Star Wars - 50,000 for Shooting All Towers

[kisrael]

My 50th Birthday Gift to myself was an Arcade1Up Star Wars - I wanted one when we got the new place, but I'm glad I had to wait for the 40th anniversary re-release, since they make the front look a lot more like the original (the way the old version puts the name of the 3 games it plays on the front is like how halloween costumes used to put the characters face on the plastic poncho even if there was a mask...)

Anyway, I always loved this game, but now I understand it a little better. (like how "use the force" means there's a bonus if you don't fire guns til the very end of the trench run) - but I still don't get "50,000 for Shooting All Towers". It seems almost impossible? Like I *think* the towers loop right, it's the same 3 or 4 sets? But then it feels like there always some off to the side...

Anyway, these Arcade1Ups are pretty cool. I know purists don't dig 'em, and they ain't THAT cheap, but in terms of maximizing space (and weight!) and having respectable custom controls, they are pretty awesome. I'm sort of tempted by TRON, if they got that spinner right, combined with the sound of the lazer (Actually I would almost just love a desk toy that was the spinner that made that laser noise)
 

 

[Flojomojo]

Happy birthday!

 

The towers are not impossible. I used to bulls-eye womp rats in my T-16 back home. 

 

The towers loop in the same patterns, and you should be able to shoot up a cluster or two each time they pass by. Don't be afraid of leaning into the corners. I can do this fairly consistently, and I believe you get bigger multipliers on later levels. 

 

I have the same unit and I really like mine. I was watching auctions for the full size original but I'd just as soon not have something with ancient parts like that. The computer module for this is tiny, like a pack of cards, not the little city of circuits that powered the 1983 original. 

 

If you're big enough to haul that giant sousaphone around, you could probably use some more height. Rather than a stool (arcade games are for standing up!), you might like these little furniture risers. They'll get your arcade machine off the floor and protect the cabinet from spills. I went with the ones in the picture here.

 

[TampaBay]

@kisrael Happy Birthday! That Arcade1Up Star Wars is awesome.  I have one and I play it all the time. 

 

I'm so glad you posted this.  I too had never cleared all the towers because I'm more interested in preserving my shields, but when I saw this just now, I went over and played it to see if I could do it.  Success!  Here's the key:  You don't actually need to clear *all* the towers that appear on the screen as they pass.  You just need to clear the towers in your flight path.  The tower field is more like a "spherical planet" and you return to where you started as you progress through the field.  Towers will continue to pop up so that you can get the 16 required.  So if your flight path takes you toward the right side and there's some towers all the way on the left, you don't need to steer over to the left to get them right away.  Just stick with the ones generally in front of you in your flight path and try not to miss any.  It took me quite a few tries, maybe 15 or 20 minutes of getting a feel for it, but I eventually did it. 

 

Here's a YouTube video with someone showing some tips and tricks.  The towers start at minute marker 3:10.  You can see in the video that she clears "all" the towers even though there are a few all the way to the left that pass by that she doesn't get in that pass.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2Ks5fBLeZg

 

Enjoy your new Star Wars!  It's a lot of fun.  I really like The Empire Strikes Back game on it too!

Edited February 15 by TampaBay

[kisrael]

Heh, yeah. I like learning new things like "you can shoot down laser blasts even through barriers" (which makes sense when you think about the computers involved)

 

the towers is my favorite part, like it's the only part where you feel you're a bit less "on rails" ( https://arcadeblogger.com/2017/06/16/atari-star-wars-arcade-cockpit-development/ was a great read - interesting to see at first they tried to put you as the millenium falcon gunner, which is a little truer to the mechanics of the game - but about 1/10 as cool as darting around in an X-wing)

It would be interesting to try and adapt the controller to other similar games - Star Fox 64 or Rogue Squadron 2. I guess most such games need more than 4 buttons though.

 

The other Arcade1Up unit that appeals is TRON. But I'm not sure the space and budget make sense for me, as appealing as the spinner and "kakaCHOO! kakaCHOO!" sound is...

(custom arcade control hacking scene must be fun! I'd almost love to see like "fidget spinners")

 

[kisrael]

ahaha I never even notice that there's a status display of how many tower tops left to go!

[TampaBay]

4 hours ago, kisrael said:

Heh, yeah. I like learning new things like "you can shoot down laser blasts even through barriers" (which makes sense when you think about the computers involved)

 

the towers is my favorite part, like it's the only part where you feel you're a bit less "on rails" ( https://arcadeblogger.com/2017/06/16/atari-star-wars-arcade-cockpit-development/ was a great read - interesting to see at first they tried to put you as the millenium falcon gunner, which is a little truer to the mechanics of the game - but about 1/10 as cool as darting around in an X-wing)

It would be interesting to try and adapt the controller to other similar games - Star Fox 64 or Rogue Squadron 2. I guess most such games need more than 4 buttons though.

 

The other Arcade1Up unit that appeals is TRON. But I'm not sure the space and budget make sense for me, as appealing as the spinner and "kakaCHOO! kakaCHOO!" sound is...

(custom arcade control hacking scene must be fun! I'd almost love to see like "fidget spinners")

 

 

@kisrael That article was great!  Thanks for sharing.  Lots of interesting info.

 

You and I have the same taste in games, haha.  Tron is also one of my favorites.  Funny, I just posted a day or two ago on this forum, if you didn't see it, about an 80s arcade by me, and I mentioned in my post that Star Wars and Tron were my two favorite games there.  I actually bought the Arcade1Up Star Wars because of how much I liked the one in the arcade.  I was thinking about getting the Tron one as well, but I go to the arcade enough, that I play it there a lot.  That post is here if you want to see it:

 

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/361230-discovered-this-80s-arcade-near-me-and-i-love-hanging-out-there/

 

I read that the flight yoke is also used in other arcade games like Firefox and Hydra. 

 

There's a company that makes one that you can buy and use it for other games.  

 

https://thunderstickstudio.com/products/grs-flight-yoke

 

Lots of people buy that yoke and replace the one in the Arcade1Up Star Wars cabinet, but I've played the one in the arcade enough to know that while the arcade one is more heavy duty, the one on the Arcade1Up is perfectly great for home use.  If I played a lot of other flight games, though, I would consider getting the yoke to use with other games.  That would be super fun!