Does anyone remember The Last Starfighter?

[tehkao]

I thought it had one of the coolest ideas for a movie ever...or one of the dumbest, depending how you looked at it.

Did anyone else like this movie? I mean it's pretty much every shmup fan's deep dark fantasy, right? (to become a real pilot in a spaceship going up against an entire alien armada and a huge mothership)

[velocity7]

I've seen it. Although I can't remember many of the details, yes, it would be kind of sweet... if it didn't involve getting me killed. ^^;;

[Guest]

I saw half of it then it became so utterly ridiculous that I had to turn it off. You'd figure a movie with a cool title like that would be some kind of sci fi epic or something but it just turns out to be cheese. And may I add, what a weird, weird movie.

[Jon]

A movie that I look fondly on more for nostalgic reasons than anything else. It hasn't aged well (particularly the CGI) but hell, even back when it was released it wasn't exactly considered a big budget movie if memory serves. Still, it remains delightfully cheesy (in a good way) and entertaining and I certainly wouldn't turn it off on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Totally unrelated but think The Explorers is a more entertaining film from the same era. Yes it got a little goofy in the end but this is another flick that succeeds in conjuring up those warm, fuzzy childhood memories. God I feel old.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

I liked it when they melted that man's head.

[barmskii]

hehe it was my favourite film when I was about 7! That whole death blossom thing (or whatever it was called) was completely brutal.

Actually I still love this film, it's cool in a completely crap way!

[Dartagnan1083]

The 'SECRET WEAPON' in the movie is nothing more than the equivlant of rotating in one direction in Asteroids and fireing wildly.

[dczx]

anyone remember "Flight of the Navigator"? Another one from that era.

[Shatterhand]

Isn't this supposed to be in off-topic?

Unless of course, we are going to talk about the NES game "The Last Starfighter"

Me too, loved the movie when I was a kid. Obviously it looks silly now, but it has a big nostalgia value

[ST Dragon]

anyone remember "Flight of the Navigator"? Another one from that era.

That was a cool movie.

[roushimsx]

The movie was awesomely horrible. they even set it up for a sequel that never happened (thank fucking god).

when I was a kid I loved the movie, unfortunatly I gave in to nostolgia and tried to watch it again a few years ago. big mistake. what a downright terrible movie

In 30 or 40 years there's going to be some new variant of MST3K, and instead of This Island Earth they're going to do The Last Starfighter

[PC Engine Fan X!]

If you played the early 1990's Atari Games' "Space Lords", take a good look at the game controls...it is the exact same arcade controls found on the Starfighter upright arcade cabinet in the movie.

And yes, Atari Games did manufacture that cool "Starfighter" arcade cab shown in the movie and made even made a "raster scan" prototype Last Starfighter arcade game but was later cancelled for other reasons. Would've been cool to play at the local arcade when the movie came out in 1984.

I recall that when Terminator 2 made it's debut on July 4th opening weekend of 1991, Midway MFG Co. had already shipped hundreds of Terminator 2 pinball games and even the Terminator 2 arcade light gun shooting game as well to arcades across the USA just in time for the T2 movie debut. I was shocked that I could play either the Terminator 2 arcade game or the pinball game after watching the movie and they were both there at my local arcade when the T2 movie finally came out!

I've seen & played the cool-ass T3 pinball game being sold brand new for a mere $6,000 U.S. dollars back in August 2003 at the California Extreme classic arcade game & pinball game show in San Jose, California. For serious pinball collectors only!

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Palmer Eldritch]

And yes, Atari Games did manufacture that cool "Starfighter" arcade cab shown in the movie and made even made a "raster scan" prototype Last Starfighter arcade game but was later cancelled for other reasons. Would've been cool to play at the local arcade when the movie came out in 1984.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

The arcade game was in fact more or less ready to go, but was indeed cancelled. Fast forward a couple of years and Namco enters the picture, buying off some of the Atari remnants.
What was The Last Starfighter then entered the arcades as Starblade.

--Michael

[piyo]

Did anyone else like this movie?

Yeah, I liked it.

Insert Nostalgia Post, watching it in the 80s, etc. I want that car, though.
---
piyo

[neorichieb1971]

Is this the movie where a guy tries to hire help from across the galaxy, then there are these white aliens which actually get shot down near the end?

Don't remember much of it but I think i'm on the right track

[japtor]

this one?

[neorichieb1971]

Its not that movie where a 3D space game is played at some Nevada desert gas station to find the best pilot to save a galaxy at the other end of the universe is it?

Man, that movie just sucked.

[zakk]

Did anyone else like this movie? I mean it's pretty much every shmup fan's deep dark fantasy, right? (to become a real pilot in a spaceship going up against an entire alien armada and a huge mothership)

That's not my fantasy at all, real life doesn't have small hitboxes and 3 lives. I'd die in the first wave of attacks!

[PC Engine Fan X!]

And yes, Atari Games did manufacture that cool "Starfighter" arcade cab shown in the movie and made even made a "raster scan" prototype Last Starfighter arcade game but was later cancelled for other reasons. Would've been cool to play at the local arcade when the movie came out in 1984.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

The arcade game was in fact more or less ready to go, but was indeed cancelled. Fast forward a couple of years and Namco enters the picture, buying off some of the Atari remnants.
What was The Last Starfighter then entered the arcades as Starblade.

--Michael

Yes, I remember the first time I saw Namco's Starblade deluxe sit-down cockpit style 3-D polygonal shooter...my jaw just about dropped. It was priced at 75 cents per credit (at least here in the U.S. when it made it's 1991 or 1992 grand entrance). I loved the unique "big-screen" presentation of giving the illusion of larger-than-life projection screen for showing the Starblade graphics engine running at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second. I recall that the gun turrent yoke controls would shake and vibrate when you lost all your ship's energy. I did see a Starblade arcade cabinet up for sale once on eBay and it was listed as Jamma compatible. Wow...what a game! ^_~

I tried the PSX Starblade Alpha game but it wasn't as smooth as the arcade original but fun nevertheless! A PS2 port of Starblade would be cool to buy if Namco decides to release it.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Zach Keene]

Isn't this supposed to be in off-topic?

I gotta agree.

[SheSaidDutch]

Never heard of it...

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Is this the movie where a guy tries to hire help from across the galaxy, then there are these white aliens which actually get shot down near the end?

Don't remember much of it but I think i'm on the right track

Sounds more like Battle Beyond the Stars. I love that film.

[Palmer Eldritch]

A PS2 port of Starblade would be cool to buy if Namco decides to release it.
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I believe I read somewhere that the PS2 Tekken 5 features a version of Starblade both during loading (training) but also as a complete unlockable game within.
I guess they need to justify the release of Tekken 5 somehow

--Michael

[IlMrm]

I liked it also.

Very nostalgic. I have the collector's edition and watching it I find it still entertaining after all these years.