Trying to beat the original Star Wars 1983 Atari Arcade Game! I Think i Can Do It!

[@gozirraizroose]

When Obi Wan says "Use the Force. Luke",. it means, if you can get through that section WITHOUT SHOOTING, you get bonus points.

[@richbiles230872]

37 years later, I learn something. Thank you.

[@JeffBarberDigideus]

the sit down version of this game is the one game I want to own in my lifetime.

[@kenoreilly2826]

I played the sit down version for over 36 hours on one credit in my younger days :)

[@briansmith5921]

"Use the Force" during the trench run. Fly down the trench without firing your weapons until you shoot at/destroy the exhaust port and you will score a bonus. This is easiest to do on the first trench run on easy mode.

[@macdaddyns]

Thanks for the flashback, to 1984, reminded me of my best friend in high school. He was going for the world record on Star Wars, and I was going for one on joust. After 10 hours he started hallucinating and eventually both games crashed, killing our chances.

[@NBAGreatestGamesonClassicCourt]

It was not a hallucination. That was the Force running through his Mind. Thats how Luke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star. He closed his eyes and saw pictures and visions so clearly to be succesful. Thanks for the Story. I was worried for a second but i think everything was ok pretty quick.

[@twistedyogert]

What was he seeing? Tiny spacecraft flying around the room?

[@Meatball2022]

I had a few friends that used to go back and forth with a Guinness world record for the game Zookeeper. They used to publish the records back then.

[@NBAGreatestGamesonClassicCourt]

How much Love and Dedication they put into this Game and the Arcade-Cabinet. It is Awesome. Thank you so much for the Video.

[@mrmustard-mp6ij]

This brought back many memories of eight- or nine-year old me at Tilt, used to love this one. I'd hop between this and Space Harrier all day. Good times. Thanks!

[@ratlordfx4219]

Oooweee that thing is sweet. Thanks for the upload, i learn something new in every video

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Rat Lord we appreciate you hanging out with us!!!

[@JefesGarden]

My son's name is Lucas, and when he was learning to feed himself, he'd get frustrated and use his fingers, and I'd say "Luc...use the fork!" 😂

[@LyonsArcade]

Cute :)

[@escargotomy]

OMG...I must have dropped a hundred bucks in quarters into this thing when it came out! I was in junior high school that year and we'd hit the arcade at least 3 days a week after school. This was one of my faves! SO cool to see it in action again. I always loved the Atari stuff. They had that original one Starship ( I think) which was kind of like a Star Trek thing several years earlier than this one but still so cool. Then came Lunar Lander and Battle Zone and I was totally addicted from then on. They also had Red Baron which was also one of my all time faves. And Tempest of course! Great stuff.

[@spudthegreaterusa8386]

Totally forgot about Red Baron. Loved that one. Born in 68 and when I about 10 through 13 i spent the first half of the morning at the bowling alley on Saturdays. I had league games at 9 am, my dad would drop me off before 8 on his way to work and Id play video games as I could afford. This one was my favorite. I liked most of them though. Red Baron was awesome though. wouldn't mind seeing that one again.

[@michaelbloom5342]

Absolutely nothing can even approximate the look of a vector monitor. They really are something special, and Star Wars was the best of the best.

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah it was a great example of the designers knowing how to utilize the technology at the time to really make a fun game. It was very well thought out! Thank you for watching, Michael!

[@michaelbloom5342]

@@LyonsArcade I'll have to come visit your store sometime. I'm down near Columbia, so not too-too far. A little over an hour, I guess.

[@VulpisFoxfire]

I wonder..do you have a Roadblasters cabinet around? That used the same yoke as well, with the up/down axis locked and a curved bar attatched to the bottom.

[@yandman26]

Great to see a new arcade video, I hope you're going to do one on that red tent in the background

[@LyonsArcade]

I will

[@andymouse]

Such a cool cabinet, this thing had it all ! great that you got it back to its best, the guys that designed the yoke deserve a thumbs up, cos think of the battering that the thing went through night after night !..your breathing bit was spot on !...had no idea you could get so much for an old monitor, I shall keep my eyes open for them cos I just love CRT monitors..they really do look so bloody cool, some nice shooting there at the end.....and I agree, it " ain't the same "...cheers.

[@JBar387]

Vader's ship was a Tie Fighter Advance X1 great video! Keep up the outstanding work!

[@LyonsArcade]

Thanks Jbar we appreciate you watching!

[@calmarsh7853]

Still one the best games ever . I remember the one you sat in I beat it a the old wood hill mall in Columbia South Carolina when I was a kid.

[@blacksiddha]

ahhhh... the memories flood in. If I remember rightly you get a large bonus for flying the trench (or maybe the whole game) without shooting anything. using the Force...

[@ThomasGrillo]

This is an amazing cabinet! You might try recording at 29, or 30 FPS when filming vector type monitors. Those buttons will let you fire faster when you cycle through them rapidly. Thanks for the video.

[@jaybrooks1098]

There is a trick in the game. The audio takes time and sound samples take more time. The 6809 1.6 mhz can’t keep up so if you fire all your blasters all the tim it slows the game slightly so you have enough time to target all foes or in the maze levels move to the correct spots.

[@twistedyogert]

Pfft, cheater. 😝

[@Valitzu777]

Love watchin your video's Ron... I could listen to you for hours :) Question, is it a similar display to the "Vectrex"?

[@LyonsArcade]

Yes both are vector monitors same basic idea ! Thank you for watching!

[@Penfold8]

I was born in 78 too. I did play this at the local mall arcade called No 1 Fun. It was the cabinet you can sit in though.

[@jayden6538]

empire strikes back was the last vector game ever released. exidy developed one called top gunner after that but it was never released.

[@LyonsArcade]

I didn't know that, that's interesting. I wonder if they planned on making it a dedicated machine but switched it to a kit when they decided it might be the last one?

[@jayden6538]

@@LyonsArcade they probably figured not many arcade operators wanted to buy a vector game in 1985 and so they made it a kit. vector games were popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s but by 1985 they were pretty much done for.

[@psy0rz]

Wow that looks GREAT! Especially for that year!

[@LyonsArcade]

It's a clean machine!

[@fiskrond9212]

well done on restoration.. bloody hard game to play! :-)

[@StargliderGaming]

Surprised you didn't mention that the dots on the Death Star as you approach/leave it is actually writing that alternates between "May the force be with you" and the programmers names.

[@LyonsArcade]

I didn't know that!

[@thomasraven]

I'm watching you play and I just realized I was leaning back and forth trying to influence your moves. LOL! I guess the force isn't strong with me.

[@MoxyDave]

Really appreciate your videos on these old-skool games. This was my childhood and Star Wars was my favorite. I bought the Arcade 1up Star Wars to relive the nostalgia, and it does a pretty good job. No, it's not quite as vibrant as the old vector game but it's pretty good. It was out of production for several years and became very expensive on Ebay but Arcade 1up is making it again! I'd buy a Star Trek SOS one too if they offered it. Major Havoc was another one I loved. It's a pity Star Trek was such a terrible machine. Not too many left after they all burnt up!

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah that monitor was a beasssst! Thank you for watching Dave, glad you are enjoying your machines!

[@josephcote6120]

Nice trip down memory lane here. Back in 82 or 83 my college had one of these games in the student union. I was never all that great at it, but my friend Lance was. I don't remember the exact scores, but he'd have his initials on the top 5 every time.

[@evilash570]

Such a great classic game!!!

[@kennyjones6369]

I blew so many quarters over the years on this great game, And i LOVE the sitdown version

[@LyonsArcade]

It was slightly before I started playing games and they were all broken by then but I get to play them now... .

[@osgeld]

This is my all time favorite arcade machine if I see it I NEED to play it

[@getinge]

Wouldn't mind that red tent in back 😁

[@LyonsArcade]

We’ll have some videos of that up soon!

[@matthewglick9822]

I remember playing this at my local chuck e cheese but it was a different cabinet. One of my favorite games I played there.

[@tedbrogan1]

They had the sit down version at my local Chuck E Cheese. I think I once got yelled at for hogging the game when I was a kid

[@thesunreport]

Your camera might have a kind of 'free scan' mode to deal with things like the screen flicker and flourescent lights.

[@LyonsArcade]

Unfortunately this one doesn't seem to....

[@thesunreport]

@@LyonsArcade Oh well...maybe something to look out for though if you ever upgrade your camera. Cool video btw...reminded my of my younger days. :D

[@theoldar]

A great game, and Arcade1Up makes a great 3/4 scale version of it that includes The Empire Strikes Back mod, plus the non vector Return of the Jedi, all in one cabinet.

[@astateato]

I have this. Arcade1Up did a great job with the cab/yoke and display.

[@curbydinobot8633]

I liked return of the jedi unlike most people, but then again I love Zaxxon and it's similar

[@RiverOfBlacklights]

For the cost of only a fraction of that Arcade 1UP machine (which is still cool, don't get me wrong, especially the new sit-down model), you could get all 3 games, _'STAR WARS',_ _'SW: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK'_ & _'SW: RETURN OF THE JEDI'_ if you owned a Nintendo Gamecube and a copy of the game, _'SW: Rogue Squadron III - Rebel Strike'._ You could unlock all 3 games either by playing the game or with a code...

[@astateato]

Yeah but you don't have the Yoke with the gamecube. The Yoke is what makes the game so great IMHO. I guess I'm just a traditionalist, as a true scale original Star Wars in decent condition is mega expensive, but the Arcade1Up offers really close to the original, exact original really, just a bit smaller.

[@RiverOfBlacklights]

@@astateato But the games are what really counts. Besides, the Gamecube controller was pretty precise. Not to mention, if you had a good home theater system hooked up to your TV, the sound you got was as good or even better than any arcade machine. Again, for the price? Not a bad trade-off and they look every bit as good. Plus, you got the _'Rogue Squadron III'_ game as well, to boot. Like I said, I like the Arcade 1UP unit but, despite it's cool nostalgic features, the GC game has a lot more to offer, imho...

[@bamboozledgreatcrowd8982]

This was my go to game at a Lake Geneva arcade.

[@twistedyogert]

Was there any reason why raster graphics fell out of favor? We're there limitations with how much could be drawn? If my knowledge is correct, raster graphics are accomplished by the computer directly controlling the position of the electron beam. Also, it seems like these machines broke down a lot.

[@LyonsArcade]

Raster is the standard way of doing it, like a t.v. CRT you're talking about Vector graphics... but yes I assume they stopped using them beause of the limitations, everything had to be straight. So they couldn't draw curves with that technology at the time at least.

[@brentboswell1294]

The local Peter Piper Pizza had a sit down version this when I was growing up...

[@LyonsArcade]

Very cool I’m always glad to hear where people used to see them back in the day!

[@coyotefurtrumpet]

Back in the day if the controller was worn out of calibration, it made the game a real bummer. We use to search out good machines, cuz then you had real accurate cross hairs. The only way to achieve good high scores. A bad machine the cross hairs would vibrate when you held the controllers still. Thanks for the flash back.

[@jaybrooks1098]

You have to sync the screen refresh rate to the shutter. Since vector has three beams doing their own thing.. it’s probably pretty fun

[@hoodro2]

Fan is short for fanatic.

[@LyonsArcade]

Yeah no shit

[@lewishowery9202]

Hey Joe how much does this game run if you can even find one

[@psy0rz]

Just adjust the shutter time to get rid of the flickering.

[@LyonsArcade]

Mine doesn't appear to let me

[@MattMcIrvin]

These vector monitors don't make it easy to sync a video camera with them, do they?

[@LyonsArcade]

Mine doesn't have the ability to sync with it but you could probably do it with a more expensive camera and some extra wiring, etc.

[@SonOfAldabarran]

I always preferred the sit down cabinet, it was a lot more private & felt like you were in the X-Wing.

[@LyonsArcade]

I always preferred when people would leave comments that were positive. You went out of your way to publicly state this game isn't as good as another one. Why do you do shit like that? Think about it, get mad at me, point out how I'm wrong, tell me I'm over reacting, but eventually understand that you went out of your way to say this one isn't as good as another one. Why do you do that?

[@joes9545]

Joe's Classic Video Games I think you may be overreacting to his comment. Considering what people say in comment sections, this was pretty tame and more of an observation than an insult or being negative. On a side note, great video and amazing game. I remember when it was first released in the arcades. I was blown away.

[@SpearM3064]

@@LyonsArcade You ARE overreacting. He's not getting mad at you. He's not pointing out that you're wrong. He's just saying "I _observe_ that I preferred the sit-down version." If he was talking about an entirely different game, that's one thing, but he's talking about _the same game._ The only difference is that you get to sit down and it feels more like you're sitting in an actual starfighter. You _seriously_ need to learn the difference between an observation and a criticism. You might also want to learn the difference between criticism and _constructive_ criticism, because you seem to have a problem telling the difference there, too. Like that guy yesterday that pointed out that B-E and B-C can seem okay, but E-C can short. Now, I'm sure you already knew that. You fix arcade games for a living. Maybe you _did_ make that measurement and just didn't show it on camera. The point is, he was trying to help you improve your technique (that's called constructive criticism) and you SNAPPED at him. If you keep acting like this in the comments section, you're going to start losing subscribers. They're here for cool arcade repair videos, not to have their head twisted off just because they didn't fart sunshine and rainbows at you. If you're expecting nothing but positivity, then you're going to be horribly disappointed, because this is the Internet. You want to know how to avoid negative comments? Disable the comments section. Then you don't have to worry about negative comments... or positive ones either. Now, because I hate being entirely negative: This is another one of those games that I blew most of my allowance on when I was younger. Stand-up version, sit-down version, didn't matter. I had to have my fix. It was nice to see that this turned out to be such a simple fix compared to some that you've done. If I remember correctly, you mentioned that this came from a local vendor who still operates an arcade or something like that? He obviously takes good care of his games, but I bet he's glad to have you nearby whenever something goes wrong.

[@NBAGreatestGamesonClassicCourt]

How do you know how it feels in an X-Wing???? Luke, is that you?

[@LyonsArcade]

SpearM75503, his whole point of the post was to say there's better. Why even say that? it's just a bullshit negative comment. Nothing positive about it, just wants to say there's something better, and it's the ONLY THING he wants to say. Ignores anything positive he liked about the video, just bitches. Meh... could have been better.

[@DavidR-ub2dp]

Nice its finally working

[@sturkrazee288]

Awesome game! I also liked ROTJ when it came out....even though it wasnt vector

[@dbetts3087]

That game brings back memories

[@seanstar8349]

Dang I can almost smell the pizza again. Stuffing it down so I can run back into the game room.

[@the40yogamer]

looking good screw lcds

[@orcmansoso9970]

Shame I never got to play this until I was in my 30's. Never seen it at any arcade, mall, or bowling alley. No. A friggen laundromat! At least it worked and was fully intact.

[@VulpisFoxfire]

Also...it helps on the surface runs to shoot the *tops* of the towers, not the bodies of them. :-)

[@TrickyZ33]

its funny while watching this video I can hear sound effects taken from other Atari arcade games like asteroids and centipede. Also sounds a bit like Tron.

[@maccustoms2295]

Love the game such great memories and yes star fox for super nintendo had a level similar to this with those towers or whatever you wanna call em . But starfox fails in comparison to this classic. Great video 👍 have a great weekend.

[@atranfanatic]

Yeah my local arcade had the sit down one and it's so freaking cool! The only problem is I am 6' 5" and it is cramped for me. lol And wow you were born in '78? I was born in '74 and people still think I look younger. lol

[@CMOR117871]

How much are these worth today?

[@LyonsArcade]

If we had one it would be over 3K.

[@Slammy555]

It's a TIE fighter, which is an acronym for Twin Ion Engine. I would guess, I certainly wouldn't know that off the top of my head... :p The 3 numbers are x, y, z spatial coordinates. I would guess...

[@CasioGreg]

even fans would know that's darth vaders tie fighter... fanatics would know it as Darth Vader's TIE Advanced x1

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for the criticism, Nerd

[@katenunyabizness9221]

Bigger fans would know you can't blow up his fighter in this game, just farm points off of him. A hit makes him tumble until he regains control and comes back for more.

[@SWR112]

One of the best ever 😁👍 played that to death as a kid think it was 20p a time in the U.K.

[@Meditech509]

Being a big kid is the best.

[@SODSzo]

An Oled replacement screen would look good with vector graphics.

[@Synthematix]

No way, they suffer the worst from screen burn

[@michaelbloom5342]

Not even close. Nothing out there can even approximate the look of a vector monitor.

[@memyopinionsche6610]

Believe in the FORCE RON!

[@stuffthings1417]

You can prob choose 24 fps in your camera.

[@LyonsArcade]

I'll look into that next time!

[@TreadwellJay]

That is still a different refresh rate than the monitor, so it'll still happen.

[@stuffthings1417]

@@TreadwellJay The optic effect will be different. Might be better, might be worse.

[@Software_Issue]

2:21 you sound like vader to me

[@flightofapaullo72]

So freakin cool!

[@MattMcIrvin]

...So here's the thing I got to wondering about this game. The thing everyone loves the most about this game is that famous control yoke--it just feels so good. But it doesn't resemble anything from the movie at all! Luke Skywalker's X-wing just had a control stick, like a jet fighter's. (It's a little more like the gunner's yoke in the Millennium Falcon, but that's not depicted in *this* game.) So where did it come from? I was talking to a friend about this and he said the yoke was actually designed for the Army's special version of Battlezone that Atari made as a trainer for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It's made to resemble the gunner's control handles in the Bradley. Don't know if that's true, but I looked it up... afvdb.50megs.com/usa/pics/m3bradley.html Yeah, scroll down to the picture of the gunner's controls on that page and there's a definite resemblance.

[@MattMcIrvin]

Apparently true: arcadeblogger.com/2016/10/28/bradley-trainer-ataris-top-secret-military-project/ The reason there are all those buttons that do the same thing is that they had different functions on the Bradley.

[@gregshergold]

Film at a slower frame rate.. try doing the screen at 25fps... see if you get better results. That way the monitor refresh will completely fill frame, where if your filming at 60fps, only half the screen with be drawn. Seems counter intuitive, but it should work.

[@Synthematix]

What a fuckin awesome game!

[@jd-ey7vn]

Retro video games are very cool, but nothing beats a game of pinball. No gravity in a video game.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you for being a whiner and complaining that this isn't a pinball game, please go be negative somewhere else. You may be a commenter on my videos, but nothing beats a positive commenter. No self awareness in the negative commenters.

[@tchmilfan]

Lunar Lander and Gravitar

[@Acorn0005]

You can't "Beat" this game. It just goes on indefinitely until you lost all your shields and get blown up.

[@LyonsArcade]

I thik i'm real close....

[@ovalteen4404]

Yep, old-school games are just like life: It just keeps getting harder until you die.

[@MattMcIrvin]

@@ovalteen4404 "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy." --Albert Camus

[@thegreene3]

haha my initials were in the game RLM. :)

[@80sretrogamer]

AWWWW you could of at least hummed the theme tune hahaha u cant win with some people lol

[@LyonsArcade]

Sorry to disappoint you, i'll try harder next time

[@AndrewAHayes]

I don't know why the wings on Vaders ship were curved like they are as aerodynamics don't work in the vacuum of space

[@jaybrooks1098]

You want to beat the game 1,000,000,000 pts rolls the score to 0. It took a tag team of three people 5d:2h:26m to get. So... no beating this game lol

[@yuwish6320]

Congrats! But.... you can't beat this game. No one can. It doesn't end. As someone with a stupid high score on this, trust me.

[@LyonsArcade]

Thank you Yu Wish I appreciate you confirming it for me :) I'll see you on the next video, thank you!

[@backslash_iii]

I think Vader's ship is called a Tie Interceptor but I'm not a fanatic either that's probably wrong.

[@memyopinionsche6610]

After the 3rd death star you have blown up.. You should start wondering how many death stars do they have.. Then emperor palpatine starts laughing his ass off. Then says you've been playing a game the whole time.. Then you say.. THE DARK SIDE BEEN MESSING WITH ME. OBI-WAN KENOBI DID YOU KNOW THAT? Then OBI-WAN says. I don't know...it's new to me..

[@vacationtrooper6806]

I really wanted to enjoy this video then you said “ it had a “Star Treky look” ...... so I had to block the video

[@LyonsArcade]

I went ahead and blocked you so you don’t accidentally enjoy anything

[@wolfenstein722]

I remember playing this 35 plus years ago, I thought it looked and played brilliantly but watching it now at the age of 54, I can’t see the attraction anymore, that’s me getting old....