Super Star Wars is the first of a series of three Super Nintendo games based on the original three films of the Star Wars series, released in November 1992. In 2009 the game was released on the Wii's Virtual Console and on November 17, 2015, it was ported to PlayStation 4 and Vita. The term Super Star Wars can refer to the first game or the entire series. All are essentially platform games, although they all have stages which feature other challenges, such as driving a landspeeder or piloting an X-wing fighter. All three also feature multiple playable characters with different abilities.
The game's manual added a number of names and details not spelled out in the game itself.
Contents
Opening crawl[edit | edit source]
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Plot and gameplay[edit | edit source]

Title screen
Super Star Wars generally follows the Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope plot closely, with some changes made to suit a platform action game. Characters have to fight their way from scene to scene. Instead of simply buying the droids from the Jawas, Luke Skywalker meets C-3PO in the desert, then fights his way into and through the Jawa Sandcrawler to rescue R2-D2. The player characters, not Obi-Wan Kenobi, shut down the tractor beam after fighting a number of enemies.
The player is able to initially control Luke Skywalker, then can choose Han Solo or Chewbacca as the game progresses. Other levels have players control Luke's landspeeder and an X-wing fighter.
Levels[edit | edit source]

Luke Skywalker fighting in the Tatooine desert.
- Dune Sea - Boss: Sarlacc Pit Monster
- Tatooine I (Landspeeder)
- Outside Sandcrawler
- Inside Sandcrawler - Boss: Lava Beast Jawenko
- Land of the Sandpeople
- Land of the Banthas - Boss: Mutant Womprat
- Tatooine II (Landspeeder)
- Mos Eisley
- Cantina Fight - Boss: Kalhar Boss Monster
- Escape from Mos Eisley - Boss: Hover Combat Carrier
- Death Star Hangar Bay - Boss: Imperial Defense Droid
- Rescue of the Princess - Boss: Detention Guard Boss
- Tractor Beam Core
- Death Star Attack
- Trench Battle - Boss: Darth Vader's TIE Advanced
Weapons[edit | edit source]
- Laser Blaster
- Flame blaster
- Proton Seeker
- Rapid ion gun
- Plasma Wave Blaster
- Lightsaber (only as Luke Skywalker)
Power-Ups[edit | edit source]
- Plasma Shield - Temporary invulnerability
- Thermal detonator - Clears screen of enemies
- Health (Small and Large) - Regains health
- Time - Increases time to finish the level
- Bonus - Multiplies the number of points by 2
- Health Sword - Increases size of health bar
- Extra Life - One more life
Enemies[edit | edit source]
The game manual refers to many Cantina aliens by their singular names, but since multiple versions appear in one scene this list assumes they are more than one of the same species.
- Aqualish (as "Ponda Baba")
- Bantha (mini-boss)
- Bounty hunters
- Devaronians (as "Labria")
- Duros
- Boulders
- Eyeball Droids
- Factory droids
- Gonk Droids
- Imperial spider droids
- IT-Class Interrogation Droids
- Jawa Pods
- Jawas
- Kubaz (as "Garindan")
- LIN Mine Droids
- Maintenance droid (Mos Eisley) (mini-boss)
- Mechanical claws
- Mouse Droids
- Mynocks
- Ground Level Automated Defense Droid Systems (GLADDS)
- Rodians (as "Greedo" and "Breedo")
- Sandworm
- Scorpions
- Shistavanens (as "Sivrak")
- Spidertaurs
- Spitapillar
- Sandtrooper or Stormtrooper officers
- Stormtroopers
- Stormtroopers with E-Web blasters
- T0-D interrogation droids
- TIE Fighters
- Turrets
- Tusken Raiders (Sand People)
- Womp rats
- Worrts (as "Drogs")
Appearances[edit | edit source]
Characters | Creatures | Droid models | Events | Locations |
Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
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Creatures
![]() The Sarlacc Pit Monster
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Droid models
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Events
Locations
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Organizations and titles
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Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
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Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
Critical reaction[edit | edit source]
The entire Super Star Wars series earned mostly acclaim from both critics and fans. Its graphics were considered cutting-edge for their time, with the driving stages employing Mode 7 graphics, a primitive form of 3D of which the Super Nintendo hardware was capable. Particularly well-received was the game's lush sound, with its accurate representation of the film's famous John Williams soundtrack. On the negative side, the entire series would develop a notoriety for its unforgiving difficulty, which would often frustrate even skilled players.
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]

Screenshot of the unused level
At one point, the game was to include a garbage compactor level, where the Dianoga would likely be the boss. Early press images included a screenshot from that scene.[2]
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
- Super Star Wars Official Game Secrets
- The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
"Join Us!"—Star Wars Insider 160
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑
20th Anniversary History, Part Two: The Classics, 1990 - 1994 on LucasArts.com (backup link)
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue 37
External links[edit | edit source]
Super Star Wars in the StarWars.com Cargo Bay (content now obsolete; backup link)