For as popular as the Star Wars license remained after the films left theaters it did not have an easy go of it in video games. The late 80s and early 90s would see a number of subpar games, the NES title chief among them. That would soon change with advances in technology. PC gamers were treated to a feast of stellar titles such as X-Wing and Dark Forces. JVC’s Super Star Wars did a great job of capturing all of the film’s most iconic moments wrapped up in a pretty neat action platformer. It’s not without its flaws but has held up admirably over the course of nearly thirty years.
The game generally follows the plot of A New Hope with a few….”interesting” deviations for gameplay reasons. Luke is the primary character for most of the game although eventually Han and Chewie become playable. The differences between characters are very slight. Chewbacca has a longer life bar to start while Luke has a weaker blaster than the rest. But Luke gains a lightsaber early on and can switch between both weapons. It’s an interesting mix in terms of combat. Certain enemies and bosses are easily cut to pieces with the lightsaber while the blaster is more effective against robots.
The touch controls can be a bit of a problem, especially as platforming is a heavy focus. Performing a high jump by pressing up + jump is wonky and will lead to unnecessary deaths. Sometimes even lightly tapping the jump button causes your character to spring into action. This can be fatal when navigating narrow ledges which are frequent. You can control your movement in the air somewhat but physics don’t feel right. It can be mastered with practice but ultimately doesn’t feel as tight as it should be.
Rather than the open world adventure of the NES game Super Star Wars is a focused platformer. You’ll visit all of the most infamous locations from the movie such as the streets of Mos Eisley, the Cantina, and even explore the Death Star. You’ll get to explore the land of the Sandpeople and both the interior and exterior of a Jawa sandcrawler. Considering the movie only took place in more or less two locations the developers have done an excellent job of packing this with variety. Aside from the run and gun action there are numerous vehicular segments. Luke hops on a landspeeder to kill Jawas (…yeah) and in the seat of an X-Wing in a thrilling recreation of the Death Star trench run. There are some inconsistencies such as meeting R2D2 and the Sarlaac Monster from Return of the Jedi appearing here but whatever. Only nerds will cry foul.
Whether you will enjoy Super Star Wars depends on your tolerance for frustration however. The game is relentlessly difficult from the start and only becomes worse as you progress. I’ve already mentioned the twitchy controls and the frequent deaths they cause but that is only the beginning. There is very little semblance of balance as you are peppered with cheap hits at every turn. Enemies respawn infinitely and even though they drop hearts it is annoying. The hit detection with the blaster is very bad and with random debris damage is everywhere. Every enemy drops hearts to compensate but I still would have preferred these issues were fixed. End level bosses are huge damage sponges and in most cases you’ll enter the fight with less than optimal health. Extra lives are rare and continues are limited which only make it worse.
Probably the most damning aspect of Super Star Wars is the lack of battery backup or passwords. This is a very long game and it is asking a lot to complete it in one sitting. The levels are very long and drag on longer than I like. Their length also makes the backtracking due to dying a nightmare. Like Battletoads the lack of any means to save progress is a huge knock against it.
I may have issues with the game’s mechanics but the production values are stellar. Super Star Wars captures the magic of each of the film’s locations beautifully. Granted about 90% of the game takes place on a sand planet but the artists have done their best to add variety. Mode 7 is used sparingly here for its two vehicle based segments. This would be the best Death Star trench run until Sega’s Star Wars Arcade game a few years later. But even more impressive than the graphics is the excellent recreation of John William’s score.
In Closing
Super Star Wars is the first truly great console game in the series. The years have only made its flaws more pronounced but I still enjoyed my time with it. A long varied adventure awaits those skilled enough to overcome the high challenge.
