Star Wars

Review

by Christopher Michael Baker

When the NES version of Star Wars was released, there wasn't a lot of hype. Sure, it was a game based on what many argue to be the greatest, most influential science fiction movie of all time. The only thing is, not many people cared in 1991, a year right between releases of Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace. Such was not the case with me, however. A diehard 15-year-old Star Wars fan, I bought the game as soon as I could afford it. Fortunately, it didn't take long for me to see that my hard-earned money went to good use.

The first thing to delight me was to see that the game followed the movie's plot. Though other Star Wars games had been previously released for the Arcade and earlier home systems, this NES version was the first to focus on more than two or three scenes. Sure, there are a few changes in the script as well as action sequences that didn't happen, but this is a videogame. Gamers require action, and Star Wars delivers via these liberties.

Even though things are changed slightly, virtually every significant scene in the movie is represented. For instance, you get to drive Luke's landspeeder, battle it out in the cantina, fly the Millennium Falcon through the remains of Alderaan, rescue Leia, and, of course, destroy the Death Star (just to name a few things).

The way you go about performing these tasks furthered my immersion into the game. While most of it is 2D platform, you've also got other perspectives like the first-person cockpit view for the Alderaan level and an overhead view during the Death Star trench run in your X-wing. Also, the search for Leia in the Death Star takes some brains to navigate through its maze-like interior.

The fact that you can play as different characters is another thing that Star Wars has going for it. Not only can you be your favorite of the three main characters (Luke, Leia and Han), but each has his or her own different abilities and aptitudes. For instance, there are some jumps that Leia's low-to-the-ground leap are more conducive to than Luke's or Han's.

It is these jumps, however, that represent the game's only real fault. They are often very long and must be timed just right, requiring a great deal of practice to master. Further, a limited number of continues means that you'll have to go through everything from the start once you have failed for the last time.

But overall, Star Wars should be to the liking of any NES-owning fan of the movies. Who knows? Maybe even a few misguided non-fans might find it enjoyable. The Force is with it.