32 – Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
At the age of ten my father brought me to the cinema in order to see Star Wars: Special Edition. I had heard about the franchise before (one year before I had visited Futuroscope and Disneyland in France, watching a documentary about the saga in the former, and riding the Star Wars simulator in the latter), but I had never had the chance to see it. Of course, I fell instantly in love with the franchise and I obtained the Special Edition Trilogy in VHS as soon as was possible.
By that time I started hearing news regarding Star Wars that kept me really interested: there was a new film in production and a N64 video game that looked incredible. Both came to Europe in 1999 (Yes, RS was delayed one month in Europe respect the US, launching on January 1999): I enjoyed quite a lot the film (I was 12, don’t judge me) and the videogame was incredible. I haven’t revisited none of both in several years, though, and probably it’s better that way.
About the game: what Factor 5 made with the Nintendo 64 in this game was incredible. If I watch a video of the game today the first I can see is the fog that covers the horizon, but back in the day I really had the sensation of being flying over Tatooine. Levels were big and you could explore them freely and the variety of planets, ships (designed with great detail) and missions was enormous. Also this game’s sound quality has to be highlighted, being one of the first games I played with real voice acting (in the N64!).
Also two extra bonuses: you could control the Millenium Falcon and one of the missions is set in the Death Star. What else can you ask for a Star Wars game?
