Wampas in Echo Base
I was born in 1987, which means, as a Star Wars fan, I grew up in the fallow period of the 1990s. I was too young to experience the original releases on the big screen and too old to appreciate the prequels uncritically. The height of my Star Wars fandom was watching the special editions on their respective opening weekends with my dad.
A mostly-forgotten video game, Shadows of the Empire, was important to me as well. The 1996 title was part of a multimedia project of the same name, that featured a novel, comics, toys and just about everything else short of a live-action film. Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, it was intended to reinvigorate interest in the series prior to the release of the special editions the following year.
I was certainly caught up in the hype. We were living outside San Francisco at the time and I remember being completely in awe when I learned my father had spotted George Lucas in a local cafe. Of course, I was aware the prequel films were being developed, and I felt like I might die happy if I could play an ewok or have some other minor role in the new trilogy.
Shadows of the Empire centers on Dash Rendar, a Han Solo knock-off, who interacts with original trilogy characters, while battling Prince Xizor, the leader of a criminal syndicate. I played the game on the Nintendo 64, which I only mention because I understand the PC version is slightly different.
What is and what is not canon is an ongoing debate in Star Wars fandom. Much has been made about the fact that when Disney purchased the franchise from Lucas, the corporation rebranded what had previously been termed the ‘extended universe’ as ‘legends.’ But even before that, as far as I’m aware, Lucas only considered the six films he was involved with as canon.
Using this measure, the canon status of Shadows of the Empire is somewhat interesting, if you’re a nerd like me. Rendar’s ship, the Outrider, appears in the background of a shot from the special edition version of A New Hope. I doubt Lucas meant much by this, if anything, but I appreciate it as a fan of the game.
A few years back, I got really into playing Nintendo 64 titles on my laptop. I revisited games I played as a kid, like Dark Rift, and finally experienced some of the titles I missed, like Majora’s Mask. In the former category, of course, I returned to Shadows of the Empire.
An early level is set in Echo Base during the Battle of Hoth, which is featured in The Empire Strikes Back. Rendar, who is apparently there to deliver supplies to the Rebels, has to fight his way through the military installation as it’s being overrun by the Empire.
Strangely, the level includes wampas in cages. A wampa, for those who don’t remember, is a yeti-like creature. One attacks Luke Skywalker in the 1980 film. Playing Shadows of the Empire as a child, I had a lot of fun setting these captive beasts loose on unsuspecting stormtroopers.
So I understood why they were there from a gameplay perspective. But revisiting the title on my most recent playthrough, I wondered if there was any kind of narrative explanation for their presence. Were the Rebels engaged in some kind of nefarious animal experimentation?
Thankfully, this wasn’t the case. As it turns out, the wampas in Echo base were inspired by a deleted scene from The Empire Strikes Back in which the creatures infiltrate the military installation. Presumably, then, in Shadows of the Empire, the wampas are caged after the Rebels have repelled such an attack.