Darth Vader in Games: A Visual History

We celebrate Star Wars' greatest villain in pixels and polygons.

The sullen cyborg Sith Lord of the original Star Wars trilogy has starred in films, comics, books and nightmares since 1977, but Darth Vader's appearances in video games has often been overshadowed by the likes of Luke and company.

Despite having one of the most recognizable visages in geekdom, a voice imitated more than Richard Nixon, Arnold Schwarzenegger and ALF combined, and recently topping IGN's Top 100 Star Wars Characters list, Darth Vader has had a somewhat spotty career in gaming, with appearances ranging from awesome to downright debasing. We pried open IGN's carbonite-sealed vaults and thawed out some of Darth's more memorable pixilated moments over the past 30 years for this retrospective. In the pages below we celebrate the man, the mask and the moroseness of Darth Vader.

Star Wars: Jedi Arena (1983, Atari 2600)

Star Wars: Jedi Arena for the Atari 2600 pitted Luke against an anonymous opponent in a lightsaber-waggling duel. The primitive graphics left plenty to the imagination, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to assume the guy with the red rod was Vader. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1985, Arcade)

While Vader made a cameo in his TIE Advanced in Atari's 1983 arcade hit Star Wars, it wasn't until the sequel that Darth's iconic mask appeared in all its vector-drawn glory. The master mouth breather also barked digitized threats in both games, an impressive audio feat for the time.

Star Wars (1987, Famicom)

In the Famicom-only Star Wars, Namco took some -- ahem -- liberties with the source material. For instance, in Luke's several encounters with Vader you'd hit him a few times and he would transform into a monster, like the Scorpion pictured above. Later on, Vader appears as a pterodactyl in an Egyptian tomb for some reason.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1992, NES)

You had to use your force powers to overcome the tough Darth Vader in the NES adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back. In a slight departure from the original film, Luke keeps his arm and Darth Vader flees saying "This time you defeated me, but next time you will not be as lucky."

Star Wars Chess (1994, PC)

The animation skills of the developers of Star Wars Chess were pushed to their limits in creating the humiliating death sequences for Darth Vader at the hands of unlikely foes like the droids, Princess Leia and Chewbacca, who teaches Darth 'The Kashyyyk Boogie' before impaling him with a crossbow.

Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1993, SNES)

In the final encounter in Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader used The Force to throw garbage at you and fly around the screen. Sith Lords puff out their chests and spread their cloaks to create the illusion that they are bigger than their adversaries.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1994, PC)

In TIE Fighter, gamers were able to play as the Galactic Empire for the first time. As tempting as Rebel life may have been (cramped ice world hideouts, frequent suicide missions) defectors could expect a good Force-chokin' from Lord Vader.

Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi (1997, PlayStation)

It was blocky, buggy, unbalanced and featured lightsabers with the cutting power of boiled asparagus, but this was the first game in which you actually got to take control of Darth Vader -- and Boba Fett, for that matter. Historical Tidbit: During development, millions of play testers cried out in terror and were silenced so LucasArts could get this game out by Christmas.

LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game (2005, Every system ever)

Darth Vader's origin story may have been spoiled by George Lucas's ham-fisted direction and a pouty, rat-tailed Anakin, but LEGO Star Wars' treatment of Vader's emergence is actually pretty cool. Instead of just stumbling around shouting "Nooooooooo!" he reduces the room, and medical droid, to a pile of LEGOs.

Star Wars: Battlefront II (2006, PC / PlayStation 2 / PSP / Xbox)

The awesomeness of playing as Darth Vader was finally realized in Battlefront II in which you could Force Choke your foes at will. Cutting down a few prequel trilogy Jedi as the original Imperial bad boy won't make things right in the world, but it sure feels good.

Soulcalibur IV (2008, PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360)

Darth Vader's second fighting game appearance was significantly cooler than his Masters of Teras Kasi debut, although his lightsaber still functioned as more of a glowing Wiffleball bat than the classic bar-fight-ending implement of dismemberment it once was.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008, PS3 / Xbox 360 / Wii)

The Force Unleashed offers a glimpse at Darth Vader's miserable life as the Emperor's heel between the trilogies. In the game's prologue you partake in some recreational Wookiee slaughter as Darth in his prime.

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