Classic ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’ Pinball Table Resurfaces

Star Wars has had a heavy presence in pinball over the past few years, between the classic Data East table; the revamped Sega pinball table; the numerous entries we’ve seen in Pinball FX (including tomorrow’s forthcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story pack; and Stern Pinball’s recent arcade version.

But what if we told you there was a long lost table that has been discovered again, retaining all the magic of the 1980 film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back? Well, that’s just what the team at Diary of an Arcade Employee Podcast has found, posting pictures from a machine released in 1980 by Hankin in Australia.

The table retains the classic look for other tables at the time, including a reflective back glass display that makes it look like endless lights in the background, surrounding a glowing Darth Vader and Empire Strikes Back logo.

Then there’s the playfield design itself, featuring a number of iconic designs straight out of Star Wars, including the Millennium Falcon, several laser blasts, and, of course, Darth Vader bumpers for extra effect. There’s even an AT-AT in the middle of everything, with lasers and flying ships going all around it.

Granted, it’s not as sophisticated as Stern’s current design, but it’s a neat little throwback that shows just how far we’ve come in pinball design. That, and this looks like a lot of fun to play.

For good measure, a video was posted by Rod’s Pinball Videos back in 2014 that shows the game in action. And although its distribution is limited enough that not every Star Wars collector can get their hands on it, it looks like a rare little treat that’s worth tracking down, if only to say you played it once. You can watch the video above.

It kind of makes us wonder about what other “lost” Star Wars game machines are out there. It has been a while since we’ve played Atari’s Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Hmmmm…

Check out the pics above (from Diary of an Arcade Employee Podcast) and dream of simpler days of pinball. Then go track down Stern’s machine and get into that as well. Who knows, that may be a gem in 38 years!