The Force Awakens And Guardians Of The Galaxy Get An 8-Bit Makeunder
This article is more than 2 years old
With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a new era for George Lucas’ beloved galaxy far, far away will begin, one which will define the franchise’s legacy as it extends into the 21st century. And with the Force Awakens trailer having racked up an insane number of viewings, it’s no surprise that fans have been riffing on it pretty much from the instant it went online. We’ve seen the trailer sweded and mashed up and even redone in neon. So why not reimagined in the style of an 8-bit ‘80s video game?
That retro goodness was created by Brazil-based animator Mauri Helme. Sure, the stormtroopers just kind of look like a gray indistinguishable blob, but damned if that bouncy ball droid wouldn’t look fabulous on your cutting-edge Nintendo Entertainment System! Kylo Ren’s menacing tromp through the snowy forest isn’t quite as menacing, however. It’s more of a jaunty shuffle, certainly unbecoming of a presumed Sith or Sith sympathizer. I’m also kind of sad nobody handed out a lightsaber with the message, “It ‘s dangerous to go alone! Take this.”
Guardians of the Galaxy managed to be one of the best movies of 2014 by brilliantly recapturing the spirit of fun and adventure on display in movies like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. So it’s entirely appropriate that, while we’re kicking Star Wars back into the 8-bit realm, we might as well kick Guardians there as well. Thankfully the folks at CineFix have done precisely that, in the form of a new installment of their “8-Bit Cinema” series.
While the Force Awakens 8-bit vid just recreates the trailer, the Guardians actually gives us a speed-run through the story of Guardians as a whole, or rather what it might look like if somebody had actually created an old-school video game based on the movie. One which, by the way, I would like to play immediately. Kudos to CineFix for all the little touches that really sell it: the fetch quest involving that guy’s leg, the Collector’s jazz hands, and of course the Star-Lord vs. Ronan dance-off. Well played.
