Think back to the first time you saw a Star Wars film. Any of them, doesn’t matter which one. My first was The Empire Strikes Back. I was 7-years-old when introduced to the galaxy far, far away, and I have never looked back. Sure, there are times—especially recent—that I’ve loathed this story and the direction it took. Nonetheless, I persevere, just as the rest of the fandom does. And just when I think I’m ready to drown my sorrows in a bacta tank over some obscure canon problem to my favorite universe, something happens that reminds me why I am here. Something like Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures.

Luke vs. Vader
The first light saber battle I ever saw, in The Empire Strikes Back

The story of our favorite galaxy, far, far away began 42 years ago when the first crawl went up the screen for Episode IV… when we first heard the Schvrmmmmmmm! of a light saber… when we first heard, “May the Force be with you.” Pure magic. All of it. And now, with technology and unprecedented access to Star Wars content like never before, we get Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures animated shorts like this one:

Galaxy of Adventures: What makes this clip so awesome

This.

This is why we still go to the movies to see Star Wars.

Everything in every film we’ve seen so far sums up awesomely in this less-than-two-minute video. The transitions from film-to-film, scene-to-scene, character-to-character in this clip take me back to that 7-year-old kid that saw Luke Skywalker get his hand cut off by his father and leave me wanting more. That final scene with each trilogy’s Jedi knight and Sith counterpart facing off (with Anakin obviously on both sides)… just fricken’ awesomesauce. Only thing that would have made it better is having some of that famous Willrow Hood ice cream while I was watching it.

Galaxy of Adventures

Call me a fan boy if you want. I’ll take that title and wear it like the 45-year-old Star Wars nerd that I am. The epic struggle between the Dark Side and the Light for more than a millennia ends this December, and I’ll be there to see the glorious end of it all. I’ll be sitting in the theater, popcorn and Cherry Coke in hand, embarrassing my kids, wearing my favorite Star Wars shirt that says, “Trust me, I’m a Jedi Master.” I’ll save you a seat.

Contributing Source: io9