Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

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a game by Parker Brothers
Genre: Platformer
Platforms: NESNES, GameBoy
Editor Rating: 7/10, based on 8 reviews, 9 reviews are shown
User Rating: 8.0/10 - 2 votes
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See also: All Star Wars Games

The Empire Strikes Back by JVC is a great sequel that's a step above the excellent Star Wars game. It has a storyline that's religiously faithful to the movie, awesome graphics including digitized stills of all the stars, and precise gameplay.

Facing Imperial Competition

Unlike the movie, The Empire Strikes Back doesn't let you sit back and relax. The nine no-nonsense levels are as rough as giving a Wookie a haircut. Even with the nine continues, you're hard pressed to finish the game. That's great news for Star Wars fans. We didn't want the series to end anyway.

As in the Star Wars cart, you become Luke Skywalker. If you've seen the Star flick, the end of the cart is no mystery. However, getting there is radical fun! You seek out Imperial Probe Droids on Hoth the Ice Planet.

Proceed to battle the Imperial Walkers there, and then fight your way through Imperial Storm Troopers while evacuating the Rebel Base. Next, you train with Yoda on swampy Dagobah. Once you master the Force, you fly against Cloud Cars in the skies surrounding Bespin the Cloud City and then drop to the city to battle more Storm Troopers and rescue Princess Leia. Then you fly your X-wing fighter against Boba Fett's Slave 1 space cruiser. Finally, you face the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader -- but don't give in to the Dark Side of the Force.

ProTips:

  • Armed with your blaster, you can beat the big Snow Beast boss on Hoth from here.
  • If you're hit while riding the Tauntaun, it takes the damage not you.
  • Don't leave Hoth without the Light-saber. It's underground on the first level.
  • At dose range, the Lightsaber dispatches enemies more quickly than the Blaster. For example, one slice whacks the regular Snow Beasts on Hoth.

Star-studded Looks

The graphics and animation are out of this world! They're so superior to those in the Star Wars cart that you wonder if both games were made by the same people. (They were). There are great digitized images of the Star Wars crew: Han,Leia, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Lord Darth Vader. Bad news for Wookie watchers, however, no Chewbacca.

Chewie's absence aside, this cart has some great graphics for Star Warriors. The Cloud Cars, the TIE fighters, Boba Fett's Slave I spaceship, the Imperial Probe Droids, and even the Storm Troopers' snow uniforms are intricately detailed and look like they were lifted straight off the silver screen. You can see the Tauntauns' lungs move as they breathe. Their breath even forms mist as it hits the icy Hoth atmosphere. A particularly fine touch is the 360 degree animated view of flying vehicles as they turn.

You see them from every angle, just as you do when you watch a real aircraft make a turn.

Using the Force

Empire's packed with great gameplay features. On Hoth, you can ride Tauntauns, dismount to explore, and hop back continue your ride. Versus the Imperial AT-ST Walkers, you attack them in your Snowspeeder. If you're shot down, you can continue the battle with your Lightsaber on foot. You can even commandeer a Walker and drive it, too! Later, you pilot ah X-Wing fighter in an intense sideview aerial combat: once against the Cloud and again versus Boba Fett.

If your Snowspeeder's shot down on Hoth, you can run back to base to get another.

Your Star Wars sidearms, the Blaster and the Lightsaber, function from several different positions. Shoot the Blaster in five angles, and swing the Lightsaber at four angles.

If it seems that the Lightsaber is not producing the effect you need, by swinging it from a different angle.

Every video Jedi wants to become strong in the Force. Here you can, and it's much easier than trying to learn from Yoda. Throughout the game you'll find icons for seven Force Powers, which you can switch at any time. You can jump higher and farther than normal, run faster, reflect enemy shots, levitate, augment the power in your Blaster and your Lightsaber, and use the Force to heal yourself.

No Dark Side

The Empire Strikes Back is as good as an NES action adventure cart gets. You get excellent hand-to-hand fighting and top-notch aerial combat. The graphics are stunners. Even the sounds stand out with great effects and ear-pleasing music. Even if you aren't a Stars Wars fan, let the Force be with you.

Download Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

NES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • P-200, 32 MB RAM
Gameboy

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

The Empire wasn't pleased with the destruction of the Death Star and now they have some unfinished business with the Rebels, namely Luke Skywalker.

With Han Solo and Princess Leia as bait, Darth Vader plans to lure Skywalker and turn the Jedi pupil toward the dark side of the Force.

With the guidance of the Master Yoda, Luke learns the many powers of the Force which will help him along in his quest. Young Luke must also use his Snow Speeder and X-wing piloting skills as he battles giant Imperial AT-ATs, Cloud Cars and TIE fighters!

The ongoing cinemas with dialogue will appeal to the Star Wars fans as they feature the main characters of the film. The cool soundtrack from the blockbuster hit is also played during your adventure - a different tune for each level.

So pick up your GameBoy and get ready to make the jump to light-speed and watch your aft-thrusters!

Princess Leia and Han Solo are the bait in Darth Vader's trap for Luke Skywalker. To save them, you must learn the only thing that can conquer Vader - The Force. Aim your Game Boy for Dagobah, where you'll hone your skills under the wise instruction of Yoda. Then take off for Cloud City where Vader's army awaits. But even if you make it, remember, Lord Vader himself must still be conquered!

You thought you destroyed the evil side of the force in Stars Wars. Well, he's back, and more powerful than before. Master the force in time for your battle with Darth Vader.

Battle the Empire

Did you ever want to BE in the Star Wars big screen adventures -- "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "The Return of the Jedi"? This game makes you feel like you're a part of it all, but it won't reveal its charms easily -- the nine levels appear to be serious thumb burners!

You become Luke Skywalker as you battle Imperial Storm Troopers on Hoth the Ice Planet and in Bespin the Cloud City. Yoda helps you become strong with the Force on swampy Dagobah.

The graphics and animation are out of this world! They're so superior to those in the Star Wars game that you wonder if both games were made by the same people (they were). There are great digitized images of the Star Wars crew -- Han, Leia, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Lord Darth Vader. The Cloud Cars, Boba Fett's Slave I spaceship, the Imperial Probe Droids, and even the Storm Troopers' snow uniforms look like they were lifted straight off the silver screen.

Empire's packed with great features. On Hoth you can ride Tauntauns, dismount to explore, and hop back on to continue your ride. You pilot a Snow-speeder, an X-Wing fighter, and an Imperial AT-ST Walker. You even develop eight Force Powers including Levitation, Healing, and Mind Control.

Doing Justice to the Jedi

There doesn't look to be any Dark Side in this game. The Force will be with you soon.

This action packed space RPG is based on the second movie in the Star Wars trilogy. Join Luke, Han, and Leia as they battle the Dark Side and Darth Vader across different worlds. Ride taun-tauns, fight imperial soldiers, battle in a spectacular Lights-aber duel, and more.

In Star Wars for the NES you become Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia as you aid the Rebel Alliance in its struggle against the evil Galactic Empire. But the Star Wars movie saga didn't stop there, so neither does JVC and Lucasfilms Games. The Empire Strikes Back for the NES is due in early '92.

Using the Force

It's still in the preliminary stages of development, but Empire already looks like a knockout! As with Star Wars, the game is non-linear so you can choose different paths to play. There's also a mix of game-playing perspectives, side view horizontally scrolling fighting and first- person shooting in an X-Wing fighter.

The graphics and animation are a notch above those in Star Wars, which weren't too shabby. But this time you get digitized images of the Star Wars bunch and the art's much more sophisticated.

The game packs nine levels. Once again you become Luke Skywalker as you battle the Storm Troopers and Imperial Walkers on Hoth, the Ice Planet, and on Bespin, the Cloud City. You also hone your Force powers with Yoda on swampy Degobah.

Empire's packed with great features. On Hoth you can ride Tauntauns. Dismount to explore and get back on to continue your ride. And since Luke becomes strong with the Force, he develops eight Force Powers including Mind Control, Levitation, and Healing.

Reaching for the Stars

This game looks like a stunner. Hold on to your light sabers, Star Warriors, the Empire's ready to strike back in a big way!

This 2D-Action platform video game released in 1992, was published by Ubi Soft Entertainment Software and developed by Sculptured Software, Inc., LucasArts.

The storyline of the game is basically the same as the movie it is based on. The main goal is to destroy the Imperial Probe Droid. The player takes on the role of Luke Skywalker. You need to travel through Hoth, Echo Base, Dagobah, Bespin and Cloud City and have got your blaster pistol, lightsaber and force power skills to fight with. Along the way will appear such enemies as Darth Vader and Boba Fett. And will also R2, Master Yoda and Obi-Wan to advise you on weakness of the enemies. Then you should keep and eye for some things that were not in the movie. For example, trying to beat Boba Fett's ship, Slave 1, and fighting Cloud Cars. During the Battle of Hoth the player can board a snowspeeder. As soon as Skywalker finds out about the Force, he increases Force Powers to help during the missions.

Grab your Lightsaber, Jedis! Although the Death Star was destroyed in Star Wars, Darth Vader isn't finished with you Rebels, yet. In Capcom's Empire Strikes Back for the Game Boy, you play the leader of the Rebel pack, Luke Skywalker. You're trying to evade the Storm Troopers on your way to save Princess Leia and the gang.

Fighting the Evil Empire

In this complex, multi-scrolling, side-view adventure, you wind your way through various highly detailed, futuristic terrains. Starting out in the ice caverns of Hoth on aTauntaun (a kangaroo-like creature), you can decide whether to ride or run. After finishing off the Snow Beasts, jump into your Snowspeeder and continue to fight. This time you're up against AT-AT (Imperial Walkers) along with the Storm Troopers. If you get past their arsenal, you're off to the Echo Base and then on to your search for the Jedi wise man, Yoda.

After your Jedi training, you'll be the right Jedi for the job of fighting TIES in Bespin and rescuing your friends in Cloud City. You're not done yet. Han has been captured by his old adversary, Boba Fett. Once he's rescued, return to Cloud City and save Princess Leia. Then, it's off to conquer the Dark Lord of the Sitti, Darth Vader (your lohg-fost father). He'll be waiting for you in a final showdown. Who said Jedi work was easy?

Force-ability

The Empire is no easy enemy. Darth has hit men out in full force, tuckily you have some fighting power on your side, and of course, the Force. You begin with multidirectional gunfire. Then you can find Force icons, which enable you to draw upon eight Force Powers: jump higher, run faster, reflect your enemies' shots, enhance the power of your Lightsaber, enhance the power of your Blaster, levitate, convert Force Ability to Health, and the Graph Eye. However, even after finding an icon, you can only use these powers when you're on foot or riding a Tauntaun.

Not only is the game play complex, so are the graphics. Although Luke is a little sprite, he's easy to see. The enemies are also small, but they're deadly! The graphics are detailed enough to recognize all of Luke's modes of transportation right off the bat, such as the Tauntaun and the Snowspeeder. However, it's good that Lens Crafters makes glasses in an hour, because you may need them after staring at this extremely dark screen.

As for music, you get a tinny rendition of the theme song. Use your Force to turn the music off.

Jedi Joy

The Empire Strikes Back is a Game Boy adventure you won't want to miss. Put a few hours aside, because Luke's mission is a long one. You'll die a few deaths before you become Jedi material. Remember, use the Forde.

ProTips:

  • When you run across the Spiders in Dagobah, stand on the ledge and shoot diagonally down at them. If you jump off the ledge and try to destroy them on level ground, you'll be all tied up.
  • When travelling through Dagobah on your search for Yoda, watch out for Elephant Slugs. They come out of holes that you'll pass in the walls.
  • You'll find the Ughtsaber Force in the Ice Cavern by dropping down and heading to the right. You'll reach a ledge guarded by two Snow Beasts. Jump off your Tauntaun and run right. Jump over to the ledge on your left and getaway from the ledge's right edge as soon as you can.
  • After you've used all of your missiles against the AT-AT Walkers, fly to the next Walker and crash your Snowspeeder. You can then run underneath the Walker and shoot up at its belly. You can even crawl inside and shoot it from then.
  • You only have five missiles to use. Use them wisely! Shoot one as soon as you see the AT-AT Walker. After you pass him in your Snowspeeder, double back and make sure he's down.
  • Not every wall in the Ice caverns of Noth is a dead end. You can blast your way through some to find power-ups and passages.

Snapshots and Media

NES/Famicom/Dendy Screenshots

GameBoy Screenshots

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