Forums

I can't remember where I just saw it recently (I was thinking it was one of Jeremy Parish's videos, but I can't seem to find the footage from a quick scan through recent episodes)...
but it went to describe how the infamous Japanese-exclusive Famicom Star Wars game had some striking resemblances to AKiMW. Almost like they wanted to make a port, and somehow got the license to one of the most famous movie franchises ever (though I don't know how well that applied in 1987) without the IP holder caring to check for continuity.
Then they also state how they fell AKiMW could well have been designed as a Dragon Ball game before the license fell through (possibly to Bandai, who was held the license forever, making some... questionable... games with it).

Quote

The game design is strongly inspired by the Master System game Alex Kidd in Miracle World, according to programmer Yoshihiro Kishimoto.

Per https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(1987_video_game)

Citing John Szczepaniak’s “The Untold History Of Japanese Game Developers Volume 2.”

Relevant section from the book (very much worth a read by the way).

Quote

YK: When I was first told to work on Star Wars as a programmer, my first reaction was, "What am I going to do? How can that be done?" Because it was just not possible to do it on Famicom. So I remember thinking that I was at a loss. So there was nothing else that could be done, so we came up with this idea of Darth Vader turning into a scorpion when you hit him. The planner was Shinichiro Okamoto, three years my senior. That was when Sega had their console game, Alex Kidd, which was the influence for Darth Vader turning into a scorpion. Looking back, it's a mystery why the licensor allowed us to get away with that! <laughs>

JS: Yes, there were scorpions throughout Alex Kidd.

YK: Just like with Alex Kidd, the screen would move or scroll to the right, and all kinds of enemies would appear, and at the very end the boss would appear. I discussed it with Okamoto, and we felt our only option was to make Luke the main character and do it that way as a side-scrolling action game.

JS: Later on Luke also swam underwater. I get a sensation of Alex Kidd from that... <realisation> Star Wars also had blocks to break and a vehicle that jumped obstacles!

YK: Hm-hmm! <nods> Right, right, right! <laughs...pauses> But then, we couldn't think of any other way to make some kind of game out of it. However, Shinichiro Okamoto made Star Luster before that, it was a 3D space combat simulation game for the Famicom...

<flips through Namco book>

YK: Ah! This is Star Luster. It's in 3D. Or rather, it's a simulated 3D space game. You'd see something like the Death Star in it. So in hindsight, we should have made the game more like this. <points to Star Luster>

Author	Message
KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 510	Was Namco Star Wars an Alex Kidd in Miracle World knockoff? Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2022 9:07 pm
KingMike Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 510	I can't remember where I just saw it recently (I was thinking it was one of Jeremy Parish's videos, but I can't seem to find the footage from a quick scan through recent episodes)... but it went to describe how the infamous Japanese-exclusive Famicom Star Wars game had some striking resemblances to AKiMW. Almost like they wanted to make a port, and somehow got the license to one of the most famous movie franchises ever (though I don't know how well that applied in 1987) without the IP holder caring to check for continuity. Then they also state how they fell AKiMW could well have been designed as a Dragon Ball game before the license fell through (possibly to Bandai, who was held the license forever, making some... questionable... games with it).

SavagePencil Joined: 23 Aug 2009 Posts: 213 Location: Seattle, WA	Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2022 2:38 am
	Quote The game design is strongly inspired by the Master System game Alex Kidd in Miracle World, according to programmer Yoshihiro Kishimoto. Per https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(1987_video_game) Citing John Szczepaniak’s “The Untold History Of Japanese Game Developers Volume 2.”

ndiddy Joined: 20 Feb 2017 Posts: 8	Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2022 3:46 pm
ndiddy Joined: 20 Feb 2017 Posts: 8	Relevant section from the book (very much worth a read by the way). Quote YK: When I was first told to work on Star Wars as a programmer, my first reaction was, "What am I going to do? How can that be done?" Because it was just not possible to do it on Famicom. So I remember thinking that I was at a loss. So there was nothing else that could be done, so we came up with this idea of Darth Vader turning into a scorpion when you hit him. The planner was Shinichiro Okamoto, three years my senior. That was when Sega had their console game, Alex Kidd, which was the influence for Darth Vader turning into a scorpion. Looking back, it's a mystery why the licensor allowed us to get away with that! <laughs> JS: Yes, there were scorpions throughout Alex Kidd. YK: Just like with Alex Kidd, the screen would move or scroll to the right, and all kinds of enemies would appear, and at the very end the boss would appear. I discussed it with Okamoto, and we felt our only option was to make Luke the main character and do it that way as a side-scrolling action game. *JS: Later on Luke also swam underwater. I get a sensation of Alex Kidd from that... <realisation>* Star Wars also had blocks to break and a vehicle that jumped obstacles!** YK: Hm-hmm! <nods> Right, right, right! <laughs...pauses> But then, we couldn't think of any other way to make some kind of game out of it. However, Shinichiro Okamoto made Star Luster before that, it was a 3D space combat simulation game for the Famicom... <flips through Namco book> YK: Ah! This is Star Luster. It's in 3D. Or rather, it's a simulated 3D space game. You'd see something like the Death Star in it. So in hindsight, we should have made the game more like this. <points to Star Luster>

Forums

View topic - Was Namco Star Wars an Alex Kidd in Miracle World knockoff?