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スターウォーズ
©1987 Namco Ltd.
TM & ©Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)
Release: 1987-12-04 (¥4900)
Cartdridge (n/a)
Platform/Action
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Star Wars is a Famicom exclusive side scrolling platform
game by Namco. Although the game is loosely based on the epic feature
film of the same name, the story is definitely not the same and Namco
decided to tell it their own way. As expected, Luke Skywalker is the main
protagonist of the game - after listening to the holographic message recorded
into R2-D2 by princess Leia, Luke embarks on a journey to
find his companions held prisoners across the galaxy. On board the
Millenium Falcon, he goes from planet to planet and rescues R2-D2,
Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and
Han Solo. He also fights countless incarnations of his arch-nemesis
Darth Vader who unexpectedly turns into terrifying monsters throughout
the game. Luke's main weapon is his trademark light-saber and a blaster
can later be picked up. But most importantly, the young Jedi can control
The Force and use it to attack his enemies or to reach inaccessible
areas. Blue Force crystals are left behind by defeated foes or hidden
inside blocks - the more Luke collects, the more Jedi powers he
gains and the more powerful he becomes. He can fly in the air, freeze enemies,
run faster or become invincible for a short amount of time. The characters that
Luke rescues also play important roles in the game and they must be
called in specific situations to assist the young Jedi.
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Like many games released by Namco for the Famicom System, Star Wars
comes in a hard and more durable plastic case (picture on the left). But unlike
other games made by the company, Star Wars was released in a shiny silver cartridge.
Finally, the game doesn't seem to have any serial number...
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This version of Star Wars by Namco was never released outside of Japan. However,
another Star Wars game exists and was developed by Lucasfilm Games
in 1991. The game was released in the United States, Europe and...
Japan (American and Japanese versions pictured on the right).
As master Yoda would say - "confusing this is". The
Lucasfilm Games version, unsurprisingly, is a lot more faithful to the
movie and was followed by Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in 1992
(aka Star Wars: Teikoku no Gyakushū in Japan).
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Game Staff (Copied from the end credits) :
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Production
Game Designed by
Wan Wan
Game Programed by
Kissie
Game Designed by
Shimada
Assistant
Pochi
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Sound Composed by
Kawada
and
Many Many More
Starring
Luke Hansolo Leia
Darth Vader
R2D2 Chewie C3PO
and
Obi Wan
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Produced by
Masaya Nakamura
Production Manager
Kazunori Sawano
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©MCMLXXXYII Namco Ltd.
TM & ©Lucasfilm Ltd.(LFL)
1987 All Rights Reserved
Trademarks Owned by
Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)
And Used by Namco Limited,
Under Authorization.
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O
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A
K
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
O
V
s
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This version of Star Wars starts out as a harmless franchise - you meet
R2-D2 on Tatooine, fight Jawas, enter their rusty
Sandcrawler and bump into Darth Vader who magically (or, should I
say, "Forcefully") turns into a giant sand-spider. What the... ? At that
very moment you realize that something is dramatically different about this game.
Namco took some "poetic" liberties with the original storyline and it is
when you reach the Egyptian ruins (level 2) that you finally realize
why the game was never released outside of Japan... Interestingly, this version
mixes events from the first two movies (such as Hoth or the way how
Luke uses the Force) - which somehow explains why Darth Vader
turns into a scorpion (as Yoda explains, Luke sees his greatest fear,
not the scorpion). Anyway maybe I'm going too far with this, it still doesn't
explain why Luke has black hair in the game though... So, what about the
gameplay ? Star Wars is a great side-scrolling platformer and the space
fights between each planet are beautifully crafted. However, the game is
brutally difficult - Luke has no life gauge and dies on contact and
some later stages (such as the Death Star maze) are just plain frustrating.
So here you have it, fans of the movies will be smiling with glee (and confusion)
every step of the way, the others will swear at Luke's too many
frustrating and unfair deaths.
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