Matthew Savage, one of the concept artists who worked on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, shared a few pictures on Instagram showcasing a hacking device that greatly resembles a different, more familiar console. Savage acknowledged that Babu Frik's signature droid repair gadgets were "possibly inspired by a Nintendo Game Boy... possibly..." which is probably as close to an official nod Savage could give without the worry of a lawsuit.
It is easy to miss the device in Frik's cluttered repair shop, but once you spot the hacking console, its similarities to Nintendo's first, handheld cartridge console are immediately evident. The gray exterior and chunky form-factor scream old-school Nintendo, and the green-toned screen paired with red LED lights and volume dial are especially obvious call-outs to the console.
It is a fitting homage, as the fanciful technology of Star Wars was influenced by cutting edge devices from the late 1970 and 80s, giving the franchise a retro-futuristic feel that the original Game Boy captures perfectly. It is also one of the greatest and most influential consoles of all time.
While Star Wars references are a pervasive part of pop culture, the franchise pays plenty of homages itself, particularly to westerns and samurai films, but it also has a rich history with video games. The Game Boy itself hosted three Star Wars games, (each based on a movie in the original trilogy,) but it must be said that none of them deserve a spot on the console's list of greatest hits. In fact, the Star Wars Game Boy games are a prime example of poorly handled games based on a big name license, with features from their SNES counterparts being stripped away so the titles could run on the simpler, portable system.
That said, those early portable titles sold well based on the strength of the property alone, and without that early proof of interest, classics like Shadows of the Empire, Battlefront II, Rogue Squadron, and more may have never seen the light of day. Managing a juggernaut franchise is always a fraught enterprise and shifting release schedules and corporate politics can lead to ambitious projects being scrapped altogether, even if they are deep in development.
The Rise of Skywalker, and the Abrams/Johnson trilogy as a whole, are controversial topics among critics and Star Wars audiences, with some fans calling for the new Star Wars films to be retconned out of the new canon. But Episode IX's diminutive droid repair specialist, Babu Frik, was generally met with a positive reception.
Star Wars has never shied from using cute characters to add levity, though, like the recent movies, it's a trend with a mixed track record, as Return of the Jedi's Ewoks and the prequel trilogy's Jar-Jar Binks are near-universally reviled. Ultimately, it's good to know that the Star Wars' universe-equivalent to Game Boys are in good hands.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available now, and can be streamed on Disney Plus.
Source: IGN