Star Wars Arcade (スターウォーズ・アーケード) is a Sega Model 1 arcade game developed by Sega AM3 and LucasArts, and published by Sega in 1993. It was also brought to the Sega 32X in 1994 and sold as a launch title for the system. During development the Model 1 version was known as Virtua Star Wars.
Like all Model 1 games, Star Wars Arcade is presented in 3D perspective. The player pilots various ships from the Star Wars universe including the X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters through various missions.
When brought to the 32X, Star Wars Arcade saw a significant downgrade in polygon counts alongside the expected drop in resolution. All scenery, effects and spacecraft in the game are affected, with the 32X also struggling to keep a locked frame rate when faced with busy scenes, resulting in noticeable slowdown, particularly in indoor areas (as opposed to the Model 1's, rarely-wavering 60FPS). These cuts can drastically change the feel of certain levels; for example, a lack of asteroids in the opening stage means the 32X version is more empty than its arcade counterpart.
The 3D layer of graphics targets 30FPS, which it usually hits when flying through space. Most of the time, however, the game operates closer to 20FPS, though will drop lower in certain circumstances (such as when flying on the surface of the death star).
Cinematics are generally shorter on the 32X as well. To partially make up for the omissions, there is a special "32X mode" which extends the levels and offers more challenge than the base "arcade" mode.
Assistant Lead Testers: Rick Greer, Janine Cook, Manuel Sousa
Testers:Mark Subotnick, Fernando Valderrama, Ben Cureton, Kim Rogers, Arnold Feener, Steve Bourdet, Joel Breton, Sam Saliba, Tim Spengler, Mark Griffin, Mike Mansourian, Jeff Junio, William Beckman, Don Carmichael, Arnold Gallano, John Harlow, Rachel Bristol, Caroline Trujillo, David Wood
Special Thanks:Mark Nausha, Rod Nakamoto, Nancy Nakamoto, Jesse Taylor, Dave Albert, Johnny Turbo, Haven DuBrull, Doria Sanchez, Steve Dauterman
