Star Wars: Yoda Stories

Star Wars: Yoda Stories is a 1997 adventure video game based on the Star Wars franchise developed by LucasArts. The game is the second and last title in LucasArts' Desktop Adventures series, preceded by Indiana Jones and His Desktop Adventures. The game was released in March 1997 for Microsoft Windows and ported to Game Boy Color by Torus Games in December 1999.

Star Wars: Yoda Stories
Cover art
Developer(s)LucasArts
Torus Games (Game Boy Color)
Publisher(s)LucasArts
THQ (Game Boy Color)
Director(s)Hal Barwood
Designer(s)Hal Barwood
Mark Crowley
Programmer(s)Mark Crowley
Writer(s)Hal Barwood
Platform(s)Game Boy Color, Microsoft Windows
ReleaseMarch 12, 1997 (Windows)[1][2]
December 23, 1999 (Game Boy Color)[3]
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Yoda Stories is a point and click adventure game designed in the vein of early Windows titles.

Yoda Stories is a short, randomly-generated point and click adventure game designed for players to finish in an hour.[4] The game has no central plot or ultimate goal. Each time a new game is started, the player is tasked to complete a random mission. This may include rescuing another Star Wars character, obtaining an object, warning the Rebels of an attack, or destroying an Imperial facility.

The player controls Luke Skywalker from a bird's eye perspective. Players move Luke across a 2D grid, equip and use weapons to defeat enemies; push and pull certain objects; and collect items into their inventory to be used later on. Each mission takes place on a new procedurally generated planet, and requires the player to complete a series of item-based puzzles, either by pushing or pulling obstacles to reveal items, using items acquired elsewhere to unlock a new item, or defeating enemies in an area. Once the final puzzle is solved and the mission is accomplished, the player is given a score based on their performance, and may choose to replay the mission or start a new game.

Due to the limitations of Game Boy Color hardware, its port of Yoda Stories is reduced to fifteen fixed missions, with simplified graphics.

Reception

The PC version of Yoda Stories was received poorly. Robert Coffey of Computer Gaming World derided the game as "really bad" and "graphically dated, featuring cookie-cutter worlds filled with big-headed, cutesified characters and silly monsters that are (almost) flat-out embarrassing".[5] GameSpot provided similar criticisms of the game as a "half-hearted product", stating "combat is awkward and in no way satisfying" and "the backgrounds are as flat and lifeless as the gameplay".[9] Gareth Jones of PC PowerPlay provided some praise for the game as "cute (and) fun, with plenty of lastability", praising its addictive nature.[7]

The Game Boy version of Yoda Stories received more negative reviews. Craig Harris of IGN stated the game was "one of the technically lamest and structurally annoying Game Boy games ever developed", singling out the poor graphics, animations, sound, and controls. Yoda Stories remains IGN's lowest-rated Game Boy Color title.[10]

Retrospective assessments of the game have been mixed. Inverse writer Brian Vanhooker supported the game as "easygoing and accessible", and interviewed lead designer Hal Barwood, who considered that the game was "ahead of its time and (that) its rough reception was unwarranted", as reviewers misinterpreted its purpose as a casual game.[11] Richard Cobbett of PC Gamer noted that the Desktop Adventures series "(had) a fair amount of promise", although the game suffers from "a lack of assets and a lack of content".[12]

References
  1. LucasArts Entertainment Company | 20th Anniversary
  2. "News for March 12, 1997". Online Gaming Review. March 12, 1997. Archived from the original on December 4, 2000. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  3. "PR - 12/23/99 - The Popular Star Wars Game From LucasArts comes to the Game Boy Color". 2004-04-16. Archived from the original on 2004-04-16. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  4. "LucasArts: History - Broadening Horizons". Nintendo. Archived from the original on Feb 3, 2003. Retrieved August 1, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. Coffey, Robert (July 1997). "Yoda Stories". Computer Gaming World. No. 156. p. 190.
  6. Harris, Craig (January 2000). "Star Wars: Yoda Stories". IGN.
  7. Jones, Gareth (May 1997). "Star Wars: Yoda Stories". PC PowerPlay (12): 62.
  8. Peck, Brooks (1997). "Game Reviews: Yoda Stories". Science Fiction Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  9. "Yoda Stories Review". GameSpot. May 2000.
  10. "Worst Reviewed Nintendo Console Games". IGN. November 2008.
  11. Vanhooker, Brian (July 2021). "25 Years Ago, Indiana Jones Met C-3PO in a Game No One Remembers". Inverse.
  12. Cobbett, richard (July 2021). "Crapshoot: Cool Yoda Stories, Bro". PC Gamer.
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