Super Star Wars

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

Contents

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

Gameplay Super Star Wars gameplay.png
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

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

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]

Accolades

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

Notes

  1. ↑ In GameFan 's review, one critic gave it a 93% and another a 95%. [18]
  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. [22]
  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. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Nintendo Entertainment System</span> Home video game console

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.

<i>Super Mario World</i> 1990 video game

Super Mario World, known in Japanese marketing as Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4, is a platform game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and Australia in 1992. The player controls Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach and Dinosaur Land from the series' antagonist Bowser and the Koopalings. The gameplay is similar to that of earlier Super Mario games; players control Mario through a series of levels in which the goal is to reach the goalpost at the end.

<i>Street Fighter II</i> 1991 arcade video game

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is a 2D fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the Street Fighter series and the sequel to 1987's Street Fighter. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP System arcade system board. Street Fighter II vastly improved many of the concepts introduced in the first game, including the use of special command-based moves, a combo system, a six-button configuration, and a wider selection of playable characters, each with a unique fighting style.

<i>Star Fox</i> (1993 video game) Rail shooter game published by Nintendo

Star Fox, known as Starwing in PAL regions, is a rail shooter video game developed by Nintendo and Argonaut Software, and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The first entry in the Star Fox series, the story follows Fox McCloud and the rest of the Star Fox team defending their homeworld of Corneria against the invading forces of Andross.

<i>Mario Paint</i> 1992 video game

Mario Paint is a 1992 art creation video game developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 (R&D1) and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Mario Paint consists of a raster graphics editor, an animation program, a music composer, and a point and click minigame, all of which are designed to be used with the Super NES Mouse peripheral, which the game was packaged and sold with. Per its name, the game is Mario-themed, and features sprites and sound effects that are taken from or in the vein of Super Mario World.

<i>Super Street Fighter II</i> 1993 video game

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers is a competitive fighting game produced by Capcom and originally released as an arcade game in 1993. It is the fourth game in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting. It refines and balances the existing character roster from the previous versions, and introduces four new characters. It is the first game on Capcom's CP System II hardware, with more sophisticated graphics and audio over the original CP System hardware used in previous versions of Street Fighter II.

1993 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden, Mortal Kombat II, Secret of Mana, and Super Street Fighter II, alongside new titles such as Star Fox, FIFA International Soccer, Doom, Gunstar Heroes, Myst, Samurai Shodown, Ridge Racer, NBA Jam, Disney's Aladdin, and Virtua Fighter.

1992 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest V, Final Fantasy V, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, and Super Mario Kart, along with new titles such as Art of Fighting, Lethal Enforcers, Mortal Kombat and Virtua Racing.

<i>Star Wars</i> video games Video games based on the Star Wars franchise

Over one hundred video games based on the Star Wars franchise have been released, dating back to some of the earliest home consoles. Some are based directly on films while others rely heavily on the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

<i>Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back</i> 1993 video game

Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, also known as Super Empire Strikes Back, is a 1993 action video game developed by LucasArts and Sculptured Software and published by JVC Musical Industries for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is based on the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back and is the sequel to Super Star Wars. The game was followed by a sequel, Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1994. Unlike its predecessor, Nintendo wasn’t involved in its publishing. The game was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in North America on August 24, 2009 and in the PAL regions on October 2, 2009, alongside the other games in the Super Star Wars series.

<i>Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi</i> 1994 video game

Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, also known as Super Return of the Jedi, is a 1994 action video game developed by LucasArts and Sculptured Software and published by JVC Musical Industries for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a sequel to Super Star Wars (1992) and Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1993) and is based on the 1983 film Return of the Jedi. It was ported to the Game Boy and Game Gear by Realtime Associates, which were published by THQ in 1995. The game was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America on September 7, 2009 and in PAL regions on October 16, 2009, alongside the other games in the Super Star Wars series.

<i>Axelay</i> 1992 video game

Axelay is a 1992 scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Set in the fictional solar system Illis where an alien empire known as "Armada of Annihilation" invades its planets including the Earth-like Corliss (Mother), players take control of the titular D117B space fighter craft as a last resort to stop the alien invasion by recovering its lost weaponry. The gameplay mainly consist of both vertical-scrolling and horizonal-scrolling stages in the same vein as Konami's own Life Force, with players choosing three different weapon-types that increase in number as they progress through the game.

<i>Super Ghouls n Ghosts</i> 1991 video game

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, known as Chou Makaimura in Japan, is a platform video game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. As the third game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins series and the first not to be released for the arcade, it again depicts knight Arthur saving Princess Guinevere and the kingdom from Emperor Sardius, who has cast a spell that has revived the Ghoul Realm.

<i>Alien 3</i> (video game) 1992 video game

Alien 3 is a run and gun game based on the 1992 film of the same name. It was released for the Genesis and Amiga in 1992, then for the Commodore 64, Game Boy, Game Gear, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Master System.

<i>Street Fighter II Turbo</i> 1992 video game

Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting is a competitive fighting game released by Capcom for arcades in 1992. It is the third arcade version of Street Fighter II, part of the Street Fighter franchise, following Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, and was initially released as an enhancement kit for that game. Released less than a year after the previous installment, Turbo introduced a faster playing speed and new special moves for certain characters, as well as further refinement to the character balance.

<i>The Wizard of Oz</i> (1993 video game) 1993 video game

The Wizard of Oz is a 1993 platform video game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and loosely based on the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Developed by Manley & Associates, it was published by SETA Corporation and released in North America in 1993 and in Europe in 1994. The player assumes the role of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, or the Cowardly Lion in a series of levels containing hidden areas, mazes, and puzzles to bring Glinda's magic ruby slippers to the Wizard of Oz.

<i>Contra III: The Alien Wars</i> 1992 video game

Contra III: The Alien Wars is a 1992 run and gun video game developed and published by Konami for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is the third home console entry in the Contra series after Contra (1988) and Super C (1990) for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In PAL regions, it was retitled Super Probotector: Alien Rebels and the player characters were replaced with robots. The player is tasked with fighting off an alien invasion of Earth across six stages. Four stages feature side-scrolling action traditional to the series while two are presented from an overhead perspective. It is the first Contra title to have been directed by Nobuya Nakazato who later directed other games in the series. He designed Contra III to feature more comical elements, a more cinematic soundtrack, and tighter stage design than its predecessors.

<i>Super Mario All-Stars</i> 1993 game compilation

Super Mario All-Stars is a 1993 compilation of platform games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It contains remakes of Nintendo's four Super Mario games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Famicom Disk System: Super Mario Bros. (1985), Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (1986), Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988), and Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988). As in the original games, players control the Italian plumber Mario and his brother Luigi through themed worlds, collecting power-ups, avoiding obstacles, and finding secrets. The remakes feature updated graphics—including the addition of parallax scrolling—and music, modified game physics, a save feature, and bug fixes.

<i>Disneys Aladdin</i> (Capcom video game) 1993 SNES video game

Disney's Aladdin is a 1993 platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, based on the 1992 animated Disney film of the same name. Disney's Aladdin is a 2D side-scrolling video game in which the player controls Aladdin and his monkey Abu. It was designed by Shinji Mikami.

References

  1. ↑ "Code Mystics Inc. - News".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Super Star Wars (1992) SNES credits". MobyGames . Blue Fljpame Labs. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  3. ↑ "Composer information for Super Star Wars". SNES Music. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  4. ↑ "Star Wars Battlefront PS4 Bundles Announced, Come With "Darth Vader-Inspired" Systems". PlayStation LifeStyle. 17 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Drop: New PlayStation Games for 11/17/2015". PlayStation.Blog. 15 November 2015.
  6. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 5 "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. ↑ "Super Star Wars review score". Archived from the original on 2019-12-09.
  17. ↑ Harris, Steve; Semrad, Ed; Alessi, Martin; Sushi-X (November 1992). "Super Star Wars". Electronic Gaming Monthly . Vol. 5, no. 11. p. 22.
  18. ↑ "Super Star Wars". GameFan . Vol. 1, no. 1. October 1992. pp. 6, 30–31.
  19. ↑ Bubonic the Blowfrog (November 1992). "Super Star Wars". GamePro . No. 40. pp. 66–67.
  20. ↑ Ellis, Les (February 1993). "Super Star Wars". GamesMaster . No. 2. pp. 78–80.
  21. ↑ "Super Star Wars". Nintendo Magazine System . No. 5. February 1993. pp. 74–77.
  22. ↑ Sinfield, George; Noel, Rob; Hill, Jade (November 1992). "Super Star Wars". Nintendo Power . No. 42. pp. 106–107.
  23. ↑ "Super Star Wars". N-Force . No. 7. January 1993. pp. 26–28.
  24. ↑ Bielby, Matt (February 1993). "Super Star Wars". Super Play . No. 4. pp. 34–37.
  25. ↑ "Super Star Wars". Super Pro . No. 1. December 1992. pp. 12–14.
  26. ↑ Meston, Zach (November 1992). "Super Star Wars". VideoGames and Computer Entertainment . Vol. 4, no. 11. p. 49.
  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. Harris Publications (4): 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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.