Line #38 VideoGame/StarWarsStarfighter


1	[[quoteright:260:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/starfighter_cover.jpg]]
2
3	[[center:[[AC:The galaxy stands on the brink\
4	of war. In the Outer Rim, the\
5	greedy Trade Federation is\
6	mobilizing a secret army to\
7	strike at peaceful Naboo.\
8	Amidst the growing tensions, Bravo\
9	Flight trainee Rhys Dallows\
10	prepares to fly Royal Escort\
11	and protect the Queen.\
12	\
13	Meanwhile, the mercenary\
14	Vana Sage has undertaken a\
15	dangerous assignment for the\
16	Trade Federation, a mission\
17	that will lead her to a perilous\
18	discovery.\
19	\
20	And on the planet Lok, the\
21	pirate captain Nym prepares\
22	for his next raid, unaware that\
23	the Trade Federation is\
24	planning a deadly gambit that\
25	will spell doom for his\
26	homeworld and force three\
27	unlikely heroes to save the\
28	galaxy...]]]]
29
30	Rhys Dallows is a rookie pilot from Bravo flight, Naboo's N1 Starfighter corps. His trainer, Essara Till, sets out to teach him the basics of how to pilot the N1, and immediately after, takes him as her wingmate to escort the Queen of Naboo as she attempts to meet up with the Trade Federation regarding a blockade on the planet. The Federation ship jumps away before the meeting and leaves a mercenary team to kill them all, but they are all fought off and the Queen is able to escape into hyperspace. The mercs' leader, however, takes what satisfaction he can in killing Essara, and blasting Rhys' starfighter, leaving him stranded and left for dead, saved by a Toydarian named Reti scavenging the remains after the battle, who whisks Rhys away to meet his ally.
31
32	Said ally, Vana Sage, has been contracted by the Trade Federation to do some mercenary work herself - including capturing a dangerous pirate named Nym who has been targeting the Federation for years - but after eavesdropping on a confidential conversation regarding the attack on the Queen during testing of new unmanned starfighters, the Trade Federation attempts to terminate their contract by force. She flees to the planet Eos below, discovering (and promptly becoming trapped in) a droid production factory; while she wants to dismantle it, she doesn't have the firepower to do so on her own. She disables the shield surrounding the facility and escapes to her hideout - only to realize Nym has escaped, and promptly locks her up in a cell on her own station.
33
34	Nym promptly returns to his pirate crew, the Lok Revenants, and ambushes a Trade Federation convoy passing near their home planet of Lok, shooting down a super-freighter and defending the crash site as his men salvage what they can. Alas, the Federation has finally had enough of the Lok Revenants and stages a massive assault on their base that night. Their attempted but failed evacuation forces Nym to flee back to Vana's station, where he finds her, Rhys and Reti waiting, the latter two having arrived first and freed Vana.
35
36	With all three now having grievances against the Trade Federation, they join forces and set out on a quest to destroy the Eos production facility, and then journey to Naboo just in time for [[Film/ThePhantomMenace the climactic battle.]]
37
38	The game featured a different style of piloting than the successful ''VideoGame/RogueSquadron'' or ''VideoGame/XWing'' series of games - closer to ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace in the Star Wars universe]] - but it was far from poorly-received. It proved successful and popular enough that [[VideoGame/JediStarfighter a sequel]] was released a year later to tie into the [[Film/AttackOfTheClones new movie]]. However, the game hasn't aged terribly well with time, as Steam's rating system gives it mixed reviews compared to the positive reviews it got at release.
39
40	!!This work includes examples of:
41
42	* AffablyEvil: The Mercenary Leader. He doesn't express regret over killing Essara and the other Bravo Flight fighters (that we know of), but during your dogfight with him at the end, he compliments you on your piloting as you get close to killing him.
43	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: The Trade Federation takes over Nym's base on Lok. You don't get it back until the sequel.
44	* AirstrikeImpossible: The final mission has you trying to navigate the Droid Control ship's inner hangars and service tunnels while the Mercenary Leader takes potshots at you. Between the cranes, turrets, docked landers, interior turrets, and droid starfighters,[[note]]not to mention [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Anakin]] and [[VideoGame/RogueSquadron Gavyn]] doing their own thing inside the ship as well[[/note]] it's pretty crowded.
45	* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: You play as Rhys, Vana, and Nym. You also can play as Essara in an unlockable bonus level, escorting a convoy of ships.
46	* AntiHero: Two of the three playable characters are. Vana is a mercenary who only joins the fight against the Trade Federation because they tried to kill her for knowing too much, and Nym is a pirate who joins only because the TF took over his base, after he attacked one of their convoys.
47	* AwesomeButImpractical: The advanced Proton Torpedoes, an upgrade over the regular Proton Torpedoes that were already this trope primarily by being the only secondary weapon to not have BottomlessMagazines. They cost two non-renewable rounds, and simply do a bit more damage than regular proton torpedoes do against single targets; against multiple smaller targets they turn into a cluster missile, but you rarely need to take the time out to kill that many starfighters anyway.
48	* BigBulkyBomb: Starting in mission 9, Nym's ''Havoc'' can charge six plasma bombs into a giant Plasma Scourge, great for tearing a chunk out of the droid factory buildings in mission 9 or wiping out formations of tanks in mission 13.
49	* BigNo: Nym, when Evac 1 is destroyed.
50	* BonusLevel: Everything from a canyon race, to a multiplayer duel, to an escort mission involving Rhys' father.
51	* BreakoutCharacter: Nym, who received much more time in the spotlight in the next game, and even went on to star in his own comics that ''weren't'' tie-ins.
52	* CheatCode: Many, unlocking things like concept art, multiplayer missions, and most notably, "[[Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe Minime]]," which unlocks invincibility.
53	* CoolStarship: Rhys Dallows' N1, Vana's ''Guardian Mantis'', Nym's ''Havoc'', the experimental N1, and then there's the ''Infiltrator''.
54	* DefectorFromDecadence: Vana, twice over. She used to work for the group of mercenaries that attacks the Queen, but resigned after they started taking jobs that she described as "murder". She then started taking missions on her own to test out new starfighter designs for the Trade Federation - at least until they tried to kill her for overhearing just what sorts of things they were up to without her involvement.
55	* DevelopersForesight: In mission 4, you're tasked with blowing up seven shield generators out of eight, so that the eighth can be destroyed in a cutscene. Vana can still fire her guns for about two seconds after the seventh explodes, and her bullets are [[HomingProjectile homing bullets]], [[spoiler:but the last shield generator is immediately given an "invincible" EventFlag after the seventh is destroyed]].
56	* DiscOneNuke: The Plasma Scourge. Not only does it pack a serious punch, but there is exactly one mission between Nym's initial set of levels and any where this weapon is made available to him.
57	* EasterEgg:
58	** If you were to turn around at the very beginning of the tutorial level, there's a hole in the canyon wall that can be flown through. Within is a completely black room in which you can view concept art from a game called "Outlaw."
59	** If you sit in director mode on the second level (where the queen is in the asteroid belt), you'll find a droid grilling hamburgers.
60	** In one of the bonus missions, a damaged missile frigate launches escape pods, one of which features the name "[[CreatorCameo ChrisCorrpedo]]" and features [[Film/DrStrangelove a battle droid riding on top of it while waving a cowboy hat]].
61	** Coming in first in the Canyon Race bonus mission, beating out even Essara, gets you a VideoGame/GrimFandango hot rod to fly around.
62	* FragileSpeedster: The Experimental N1. Much more powerful than the regular N1, and very quick, but unfortunately, not very durable.
63	* FreezeFrameBonus: [[spoiler:The Mercenary Leader's ship bears the same insignia as Nym's ''Havoc''.]]
64	* ForegoneConclusion: Obviously, Naboo will repel the attempted invasion by the Trade Federation as depicted in ''The Phantom Menace''.
65	* GuyInBack: The ''Havoc'' features an autotargeting rear turret, which is effective enough on its own but is also a very handy alert that something is on your tail.
66	* HomingProjectile: Vana's primary weapons are actually micro-missile launchers, not blasters. Her SecondaryFire is to shoot out special tag beacons, which cause all her micro-missiles to automatically home in on that target.[[note]]An enemy must be both tagged by a tag beacon, and be the active target of the normal HeadsUpDisplay[[/note]]
67	* ItsPersonal: After defeating the Mercenary Leader, Rhys states he did it to avenge Essara.
68	* LeadTheTarget: Essara teaches Rhys to do this from the get-go.
69	* LightningBruiser: The ''Infiltrator''. Fast, powerful, homing missiles, and more durable than the Experimental N1.
70	* LiteralMinded: Vana's astromech droid.
71	-->'''Vana:''' That's the last time I do business with those guys.\
72	'''Mod-3:''' ''[beeping sounds]''\
73	'''Vana:''' YouCanSayThatAgain.\
74	'''Mod-3:''' ''[exact same beeping sounds]''
75	* MightyGlacier: The ''Havoc''. Slower than all of the other ships, but the lone bomber of the lot.
76	* MythologyGag: The mercenary EliteMooks fly Dianoga-class ships classes, named after creatures from ''Star Wars'' lore.
77	* NoNameGiven: The FinalBoss. He lives and dies as "Mercenary Leader".
78	* NonStandardGameOver: Shoot the Naboo Queen's ship one too many times, and they will consider you a traitor, and Essara blows you out of the sky.
79	* OldSchoolDogfight: The final boss, who leads you through the hangers of the Droid Control ship as you attempt to destroy him.
80	* PunchClockVillain: The mercenaries. Their motivation is that they're paid by the Trade Federation for their services (though they are cocky asses when you actually fight them). The Mercenary Leader especially. While he does kill Essara, he's on a contract, [[AffablyEvil and actually compliments Rhys during their dogfight in the Droid Control Ship as it happens.]]
81	* ShootTheShaggyDog: When Nym's base is attacked, Nym and his men load up into two ships, call signs ''Evac 1'' and ''2''. ''Evac 2'' lifts off without a problem, but ''Evac 1'' has engine problems, forcing Nym and his wingmates to stay behind and hold off the Trade Federation while the crew of ''Evac 1'' tries to get their ship running again. When they do, the mission ends, but during the level ending cutscene, a flight of droid bombers and fighters blows them up.
82	* SimultaneousArcs: The events of the game take place around the same time as ''The Phantom Menace''.
83	* StuffBlowingUp: Almost everything can be shot till it explodes (the things that can't are scenery). And when most things explode, they let off fireworks. If a ship or building is big enough, it even momentarily flashes the screen white.
84	* TheyKnowTooMuch: The Trade Federation tries to kill Vana after she decrypts a coded message from them about their plans to invade Naboo.
85	* UpdatedRerelease: The Xbox ''Special Edition'' comes with improved graphics and frame rate over the [=PS2=] original, with additional bonus missions, multiplayer modes, and unlockable ships, including Darth Maul's. Unfortunately it was [[NoExportForYou released in North America only]], and the later PC port was based on the original.
86	* WorthyOpponent: To quote the Mercenary Leader, "Too bad I have to kill such a good pilot."

Context VideoGame / StarWarsStarfighter