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Super Star Wars

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Super Star Wars
North American SNES box art
Developer(s)Sculptured Software
LucasArts
Code Mystics (PS4/Vita)[2]
Publisher(s)JVC Musical Industries
Disney Interactive Studios (PS4/Vita)
Director(s)Kalani Streicher[3]
Producer(s)Kalani Streicher[3]
Designer(s)Kalani Streicher[3]
Programmer(s)Peter Ward[3]
Artist(s)Harrison Fong[3]
Jon Knoles[3]
Michael C. Lott
Lance Thornbland
Les Pardew
Lorin Nelson
Rob Kemp
Joe Hitchens
Composer(s)Paul Webb[4]
Platform(s)Super Nintendo Entertainment System
PlayStation 4
PlayStation Vita[5]
ReleaseSuper NES
  • NA: November 1, 1992
  • EU: April 2, 1993
PS4, PS Vita
  • NA: November 17, 2015[1]
  • EU: November 24, 2015
Genre(s)Run and gun
Mode(s)Single-player

Super Star Wars is a 1992 action video game developed by LucasArts and Sculptured Software for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is based on the 1977 film Star Wars. It was released by JVC Musical Industries in Japan and North America in 1992 and Europe in 1993. The game was followed by two sequels based on the subsequent Star Wars films, Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1993) and Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1994). The game was re-released in November 1996 as part of Nintendo's Player's Choice series.[6] It was released on the Wii’s Virtual Console by LucasArts in 2009.[7]

In 2015, Disney Interactive Studios re-released the game for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, with Code Mystics developing the ports.[8] The port features enhanced options for saving, including cross-save, leaderboards and trophies, and modern displays and controllers.[9] The game was also made a part of a bundle with the purchase of Star Wars Battlefront for the PlayStation 4, which included Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter and Star Wars Bounty Hunter.[10]

Super Star Wars features side-scrolling run and gun gameplay, although it has stages which feature other challenges, such as driving a landspeeder or piloting an X-wing. It also features multiple playable characters with different abilities.

Gameplay

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Gameplay

Super Star Wars generally follows the plot of Star Wars, although some allowances were made to adapt the story to suit an action game. For example, instead of simply buying C-3PO and R2-D2 from the Jawas, Luke Skywalker must fight his way to the top of a Jawa sandcrawler while leaping from a series of moving conveyor belts. Brief cutscenes between levels tell an abbreviated version of the film's story through written text.[6] Later stages allow the player to control smuggler and pilot Han Solo or Chewbacca the Wookiee. The game also features several vehicle-based levels in which the player takes control of an X-Wing or a landspeeder.

Most of the stages consist of run and gun and platforming gameplay, with several different upgrades available to the standard blaster weapon. Luke can also wield a lightsaber after acquiring it from Obi-Wan Kenobi. The end of the game has players reenacting Luke's Death Star trench run to destroy the Death Star, with Darth Vader confronting the player in his TIE Advanced x1.

Development

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Artist Jon Knoles did the visual designs for the characters, while Harrison Fong drew the backgrounds.[11] Fong recounted that he did very little concept drawing before rendering the characters on the computer "because everybody knew what the Star Wars characters looked like."[11] Originally, the game design was planned to give the characters a dark black outline around their bodies. However, this idea was abandoned, as it was thought to make the characters too cartoonish-looking.[11]

The "Kalhar Boss Monster" is based on one of the chess pieces R2D2 plays with on the Millennium Falcon in the film.[11] There was a trash compactor level that was deleted from the game due to lack of cartridge space.[11] An image was published in an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly around the time of the game's release.[12]

The game's audio contains scores from the movie, which were all arranged by Sculptured Software's in-house musician Paul Webb. According to Webb, he was given the original handwritten scores that John Williams had created. Paul then used the company's in-house music software to convert the scores onto the Super NES's 8-channel sound chip. The game's instrument samples were taken from the Ensoniq EPS and EPS16 keyboards.[13]

A PC port of Super Star Wars was in the works since 1994, by Danish game company Brain Bug and produced by Softgold. The game was almost completed, and was well into the playtesting phase, but in 1995 LucasArts decided to halt the development and cancel the release. An unfinished version of this port was leaked onto the internet.[14]

A Mega Drive version was in the works by Sega Interactive from late 1992 to some point in 1993, when it was cancelled for unknown reasons. An early prototype's ROM was dumped in 2020.[15]

Reception

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Entertainment Weekly wrote that "If you've ever fantasized about piloting an X-wing fighter into the heart of the Death Star, now you can do it—in simulated 3-D as well as reenact the movie's key plot developments."[27] In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine placed the game 68th on a list of the greatest Nintendo games.[28]

Super Star Wars was awarded Best Action/Adventure Game of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly, as well as Best Movie-to-Game.[29] Super Star Wars was rated 4th in Nintendo Power's top ten Super NES games of 1992.[30] IGN ranked Super Star Wars 83rd on their "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time".[31] In 2018, Complex listed the game 38th in its "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time."[32] In 1995, Total! ranked the game 60th on their Top 100 SNES Games summarizing: "The sequels left a little to be desired but this is a great interpretation of the original and best film."[33] In the same year, Flux magazine rated Super Star Wars 25th on its Top 100 Video Games. They lauded the game writing: "The second greatest SNES platform game after Super Mario World." They also praised the game's graphics and felt the game was easy.[34]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In GameFan's review, one critic gave it a 93% and another a 95%.[17]
  2. ^ Nintendo Power awarded Super Star Wars 4.5/5 for graphics/sound, 3.7/5 for play control, 4.1/5 for challenge, and 4.3/5 for theme/fun.[21]
  3. ^ In the review by VideoGames and Computer Entertainment, its main writer and three editors who provided brief score comments rated Super Star Wars a 9/10, and another editor gave it a perfect 10/10.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "The Drop: New PlayStation Games for 11/17/2015". PlayStation.Blog. 15 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Code Mystics Inc. - News".
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Super Star Wars (1992) SNES credits". MobyGames. Blue Fljpame Labs. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Composer information for Super Star Wars". SNES Music. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  5. ^ "Star Wars Battlefront PS4 Bundles Announced, Come With "Darth Vader-Inspired" Systems". PlayStation LifeStyle. 17 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b "The Super Star Wars Trilogy Soars". GamePro. No. 103. IDG. April 1997. p. 92.
  7. ^ "Big Names and Brilliant Games Make for a Must-See Downloadable Lineup". Nintendo. 2009-08-10. Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2022-09-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "The Drop: New PlayStation Games for 11/17/2015". PlayStation Blog. 2015-11-15. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  9. ^ "Super Star Wars Being Re-Released For PS4, PS Vita". GameSpot.
  10. ^ "Darth Vader-Inspired PS4 System Revealed, Two Star Wars Bundles Out This November". Playstation.blog. 16 August 2015.
  11. ^ a b c d e "The GameMakers: The Artists". GamePro. No. 85. IDG. October 1995. pp. 36–38.
  12. ^ "Super NES Times". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 37. Sendai Publishing Group. August 1992. p. 94.
  13. ^ "Paul Webb VGMPF Page".
  14. ^ Nova, Samuel (January 2005). "Super Star Wars". PC Games That Weren't. Archived from the original on June 25, 2008. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  15. ^ Baird, Scott (January 2, 2020). "A Prototype Of Super Star Wars For The Sega Mega Drive Has Been Found - Super Star Wars was originally released for the Super Nintendo in 1992, but there were plans to port the game to the Sega Mega Drive in Europe". TheGamer. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  16. ^ Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Sushi-X (November 1992). "Super Star Wars". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Vol. 5, no. 11. p. 22.
  17. ^ "Super Star Wars". GameFan. Vol. 1, no. 1. October 1992. pp. 6, 30–31.
  18. ^ Bubonic the Blowfrog (November 1992). "Super Star Wars". GamePro. No. 40. pp. 66–67.
  19. ^ Ellis, Les (February 1993). "Super Star Wars". GamesMaster. No. 2. pp. 78–80.
  20. ^ "Super Star Wars". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 5. February 1993. pp. 74–77.
  21. ^ Sinfield, George; Noel, Rob; Hill, Jade (November 1992). "Super Star Wars". Nintendo Power. No. 42. pp. 106–107.
  22. ^ "Super Star Wars". N-Force. No. 7. January 1993. pp. 26–28.
  23. ^ Bielby, Matt (February 1993). "Super Star Wars". Super Play. No. 4. pp. 34–37.
  24. ^ "Super Star Wars". Super Pro. No. 1. December 1992. pp. 12–14.
  25. ^ Meston, Zach (November 1992). "Super Star Wars". VideoGames and Computer Entertainment. Vol. 4, no. 11. p. 49.
  26. ^ "Super Star Wars review score". Archived from the original on 2019-12-09.
  27. ^ Strauss, Bob (December 4, 1992). "Holiday video game guide: 1992". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  28. ^ "100-81 ONM". ONM. Archived from the original on February 23, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  29. ^ "Electronic Gaming Monthly's Buyer's Guide". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 1993.
  30. ^ Top ten of 1992. Nintendo of America. January 1993. p. 118.
  31. ^ Top 100 SNES Games of All Time - IGN.com, retrieved 2022-01-28
  32. ^ "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time". Complex. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  33. ^ "Top 100 SNES Games". Total! (43): 46. July 1995. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  34. ^ "Top 100 Video Games". Flux (4). Harris Publications: 28. April 1995.
  35. ^ Despain, Josh (November 14, 2013). "Super Star Wars". Defunct Games. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  36. ^ Carter, Chris (November 18, 2015). "Review: Super Star Wars". Destructoid. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  37. ^ Paprocki, Matt (October 31, 2004). "Super Star Wars". Digital Press. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  38. ^ Thomas, Lucas (August 11, 2009). "Super Star Wars Review". IGN. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  39. ^ de Leobiwan, L'avis (May 20, 2011). "Test: Super Star Wars". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  40. ^ Jason (May 12, 2009). "retro Review: Super Star Wars". Lens of Truth. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  41. ^ McIlvaine, Spencer (August 11, 2009). "Super Star Wars Review (SNES)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  42. ^ O'Neill, Jamie (November 29, 2015). "Super Star Wars Review (PS4)". Push Square. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  43. ^ Price, Zach (November 30, 2015). "Super Star Wars". The Vita Lounge. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
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