Star Wars Arcade

Developer: Sega Interactive/LucasArts

Publisher: SEGA

Published: 1993(Arcades) , 1994 (32X)

Platform: Sega 32X, Arcades

Features: 1-2 Players

Star Wars will always have a special place in my heart, I always get a rush when I see Luke Skywalker flying his X-wing down the trench run on the Death Star. Star Wars Arcade allows you to feel a part of the battle like no other game of it’s time, except perhaps the Super Star Wars Trilogy. Star Wars Arcade was originally released in arcades in 1993, then was ported to home consoles in 1994 as a launch title for the infamous Sega 32X.

At the start of the game, after being treated to an ear wrenchingly loud 32X version of a new hope’s opening scene, you have the option to play the original game as found in arcades, or with the longer and harder levels they added.There are two modes in Star Wars Arcade, one player and two players, which is explained in-game by saying that in 1p you are piloting an X-wing,, while you are piloting or gunning a Y-wing, during 2p. The 1^st player in both modes can fly their ship around, and they can shoot in the direction the ship is moving. The second player in Y-wing mode can shoot the same weapons, but aren’t limited by having to fire in the centre of the screen, having the ability to shoot in a different direction from the Ship. How advanced!

Your goal in each of the four levels of Star Wars Arcade is to destroy a number of enemy TIE fighters, (which increases every level) within a time limit (which varies between levels).

The four levels don’t display incredibly advanced graphics, but the sheer size of the levels is amazing. The first and third levels are set in asteroid fields, where you have to either shoot down or avoid the asteroids, the second level is set in the midst of an epic space battle with star destroyers, which shoot massive lasers, and the last level is set on the surface of the death star, which seems the same size as the real one. The last level is the hardest, because as well as the stock standard TIEs, you are also dodging bullets from the Death star’s turrets, and are being hunted by Darth-freakin’-Vader’s TIE.

This games storyline is rather ambiguous, as while you’re driving an X-wing around the completed Death Star, with Vader hunting you down, only seen in A New Hope, you are taking orders from Admiral ‘squid face’ Ackbar, who only appeared in return of the Jedi. Either way, it probably doesn’t matter as Star Wars Arcade definitely isn’t canon.

Star Wars Arcade is a short, fun game, with very few flaws, and I definitely recommend everyone give it a playthrough sometime.