I grew up in a world full of arcades. Every mall had an arcade, every town had an arcade. There was at least one game in the front of every store. While a lot of people both then and now collect the games, to me it always seemed like an unattainable dream.
This all changed around 1990 when my parents answered an ad in the paper for a stand up Star Wars. Star Wars was the first movie I saw in the theater, I collected the toys, I read the books and comic books, I went to conventions, and I was a huge fan of the game.
My parents paid 50 bucks for the game, a great price then or now, and it was in perfect condition. My dad and his friend, who was a pinball collector, moved the game to our house and somehow broke it in transport and we had to drop another $300 on it to have it fixed. Years later, when I moved into my first apartment the game was moved to my friends basement, where it eventually fell into disrepair.
This game uses color vector graphics. Vector graphics basically means everything on the screen is composed of lines. Other vector games include Asteroids and Tempest. Star Wars was available both in a standard upright cabinet and larger sit-down cockpit version. The game also features a unique controller, a two handed control yoke with four buttons.
Gameplay consists of three levels that repeat with increasing difficulty. All three levels reenact the finally of Star Wars: A New Hope., specifically, the assault on the Death Star also known as the Battle of Yavin. Level one is the approach to the Death Star. On this level you are shooting at TIE fighters, Darth Vader's TIE fighter, and the laser blasts they shoot at you. Basically an endurance level, you eventually move on to level two, the surface of the Death Star. This level has towers to shoot for points, guns on the surface, and as always, laser blasts to shoot or avoid.
Finally you get to the famous trench run. Here you avoid beams that run along the width of the trench, shoot at targets on the side of the walls, and of course shoot/dodge laser blasts. This level offers a bonus for "using the force". You do this by not firing your lasers until you get to the exhaust port.
This game had one direct sequel, based on Empire Strikes Back. The ESB version of this vector classic is much harder to find.
