Rogue Squadron for the Nintendo 64 was my absolute favorite game as a child, and I played it constantly. When the new Luke Pilot leader was revealed I was super hyped – it may not be meta defining, but it’s certainly playable. I resolved myself to building the best deck I could for it to try and win the showcase at the Regional qualifier in Minnesota. And then they revealed the art.

I don’t want to be mean here, although I know there has been some strong community reaction to this art. It’s technically proficient and well beyond anything I could make myself. The artist definitely has a specific style and knows what they’re doing – they’ve produced several pieces I really like, actually. Dogfight is one of the best arts in Jump To Lightspeed, and I think Bamboozle, while goofy, is portraying one of the funniest moments in the original trilogy and matches that vibe really well. Heroic Sacrifice and the Admiral Piett showcase prove the artist can also handle a more serious tone.

But ultimately that’s the rub for me. This showcase art of Luke presents the same goofiness of Bamboozle, and that’s not the vibe I had hoped for. It doesn’t fit my Rogue Squadron nostalgia or the memories I have of watching the Trench Run as a kid. The immediate excitement I had for building a deck full of Fighters and trying to pull off the impossible at the Sector Qualifier faded when I realized the reward wasn’t something I wanted to run myself. So I did what I always do – I found my own excitement. If there wasn’t an official Rogue Squadron showcase of my dreams, well, I had the power to make one for myself.

Now I’m a graphic designer, not an artist. I can’t supply my own art here, and I never liked AI art. But my fellow Rogue Squadron fans will remember that the home screen for that game is simply a screenshot of the exact moment the cards’ arts are based on, so with a little bit of Photoshop finagling I was able to give this photograph just enough of an artsy look to fit the vibes of the other cards, and off we went.

I’m still waiting on the delivery of the copies I ordered, but I can’t wait to see how this looks with the front & back holographic treatment. Luke and I may not be facing down the Regional Qualifier together, but with a fancy showcase of my own I can live out my Rogue Squadron nostalgia at locals. So if you see me around running my weird Showcase, say hi.

And most importantly, never forget: you can use cheat code “FARMBOY” to unlock the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars Rogue Squadron for the N64.