A History Of Star Wars Games, Part 1
On May 25th, 1977, "Star Wars" debuted in theaters across the U.S., a movie that would be later known as "Episode IV: A New Hope". "Star Wars" was a bona fide phenomenon, and would become one of the most popular, successful and beloved entertainment franchises in history. It had a tremendous impact on the video game world, inspiring several hit titles over the years - from the original Atari Star Wars arcade game, to the acclaimed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In this feature, TwitchGuru editors Rob Wright and Travis Meacham look back at some of the highlights of the Star Wars games franchise.
View Star Wars Slide Show (40 images)
Star Wars: The Arcade Game (1983, Arcade)
Rob Wright: Of all my pre-NES gaming experiences, this one stands out the most. The Star Wars arcade game from Atari was the first Star Wars game I ever played, and to this day, it may be the most memorable. Sitting inside the cockpit version of this arcade game absolutely blew my mind. I searched and scoured for amusement centers, local arcades and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants that had Star Wars. And when I did find the game, I was transported to another world. I felt like I was in Luke Skywalker's Red Five X-Wing fighter, taking on the Death Star. It was worth every coin I pumped into those machines, and then some.
The cockpit style Star Wars arcade game from Atari.
Obviously, the game isn't much to look at these days. The simple vector graphics are very dated, of course, and the first person space simulator's gameplay isn't exactly the smoothest, either. But it hardly mattered. The game's simple visual style achieved what it needed to at the time, which was to create the feeling of the player approaching the Death Star, taking on multiple TIE fighters and navigating the deadly trenches while the "Star Wars" original score pumped through the cabinet's stereo speakers.
Gripping the yoke of the arcade cabinet and blasting away with the X-Wing's four wing-mounted laser cannons from the edge of the view screen was a dream come true for any young "Star Wars" fan. And the voices of some of the "Star Wars" actors - including Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, James Earl Jones as Darth Vader and Sir Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi - enhanced the already-enthralling experience. When the Death Star blows and Obi-Wan says "Remember, the Force will be with you. Always," just like in the movie, I got chills.
The 1983 version of the Star Wars: The Arcade Game was ported over to several platforms, including the Atari 2600 and ST, DOS, Amiga, and Commodore 64. The ports were decent for the most part, but none of those versions were able to replicate the experience of the original arcade game, and the feeling of sitting inside your own X-Wing fighter. In fact, Sega and LucasArts would create an updated version of the Star Wars Arcade game 10 years later, with more complex 3D graphics and two seats for multiplayer modes. The 1993 version did not capture the magic for me like the original Star Wars arcade game, though - nor has any other arcade game or Star Wars title since. I wanted to play this game over and over and never the leave the fantasy world of that arcade cockpit. In short, the Atari arcade Star Wars game was what made me fall in love with gaming.
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