Luke uses a lightsaber as his primary weapon and can also use the Force to execute special maneuvers like floating, speeding and stopping time.

While the film's climactic sequence occurred inside a long trench, the game's version can be roughly described as a vertically scrolling overhead maze-like stage, complete with dead ends and intersections.

If the player fails to get to the end within a limited amount of time, the Death Star will destroy Yavin IV, and the game will be over.

The game is particularly difficult, as the player only has three lives and two continues (activated with enough Force points), and Luke dies upon touching an enemy.

[1] The game was first announced in May 1987, and it came with a photo of George Lucas shaking hands with Namco founder Masaya Nakamura.