As a Star Wars fan, this game was slightly disappointing.
THE GOOD
-Lots of Star Wars universe presented
-Great visuals and level design
-Excellent sound
THE BAD
-Cheap difficulty
-Almost impossible to avoid taking damage
OVERVIEW
Super Star Wars is loosely based on the 1977 classic movie, Star Wars. You start off with Luke Skywalker, a young kid just learning the ropes of his new found power called the "Force". Luke has been inadvertently thrown into an intergalactic war between the Imperial Empire and a ragtag group of rebels when two droids named C-3PO and R2-D2 cross his path. The droids are on a mission to deliver a message to the legendary Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The message contains a distress call from a Rebel leader named Princess Leia. Obi-Wan takes Luke under his care to follow the path of the Jedi and rescue Leia from the Empire led by the infamous Darth Vader. Fortunately, Luke doesn't have to do this alone as he finds help from two smugglers named Han Solo and Chewbacca. Like I said before the game is loosely based on the story to keep up with the platforming and action.
GAMEPLAY
One thing that works really well for the game is the fact that there's plenty of Star Wars stuff to go around. The level design really fits the theme whether your pub crawling through the Mos Eisley Cantina or flying inside the Death Star's trench. There are many familiar characters and environments so those Star Wars fans out there will feel right at home.
The controls aren't the greatest but they're decent enough for the game. Each of the three playable characters (Luke, Han and Chewbacca) can fire their blaster in eight different directions, jump and dive roll/slide. Later on, Luke will pick up a Lightsaber and gain extra abilities. Han and Chewy can only use blasters, however, Han is a faster shooter and Chewy has a larger health bar. This eliminates the monotony between characters as each one plays slightly different. The average controls make the platforming aspects feel a bit unpolished; you'll probably end up falling off the edge a few times.
Most of the game is viewed in a side scrolling fashion but there are a few levels in 3D (these involve the use of several spacecraft like the X-wing). This is a nice addition to the game play and spices things up. However, the mediocre control scheme takes some of the fun away.
There are many enemies to fight your way through from Storm Troopers to Jawas (yes I said Jawas; remember, this is loosely based on the real story) and there is plenty of action to go around in Super Star Wars. Unfortunately, the cheap difficulty makes it way to easy to take hits. For example, on the first stage there is a point where an endless amount of green mantis-like monsters just keep jumping out at you from behind some rocks in the scenery. The annoying thing is that they'll jump out right on top of you giving you a half-second to react which ultimately ends with you taken unavoidable damage and boss fights are even worse. This kind of cheapness is seen throughout the entire game and is very frustrating. The game does make an effort by giving you an abundance of hearts (health restoration) but typically it's not enough.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
Visually, Super Star Wars is pleasing to look at; especially the 3D levels. Star Wars fans will enjoy seeing many familiar aspects from the Star Wars universe. The level design, like I mentioned before, is very well organized and fun to navigate through (too bad the controls can't quite keep up).
Most (if not all) of the soundtrack comes straight from the movie. Greats like the Imperial March and Main Theme are presented and really make the game quite enjoyable to listen to. The sound effects are another great aspect that this game has to offer. Whether you're blasting away Tie Fighters in your X-wing or deflecting incoming projectiles with Luke's lightsaber, the effects are just as satisfying as the movie.
CONCLUSION
Super Star Wars could have been a really fun game to play. The level design and audio will excite any Star Wars fan. Unfortunately, the cheap difficulty and mediocre controls hurt this game. I wouldn't recommend playing this game unless you are a complete die-hard fan of the series. As a huge Star Wars fan myself, I was disappointed and absolutely frustrated the entire time I played the game. All in all, the Force is pretty weak with this one.