Mar 11 2009
“Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” (1994) *****
Story
“Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” closely follows the plot of the film it is based on, “Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi”, with the exception of a few levels that weren’t in the film such as Luke Skywalker fighting through the Death Star in the third act in order to reach the final boss Emperor Palpatine. For those of you who don’t know, I’ll try to break it down as short and simply as possible: Luke Skywalker, now a Jedi Knight, heads to Tattoine with his allies (Leia, Chewie, R2, and 3P0) to rescue their friend Han Solo from Jabba The Hutt. Once that is done, they head for the vacant moon of Endor where Luke must confront the evil Emperor Palpatine and redeem his father, Darth Vader. Meanwhile, the rebels engage in their final battle on the new Death Star and the evil Empire.
Graphics
SImply astounding for the Super Nintendo. All images are crystal clear and very pleasing with well-drawn
out characters.
Controls
They’re pretty much the same as they were in “Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”. The controls operate with immense fluency, regardless of what difficulty level you select. It even has its password saving system too.
Gameplay
You can now take control of Luke Skywalker in his full Jedi Knight stage and his blaster-equipped buddies: Han Solo, Chewbacca, and recently added, Leia and Wicket the Ewok. Don’t get me wrong, even though Luke has mastered his powers, this is nothing like taking control of a Jedi on an XBOX “Star Wars” game. You begin the game with the rescuing of Han Solo from the slimy Jabba The Hutt then to the forest moon of Endor and finally the fully-operational second Death Star.
You will do battle with bosses such as Jabba’s Palace Door Droid, the Rancor beast, Darth Vader (who is a bit easier to beat this time around), and finally the ultra-difficult Emperor Palpatine who is very unforgiving with his levitation and lightning-shooting abilities.
Overall
“Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”, also known as “Super Return of the Jedi”, was awarded Best Movie-to-Game in 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. In addition, it was also awarded Best Game Gear Game of 1995 by EGM. It’s no wonder they did because this game has a lot of replay value and is a few steps up from “Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” as the challenge effect has been lowered a little, it’s still a difficult game to beat but it’s definitely not as hard as that second game.
This was the last and the best that we saw of “Star Wars” gaming until the X-Wing and Tie Fighter games on the PC/MAC and the finally the PlayStation/XBOX line of “Star Wars” games. For a more enhanced, fun, and upgraded level of playing, I’d suggest trying “Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy” for the PS2/XBOX which contains games based on all three of these films, although they are in lego format, they’re far more entertaining and enjoyable.
Rating: *****
