know it from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which also crashed more there.
In Final Fantasy IV, the Lunar Whale serves as an airship and travels back and forth between Earth and the Red Moon.
Arguably, it’s undoubtedly one of the most unusual and one of the most remarkable and specific vehicles you’ll ever see in a game.

Pillar of Autumn – Halo
The Pillar of Autumn is the first UNSC Forces ship seen in Halo. After Alliance boarding squads storm the pot, though not for long, it crashes onto the Halo ringworld.
Later, the final destruction of the ship and the ringworld is brought about by overloading the fusion reactors.
At the time of her destruction, the Pillar of Autumn was 43 years old. The ship was used for military intelligence and was involved in the Battle of Reach before being encountered for the first time on one of the ring worlds.

Petrou – Parodius
Ever wanted to control a flying penguin in a shoot them up? That’s precisely what you can do with Pentarou in the game Parodius. The name is made up of the words Gradius and Parody. So it’s not surprising that the game sees itself mainly as a corruption of the shooter classic Gradius.
Petrou comes from another game – or two different ones. He has his weapon configuration from Gradius 3. The character himself was playable in a title called Antarctic Adventure, released for the MSX console in the 80s.
Meanwhile, the rest of Parodius is no less wacky. You will encounter a flying cat ship, a penguin as a boss, and much more craziness. In other words: Gradius meets LSD. And a penguin is in the middle.

X Wing – X-Wing, Rogue Squadron, and more
Does one have to say a lot about the X-Wing? Of course, he made his first big appearance in the first Star Wars film, when Luke Skywalker and his little X-Wing fighter blew up the massive Death Star into millions of tiny pieces.
No wonder such a legendary hunter sooner or later got his own game, which was simply called X-Wing. Of course, you could already play him in other Star Wars titles, but X-Wing was a clear leap forward.
Whether you piloted it through space, commanded it as a commander in Galactic Battlegrounds or Empire at War, or brought it down from the skies in Battlefront 2, the X-Wing will probably remain the starfighter that everyone can immediately identify with. Just a legendary spaceship burned into our brains.

TCS Concordia – Wing Commander 2
In Wing Commander 2, the TCS Concordia served as a replacement for the destroyed Tiger’s Claw and as a new carrier ship for the player. Even if not right from the first mission, you had to defend the Concordia against a Kilrathi attack on a patrol flight to be transferred to the ship.
Commanded by Rear Admiral Tolwyn, the Confederation-class battleship was the flagship of the Enigma Sector Fleet and played a crucial role in driving the Kilrathi out of the said sector and eventually destroying the Kilrathi Sector Command at K’tithrak Mang Station.
The Concordia was severely damaged in later years and only used on the front line for patrol duty. Finally, in 2669, the Concordia was incapacitated by a Kilrathi attack, including Strakha stealth fighters, and crashed onto the planet Vespers.

SSV Normandy – Mass Effect series
In a way, the SSV Normandy is the flagship of the Mass Effect series and, at the same time, Commander Shepard’s base of operations. Due to its remarkable camouflage properties, which make it invisible to sensors, the frigate can approach its targets quickly and unnoticed, which proves particularly useful in smaller operations. By the way, the Normandy is a joint project between humans and turns.
As the main ship in the series, the Normandy naturally plays a crucial role in the course of the storyline of all three parts. In the second part, a new, more modern, and slightly different version of the ship was used.
One could almost say that Normandy has her personality and is, in a way, her character in this universe. Despite its relatively small size, it still has great symbolic power in the fight against the Reapers and is also an eye-catcher, thanks to its striking design.

Vic viper – Gradius
Anyone who knows Gradius will also be familiar with the name Vic Viper. The ship played the leading role in almost ten different games and is known, among other things, for its adaptability.
With the Vic Viper, you move through the side-scrolling game world and shoot at everything that stands or flies in your way. You collect power-ups repeatedly and compete with your brave, small ship against powerful bosses.
The ship is legendary mainly because it competes alone against whole armadas and can destroy them. In other words, the Vic Viper is what stands between the universe and its destruction.

Samus Aran’s Gunship – Metroid
Although it certainly deserves one, Samus Aran’s Gunship doesn’t have a name either. It is only known that it is assigned to the “Hunter” class, but as already mentioned, it is usually only referred to as “Gunship.”
And without Gunship, you basically can’t imagine Samus. On the one hand, it serves as a fast means of transport and, on the other hand, as a starting point for their ground missions. The goodie can even produce new ammo for Samus and re-energize her power suit.
So far, you have not been able to control the Gunship directly yourself. So far, the ship has only served as a means of travel between worlds or between different zones on a planet.
In any case, for Samus, her Gunship is an indispensable companion on her travels. And who knows, maybe the ship will be given a real name after all one day.

Arwing – Star Fox
The Arwing is representative of all Star Fox games, somewhat their signature, and the Star Fox team’s default starfighter.
Despite some changes in various models and redesigns, the Arwing has always retained the characteristics that set it apart: speed, fighting power, and performance.
The Arwing is crewed by a pilot who pulverizes enemies in space and the atmosphere with the starfighter’s laser cannons and smart bombs. In its time, the Arwing was also the most advanced fighter found in Lylat.

UFO – Space Invaders
If you’ve played Space Invaders, you’ve probably encountered a UFO before. This appears again and again purely by chance when you play the title.
If you hit it with one of your shots, you get – also determined by chance – 50, 100, or 150 points as a bonus.
The UFO was also available in different versions in various titles. For example, in the Atari 2600 version of Space Invaders, it was called Command Alien Ship, and you could earn 200 points with one kill.