Star Wars

Gameplay

Star Wars recreated the Death Star trench run from the 1977 film in first-person color vector graphics. The game had three phases: a dogfight with TIE Fighters, a surface battle shooting laser towers on the Death Star's surface, and the climactic trench run ending with a torpedo shot into the exhaust port. The player used a flight yoke controller to aim their X-wing's crosshairs. Digitized speech from the film played throughout.

Historical Significance

Star Wars is widely considered the finest color vector arcade game ever made. It was one of the highest-grossing arcade games of 1983, earning exceptional revenue even as the industry entered its crash period. The combination of the beloved Star Wars license, first-person color vectors, digitized movie dialogue, and the flight yoke controller created an unmatched immersive experience. It was available in both upright and sit-down cockpit cabinets.

Fun Facts & Legacy

The game used digitized speech from Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi), and James Earl Jones (Darth Vader) from the original film — one of the earliest games to use real movie dialogue. The sit-down cockpit version is one of the most collectible arcade cabinets in existence, regularly selling for thousands of dollars. Atari produced approximately 12,695 units across all cabinet styles.