Star Wars (スター・ウォーズ Sutā Wōzu), a video game, was launched in 1987 in Japan by Namco under the Namcot brand. It was created for the Family Computer (commonly known as Famicom) with Hiroyuki Kawada contributing as one of the developers. The gameplay consists of a standard side-scrolling platformer where players take control of Luke, guiding him on his journey to join the Rebellion against the Empire.
Even though the game draws inspiration from Episode IV, Namco significantly altered the original narrative. As an example, Luke is tasked with rescuing key characters from the movie (R2-D2, C-3PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Han Solo, all of whom are held captive on different planets. To locate them, Luke uses the Millennium Falcon (which, in the film, was only flown by Chewie and Han). On each planet, the boss appears to be the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who is typically impersonated by shapeshifting beings who sometimes transform into a massive scorpion, a Wampa, a shark, or a pterosaur to continue their attacks. The real Vader is eventually battled on the Death Star, as well as on Yavin 4.
The planets are depicted in a manner that deviates greatly from the established universe of the franchise (Kessel, for instance, features ruins reminiscent of Ancient Egypt), and some are not present in the movie (such as the frozen planet, referred to as "Tina" within the game, but is actually Hoth). Moreover, Chewbacca possesses the ability to communicate in Galactic Basic Standard within this game.
Other variances include the employment of a lightsaber and the Force, the latter of which Luke had minimal understanding of until Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Furthermore, Luke is portrayed with black hair in the game, although the manual's illustrations show him with yellow hair, which is closer to his actual sandy-blond hair color.
According to "Game On!," an article featured in Star Wars Insider 135, as well as the game's instruction manual, the counterfeit Vaders were "intended as illusions representing Luke's fears, like the Cave of Evil scene in Empire Strikes Back." However, these "illusions" were capable of abducting Luke Skywalker's allies and imprisoning them.