Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1985 video game)

Lore & Background

The Empire Strikes Back was Atari's third Star Wars arcade game, and the second to use vector graphics, having been preceded by the raster graphics game Return of the Jedi in 1984. In the Hoth sequences, the player flies a Rebel snowspeeder. The first section involves patrolling in a search and destroy mission for Probots (Imperial Probe Droids); shooting Imperial transmissions emanating from the Probots can prolong the stage. The second snowspeeder sequence involves the assault of AT-AT and AT-ST walkers against the Rebel shield generator. The player has four tow-cables which can be used to take down AT-AT walkers instantly if fired at their legs; otherwise, the player must aim for the red cockpits to destroy the walkers.

In the second half of the game, the player takes on the role of Han Solo piloting at the head of a convoy trying to escape the Imperial onslaught. First, the player encounters TIE fighters; when enough time expires, the player moves on to an asteroid field where the goal is simply to survive. Once the fourth stage is completed, the game starts back at the beginning of the Battle of Hoth on a higher difficulty level. Vector objects are much more noticeably detailed, and the asterisk-particle enemy shots resembling snowflakes from Star Wars are replaced with simpler and clearer vector star-shapes.

Reader's Guide

According to the creators, the game received less attention as it was not as fresh as the previous game. Additionally, it was sold as an upgrade kit, so arcade operators that had Star Wars running and getting steady incomes from it did not go for the upgrade. An emulated version of The Empire Strikes Back, along with the other two Star Wars arcade games from Atari, can be unlocked for play in Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike (2005). The game features a system of collecting four Jedi letters: eradicating specified numbers of Probots, walkers, or TIE fighters, or surviving the asteroid field without dying, each earns one letter. Collecting all four instantly erases every enemy shot from the screen for a short time, and also adds a rank insignia next to the player's initials if they reach the high-score list. The player begins with a deflector shield that can absorb a set number of hits before collapsing; a hit with the shield down ends the game.

Turn-Based Squad Combat

The core combat loop of Star Wars Zero Company places players in a top-down tactical grid where every decision carries weight. Players command a mixed squad drawn from both story-driven characters and player-created mercenaries, each slotting into distinct classes. Story characters bring signature abilities that set them apart, while custom-built astromech droids round out the party by handling support roles and deploying explosives. Each turn is governed by a strict action-point economy: how many moves a character can make and how far they can travel are both capped, though select abilities allow players to recoup points mid-turn for burst actions. What makes the system feel consequential is its permanence—squad members can suffer lasting injuries or die outright, and the story simply moves forward without them. Missions vary in their objectives, and while the level layouts themselves are hand-crafted by Bit Reactor, enemy placements are procedurally generated, ensuring no two sorties feel identical. Outside of these tactical encounters, the world opens up in third-person, letting players explore environments and engage with role-playing elements that deepen the narrative.

The Den and Living the Between-Mission Life

Between tactical sorties, players retreat to the Den, a hub base that functions as the operational and social heart of Zero Company. Here, time advances in discrete cycles, and players juggle research projects, gear upgrades, strategic investigations, and tactical strikes. Some objectives carry hard deadlines—if a cycle expires before completion, the opportunity vanishes. Non-combat intelligence-gathering missions add a layer of narrative decision-making, where choices made in one cycle can ripple into consequences several cycles later. A unique progression system lets players sabotage enemy upgrades permanently, shaping the difficulty landscape of future encounters. Socially, the Den is where Hawks' leadership is truly tested. Squad members hold clashing personalities and worldviews, and players must mediate disputes. Neglecting a character's approval can trigger specific story consequences, while repeatedly sending two members into combat together forges bonds that translate into meaningful tactical synergy bonuses on the field.

A Story Spanning the Fall of the Republic

Set in 19 BBY, the final year of the Clone Wars, the narrative follows Tesh Hawks, a former Republic captain who was dishonorably discharged after absorbing the blame for a catastrophic Separatist victory. Now leading a ragtag mercenary crew deeply in debt to the Hutts, Hawks stumbles into a far larger conflict when Zero Company encounters the Infinite Coil, a Separatist-aligned cult spreading the Shadow Plague—a disease that kills some victims while physically enhancing others and making them vulnerable to the cult leader Kundri Fathom's influence. What begins as a debt-forgiveness deal with Republic Intelligence spirals into a galactic crisis. The story spans multiple planets—Serolonis, Courtsilius, Bespin, Luunata, Umbara, Ord Mantell, Cindermoor—and introduces a rotating cast including Jedi Padawan Tel-Rea, Umbaran Luco Bronc, and Jedi General Anakin Skywalker. The true turning point arrives when Supreme Chancellor Palpatine issues Order 66, transforming the Republic into the Empire and triggering Trick's inhibitor chip to turn him and the Stillwatch Battalion against his own squad.

A Crew Built from Misfits and Mercenaries

Zero Company's roster is deliberately assembled from characters who fell through the cracks of the Clone Wars. Trick, a clone trooper who served alongside Hawks before a medical discharge, carries the ever-present threat of his inhibitor chip. Runa Blask, a Togruta partisan, serves as both second-in-command and the group's financial backbone, keeping the crew solvent amid their Hutt debts. Kabb Uppercut, a former boxer with a cybernetic left arm, brings brute force to the squad. As the story unfolds, the crew swells: Tel-Rea, a Tognath Jedi Padawan independently pursuing her deceased Master's unfinished mission, joins after Courtsilius; Luco Bronc, an Umbaran who despises the Republic, pledges his sword after the Coil murders his lover Rhys Cesca during a Bespin prisoner exchange. On the antagonist side, droid general Typhon and Fathom lead the Infinite Coil, while Bennic Halloren transitions from a Republic Intelligence asset to an ISB Supervisor serving the new Empire. Even the Hutts, who initially hire the crew, become a source of betrayal when they set up Hawks' capture.