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[[folder: A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away ]]


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[[folder: A new force in pinball has emerged. A game so powerful that it brings you into the action and excitement of ''Franchise/Star Wars:'' [[Film/The Phantom Menace Episode I. ]]
]][[note]]See the full thing [[Quotes/StarWarsEpisodeI here.]][[/note]]

''Star Wars Episode I'' is a [[LicensedPinballTable licensed]] {{pinball}} machine by Creator/WilliamsElectronics based off of ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. Designed by Creator/JohnPopadiuk and released in June 1999, it is notable for being the second and final ill-fated [[AdvancedTech2000 Pinball 2000]] game, the first being ''Pinball/RevengeFromMars''.

The game itself has the player follow the footsteps of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, as he moves up the ranks of the Jedi Order to ultimately become a "Jedi Spirit". Along the way, the player progresses through over a dozen scenes from the movie, interspersed with fights against Darth Maul.

This pinball was the final game Williams made before [[CreatorKiller the company's shareholders decided to close the pinball division,]] which is noted in the game itself (see ArcNumber). The making of the game is profiled in the documentary ''[[Film/TiltTheBattleToSavePinball Tilt: The Battle to Save Pinball]]''.

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!!This pinball machine contains examples of:

* ArcNumber: Spelling "JAR-JAR" earns you 19,992,510 points, which represents the day Williams left the pinball industry: October 25th, 1999.
* ButtMonkey: Jar-Jar. Especially in the "Jar Jar Juggling" mode, where the player intentionally tries to trip him while he's juggling various objects.
* CallBack: A meta example: The gameplay for the Jedi duels will feel very familiar to anyone who's played the WizardMode from ''Pinball/TalesOfTheArabianNights'', another table designed by Creator/JohnPopadiuk.
** The Sub Escape mode is also basically the same idea.
* CharacterLevel: You go through the Jedi ranks by spelling "JEDI" and fighting Darth Maul.
* {{Combo}}: By either consecutively shooting ramps in normal play, or by making shots in quick succession during the Darth Maul fights.
* CreatorCameo: Kevin O'Connor, one of the artists for the game, plays Darth Maul via motion capture. Opposing him is designer John Popadiuk, who plays Qui-Gon Jinn.
-->'''John Popadiuk:''' "I had long hair like QG and kinda the same build, so it worked. I had to take some Jedi lightsaber training as well... [Kevin and I] used to practice the scenes at his house in the driveway! All the neighbors would stare at us."
* EasterEgg: During the attract mode, pressing the flipper buttons in a certain sequence[[note]]Left and right together, then right, left, right, right, left, right, right, right, left, and left[[/note]] will show a picture of the development team.
* {{Hologram}}: The "Pinball 2000" platform, which projected video images onto the playfield.
* Every10000Points: Unlike many other pinballs, by default, extra balls are given out at two point plateaus.
* FlawlessVictory: Some missions will award higher completion bonuses if done perfectly. For example, Space Battle will award a Perfect Shooting bonus for double the normal completion bonus if every shot or laser destroyed a ship.
%%* LicensedPinballTable
* LifeMeter: Used during the Jedi duels.
%%* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition: Certain machines had a plaque declaring it "The Final Collector's Series of 100", though there's no real difference. Rumor is that they were simply used as a marketing gimmick to sell remaining machines during the Williams' closure.
* MatchSequence: A droid gets sucked through a pod racer engine, and the match number is spewed out the other end with the debris.
* NewGamePlus: The Jedi Battle venues repeat after achieving Jedi Spirit, and the difficulty of the battles is at Jedi Spirit level. Additionally, after all of the scenes are played, they all become available again with increased completion bonuses.
* SkillShot: Plunge the ball so that it barely goes past the one-way gate in the plunger lane and down the hole to the left of it for a moderate amount of points. Perhaps more importantly, the third Skill Shot achieved will award a JEDI letter.
* SmartBomb: The laser and torpedoes, activated by the action buttons.
* SmartPeopleBuildRobots: Assemble the pieces for C-3PO to earn various bonuses.
* SoundtrackDissonance: The same tune plays whether Qui-Gon wins or loses the Jedi duels.
* SpaceBattle: One of the game modes.
* SpellingBonus: You level up by spelling "JEDI", and other times you'll have to spell "JAR JAR" and "GUNGAN".
* UniversalAmmunition: The "Lasers", used by hitting the [[ContextSensitiveButton Action Buttons]] sometimes manifest as torpedoes, or other non-weapon effects such as shuffling the chairs in the Jedi Musical Chairs mode, but they are all part of the same pool of ammunition.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: See Butt Monkey above.
* ZergRush: The "Ground Battle" mode, where you fight off a Trade Federation Troop Transport unloading hordes of battle droids.
* {{Zonk}}: The 11th completion of C-3PO is worth a measly '''10 points'''. For comparison, awards of 1,000,000 or 2,000,000 are common for other completions.
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