Star Wars Follies: The First Arcade Games

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Michael returns to the world of vintage Star Wars for another Follies. In Episode XVI, get your quarters and tokens ready to play Atari's trilogy of Star Wars arcade games!
#RetroBlasting #StarWarsFollies #ArcadeGames

[@AnalogToys]

Exactly what I need during these crazy times, Star Wars Follies always cheers me up. Thanks Michael!

[@aaronstepien2363]

I really like your Action Force videos. The only knowledge we had of Action Force here in the states were those oversized UK comics that I used to find mixed in at the comic store with issue of 2000ad

[@dalek4463]

Nice

[@J-T-A]

QUARTERS! A million allowances worth of quarters! No slugs or tokens!

[@burritoboy2751]

I loved tokens because we had an arcade called The Fun Factory that gave you eight tokens for a dollar.

[@koshar44]

Yea. I had no patience for that damned R.o.t.j. game.

[@officespace7777]

I knew someone who would do the string on a quarter scam. He would put the quarter in, pull the string, and get 100 credits. 😝 This didn't work on every machine thou. Lots of times he would lose the quarter.

[@koshar44]

@@officespace7777 getting caught meant a lifetime ban!

[@dougjames4972]

Worked 7 days to get allowance. Took an hour to walk to the only arcade with THAT game. (Couldn't waste quarters on bus fare) Waited 45 minutes for my turn. Spent entire allowance. Actual game time, 12 minutes. Curse you Atari!!!!? Actually..loved every second! Thanks, Michael. for another great memory!!!

[@Y0nder_1]

Lol

[@dougjames4972]

@@deadartist8827 it was worth it to be an X-wing pilot for just a brief moment 😃

[@pnrcomps]

CRAP!!! lol, I burst out laughing! this game ate more quarters when I was a teen than anything else I could do!

[@miffedakko9312]

Man, gotta love that digitized C-3PO voice with his famous catchphrase: "Wonderful. We are now papa hepatitis."

[@gl0087]

This is still my favorite game. I even have it on my phone, but under the name Retro Wars since that's what it's called in the Google play store

[@the1truebakasama]

Yeah, I have that one, too. Wish there was an Empire version

[@deadaccountlol9189]

I remember that port, it was one of the only games I had on my phone.

[@justinbradshaw5112]

Yep, downloaded that very game onto my Razor 2 gamer phone this morning. It's brilliant!

[@vgrepairs]

gyro aim?

[@Sano1970]

Great vid! Vector color graphics looked so cool in a dark arcade!

[@Sano1970]

The Arcade 1up cabinet is sooooo tempting! Great coverage!

[@daschyt2225]

Trust me... it's worth it!

[@SteveSpikes]

I second that. If you can, buy one. You won't be sorry.

[@benwillis124]

Yep absolutely worth it! Love the A1U cab!

[@darrellr267]

I just bought the Arcade 1up 3/4 scale of this game. It includes Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. My favorite Arcade games was this Star Wars, and Galaga.

[@joeyjojo5986]

playing this game in the arcade, nothing beat the joy of hearing han shout "you're all clear kid" as you blew up the Death Star. as a kid you couldn't beat it!

[@josephvalenzuela311]

I loved playing Star Wars and Return of The Jedi in the arcades. Born in 1970 here.

[@HectorMartinez-si2xy]

I remember old pizzeria long ago back 1983 in the back corner of pizza restaurant salon ,yes was there that Star Wars arcade ,the same you showed in the video. I close my eyes and I see me as 9 year old boy played waiting my father ordered the pizza ! ......Thanks Michael to bring me back that's memory of my childhood!

[@skabcat242]

Seeing a new Star Wars Follies really brighten up my day.

[@koshar44]

First time ive heard of this . I do remember the Return of the Jedi game but boy was it a quarter eater! I was more of a Galaga guy. I miss mall arcades.

[@aaronstepien2363]

koshar44 don’t we all...

[@longann7560]

Hey Micheal great vid, I bought my unit in November too at full price, not regretting any inch of it. This for me too was my childhood definitive # 1 arcade machine. I was 10 and i used to pick up empty cans on the beach during summer time just to play that game (when there we're no one playing it of course). I even took down my yoke on my A1up unit to apply some silicone grease on the springs especially the one that controls the x axis. The reason why your yoke looks very stiff and gets stuck on its way back when you turn it all over to the left or right, is because the spring they used is directly in contact with plastic without any lubricant. The metal spring will eventually grind the plastic overtime and then it get stuck and squeaks. Mine was squeaking after 1 months, so i took it apart and added some WD 40 silicone grease on the spring and its housing and trust me it makes a huge difference. Mine is now smooth as butter and plays close to the real unit. When i turn all over to the right for example, and release it, it will keep on swinging from left to right for a while until it stops. Yours does not even go back to center so it must be pretty stiff and it shouldn't be that way. Your good at dismantling toys, so this shouldn't be a problem for you. The spring is tricky to put back into place but it only has to be set back into its groove, than you twist and close the housing and your done. Anyway just wanted to say that its easy to do and its definitely worth it and will also prevent premature use of your yoke. Not mentioning my yoke played even better once lubricated than it even did when i first bought it. They should have lubricate those parts at the factory but guess its cheaper that way. Just wanted to give you that hint. Cheers !

[@PlainKen]

Best Follies Ever!! Just before the end I was thinking "Eh? No Broken Vader?" Then he shows up and I couldn't be happier!

[@snogurt]

Still my favorite Star Wars game! The immersion is second to none.

[@paristhalheimer]

I was 6yrs old when Star Wars hit theaters. The Star Wars game was by far my favorite video game. I have no idea how much money I sunk into the arcades in Point Pleasant, NJ (beach community with ba boardwalk). Thanks for sharing this.

[@skinc4rver]

At my local Dave and Busters (which I despise... bring back REAL arcades) there is a massive star wars pilot simulator contained in a globe. It's an insane experience, definitely blew my mind.

[@aaronstepien2363]

Right... why go out with friends and make an evening of socializing when you can be home alone with your own massive collection... I hate the current paradigm as well

[@SteveSpikes]

I received an Arcade1up STAR WARS cabinet over the holidays. It was shipped, and did not arrive until a day or two after Christmas. When I saw it being unloaded, I was like, No way! No way! No way! It's a nice addition to my Rampage Arcade1up cabinet. Like you, Michael, I absolutely love this game as a kid. I was all over it when we had an arcade at our church festival on year in the mid-80s.

[@cypherian2]

Another Great Video! This brings back so many memories! When I was growing up in Northern California, within a short bike ride of my house, was an arcade that no longer exists that was owned by a movie theater that also no longer exists! But it was my favorite hangout in the Summers. Man, I miss that place! Arcades as they were back then were a singular experience. Just walking through the door and being slammed in the face by the wall of sound generated by all those machines running at once was a deafening din of pure digital delight! They did not get this game until the Summer of '84 when I was 12. I can't remember how many quarters I spent the first time I played this. They had the sit down version, and words fail me in describing how immersive that was. Now I wish I had the money and the space for a few of these Arcade 1UP machines!

[@agentbull616]

Loved this game as a kid. They had the sit down one at my local roller rink. So many birthday parties sat playing this game with roller skates on.

[@necron99.aka-sammyboy92]

My favorite is where, Ham Salad told Fluke Starfooker “ relax kid, it’s only a movie”! ....he he he , WAIT...that was Hardware Wars

[@BigAL68xyz]

You bet your asteroid, kid.

[@Drawkcabi]

Ocean City, MD! We always went there at least once a summer, if I was lucky we went twice. . The arcades on the boardwalk, they were the best arcades around at the peak of 80's arcades. They had ALL the games! They had the Star Wars game and I loved the deluxe version! The only place I could play it was there. I got in trouble because my two-years-younger-than-me niece wouldn't get out of the machine. She had no quarters left, I had quarters. I pushed her out and made her cry. I got a talking to by the arcade manager. I still feel bad about it today.

[@quietman71]

I remember the local arcade, Two Bits. That place was THE arcade, as far as I was concerned. Super Pac Man, Gyruss, Tempest, Joust, Popeye, Crystal Castles... and Star Wars. I couldn't believe what I was looking at when I first started to play that one. To this day, it's one of the most fun arcade games I ever played.

[@TheLavadiver]

I grew up in San Jose CA in the 1980s, and we had a two story Chuck E Cheese that used to be a toy store. The top level had all the arcade cabnets and the Star Wars Xwing sit down was front n center. I loved that game! thanks for sharing it's history and sequels with us!

[@theviking6052]

Man.... brings me back! That why I love this channel! We are the same age!

[@garym6315]

Ah this explains why I remember it vaguely too. I was 5 at that time and it was around 1984/1985 that I really remember getting in to Star Wars.

[@Frankenstyleish]

I played this game so much as a kid it became my legal guardian. And I'm so jealous that you had a Vectrex! I remember standing in the isle in Hills department store just staring at them intently, trying to teleport one home out of sheer desire.

[@roosterj2599]

I played this game every chance I got. My dad has a friend that rented video games to big events. He had this game and would always plug it in for me when we would go visit. It was all mine for hours. My mom and dad in the house partying and me in the warehouse with my home made rebel flight helmet. Yes! It looked awesome!

[@mikecuntala9675]

I remember playing an aged deluxe sit-down version of the original star wars game at a place similar to where you played it. This episode really takes me back! Thanks guys!

[@mannyestacio8658]

I was lucky to have played all three Star Wars arcade games at my local arcade when I was growing up, and became proficient at all of them. I even mastered the art of "using the Force" to blow up the Death Star! Watching this video recaptured the thrill of those days, and I could actually feel my heart start pumping faster as I relived the experience through your video. How envious I am of you, Michael, that you've got all three in your living room. I was 13 when Star Wars exploded onto the screen, and I'm a life long fan. Thank you for this nostalgic trip into a cherished time of my life. I'm glad I stumbled onto your channel, and I'm a happy new subscriber.

[@retroblasting]

Thank you, Manny!

[@thorn0581]

The convenience store two blocks from my house had the stand up version in their small arcade area. They used to run give aways like a free 32oz fountain drink if you scored over 500, 000 points. They didn't realize if you start at medium difficulty and beat the level you are already at 400k. Such good memories.

[@bigmclargehuge4767]

We had the Atari versions of Star Wars and Empire. I sure miss these big arcade games. We had a Shakey's Pizza instead of Showbiz, and it was always a huge treat to dump our quarters into Golden Axe and Ninja Turtles...Thanks, Michael!

[@Barzyz01]

I was such a nerd for that game that in 1986, Schweinfurt Germany, Zaphon's bar, my Lieutenant watched me play up to level 20 and I was chosen to be a Bradley Fighting Vehicle gunner. The games yoke was identical to the Bradley. So awesome!!!! I qualified as a gunner later that year.

[@standepain]

Just what I needed after this horrific week! Thanks Guys!!!

[@jasonrohatynchuk4986]

Fun times...Back in 2001 I stayed at Rancho Obi-wan and played theses all day in the museum. Memories...

[@D.Pensak]

Superb video! Great nostalgia trip and very informative. Thank you! And keep up the good work.

[@williamburke1731]

Thank you for this fun & nostalgic trip down memory lane! I played this game CONSTANTLY at our local mall back in the day! But, before this one, there was a gem of a game called "Star Fire" in 1978. It was pretty much the first "Star Wars" wannabe at the height of the movie's popularity, where you had to shoot down these cool TIE fighter-looking ships. I must've pumped at least thousands of dollars worth of quarters into this one, before the Atari version came along! Great memories!

[@Yogurt1701]

Best video yet! And thats up against some stiff competition! Well done! Watching this took me back to a very happy time in my childhood. You guys rule!!! :)

[@m.p.jallan2172]

Great thanks, those sit down Starwars cabs used to be very common, right until the very end of the arcades. Even playing the Mame Rom in 1999 was still a thrill.

[@Gideon0297]

THANK YOU so much for this video!!! This was The One game for me as well!!! Keep up the great work guys!!!

[@alexisrivera202]

My aunt's husband, Mike Hally, made the first Star Wars arcade. Good stuff.

[@11cfschroeder]

Thanks Michael - well done as always. I didn’t even know about the ESB version. Love these trips down memory lane!

[@zathras61]

Great video! I played the sit down version at a Jerry’s nearby. My cousin was Luke. I was Wedge. We made my little brother Porkins. Funny thing was he was better than my cousin and me put together. Great memories. I haven’t thought about that in years. Thanks Michael!

[@brianw94]

Thanks for this video! Seeing the cabinet brought back a lot of fun childhood memories!

[@RiverwalkFunHouse]

Great video! Loved every minute I spent on this game too.

[@gjb301]

Great video!!! I might have to get one of these as well. Really brings back the days in the arcade.

[@EpicallyCasual]

I remember playing the ESB game in Auckland airport, New Zealand back in the 80's....I never realised it was a conversion kit.

[@DutchZippy]

Nice! I'm glad someone else felt the same as me about that ROTJ game - you pretty much recreated my full experience with it in this video.

[@matthewterry9818]

That explains why I never saw an ESB arcade game. I saw tons of Star Wars and Return of the Jedi cabinets at arcades but never ESB. I didn't even know there was one until Arcade1Up made the cabinets. I always learn something new from Retroblasting.

[@jdenoe69]

Star Wars Arcade from Atari will always be one of my favorites. Thank You for spotlighting this wonderful video game, Michael.

[@ryferguson9733]

I love your channel. Thank you for all your work.

[@vandanrosario2473]

This has to be one the best and most hilarious Star Wars Follies yet Michael

[@jasonotoole1822]

Great video! I loved this game too as a kid and Empire was such a great game too. Thanks for covering it as well as you have! Exactly what I need right now...escapism to when we didn't have to do anything like self isolation...

[@captainobvious9233]

Imagine making a cockpit style cabinet for 'Star Wars Squadrons' then going back in time with it and placing it in some random arcade in 1982. Watch people's heads explode.

[@daschyt2225]

Thank you so much Michael! This is one of the best SW Follies videos and (as Tony mentioned) couldn't have come at a better time! I totally agree (14:28) that SW is closest to my heart, but ESB is such an awesome game. FYI, after watching this vid I was inspired to play ESB and smashed my record score - 605,404.Thank you for doing what you do and (as printed on the Death Star... if you look closely) May The Force Be With You!!!

[@SaturnCanuck]

Micheal, thanks for this. Being older than you (I was 19 then) I'm not sure how many quarters I spent playing this -- and enjoying every minute. A great game and worth it!

[@peppermintspacecapsule9898]

Played the arcade game and had it on the Commodore 64. There was a glitch that allowed you to fly unscathed down the Death Star Trench!

[@JONNYSORENSEN_AU]

In the old arcade (Wizards) in Christchurch, New Zealand (where i grew up) they had the sit down version of the Star Wars arcade game, with the full roof over your head and speakers, and man it really felt like you were flying into that trench run. Great fun.

[@Truthseeker1515]

This brings back so many memories....This cabinet came to replace "Pole Position" in 1984 at my local mall. So few SW games during the 80s!

[@Drawkcabi]

I had the Vectrex. I kept it at my grandmother's condo so I'd have video games to play there whenever I went. In addition to the built in Minestorm game, I had Spike, Solar Quest, Pole Position, Armor Attack, Star Trek, Bedlam, Web Wars, and Art Master with the light pen that let me draw on the screen.

[@Dylanio21]

I knew little to nothing about these, this was super interesting, great job!

[@candoentertainment9118]

Played the sitdown version as a kid in the arcade in the mall. Purchased the Arcade1UP cabinet last fall. Love it.

[@MRK1973]

Awesome video! Great memories too!I used to play those games on the seafront in Southend, in the UK in the summertime. Star Wars and Empire were the sit in cabinets. I then bought the empire game for my sinclairspectrum +2 from a London game show. It was excellent. Cheers Mike that was great.

[@Geek_Chorus]

THANK YOU FOR THIS! Really needed it!

[@O.G.Trashboat]

I have fond memories of begging my mother for quarters every time we went to the mall to play the arcade game star wars. I loved the yolk control. You can actually buy the cabinet now from Walmart. I think 1up is the maker

[@brycevo]

Those arcade games are so classic. I also really love their modern equivalent

[@kristophersmotherman6114]

Why does it feel like every episode was made especially for me? We could have been friends, if I had those back then.. Going to hop over to the Mall formerly known as Hickory Hollow and the surrounding areas and get some pictures of what has become of Toys R Us, Circus World, Service Merch, and our other common nostalgia hubs we never visited together...lol. "Han Hurry! The Fleet will be here any moment!"

[@jakeandzack5763]

My dad got that Arcade1Up cabinet for Christmas last year as a treat for himself. Before then, we played those Star Wars games on the MAME32 (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator 32-Bit) System: a program my dad had on his PC since maybe a few years before I was born, and still has today.

[@pawlie7694]

Great work on this Michael! I had no idea that Empire arcade existed. Some of my fondest childhood memories are from Show Biz. Hearing Obi Wan’s voice while sitting in that deluxe arcade blew my mind!

[@shadowgb]

The sit down version was great. I loved this game. Always played it at the bowling alley.

[@GomerKyle1979]

I grew up in Dickson TN right down the road from Nashville. I remember Showbiz pizza in Nashville in the 80s Although I only went only a few times I remember the games. Ah the good old days.

[@deadaccountlol9189]

Very well done! I remember finally coming across this beast a couple summers ago in Santa Cruz.

[@shoestringscifi]

Wow! What fun! Somehow I missed pretty much the entire video game arcade experience, despite being a Gen Xer, but I can imagine really enjoying this at any age. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about these games!

[@absurdityis3925]

We gotta get back to the past, to the twentieth century, digging through the bubble wrap into your memories!

[@markrickert6592]

Hey how cool! I also grew up in Nashville and went to That same showbiz pizza and have very fond memories of it. It is now Chuck E cheese. It's funny because I've been listening to your show this past year and really enjoying each episode. Only to find out that we grew up in the same area. Here's a sad fact. Rivergate mall is now an office building.

[@TheEvilpossum]

I remember seeing the Empire arcade game exactly once, all the way into the early 1990s. It was stuck in with other games at a tourist attraction in southern AZ. I remember seeing the Hoth and asteroid field stages in demo, but I didn't play it and I don't recall anyone else doing so.

[@jeffreykistner5872]

Well done as usual!!

[@baron7755]

0:10 SAME! First time I got my butt pinched was at a roller rink playing this game. I spun around, she giggled and ran away.

[@nostalgicyoutuber5098]

As soon as I saw footage of the game in person, I immediately thought about the arcade 1up, then I saw it, and it looks awesome! To quote Hans Gruber: “I have two myself” very good products,

[@jedipoodoo]

This made me dig out my old GameCube and play Rebel Strike again. Great stuff, and at least I now know I'm not the only one frustrated with that Return of the Jedi game lol

[@jamesnoble8205]

ROTJ should've been a vector game like the other two instead of a frustrating Zaxxon clone

[@djnary2896]

How I loved, loved, LOVED the SW arcade game! I was excited enough when I was 9 when it first came out, but in junior high ('86 thru '88) I don't even know HOW MANY hours and quarters of allowance money I wiled away on this game!! (Sometimes pretending it was the F-16 simulator in Iron Eagle and I was Doug Masters, saying "Alright you bastards!" as I hit the 'hard' option and began play!) The arcade at the BX at Mountain Home Air Force Base (where I was living at the time) had the stand up console, while my visits to Showbiz Pizza in Boise had the sit-down version and the Return of the Jedi game. I HAVE to get me the 1-up cabinet!!!!

[@aaronstepien2363]

DJ Nary I just watched this video @ 3 times and I’m sold as well. With the money that I’m going to save by staying home the next few weeks, I think that it’ll be a nice “placating reward for myself”.

[@djnary2896]

@@aaronstepien2363 heck yeah!!!! (I do have it on a MAME disc, but it's REALLY hard to play using a mouse!!!😝

[@hisforheretic1765]

Great vid! Takes me back to being a teenager hanging out at Aladdin's Castle in Fayette Mall. Never knew about the Empire conversion. Looks very interesting.

[@vintagesentimentalenthusia2248]

Great review! I was only able to play the original version in arcades a few times as a kid, but as soon as it came out on the 2600, begged my folks to get it for me. Spent hours and hours playing that version and had a blast, albeit with a bit of imagination to convince myself it was up to par with the arcade version. Never saw the ESB version until a couple years ago at a retro arcade bar. Loved it!

[@justinbradshaw5112]

Many thanks for vid, Guys. I remember blowing a week's pocket money on that game in the arcades and didn't regret a penny. Inspired by this vid, I've just found and downloaded an incredible homage to this game from an app store. Stay safe and be well.

[@AL-ws5yi]

I suck at video games but I still have nostalgia for old arcade games.

[@WyldstaarStudios]

This past weekend I stopped at a garage sale, and I found a Vectrex for $20. They had it plugged in and running so that anyone who came by could see that it still works. I couldn't pass it up. Strangely enough, I think this video is the first time I'd ever heard of the Vectrex. I have no memory of seeing this as a kid on display anywhere, and my brother and I always went to the video game section of any store that had one to play the demo games.

[@johnr7279]

Ace video RetroBlasting! Like #697. It just did not matter that the Star Wars video game came out well after the movie. It was still in the hearts and minds of...well, most kids back then it seemed. My brother and I had an Atari 2600 and I remember The Empire Strikes Back by Parker Bros. With 2600 games, there was just not as much hardware capability for game makers to work with but this one was a winner. It was great because it gave you that cool Star Wars feeling at home. The 'playability' of the vector-based Star Wars game was really something and the sounds was really special as well. The arcade was a pretty cool place. It was kind of like a bar or club but one that you could go to as a kid. Thanks for the walk down video game memory lane! ;-)

[@trekjedi]

Bravo sir! We had a similar story growing up only my trips were to Chuck E Cheese here in Louisville.

[@justinthomas7222]

Wow, great video! I learned a lot about video game tech here. I really like that "Vector" style of graphics too. Never knew what it was called.

[@warface4881]

RICO'S Pizza in downtown Placerville, that's where I first played the STAR WARS game. There was a kid who showed gave me some tips and told me how to "use the force" and he was the only one that I ever saw that was better than me at this game. I had seen some scores that blew mine away but I never saw who left them. Never even heard about THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK game. It looks epic!

[@tdegrddeehjgd]

I'm sure I can remember playing the Return of the Jedi game on the Amiga 500 in the early 90s. It was a close proximity at least.

[@aaronstepien2363]

Amiga was the best early 1990s home gaming platform, hands down.

[@alanbrady9609]

Great video, I have a Cockpit with a multi Esb/SW kit. I can tell you it’s a real time machine as I feel 10 everytime I get in it.

[@1dbanner]

BRAVO, MICHAEL!!!

[@Creatures1982]

Awe man that ROTJ game I use to play as much as I could as well as Star Wars. I never even knew about The Empire one. Thanks for the info!

[@wellfit1511]

Amazing, love it

[@buzzclearwater4819]

Hell yeah! As a kid once I saw this game I didn't want to play anything else either!

[@yvonnerogers6429]

😂😎💯👍🏻❤️🙏🧼 That was great! I was a Showbiz kid, too, only I never played these, probably because I was too little. I would’ve played had I found them! The vector graphics remind me of the Death Star pre-flight briefing in Star Wars. Makes it more immersive in a way, like you’re an actual X-Wing pilot in training. Best. Stay safe.

[@tubeviewerX20]

Cool, I never knew those vector graphics existed in video games back in the 80s.