''Star Wars'' is a 1993

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

developed by Sega and based on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy. Combining elements of ''

A New Hope ''Star Wars'' (retroactively titled ''Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope'') is a 1977 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first ...

'' and ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...

'', the game has players pilot a

Rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; s ...

starship and battle against the forces of the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

. Sega developed ''Star Wars'' for their Model 1 system, the same arcade hardware that powered ''

Virtua Fighter is a series of fighting games created by Sega-AM2 and designer Yu Suzuki. The original ''Virtua Fighter'' was released in October 1993 and has received four main sequels and several spin-offs. The highly influential first ''Virtua Fighter'' game ...

'' and ''

Virtua Racing ''Virtua Racing'', or ''V.R.'' for short, is a Formula One racing video game developed by Sega AM2 and released for arcades in 1992. ''Virtua Racing'' was initially a proof-of-concept application for exercising a new 3D graphics platform under ...

''. Like those two titles, the graphics in ''Star Wars'' are rendered entirely using polygons. The game was given a home

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

under the name ''Star Wars Arcade'', as an exclusive for the

Sega 32X The 32X is an add-on for the Sega Genesis video game console. Codenamed "Project Mars", it was designed to expand the power of the Genesis and serve as a transitional console into the 32-bit era until the release of the Sega Saturn. The 32X us ...

's launch in 1994. Sega followed up the release of ''Star Wars Arcade'' with '' Star Wars Trilogy Arcade'' and '' Star Wars: Racer Arcade'', as well as a ''Star Wars'' pinball game.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to that of Atari's 1983 ''Star Wars'' arcade game. Players pilot an

X-wing The X-wing starfighter is a name applied to a family of fictional spacecraft manufactured by the Incom Corporation from the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Named for the distinctive shape made when its s-foils (wings) are in attack position, the X-win ...

or a

Y-wing The Koensayr BTL Y-wing assault starfighter/bomber are a series of fictional spacecraft from the '' Star Wars'' franchise. They are depicted as the star fighters of the Galactic Republic, Rebel Alliance, New Republic, and the Resistance; being ...

in first- or third-person perspective and battle Imperial forces. The game has three levels which include intercepting

TIE fighter The Twin Ion Engine (TIE) fighter is a series of fictional starfighters featured in the '' Star Wars'' universe. TIE fighters are depicted as fast, agile, yet fragile starfighters produced by Sienar Fleet Systems for the Galactic Empire and b ...

s in an

asteroid field The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, called ...

, destroying a Super Star Destroyer, and making an assault run on a

Death Star The Death Star is a fictional space station and Weapon of mass destruction, superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' Space opera, space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, the Death Star ...

. The arcade cabinet allows two people to play, with one serving as pilot and the other as gunner.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Star Wars Arcade'' in its June 15, 1994 issue as the sixth most-successful upright/cockpit arcade unit of the month. ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' described it as a decent but disappointing

launch game This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

for the 32X. They praised the excellent graphics but complained about repetitive gameplay and limited movement. ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' similarly assessed that the game is a decent demonstration of the 32X's graphical capabilities but suffers from repetitive gameplay. They also criticized that the controls are convoluted when using a standard three-button gamepad and that in cooperative mode the second player's cursor is difficult to see against certain backgrounds. '' Next Generation'' called the 32X version "An excellent translation of a good game, and a good hint of what to expect from 32X."

Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...

magazine reviewed the 32X version and praised the graphics, the digitized sound bytes although they criticized the "tough" controls. They recommend the game for Star Wars fans.

References

External links

* * {{Star Wars Trilogy 1993 video games 1994 video games Action video games Arcade video games Sega 32X games Sega arcade games Sega video games Star Wars (film) video games Star Wars arcade games Video games developed in Japan