Star Wars: Rebel Assault is an arcade flight/shooting game based on the original Star Wars trilogy. Players control Rebel recruit Rookie One (who can be set to have either a male or female voice) in combat against the Empire. Story events include Rookie One's basic training, an Imperial assault on Tatooine, the battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back, and the Death Star battle from A New Hope.
The game features four different Star Wars craft: Skyhoppers, A-Wings, X-Wings, and Snowspeeders. The fifteen levels encompass navigating canyons, caves, asteroid fields, battles against TIE Fighters in space, attacks against a Star Destroyer and an Imperial Walker, battles on foot against stormtroopers, and the famous Death Star trench run.
The game's flight sequences follow an 'on-rails' model, utilizing motion video backdrops displaying pre-rendered environments. There are three types of flight sequences: seen from behind the own craft, from an overhead perspective, or from a first-person cockpit view. The on-foot level takes place on static screens, with Rookie One seen from behind, stormtroopers moving in from side corridors, and the player being able to take steps to the side to avoid enemy fire.