Amazing how the sounds of an arcade game can take a 50 year old back to when he was 10. I used to play this at the Chuck E Cheese in Cudahy Ca. in 1983. I still remember it used to be in the very back up against the wall. The place would be packed and that wonderful 80s music would be blasting out of their speakers. Some of my best childhood memories thank you for the trip back in time.
@@dirkdiggler69 Thank you for your comment. I’m glad to hear this and happy to report that the little kid and his sense of adventure still lives inside me. Take care my fellow time traveler.
@@theusher2893 I agree. Remember Dragons Lair? We all thought it was so ahead of it’s time back then. I could never figure it out and lost many quarters in that machine. Thanks for stopping by and long live the eighties.
Played this game at a convention 12 years ago. It feel so cool to actually play the cockpit version. Its amazing how good it is. To hear that music and those soundbites from the film in great quality given the time period it was made in was mindblowing. One of my favourite Star Wars games of all time.
I only ever seen the game once at the airport as a kid. My mom had to fly out and at the time you could go with your family to the gates. I recall seeing it in the corner and I played it. It was the cockpit version of the game I recall. This was maybe 1992-94 timeframe.
@@newsbender Ah. Makes sense since you're in an X-Wing. Well, the TIE's flying past sound like someone throwing up into their coat sleeve, then. source: I have witnessed someone throw up into the sleeve of their coat while wearing it.
What doesn't translate in this video was just how good the flight yoke controller felt. It was Heavy Metal center and heavy plastic grips that just felt so good to fly with. A big reason why every home version failed dismally, none of them were faithful to the coin op, especially the sit down version. My favorite arcade game of all time.
Good news is Glen's retro store makes an exact replica now ! Works both via USB and also as authentic analogue controller. Expensive, but feels identical and as a bonus is hall effect based and should last basically forever :)
That yoke was Pentagon-funded. It was developed for the "Bradley Trainer", a modified version of Battlezone designed to simulate the gunner's position in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle (from what I can gather, it wasn't so much a formal training simulator as a kind of military edutainment device). Only a few of them were ever made. But Atari re-used the yoke design in Star Wars. That's why it doesn't resemble the controller from Luke Skywalker's X-wing at all. It's actually an imitation of the gunner's yoke from a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
When this game first hit the arcade, the noise of the arcade and the other games against the noise of this game made this game so unbelievably cool that you felt like you were in a live-action movie. You could not wait to put your next quarter in the slot. That stary laser fire from the tie fighters, pure insanity stress. Amazing time to be in the arcade as a kid.
It was mindblowing at the time - but it is surprising how well it has aged. The vector graphics design, driven by the limitations of the hardware, now shines as a real work of art: beautiful!
This game came out when I was 11, and our local grocery store had it. I would play it the whole time my mom was shopping. I could usually destroy the Death Star 3-4 times in a single play, and had the pattern of barriers in the trench memorized. It was an extremely good game back then. The digitized speech was extremely cutting edge and a new technology, plus the colorful graphics and multi-channel music all made for an amazing arcade game of that era. I can remember getting cold chills when Obi Wan said to use the force. :)
Few better memories from my childhood than being in a packed arcade with all the sights and sounds; with a $5 bill walking to the change machine to get a pocketful of quarters.
I once found a $20 bill someone dropped when I went to get more quarters (this had to be no later than '84). I tried to turn it in, but no one claimed it and the worker there gave me the money. Man, I played a LOT of games that day!
The owners of one bar in my village once forgot the Keys to open his video machine. We atole It with 13 year's old and all the guys in the village played for free in every video machine in the village for weeks in 1988, because that ley opened every machine ...
Thank you for the blast of nostalgia. I played this game at the arcades after school. Used up so many quarters but the adrenaline high was worth it. I played mostly the cockpit versions: the enclosed space of the seating, the soundbites right by your head and the pace of the game hyping you up was the best. I probably never got past level five as I always died in the trench on repeat plays. It was a great game and one of the things I’d buy if I win the big lottery prize.
I never saw the cockpit version at any of my local arcade's but remember the sounds being 1 of the best parts. I can imagine being surrounded by the sound effect & voices made this much better, much more immersive. -Good times!!
You just describe me in 6th grade. I used to get in trouble a lot. There was an arcade center next to my school on the way to the subway, and I would often spend my subway money there, which meant I had to walk home instead. As a result, I would often be late getting home and get into trouble with my parents. I would sometimes be grounded for weeks, but as you always say, it was worth it.
@@gamebriz4163lol… you guys are a bit weird but if you were 10 I understand. I was 13 by 84 and an experienced gamer… just starting programming! This was hardly mind blowing… in fact I questioned the chef of regressive vector graphics, but I enjoyed it greatly, mainly I think due to the audio. The authentic music, effects and voices really made the game!
It was September of 1984, and my mom and I were visiting my brother living in Frankfurt, west Germany. One day as we were walking on a busy street, I could hear from far away the sound of an arcade across the street filled with all kind of games. As a young teen I was mesmerized and walked towards the entrance. The very first game was this gigantic cockpit version of this game, that just blew my mind. Those were the days!
@@MR-vj8dnlove that game! My stepfather has a business that designs and builds PC boards and aftermarket screens for old Pinball and Arcade machines! Plus he owns the local Bowling Alley where he puts some of the games that he fixes!! Gauntlet is very hard to find and get it in GOOD WORKING ORDER. Been trying to find one for a decent price for a long while…. But none that are reasonable and in good working condition, nearby.
This is the first video game I can remember. It was at my local Pizza Hut. I was fascinated by the color design. Looking at it now, the fact it had real voices and 3D environments in the early 80s…..wow.
The vector hardware made it really easy to do perspective 3D, because there was so little overhead for just drawing lines. And it had a great look. It was ultimately a dead end because it couldn't do anything BUT draw lines, and raster graphics caught up and surpassed it in other ways. But for a while, there, the manufacturers who used it were putting out games that looked too advanced for the late 70s and early 80s.
The video does NO justice to the actual arcade experiance though! 😂 12 years old and 5 or 6 kids hanging off the machine watching you play, the loud suround sound of the effects, the over sensitive joystick and that precious last 20c coin you just droped in that slot after waiting ages for a turn to play... Now pove yourself Luke!!! Oh the nerves. 💥
This game blew my tiny little brain in 1984 when we found it in the Amusements in Aviemore, Scotland. We were on a school trip, outward bounds. Go Karts and Star Wars in the same day, amazing.
Man, the 80s were great! This is like a time machine back. Saw Star Wars in 1977 at the theater when i was 12. Back then life was magical. Thank you for the memory lane trip.
Ah brings back memories of old Atari....love the cheesy graphics and wire model frames...like Moon lander, tank war, Tempest, space war, missile command. I miss the 80s. Great times
I remember this came out when empire strikes back was first in theaters back in the 80's, and when I saw this cabinet going to the screen room when I was little, I had told myself I HAD to play it after the movie! I was INSTANTLY hooked.
I remember sitting down in a seat to play this, trying to figure out how to use that weird control yoke. To say it felt like being in an X-Wing at the time is not an understatement. I wasn’t very good, but man did I love being in the arcades.
40 years later, watching from the comfort of my chair, and those 24 minutes were exhausting! I kept leaning, cringing and puckering up the old bunghole. All the maneuvers I could never master, and all the damned obstacles I hit. Best arcade game of the era, by far. The flight yoke was just amazing. The music and the voice synth was better than anything out there. For all that, I almost always died on wave 3.
I played this game so much I became a Star Wars Master. I could put one quarter in and play forever. My high score was 15 million which I think took like 3 hours. I capped the score there because I was tired, so I just stopped playing and let my ship die. The world record at that time was 100 million which probably took 24 hrs or more of continuous play to achieve! I noticed in your video on wave 8-10 you used the Force. Great job! Most people didn't know if you can fly through the trench and never fire a single laser shot and only fire the proton torpedo's into the exhaust vent at the end, you get a big 100,000 extra points. HUGE thanks for these memories.
Great memories! I first played this videogame mid-eighties in an Arcade close to Broadway during a vacation to New York City. The vector style was very unique, and the synthesized voices were state-of-the-art. A great treat for a huge Star Wars fan!
I noticed it looked like writing on the Death Star when its zooming out 4:48 So I played back at .25% and sure enough it was some names. I googled them and found an article explaining its some of the developers, and on stages when its zooming in it says “may the force be with you”, pretty neat! I guess this Easter egg marks the first time developers are mentioned in credits, and they got into some hot water at Atari for it lol.
Pure arcade gold. I can remember going into an arcade on the sea front at Rhyl and they had the sit-down versions of all three Star Wars machines next to each other. The sounds of the arcades in the early 80's was something else.
Thank you. Thank you for bringing up so many great memories from the youth. There was a corner store where i grew up in West Philly that had 2-3 arcade games and they would switch in new games every so often. When this game showed up it was heaven. I spent many hours being Luke, shooting down tie fighters, blowing up the death star like i always wanted to do when i 6 when the movie first game out. I was the player in my neighborhood, nobody ever beat my high score. well over 800,000. It was a sad day when i went into play one day and it was gone.
A legendary classic arcade game. And the soundtrack is amazing. Use the arcade force, AL82. I also have this game on my Amiga 500. Sadly, i never had it on my Commodore 64. Thanx for an awesome arcade longplay. 😺👍🕹️ May the force be with you.
I played this in 1983-1984 during lunch breaks when I was in the U.S. Army at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. There was a shoppette with this arcade game in it near the chapel where I worked and I enjoyed playing it. I played it more than any arcade game. As the levels progressed the fire power and obstacles coming at you was so fast and intense that it got your adrenaline going. I played the standing version.
I was blown away by this when it came out. The whole big cabinet, yoke and sim feel to it. It was awesome. I couldn’t imagine ever owning a computer that could have graphics that good. Now we carry around things in our pocket that would probably run every game in the arcade at the same time.
Such great memories of playing this when it came out way back in 1983 - forty years ago! I'll never forget the feeling of shooting Darth Vader's TIE fighter for the first time, sending him spinning off into space. It was hard to do at first, and if you couldn't, he'd shoot so many fireballs at you, he couldn't be touched.
This takes my back to the golden age of the arcades … I spent ALOT of time and money on this game the fully sit down cockpit cabinet version,absolute brilliant times.. RIP the amusement arcades.. This and gauntlet the 4 player version Outrun Pole position And bubble bobble.. Track and field Astro blaster gorf The list goes on and on … Please can I go back
You can see the evolution from that arcade game to NES to Super Star Wars SNES to Sega Star Wars Trilogy arcade to Rouge Squadron 2 GameCube and to the recent games.
This game was at a Pizza Place called Mountain Mikes in Pig Pine Key Florida when I was growing up. The owner would sometimes give us 5 quarters for a dollar when when our family would get a pizza and play in the arcade. It was so much fun. Thank you for posting this.
My favourite arcade game. So many hours spent playing this over the years. Eventually a single credit would last me 2-3 hours, especially if it was in easy mode and the yoke worked.
I remember this game located in two places when I was a kid. There was a "stand-up" model in the front of a local department store, and the full "sit-down" model at Busch Gardens in VA. My local arcade (Aladdin's Castle) never got it. Never forgotten the sound effects and all. Good times.
Great sound quality! Bach when this was in the arcade's, I remember the sound effects & the voice reproduction really setting this 1 apart from others of that time. It sounds really great here- 👍
I first played this at college and fell in love with it. Soon after I graduated...the only machine around was found in an arcade gallery at Seaside Heights NJ. Hurricane Sandy took care of my chance of ever playing it again. :(
This brings back many happy memories and quarters well spent. I remember that highest level was fiendishly hard to navigate the trench run. Thanks for the memories.
OMG I'm 12 again, back in Ocean Township NJ at Aladdin's Arcade in Seaview Square Mall playing the cockpit version, spending my entire allowance trying (and failing) to beat the game ‼️ Thanks for the trip in the time machine ‼️ Greetings from this 50 year old Jersey transplant in Seattle ‼️ May the Force be with you always ‼️
Lunch time in Manchester city centre 1983-86, into the arcade next to the Odeon cinema on Oxford Road, playing this for an hour or so, a climb into a cabin arcade game! Brilliant times, long gone.
OMG. I forgot about how great this game was. Graphics were leading edge imo. Battle zone was another game with similar graphics that I loved as a kid. Thanks for bringing back the good memories.
I haven’t seen this since I played it at southerpark mall in Youngstown when I was teen. Arcades were so crazy popular back then. Feels Like it was just a few days ago! Thank you for getting this on. Miss those days and these games.
I Loved this game. Played it all the time as a kid, and often in the cockpit version. This video is brilliant to see, and I would LOVE to be able to play it again.
On Saturdays when I was a freshman in college, my nerd buddies and I would all go get a roll of quarters and head down to the arcade at the mall. They had a cockpit version of this game. It was my all time favorite! I think it was the pacing of the game that made it so exciting…and the voiceovers of course. Seeing this video takes me back to much simpler times!
The first time I saw and played this game was the sit down version. With the 1st person view, the flight yoke, the sound effects and the dialogue samples, I literally felt like I was in the movie for the first time in my life.
Wow! Never thought I'd see this game again. I played this in 1986 while on vacation with my parents and little brother to Italy, Numana. (We went there by car, all the way from Sweden.) It was in an arcade machine where I could sit inside, like a cockpit. I have a picture of me playing it.
I remember: - the calluses on the tips of my forefingers from endless blasting - the distracting click of someone putting a quarter on the side of the cockpit on the little ledge to wordlessly say “I got next game” - the thrill of blasting my initials (without making a mistake) into the high scores before the timer ran out - this being my absolute favorite arcade game ever Thank you for the memories, and may the vector graphics be with you! (Speaking of which, anyone remember the game Tempest? “Avoid Spikes!”)
This brings back a lot of memories. This game and Q-bert were the only two arcade games I could say I mastered...meaning keeping a game going for as long as I wanted to play. On Star Wars, the difficulty settings varied from one arcade to the next. What you were playing here (8 shields, 1 back each wave completed) was the most common setting. I had seen others that were 6 shields and you never got any back. Eventually, you lost playing those. I had seen others that had 9 shields and gave you 3 back each wave. Those weren't even a challenge.
My favorite all-time arcade game as a kid! Great video capture of it. Brings back such awesome memories :) My local arcade was called Tilt at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks California.
Watching this game truly takes me back to a revolutionary era in gaming. Back in the day, Star Wars was nothing short of groundbreaking. I remember feeling so engrossed, it was as if I was genuinely piloting an X-Wing, so much so that I would forget my surroundings entirely. The graphics? For its time, they were nothing short of spectacular. It's amazing to think that the vector graphics, which by today's standards may seem basic, were once the pinnacle of gaming visuals. Those wireframe 3D environments and spacecrafts weren't just graphics on a screen; they were a mesmerizing experience.
As a kid, your fingers hurt on the microswitches that were so sensitive and after level 2 it got very hard, the guy playing this is indeed a jedi x wing pilot hes GOOD!! 😀. THE BEST ARCADE GAME OF THE MID 80's, its still holds up to this day how good it was to play and the synthesised speech was cutting edge in the day the sit in arcade was comfortable, and very immersive and when you played it everyone crowded round to watch you play it. Outstanding 🎉🎉
I used to play this at the Hoyts cinema on George St. Sydney back in the '80's when it was 20c a game. Loved it at the time and still think it looks great today.
The only game I played more was Major Havoc. When I was in the zone playing Star Wars I could reach levels into the 50's and higher. Such an amazing game.
Oh man, I’m 12 years old all over again! They had this game in the arcade at one of the hotels in Atlantic City back in the mid 80’s. Once a year my parents would take us there, and they’d go downstairs to the casino with my Aunt and Uncle and give me and my cousins $20 each in quarters to keep us occupied. I’d spend my entire $20 on this game. Every year that day was pure magic.
It doesn't look like much now, but it was pure magic to me back in the day.
what do you mean was MF, still is :)
The next step above Battlezone
Still pure magic
So were the shiny beads to the natives when they were tricked into surrendering their lands.
Spent so much money in the cabinet version of this game. Magical times indeed!❤
Amazing how the sounds of an arcade game can take a 50 year old back to when he was 10. I used to play this at the Chuck E Cheese in Cudahy Ca. in 1983. I still remember it used to be in the very back up against the wall. The place would be packed and that wonderful 80s music would be blasting out of their speakers. Some of my best childhood memories thank you for the trip back in time.
Wow bro you aren’t alone with that, all us Gen Xers feel same
@@dirkdiggler69 Thank you for your comment. I’m glad to hear this and happy to report that the little kid and his sense of adventure still lives inside me. Take care my fellow time traveler.
Arcades we're just a destination, they were an experience. Nothing will compare to my brother and I working together playing Gauntlet in 1987.
@@theusher2893 I agree. Remember Dragons Lair? We all thought it was so ahead of it’s time back then. I could never figure it out and lost many quarters in that machine. Thanks for stopping by and long live the eighties.
There's a full play through video on TH-cam for Dragons Lair!@@joetoth5465
I spent so many hours and so many quarters on this game... it was the best game in the arcade. Thanks for the memories.
Watch how you spend, don't make the same mistake I did when I was 18.
Played this game at a convention 12 years ago. It feel so cool to actually play the cockpit version. Its amazing how good it is. To hear that music and those soundbites from the film in great quality given the time period it was made in was mindblowing. One of my favourite Star Wars games of all time.
Cockpit version was great. Only version we had in our arcade
I only ever seen the game once at the airport as a kid. My mom had to fly out and at the time you could go with your family to the gates. I recall seeing it in the corner and I played it. It was the cockpit version of the game I recall. This was maybe 1992-94 timeframe.
The sounds are pretty good.
I just wish Chewbacca didn't sound like someone throwing up into the sleeve of their coat. 5:30
@@jimjam51075those are the sounds of the TIEs flying past
@@newsbender Ah. Makes sense since you're in an X-Wing.
Well, the TIE's flying past sound like someone throwing up into their coat sleeve, then.
source: I have witnessed someone throw up into the sleeve of their coat while wearing it.
What doesn't translate in this video was just how good the flight yoke controller felt. It was Heavy Metal center and heavy plastic grips that just felt so good to fly with. A big reason why every home version failed dismally, none of them were faithful to the coin op, especially the sit down version. My favorite arcade game of all time.
metal grips. Home computer versions in the UK did very well and played very much like the arcade
Good news is Glen's retro store makes an exact replica now ! Works both via USB and also as authentic analogue controller. Expensive, but feels identical and as a bonus is hall effect based and should last basically forever :)
@@MrKelaher where is that available?
Aww.... would've preferred a rock, a jazz or a blues center, but I guess the heavy metal one is fine...
That yoke was Pentagon-funded. It was developed for the "Bradley Trainer", a modified version of Battlezone designed to simulate the gunner's position in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle (from what I can gather, it wasn't so much a formal training simulator as a kind of military edutainment device). Only a few of them were ever made. But Atari re-used the yoke design in Star Wars.
That's why it doesn't resemble the controller from Luke Skywalker's X-wing at all. It's actually an imitation of the gunner's yoke from a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
When this game first hit the arcade, the noise of the arcade and the other games against the noise of this game made this game so unbelievably cool that you felt like you were in a live-action movie. You could not wait to put your next quarter in the slot. That stary laser fire from the tie fighters, pure insanity stress. Amazing time to be in the arcade as a kid.
It was mindblowing at the time - but it is surprising how well it has aged. The vector graphics design, driven by the limitations of the hardware, now shines as a real work of art: beautiful!
As a kid you really thought of yourself as Luke in the X-Wing! Such a great game!
The alternate timeline where the Empire built a ton of Death Stars, all with the same weakness.
Palps may have gone bankrupt by then.
A weakness in the form of a thermal exhaust port that lacks ray-shielding, no less.
It's not really that alternate. Given the resources, they would have done it. They are that incompetent!
They were factory built on an assembly line, so they had the same design, maybe some built by Chevy, and gmc had different color schemes
Thousand of my quarters went into this game back in the day. My all time fav. Thanks for the memories.
This game came out when I was 11, and our local grocery store had it. I would play it the whole time my mom was shopping. I could usually destroy the Death Star 3-4 times in a single play, and had the pattern of barriers in the trench memorized. It was an extremely good game back then. The digitized speech was extremely cutting edge and a new technology, plus the colorful graphics and multi-channel music all made for an amazing arcade game of that era. I can remember getting cold chills when Obi Wan said to use the force. :)
Few better memories from my childhood than being in a packed arcade with all the sights and sounds; with a $5 bill walking to the change machine to get a pocketful of quarters.
Poetry.
I once found a $20 bill someone dropped when I went to get more quarters (this had to be no later than '84). I tried to turn it in, but no one claimed it and the worker there gave me the money. Man, I played a LOT of games that day!
The owners of one bar in my village once forgot the Keys to open his video machine. We atole It with 13 year's old and all the guys in the village played for free in every video machine in the village for weeks in 1988, because that ley opened every machine ...
Thank you for the blast of nostalgia. I played this game at the arcades after school. Used up so many quarters but the adrenaline high was worth it. I played mostly the cockpit versions: the enclosed space of the seating, the soundbites right by your head and the pace of the game hyping you up was the best. I probably never got past level five as I always died in the trench on repeat plays. It was a great game and one of the things I’d buy if I win the big lottery prize.
I never saw the cockpit version at any of my local arcade's but remember the sounds being 1 of the best parts. I can imagine being surrounded by the sound effect & voices made this much better, much more immersive. -Good times!!
You just describe me in 6th grade. I used to get in trouble a lot. There was an arcade center next to my school on the way to the subway, and I would often spend my subway money there, which meant I had to walk home instead. As a result, I would often be late getting home and get into trouble with my parents. I would sometimes be grounded for weeks, but as you always say, it was worth it.
Oh, I'd definitely buy one of the free-standing arcade games; that's what I remember.
Remember playing the cockpit version when i was really little. Mind blowing at the time.
Me too.
I saw this in 84 when I was 10 I could not believe what I was seeing 😂
@@gamebriz4163lol… you guys are a bit weird but if you were 10 I understand. I was 13 by 84 and an experienced gamer… just starting programming! This was hardly mind blowing… in fact I questioned the chef of regressive vector graphics, but I enjoyed it greatly, mainly I think due to the audio. The authentic music, effects and voices really made the game!
Like Space Harrier it delivers the 3D action nothing else could even approach. You gotta have respect for the programmers
It was September of 1984, and my mom and I were visiting my brother living in Frankfurt, west Germany. One day as we were walking on a busy street, I could hear from far away the sound of an arcade across the street filled with all kind of games. As a young teen I was mesmerized and walked towards the entrance. The very first game was this gigantic cockpit version of this game, that just blew my mind. Those were the days!
Lost count how many times I played this at Showbiz Pizza Place when I was a kid...just awesome.
Showbiz, that’s a blast from the past.
they still exist but not many left
The expressiveness of line art is wonderful.😳カッコイイ！
I remember this game coming into the arcade that I used to go to when I was a kid. There was always a big queue for it. The good old days..
Indeed... the good old days...
This and Gauntlet!
@@Glostahdude Omg, Gauntlet! Yes!
@@MR-vj8dnlove that game! My stepfather has a business that designs and builds PC boards and aftermarket screens for old Pinball and Arcade machines! Plus he owns the local Bowling Alley where he puts some of the games that he fixes!! Gauntlet is very hard to find and get it in GOOD WORKING ORDER. Been trying to find one for a decent price for a long while…. But none that are reasonable and in good working condition, nearby.
This is the first video game I can remember. It was at my local Pizza Hut. I was fascinated by the color design. Looking at it now, the fact it had real voices and 3D environments in the early 80s…..wow.
Feels like the game was about 10 years ahead of its time
It was a true 3D experience and since its Wire-frame it has awesome psychedelic effects if you get stoned. Great game all-round
Because it was ❤
The vector hardware made it really easy to do perspective 3D, because there was so little overhead for just drawing lines. And it had a great look. It was ultimately a dead end because it couldn't do anything BUT draw lines, and raster graphics caught up and surpassed it in other ways. But for a while, there, the manufacturers who used it were putting out games that looked too advanced for the late 70s and early 80s.
The video does NO justice to the actual arcade experiance though! 😂 12 years old and 5 or 6 kids hanging off the machine watching you play, the loud suround sound of the effects, the over sensitive joystick and that precious last 20c coin you just droped in that slot after waiting ages for a turn to play... Now pove yourself Luke!!! Oh the nerves. 💥
THIS 100%
So true!
This game blew my tiny little brain in 1984 when we found it in the Amusements in Aviemore, Scotland. We were on a school trip, outward bounds. Go Karts and Star Wars in the same day, amazing.
Was never a Star Wars fan but this was always enjoyable to play in the arcades. Never did find a cockpit version.
Yeah, I never saw one of those either.
The “cockpit version” was just a seat. Nothing special.
Still among the best arcade games of all time.
Man, the 80s were great! This is like a time machine back. Saw Star Wars in 1977 at the theater when i was 12. Back then life was magical. Thank you for the memory lane trip.
The graphics were top tier at the time. The audio is damn good even today - totally sets the atmosphere.
A lot of the fun of this game was the wonderful arcade cockpit.
Ah brings back memories of old Atari....love the cheesy graphics and wire model frames...like Moon lander, tank war, Tempest, space war, missile command. I miss the 80s. Great times
This game was so immerseive for the time, the controls the sounds the action the challenge level. Really takes me back.
I remember this came out when empire strikes back was first in theaters back in the 80's, and when I saw this cabinet going to the screen room when I was little, I had told myself I HAD to play it after the movie! I was INSTANTLY hooked.
I remember playing this as a kid on the GameCube as it was included as a Bonus in Rogue Squadron 3 and having a blast with it.
Oh fr?
it also had the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi Arcade games, though they arent as good as this one
Yep, still got my copies on GameCube of it, glad to see someone played it as well !
So Do I.
Awesome vector games,takes me back..... fun & simple👍
Watching this is like stepping into a time machine. Awesome, just awesome.
I remember sitting down in a seat to play this, trying to figure out how to use that weird control yoke. To say it felt like being in an X-Wing at the time is not an understatement. I wasn’t very good, but man did I love being in the arcades.
??? Seriously? You had trouble with the yolk? Pretty intuitive - takes 5 seconds… and it wasn’t the first game with a yolk. Far from it.
Ah… Memories. Loved this game.
40 years later, watching from the comfort of my chair, and those 24 minutes were exhausting! I kept leaning, cringing and puckering up the old bunghole. All the maneuvers I could never master, and all the damned obstacles I hit.
Best arcade game of the era, by far. The flight yoke was just amazing. The music and the voice synth was better than anything out there.
For all that, I almost always died on wave 3.
I played this game so much I became a Star Wars Master. I could put one quarter in and play forever. My high score was 15 million which I think took like 3 hours. I capped the score there because I was tired, so I just stopped playing and let my ship die. The world record at that time was 100 million which probably took 24 hrs or more of continuous play to achieve! I noticed in your video on wave 8-10 you used the Force. Great job! Most people didn't know if you can fly through the trench and never fire a single laser shot and only fire the proton torpedo's into the exhaust vent at the end, you get a big 100,000 extra points. HUGE thanks for these memories.
懐かしいですね。今から40年前にゲームセンターで遊んだものです。最高記録も出しました。
Great memories! I first played this videogame mid-eighties in an Arcade close to Broadway during a vacation to New York City.
The vector style was very unique, and the synthesized voices were state-of-the-art.
A great treat for a huge Star Wars fan!
I noticed it looked like writing on the Death Star when its zooming out 4:48 So I played back at .25% and sure enough it was some names. I googled them and found an article explaining its some of the developers, and on stages when its zooming in it says “may the force be with you”, pretty neat! I guess this Easter egg marks the first time developers are mentioned in credits, and they got into some hot water at Atari for it lol.
Played in when I was twelve. I was Luke Skywalker for about 5 minutes and it was a priceless experience.
the feelings cannot be described or duplicated. it was truly a one-of-a-kind experience.
Pure arcade gold. I can remember going into an arcade on the sea front at Rhyl and they had the sit-down versions of all three Star Wars machines next to each other. The sounds of the arcades in the early 80's was something else.
Thank you. Thank you for bringing up so many great memories from the youth. There was a corner store where i grew up in West Philly that had 2-3 arcade games and they would switch in new games every so often. When this game showed up it was heaven. I spent many hours being Luke, shooting down tie fighters, blowing up the death star like i always wanted to do when i 6 when the movie first game out. I was the player in my neighborhood, nobody ever beat my high score. well over 800,000. It was a sad day when i went into play one day and it was gone.
After spending a small fortune on this game when I was a kid, I had no idea there was a "Use the Force" bonus! This game never gets old IMO
What is the "use the force" bonus??
You get that bonus by NOT firing your lasers during the trench run. The only time you shoot is at the exhaust port (and hope you don't miss).
One of my first memories is sitting on my older brother’s lap in the cockpit of this game back in 1984 shooting the guns while he did everything else.
A legendary classic arcade game. And the soundtrack is amazing.
Use the arcade force, AL82.
I also have this game on my Amiga 500. Sadly, i never had it on my Commodore 64. Thanx for an awesome arcade longplay. 😺👍🕹️
May the force be with you.
I played this in 1983-1984 during lunch breaks when I was in the U.S. Army at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. There was a shoppette with this arcade game in it near the chapel where I worked and I enjoyed playing it. I played it more than any arcade game. As the levels progressed the fire power and obstacles coming at you was so fast and intense that it got your adrenaline going. I played the standing version.
I was blown away by this when it came out. The whole big cabinet, yoke and sim feel to it. It was awesome. I couldn’t imagine ever owning a computer that could have graphics that good. Now we carry around things in our pocket that would probably run every game in the arcade at the same time.
Awesome! The king of vector games. Sound, music, synthesized voice, all is top gaming experience
I used to play this on one of the old full-size arcade consoles in the pizzeria the next town over. Such wonderful memories. Thanks for this!
Such great memories of playing this when it came out way back in 1983 - forty years ago! I'll never forget the feeling of shooting Darth Vader's TIE fighter for the first time, sending him spinning off into space. It was hard to do at first, and if you couldn't, he'd shoot so many fireballs at you, he couldn't be touched.
Without a doubt the greatest ever sit-down cabinet ever made, fully immersive sound. I spent an absolute fortune in pound coins on this.
This takes my back to the golden age of the arcades … I spent ALOT of time and money on this game the fully sit down cockpit cabinet version,absolute brilliant times..
RIP the amusement arcades..
This and gauntlet the 4 player version
Outrun
Pole position
And bubble bobble..
Track and field
Astro blaster
gorf
The list goes on and on …
Please can I go back
For 20 mins their I was transported back to an arcade when things were good in the 1980s still hard but good times. Thanks for the memories.
One of my first Games I've ever played, '88 on Atari ST, great times
You can see the evolution from that arcade game to NES to Super Star Wars SNES to Sega Star Wars Trilogy arcade to Rouge Squadron 2 GameCube and to the recent games.
This game was at a Pizza Place called Mountain Mikes in Pig Pine Key Florida when I was growing up. The owner would sometimes give us 5 quarters for a dollar when when our family would get a pizza and play in the arcade. It was so much fun. Thank you for posting this.
My favourite arcade game. So many hours spent playing this over the years. Eventually a single credit would last me 2-3 hours, especially if it was in easy mode and the yoke worked.
I found one set to 9 shields with 1 given every level. Played 1 game for 5+ hours to level 112 before giving up for a bathroom break and a cigarette.
I remember this game located in two places when I was a kid. There was a "stand-up" model in the front of a local department store, and the full "sit-down" model at Busch Gardens in VA. My local arcade (Aladdin's Castle) never got it. Never forgotten the sound effects and all. Good times.
My friend and I used to play the cockpit version at the local arcade place back in the 80s. My thumbs used to hurt after playing so much!
Great sound quality! Bach when this was in the arcade's, I remember the sound effects & the voice reproduction really setting this 1 apart from others of that time. It sounds really great here- 👍
I loved this.
Vector graphic 3D video game was very rare at that time in Japan.
Thanks for nice memory.
Hard to believe this game is over 40 years old. One of the best arcade games ever made.
I first played this at college and fell in love with it. Soon after I graduated...the only machine around was found in an arcade gallery at Seaside Heights NJ. Hurricane Sandy took care of my chance of ever playing it again. :(
This brings back many happy memories and quarters well spent. I remember that highest level was fiendishly hard to navigate the trench run. Thanks for the memories.
This was the main arcade game I used to play. One of my favorites of all time
I remember playing this at the laundromat as a kid, good times with great memories
I have not seen this sense I was 13. Wow, this brings back memories. I loved playing this. Thank you for this .
OMG I'm 12 again, back in Ocean Township NJ at Aladdin's Arcade in Seaview Square Mall playing the cockpit version, spending my entire allowance trying (and failing) to beat the game ‼️ Thanks for the trip in the time machine ‼️ Greetings from this 50 year old Jersey transplant in Seattle ‼️ May the Force be with you always ‼️
Star Wars was my number 1 favorite Star Wars and Vector Game of all-time I play my first time playing Arcade1UP at GameStop
I used to play this in the seated cabinet in my favourite arcade in Sheringham (UK) circa 1984 -1987. Loved it, the tunes and sounds. Great game.
Lunch time in Manchester city centre 1983-86, into the arcade next to the Odeon cinema on Oxford Road, playing this for an hour or so, a climb into a cabin arcade game! Brilliant times, long gone.
OMG. I forgot about how great this game was. Graphics were leading edge imo. Battle zone was another game with similar graphics that I loved as a kid. Thanks for bringing back the good memories.
I want to go back to the 80s
I haven’t seen this since I played it at southerpark mall in Youngstown when I was teen. Arcades were so crazy popular back then. Feels Like it was just a few days ago! Thank you for getting this on. Miss those days and these games.
I used to play the shit out of this game, 35+ years ago!
Quail Springs Mall food court arcade - 1983. Thanks for memories - wasted time then, but see it differently now.
They had this game up in the Seattle Center Space Needle when I was a little boy. This brings me back.😀
I Loved this game. Played it all the time as a kid, and often in the cockpit version. This video is brilliant to see, and I would LOVE to be able to play it again.
On Saturdays when I was a freshman in college, my nerd buddies and I would all go get a roll of quarters and head down to the arcade at the mall. They had a cockpit version of this game. It was my all time favorite! I think it was the pacing of the game that made it so exciting…and the voiceovers of course. Seeing this video takes me back to much simpler times!
The first time I saw and played this game was the sit down version. With the 1st person view, the flight yoke, the sound effects and the dialogue samples, I literally felt like I was in the movie for the first time in my life.
Wow! Never thought I'd see this game again. I played this in 1986 while on vacation with my parents and little brother to Italy, Numana. (We went there by car, all the way from Sweden.) It was in an arcade machine where I could sit inside, like a cockpit. I have a picture of me playing it.
I remember:
- the calluses on the tips of my forefingers from endless blasting
- the distracting click of someone putting a quarter on the side of the cockpit on the little ledge to wordlessly say “I got next game”
- the thrill of blasting my initials (without making a mistake) into the high scores before the timer ran out
- this being my absolute favorite arcade game ever
Thank you for the memories, and may the vector graphics be with you! (Speaking of which, anyone remember the game Tempest? “Avoid Spikes!”)
By far my favorite coin op arcade game of the 1980s. One of the best first-person sims.
I remember playing this in the arcade in a full sit machine with a flight yoke. Total immersion 80s style lol.
This brings back a lot of memories. This game and Q-bert were the only two arcade games I could say I mastered...meaning keeping a game going for as long as I wanted to play. On Star Wars, the difficulty settings varied from one arcade to the next. What you were playing here (8 shields, 1 back each wave completed) was the most common setting. I had seen others that were 6 shields and you never got any back. Eventually, you lost playing those. I had seen others that had 9 shields and gave you 3 back each wave. Those weren't even a challenge.
My favorite all-time arcade game as a kid! Great video capture of it. Brings back such awesome memories :) My local arcade was called Tilt at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks California.
You’re the guy I was stuck behind at the arcade. No matter how menacingly I placed down my quarter to claim “next”, I still had to wait a while.
Those tie fighter sounds are cracking me up!
I put on a lot of quarters playing this game in the arcades…Talk about a good memory
My 80s mall had the sit down version. Huge line up to play.
Henry’s Playland…. Arcade Seaside Heights boardwalk, Cira 1982-1983. Thanks for taking a 49 year old back in time.
Watching this game truly takes me back to a revolutionary era in gaming. Back in the day, Star Wars was nothing short of groundbreaking. I remember feeling so engrossed, it was as if I was genuinely piloting an X-Wing, so much so that I would forget my surroundings entirely. The graphics? For its time, they were nothing short of spectacular. It's amazing to think that the vector graphics, which by today's standards may seem basic, were once the pinnacle of gaming visuals. Those wireframe 3D environments and spacecrafts weren't just graphics on a screen; they were a mesmerizing experience.
As a kid, your fingers hurt on the microswitches that were so sensitive and after level 2 it got very hard, the guy playing this is indeed a jedi x wing pilot hes GOOD!! 😀. THE BEST ARCADE GAME OF THE MID 80's, its still holds up to this day how good it was to play and the synthesised speech was cutting edge in the day the sit in arcade was comfortable, and very immersive and when you played it everyone crowded round to watch you play it. Outstanding 🎉🎉
wow thanks for the memories !!! This and tempest were my two favorite games
Awesome, it reminds me my youth, had a great time with this good game and its strange controller.
I used to play this at the Hoyts cinema on George St. Sydney back in the '80's when it was 20c a game. Loved it at the time and still think it looks great today.
The only game I played more was Major Havoc. When I was in the zone playing Star Wars I could reach levels into the 50's and higher. Such an amazing game.
Oh man, I’m 12 years old all over again! They had this game in the arcade at one of the hotels in Atlantic City back in the mid 80’s. Once a year my parents would take us there, and they’d go downstairs to the casino with my Aunt and Uncle and give me and my cousins $20 each in quarters to keep us occupied. I’d spend my entire $20 on this game. Every year that day was pure magic.
Hooks Drugs in local Mall had the sit-down version in front. Loved this game...had forgotten the sounds! Thanks!