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Last issue we looked at the period we’ll call the Old Republic, back when8-bit Jedi Knights kept the gaming world safe from scum and villainy. That broughtus up to 1987, when Domark ported Atari’s wire-frame arcade classics to everyhome computer in the known galaxy. As Dan Whitehead discovers, 1987 alsomarked the beginning of a new era in Star Wars gaming. Although we didn’t knowit at the time…

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hile we wereprodding away atrubber keys andtrying to find theoptimum cassette

volume at which to load SabreWulf, over in Japan they weregetting very excited about anew console from popularGame & Watch makers Nintendo– the Famicom.

It was on this fledglingsystem that arcade stalwartNamco released its own take onGeorge Lucas’ galaxy far, faraway. As the game was neverreleased outside Japan, it’s oneof the few commerciallyavailable Star Wars games tohave gone largely unseen byfans. Even today, the originalcartridge is something of a rarity.

The game itself is a mixedbag. As far as gameplay goes,it’s pretty cool and serves upside-scrolling platform action,the first ever use of this in aStar Wars game. Up until thispoint, the games alwaysfocussed on vehicular combat,so just being able to see andcontrol recognisable characterslike Luke Skywalker wassomething of a novelty.

Very much in the Mario vein,you proceed from left to right,jumping over conveniently step-shaped rocky obstacles andusing your lightsaber to killthe various baddies along theway. Each enemy only takes onehit to kill, but as the same istrue of Luke you can’t reallycomplain that it isn’t hardenough. In fact, as the gameprogresses it’s easy to run outof your meagre allocation oflives when confronted with atricky jump or an awkwardlyplaced Tusken Raider.

Graphically, it was certainlythe most faithful adaptation ofthe time. Stormtroopers, R2-D2,and even Darth Vader himselfare all instantly recognisable.The game also avoids theJapanese tendency towards thecute ‘super-deformed’ big headlook, making its non-appearanceon Western shores all the moremysterious.

Where the game doesstumble slightly is in itsadherence (or lack thereof) tothe Star Wars storyline. Theaction starts on Tatooine,understandably enough. You seesome Jawas swipe R2 and Lukeset off in pursuit. OK, so that’snot strictly true to the movie(and Luke’s wispy, blonde 70sbarnet has been dyed black) butwe’re still in the realms ofartistic licence. Things start togo a bit bandy when you enterthe Jawa Sandcrawler to find anunarmed Imperial stormtroopermarching up and down. Whenyou climb into the attic of the

craft and find Darth Vaderwaiting for you, alarm bells startto ring. And when he transformsinto a huge scorpion with ahuman face… well, it’s safe tosay that we’re through thelooking glass.

Despite its weirdness, theJapanese game was somethingof a template for the Star Warsgames released well into thenineties. Up until Namco’s game,it had been all X-wings andsnowspeeders, but for the nexteight years the platformer waswhere it was at.

Easy as JVC

Of course, Western gamerswouldn’t be aware of thischange until several years later.In 1991, JVC finally published aStar Wars game for the USversion of the Famicom, now re-branded with the lesseffeminate title of NES, orNintendo Entertainment System.

Superficially similar to theNamco release, the Westernversion of this game wasdeveloped by LucasArts (thenLucasfilm Games) and blendsthe predictable side-on jumpingaction with some role-playingadventure elements and a littlebit of top-down exploration.Zipping around the sands ofTatooine in a landspeeder, youmust explore various caves inorder to find R2 and get thewhole adventure rolling. So far,so familiar, but Luke isn’t theonly playable character in thisversion. As the story goes on,

you are able to control Han, Leiaand Obi-Wan, while C-3PO andR2 can be used for hints andassistance. In fact, if you don’trescue R2, you can’t get Obi-Wanto join your party. This sort ofRPG element really helps thegame feel true to the movieand the simplistic platformappearance conceals a ratherclever little game.

Of course, it’s not all goodnews. For one thing, Darth Vaderdoesn’t appear in the game atall. Nor does Chewbacca, butthen he was a mere sidekick.Producing a game without alead villain – one of the mosticonic villains in movie history,no less – was a much bolderdecision. The game is alsoskewed towards the tougherend of the play scale, withsome annoying pixel-perfectjumps unfairly diminishing yourstock of lives.

Star Wars was a strong sellerand was also rolled out acrossthree other formats, including aversion for the Sega MasterSystem, which was almostidentical to the NES original, tolater handheld editions for boththe GameBoy and GameGear.

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FEATURE:SOFTWARE | THE HISTORY OF STAR WARS VIDEOGAMES

W

Namco’s original StarWars game for the NES – surprisingly good andhighly sought after by fans

StarWars was a strong platformer for the NES, complete withbasic RPG elements

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Back to basics

So successful was the Star Warsgame that The Empire StrikesBack swiftly followed the nextyear. This all but ditches the RPGelements of the previous game,slight though they were, andconcentrates on delivering astronger platform game withsome nifty vehicle sections toboot. Opening on Hoth, the gamefollows the movie almost scenefor scene (if you pretend thatMark Hamill does a lot ofjumping up and down) – you rideyour tauntaun, see Obi-Wan’sspirit, battle the wampa monster(several of them, actually) andmake your way back to the rebelbase. You don’t get to snooze intauntaun guts, but hey, you can’thave everything.

The game engine is much thesame as the one used for StarWars, but the levels are betterdesigned and there’s a feeling ofprogress that isn’t as noticeablein the first game.

Things switch to vehicle actionfor – you guessed it – the AT-ATattack. There are various waysto bring down these metalmonsters (blast them frombehind or fire your harpoons attheir feet) and this was a logicalimprovement on the old Ataricoin-op rendition of the same

scene. As the NES graphics chipwas being squeezed for all it wasworth, the end result looks prettyspectacular too.

The game then takes you toDagobah (and even features theencounter with the phantomVader) via a quick space battlewith TIE Fighters. Then it’s on toDarth Vader’s ship (rather thanBespin), where you battle BobaFett, enjoy a quick cameo fromLando and endure an epic fightwith the real Darth Vader thattraverses many screens and ends– in a franchise-destroying sort ofway – with Vader being impaledon spikes.

While there’s no denying thatthe game is fun and looks greatfor a NES title, it does suffer fromthe switch of focus to just Luke.The rest of the characters arereduced to little more than bitparts, and after the ensembleeffort of the first JVC title, that’sa shame.

You’d be forgiven forexpecting Return of the Jedi toput in an appearance as well,but the 16-bit era was dawningand the decision was made tosimply start afresh on the newtechnology. Once again, thefinal chapter of the story wasdealt a bum hand as far asgames were concerned.

Super powered

In 1991, the Super NintendoEntertainment System debuted inAmerica, and it was clear thatcontinuing the Star Wars saga onthe clunky old NES while the SegaGenesis mopped up the 16-bitmarket was out of the question.As a result, Super Star Wars –once again developed byLucasfilm and published by JVC –was one of the first SNES gamesto be released, debuting in early1992. It was also one of the firstto really show off the potential ofNintendo’s new wonder beast.

As the name suggests, SuperStar Wars was a remake of theNES original, but was substantiallybeefed up in every respect. Fromthe stereo renditions of JohnWilliams’ iconic themes (finallysounding like they are beingplayed on actual instrumentsrather than digital watches) to thelarge colourful sprites, which leapand roll around parallax-scrollinglevels with lifelike animation, thisis about as glamorous as StarWars games ever got.

As in the NES version, thegame starts out with Luke onTatooine beating up Jawas andassorted desert beasts. As thegame progresses you meet upwith characters like Han andChewie and can choose whichcharacter to use in each level asyou plot your course to theDeath Star. Apart from a slightincrease in resilience for thoseopting to go Wookiee, thedecision is purely cosmetic. Thegame also features an attemptat a 3D space section, whichincludes the final trench run –this made early use of theSNES Mode 7 chip to shift thegraphics around.

The game also inherits itsancestors’ fussy difficulty levelsand it’s likely that most gamersnever find the other charactersor get to try the vehiclesections. One particular part ofthe game, in which Luke tries toscale the side of a sandcrawlerby leaping from movingplatforms, deserves to go downin history as one of the mostjoypad-smashing feats ofprogramming.

The game also hurls waveupon wave of respawning enemiesat the player, making it more of aside-scrolling shooter than a pureplatformer, so standing still for anylength of time is suicidal.Apparently the developer realisedthat it may have tipped things alittle too far towards ‘rock hard’ onthe difficulty scale, as practicallyevery enemy drops a healthpower-up when killed. The resultis a game in which your health

bar yo-yos up and down as youmarch relentlessly from left toright, finger firmly pressed on thefire button.

In 1993, the second instalment ofJVC’s new trilogy, The Empire StrikesBack, was released, which leapttowards full-on ‘Super’ mode.Perhaps wisely, this game didn’tmess with the winning formulaestablished by Super Star Wars –big colourful sprites and non-stopaction are the key ingredients here.Deviating from the NES Empiregame, this edition drops the Luke-centric gameplay, giving Han alook in on the action as well.

If the game has one failing(apart from yet anotherridiculously steep difficulty curve)

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By the early 90s, Star Warsand the SNES had quite acosy little alliance going inthe Great Console War, but1993 saw US Gold cross thebattle lines to release a portof the NES Star Wars gameon the Sega Master System.Only released in Europe, theadaptation (handled byTiertex) actually improvedon the original in severalways – it featured improvedvisuals, as the Master Systemoffered a subtler colourpalette and better digitisedimages of the characters inthe films. With the SNESand Megadrive dragginggaming into the warm glowof 16-bit heaven though, theMaster System was alreadya dying format – hencethe Europe-only releasefor the title.

>System Wars

Empire was the last StarWars game for the NES, as LucasArts turnedits attention toward the new Super Nintendo

While ambitious, Super Returnof the Jedi is the weakest of theSNES StarWars trilogy

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league as Atari’s clumsy isometric1984 arcade machine, but evenso, a sense of formula wascreeping in and some unusualgameplay choices had been madethat compounded the ‘been there,done that’ feeling.

For one thing, the game startswith a scrolling Mode 7 vehiclelevel that doesn’t seem to bearany reference to the movie.Presumably meant to illustrateLuke’s journey to Jabba’s palace,this fussy race sequence in whatlooks like an upside-downsatellite sees you leaping overmysterious black voids, collectingtokens and being bouncedaround by irritating little pillars ofrock. Pointless and aggravating,the fact that it has no relevanceto Star Wars means you start thegame feeling peeved rather thanexcited or challenged.

Once you’ve got past thatirritation, the game’s technically asteady improvement on theprevious two. Faster paced andwith much smoother control, it’s aneyeball-searing experience. Youcan also choose from threecharacters to play as (Luke, Chewieand Leia in her bounty hunterdisguise), as you make your wayto Jabba’s palace. However, thehectic gameplay is also combinedwith sprawling level design inwhich missing a platform meansyou fall down to… more platformsbeneath. As you sprint from leftto right, collecting tokens(another new addition), it’s hardto avoid the sensation that you’replaying Sonic the Jedi orsomething similar.

Even the presence of somegiant boss encounters – such aswith the Rancor monster – anda Mode 7 speederbike chase onEndor can’t hide the fact thatthis is a pretty dumb game. Fewof the enemies are taken fromthe films and generic creaturesjump, roll and run into youconstantly. Like the much-maligned movie, it feels like it’spandering to an easilydistracted audience at theexpense of franchise continuity.As if to prove this thesiscorrect, Super Return of the Jediallows you to play as an Ewok.A bloody Ewok.

The game climaxes in arather bizarre boss battle withthe Emperor, who flies aroundthe screen like the demon fromGhosts ‘n’ Goblins and blaststhe walkway out fromunderneath you. If you defeathim – which is practicallyimpossible, since your health’sdwindling and you’re runningout of surfaces to stand on –you move on to one of the mostill-conceived final levels in agame. Ever.

In one of the worst uses ofMode 7 in SNES history, thegame attempts to recreate theMillenium Falcon’s journeyinto the heart of the secondDeath Star from a first-personperspective. In reality, this isjust a series of blockygeometric shapes jerkingtowards you, while theoccasional TIE fighter floatspast. Hitting the sides damagesyour shields, but as you can’treally tell where the sides are,it’s a confusing challenge tosay the least. Aiming for theblack bit in the middle of thescreen seems to work, butthat gets smaller and smaller(presumably because the tunnelis getting narrower, thoughyou’d be hard pushed to tellfrom the graphics) until youreach the reactor. Blow that upand you’ve finished one of thehardest and most annoying StarWars games.

Super Return of the Jedi’sflaws are made all the morenoticeable because the ‘Super’trilogy is still the mostcomplete and graphicallyimpressive rendition of thesaga, even today. It also marksthe last time companies usedthe classic movie trilogy as abasis for our videogame

entertainment. From that pointon, games makers would stepoutside the confines of whatGeorge Lucas had put onscreen and explore the galaxyon their own… e

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FEATURE:SOFTWARE | THE HISTORY OF STAR WARS VIDEOGAMES

it’s that the locations are draggedout over lengthy levels – Hothalone takes you up to level 12.After that, you get to enjoy thegood ol’ AT-AT battle in gloriousMode 7, but you need to be apretty stubborn gamer (or acheater) to get that far. Oneimportant addition to SuperEmpire Strikes Back is thepassword system that lets youreturn to where you were up to.Considering the length anddifficulty of the games, this ismore than welcome.

Third time unlucky

The LucasArts/JVC trilogy wasfinally completed in 1995, withthe release of the slightlydisappointing Super Return of theJedi. It wasn’t in the same lowly

Although the Star Warsgaming franchise hadradically evolved afterspreading to home consoles,Sega realised that Atari’swire-frame arcade titles werestill extremely popular withfans of the movie. So, takingthe licence right back to itsX-wing-flying roots, Segareleased Star Wars Arcade.Featuring fantastic 3D visualsand a huge sit-down cabinet,Star Wars Arcade put you inthe seat of an X-wing (and aY-wing) and featuredmissions taken from theoriginal movie trilogy – mostof these were simple ‘destroyall enemies’ affairs, whileothers took place on andaround the Death Star,reproducing Luke’s epictrench run.

On the home consolefront, the Megadrive wasn’tequipped to handle the powerof Star Wars Arcade, so thegame eventually arrived onthe ill-advised Megadrive add-on, the 32X. Along with onlya couple of other 3D titles, likeVirtua Racing and Doom, StarWars Arcade was one of thefew reasons to own a 32X.

>Star Wars Arcade

StarWars on the SNES concludedwith a 3DDeath Star trench run (top),while Empire ended with a deadly lightsaber duel with Vader (above)

NEXT MONTH

The History of Star Wars

Videogames Episode

III:

X-wing,Rebel As

sault

and Dark Forces

games on PC

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