Star Wars (1987 video game)

This article is about the 1987 video game. For the 1991 video game, see Star Wars (1991 video game).
Star Wars

Cover art
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco
Director(s) Kazunori Sawano[1]
Pochi[1]
Producer(s) Masaya Nakamura[1]
Designer(s) Wan Wan[1]
Programmer(s) Kissie[1]
Artist(s) Shimada[1]
Composer(s) Hiroyuki Kawada[1]
Platform(s) Family Computer
Release date(s)
Genre(s) 2D Action Platformer
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution Cartridge

Star Wars (スター・ウォーズ Sutā Wōzu) is a Family Computer video game released in 1987 by Namco. Despite being based on the first Star Wars film, some levels are based on the later two Star Wars films. It is the only game in the Star Wars franchise that was released exclusively in Japan. The game is a common side-scrolling platformer where the player controls Luke Skywalker (appearing with black hair due to color limitations), as he travels to join the Rebellion against the Empire.

Gameplay

Star Wars plays like a side-scrolling platformer with two difficulty settings- the novice mission and the pro mission. Luke uses a light saber as his primary weapon and can also use the Force to execute special maneuvers like floating, speeding and stopping time. Energy to activate Force powers can be obtained through diamonds collected after killing an enemy, called "Force points". At the end of each level, the player must fight one of several apprentices of Darth Vader, who initially look the same as Vader himself, but will change into other creatures when hit for the first time. In two levels, (the Death Star and Yavin IV) the player actually does fight the real Darth Vader. When the characters are rescued, they will help Luke by providing hints and other actions that are important to progress through the game.

Between planets, the Millennium Falcon is forced to fight a wave of TIE fighters that prevent its entrance to the next planet. The game then switches to a first-person shooter perspective.

The final level involves using the X-Wing against the Death Star. While the film's climactic sequence occurred inside a long trench, the game's version can be roughly described as a vertically scrolling overhead maze-like stage, complete with dead ends and intersections. At the end, there is the reactor's duct where the proton torpedoes will be shot automatically to destroy the station. If the player fails to get to the end within a limited amount of time, the Death Star will destroy Yavin IV, and the game will be over.

The game is particularly difficult, as the player only has three lives and two continues (activated with enough Force points), and Luke dies upon touching an enemy. The Millennium Falcon and the X-Wing can sustain only one hit before being destroyed, which can be prevented by using one of three deflector shield bursts. The game also deviates from the source material very frequently, with the aforementioned examples of Darth Vader having identical apprentices that shape-shift, along with going to planets that never happened in the 1977 film, such as going to an ice planet after rescuing Leia from the Death Star.

In addition to its difficulty, the game is also very cryptic at certain levels. Even when you have the right characters rescued, the game doesn't give you any clue or hint to bypass an obstacle, such as having C-3PO call a whale to ride across the water on the ice planet.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Credits". Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  2. ↑ "Release Date". Retrieved 2013-11-01.

External links