View source for Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game

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{{Board_game
|image=[[File:SWInteractiveBoardGameBox.jpg]]
|title=Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game<br />Assault on the Death Star
|developer=Hasbro
|designer=
|players=
|setup=
|playingtime=
|skills=
|timeline=[[Galactic Civil War/Legends|Galactic Civil War]]
|object=
|ages=
|released=[[1996]]
|upc=}}
'''''Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game''''' (subtitled ''Assault on the Death Star'') is a [[1996]] board game released by [[Hasbro Inc.]].

==Opening crawl==
{{Opening crawl
|name=ASSAULT ON THE DEATH STAR
|text=The Galactic Empire's second
Death Star is almost complete. The
Emperor, concerned that the Rebels
have discovered the location of his
new weapon, has ordered it to be
moved near the moon of Endor,
where it can be completed in
secret.

On board his Star Destroyer, Lord
Vader receives word of a large
Rebel supply base on D'rinba IV
and orders the Death Star, en route
for Endor, to divert there.

The Rebel Alliance intercepts this
transmission and assembles a
small team of Force-sensitive
Rebels. Using a stolen Imperial
Freighter, and cloaked by the
Force, they board the Death Star.
They must disable it before it is
within superlaser range of D'rinba IV.

But, at the start of their mission,
as the Rebels are concealed in the
Shuttle Bays, the Death Star has
another arrival....
}}

==Plot summary==
Following a failed attempt by the [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Rebel Alliance]] to destroy the [[Death Star II/Legends|second Death Star]], [[Emperor/Legends|Emperor]] [[Palpatine/Legends|Palpatine]] orders [[Anakin Skywalker/Legends|Darth Vader]] to take command of the battlestation and move it to [[Endor/Legends|the forest moon of Endor]] to be completed in secret. Shortly thereafter, he learns of a major [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Rebel]] supply base on the planet [[D'rinba IV]] and diverts its course to the planet, intending to use the battlestation's [[Superlaser/Legends|superlaser]] to destroy it. Intercepting this information, the Alliance assembles a team of [[Force-sensitive/Legends|Force-sensitive]] individuals to sneak onboard and disable the station. However, Vader soon learns of their presence and has the station put on alert. The situation becomes a race against time for the members of the infiltration party, as they must attempt to succeed in their mission while avoiding the station's [[Stormtrooper/Legends|stormtrooper]] contingent and, late in the mission, a party member's fall to the [[Dark side of the Force/Legends|Dark side of the Force]].<ref name="SW VCR manual">{{Cite_web|url=http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Star_Wars_Assault_on_the_Death_Star_VCR_Board_Game.pdf|title=Star Wars Assault on the Death Star VCR Board Game instructions|date=1996|format=PDF|work=Hasbro.com|archivedate=20160305134815}}</ref>

==Contents==
[[File:InteractiveGameBoard.png|thumb|right|The game board]]
The game is based on cards and die, and requires the assembly of various three-dimensional components.<ref name="SW VCR manual" />
*1 60-Minute VHS videotape
*1 Game Board
*13 ''Star Wars'' Figures
*36 Cardboard Explosives
*6 Force Level Indicators
*2 Combat Disks
*1 Death Star Reactor Core
*80 Cards
*Die and Instructions

==Production==
{{Quote|The photography had to match the original film, but we didn't have the facilities or the money to do it. So I had to get the same results in a different sort of way, with different equipment.|[[Gilbert Taylor]]|Star Wars Insider 95}}
[[File:Vader_video.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The shooting of a Vader scene]]
The game contains a VHS tape that is played on a television screen as the players play the game. In the tape, Vader arrives onboard the [[Death Star II/Legends|second Death Star]] to take command of the station to destroy a [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Rebel Alliance]] supply base on the planet [[D'rinba IV]]. The player characters are tasked with the mission to stop him.

The tape contains scenes from the [[original trilogy]] mixed with footage shot specifically for the tape by [[Gilbert Taylor]], cinematographer for [[Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope|''A New Hope'']]. The footage, shot over the course of 2 days, features [[David Prowse]] and [[James Earl Jones]] reprising their roles as the physical presence and voice of [[Anakin Skywalker/Legends|Darth Vader]] respectively. Prowse wore an original Vader costume from the [[Lucasfilm Archives]]. Production Design was by Frank Walsh (www.fwalsh.com) who later went onto designing sets for the Netflix Sci-fi series Lost in Space. Sets were built by Dick George Productions, who previously worked on some of the sets for ''A New Hope''.<ref>{{InsiderCite|95|Taylor Made: Special Edition}}</ref>

==Continuity==
This game was referenced in ''[[The Dark Forces Saga]]'', a series of online adventure scenarios for the [[Wizards of the Coast]] ''Star Wars'' RPG line published on their website. Written by [[Abel G. Peña]], this series canonizes four of the VCR game's player characters as [[Kyle Katarn]], (from ''[[Star Wars: Dark Forces]]''), [[Lumiya|Shira Brie]] (from the [[Marvel Comics]] [[Star Wars (Marvel Comics 1977)|''Star Wars'']] series), [[Corwin Shelvay]] (from [[West End Games]]'s ''Star Wars'' RPG material), and [[Erling Tredway]] (also from West End Games's ''Star Wars'' RPG material.)<ref name="DFS">{{WizardsCite|url=default.asp?x=starwars/article/sw20050407a|text=The Dark Forces Saga, Part 1|int=The Dark Forces Saga|archivedate=20100501063232}}</ref>

==Reception==
Chris Bishop of ''Echo Station'' reviewed the game positively and noted its high production value, though at first glance finding the game to look intimidatingly complicated and bearing a lot of instructions. He noted that the story sacrificed continuity with the movies, wherein the Death Star's superweapon would not yet be fully operational. He found that James Earl Jones's performance gave an oddly softly spoken Darth Vader character.<ref name="SW VCR at EchoStation">{{Cite_web|url=http://www.echostation.com/echo3/vcrgame.htm|title=The Star Wars VCR Game Offers a New Definition for Plug & Play|author=Bishop, Chris|publisher=EchoStation|archivedate=20160331062506}}</ref>

==Credits==
{{Credits
|cast=
*[[James Earl Jones]] - the Voice of [[Anakin Skywalker/Legends|Darth Vader]]
*[[David Prowse]] - Darth Vader
|crew=
*[[Nelson Hall]] - Lucasfilm Archivist
*[[Gilbert Taylor]] - Director of Photography
*[[Frank Walsh]] - Production Designer
*[[Brian Aherne]] - dubbing mixer
*[[Christian Marnham]] - script
*[[Lance Brinded]] - editor
*[[Martin Collins]] - producer
*[[Phil Attfield]] - director
*[[John Williams]] - music composer
*Produced by [[Communicated Limited]] for [[Hasbro Inc.|Hasbro]]
*Thanks to the creator of the ''Star Wars'' trilogy - [[George Lucas]] - and to everyone at [[Lucas Licensing|Lucasfilm Licensing]]
*Special thanks to [[Carol Wisely]], [[Ben Rathbone]] and [[Alasdair Dewar]]
*Thanks to [[Richard Ireland]] and [[Complete Facilities]]
}}

==Appearances==
{{App
|characters=
*[[Anakin Skywalker/Legends|Darth Vader]]
*[[Palpatine/Legends|Palpatine]] {{Mo}}
*[[Chewbacca/Legends|Chewbacca]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Corwin Shelvay]] {{Ret}}
*[[Kyle Katarn]] {{Ret}}
*[[Lumiya|Shira Brie]] {{Ret}}
*[[Erling Tredway]] {{Ret}}
*[[Gial Ackbar/Legends|Gial Ackbar]] {{C|Archive Footage}} {{Ho}}
*[[Wedge Antilles/Legends|Wedge Antilles]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Obi-Wan Kenobi/Legends|Obi-Wan Kenobi]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Nien Nunb/Legends|Nien Nunb]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Leia Organa Solo|Leia Organa]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Luke Skywalker/Legends|Luke Skywalker]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Han Solo/Legends|Han Solo]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Yoda/Legends|Yoda]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[R2-D2/Legends|R2-D2]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
|creatures=
|droids=
*[[Astromech droid/Legends|Astromech droid]]
**[[R2-series astromech droid]]
|events=
*[[Galactic Civil War/Legends|Galactic Civil War]]
**[[Assault on the Death Star]]
**[[Battle of Endor/Legends|Battle of Endor]] {{C|[[Force vision/Legends|Force vision]]}}
|locations=
*[[Chaos/Legends|Chaos]] {{Mo}} {{C|as "Eternal void"}}
*[[Death Star II/Legends|Death Star II]]
**[[Inner Level]] {{1stm}}
**[[Outer Level]] {{1stm}}
**[[Droid Repair Center]] {{1stm}}
**[[Shuttle Bay]] {{1stm}}
*[[D'rinba system]]
**[[D'rinba IV]]
*[[Endor/Legends|Endor]]
|organizations=
*[[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Alliance to Restore the Republic]]
*[[Galactic Empire/Legends|Galactic Empire]]
|species=
*[[Human/Legends|Human]]
*[[Sullustan/Legends|Sullustan]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Wookiee/Legends|Wookiee]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Yoda's species/Legends|Yoda's species]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
|vehicles=
*[[Death Star II/Legends|Death Star II]]
*[[Imperial II-class Star Destroyer/Legends|Imperial II-class Star Destroyer]]
**[[Colossus (Star Destroyer)|''Colossus'']]
*[[Imperial Supply Freighter]] {{1st}}
*[[YT-1300 light freighter/Legends|YT-1300 light freighter]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
**[[Millennium Falcon/Legends|''Millennium Falcon'']] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[T-65 X-wing starfighter/Legends|T-65 X-wing starfighter]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[BTL-A4 Y-wing starfighter]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[RZ-1 A-wing interceptor/Legends|RZ-1 A-wing interceptor]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[A/SF-01 B-wing starfighter/Legends|B-wing starfighter]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[GR-75 medium transport/Legends|GR-75 medium transport]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate/Legends|EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[MC80 Home One type Star Cruiser]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[MC80 Liberty type Star Cruiser]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Braha'tok-class gunship/Legends|Braha'tok-class gunship]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[MC80a Star Cruiser]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[TIE/LN starfighter]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[TIE/IN interceptor/Legends|TIE/IN interceptor]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
*[[Lambda-class T-4a shuttle/Legends|Lambda-class T-4a shuttle]] {{C|Archive Footage}}
|technology=
*[[Computer terminal|Data terminal]]
*[[Power conduit/Legends|Power conduit]]
|miscellanea=
}}

==Sources==
{{Mediacat|imagecat=Images from Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game}}
*{{InsiderCite|26|''Star Wars'' Around the World}}
*{{InsiderCite|30|Star News}}
*{{InsiderCite|31|''Star Wars'' Cinematographer: An Interview with Gil Taylor}}
*{{GalaxyCite|11|Galactic Bazaar|Galactic Bazaar: Vader Rules Collectibles}}
*{{InsiderCite|95|Taylor Made: Special Edition}}
*''[[Star Wars: The Complete Vader]]''
*{{InsiderCite|Special Edition 2012|Taylor Made: Special Edition}}

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Cite_web|url=http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/Star_Wars_Assault_on_the_Death_Star_VCR_Board_Game.pdf|title=Star Wars Assault on the Death Star VCR Board Game instructions|date=1996|format=PDF|work=Hasbro.com|archivedate=20160305134815}}
*{{Youtube|video=_JPSDn0e75Y|text=Star Wars Interactive Video Board Game VHS footage|channel=UCjk1r61zLhzbk7ipXIqjSbw|channelname=IndyDefense|archivedate=20210213202551}}

{{Interlang
|ru=Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game
}}

[[Category:Home video]]
[[Category:Real-world board games]]
[[Category:1996 releases]]