Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

"Now You Will See That Evil Will Always Triumph, Because Good Is Dumb."

Super The Empire Strikes Back is by no doubt the hardest of the three Super Star Wars games. In fact, this may just be one of the hardest Star Wars games period. I was able to get through the original Super Star Wars with no problem, but this game proved differently. This game came out not long after the original, in 1993. Unfortunately, I didn't get this masterpiece until 4 years after its release at an Albertsons, but I did get it at a greatly reduced price. But enough about that, let's get on to the review, shall we?

Gameplay 10/10: Excellent. The controls are very well done in this game, as it is in all the Super Star Wars games. If you push B, Luke jumps. Push Y, Luke attacks. There are also new and cool attacks in this title. Luke has better lightsaber attacks, and Force powers.In the original game, Luke could only do two types of lightsaber attacks. This time he can do overhead assaults, jump attacks, low attacks, and the standard, midlevel attack. He can even block blaster bolts too! Han Solo has bombs to throw which makes him more powerful than before, and Chewie can do a short, but devastating new spin attack. What more can I say?

Challenge 10/10: This game is not for your average video game player. The level of difficulty is so great, that it can even leave veteran gamers retrying the game over and over again. It's hard even on easy mode! Thankfully, there are few points in Super ESB that are frustratingly hard. Most of the game is hard in a fun way. In my opinion, I'd say that the hardest parts in the game were the battles with Boba Fett, and the one with Darth Vader.

Story 10/10: The game, for the most part, is like the movie. The Galactic Empire discovers the Rebel Alliance's headquarters on Hoth, Luke Skywalker goes to see Yoda for help with his Jedi training, and Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Chewbacca travel to Bespin to seek shelter from the Empire. Eventually Luke catches up with his friends on Bespin, but soon realizes that Han Solo has been encased in carbonite, and is to be taken to Tatooine by Boba Fett. And, Luke is forced to duel with Darth Vader, who reveals himself to be Luke's father. In the end, the bad guys win, but the story is great anyway. There are some points in the game that are different than in the movie, but it just makes the game more interesting.

Graphics 10/10: The graphics in Super ESB are noticeably better than Super Star Wars, but Super Return of the Jedi is still superior in graphics to this game. One thing that has been improved immensely was the lightsaber animation. The characters all look better that before, except for Chewbacca (He looks exactly the same in all 3 games). The 3-D flight levels look better than in the original. That's all that really needs to be said.

Sound 10/10: The music in this game sounds exactly like it does in the movie! The sound effects are awesome as well. The lightsaber sounds more realistic, blaster shots sound great, and the taun-tauns sound as weak as they do in the movie. And that's a good thing.

Playtime/Replayability 10/10: This game is sure to keep you busy for hours. It did for me. If you're not good at this game, you probably won't ever want to play it again after you get a few game overs. If you ARE good though, well, that's a completely different story. You will want to play this game again on Jedi mode, to see how far you get before you get a game over.

Rent or Buy? Well, considering there are very few places in the world where you can rent a game this old, I suggest you buy it.

There you go, my review on Super The Empire Strikes Back, the hardest Super Star Wars game of all time. Now go out and spend your hard earned cash on this game. It's worth it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/13/03, Updated 03/13/03