A long time ago in a decade far, far away, Star Wars revolutionized science fiction, film, and storytelling as we know it. Whether it was Luke's journey to become a Jedi, the oppressive might of the Empire, or the epic romance between Han and Leia, Star Wars offered something for everyone.
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One of the simpler pleasures of the franchise are its aesthetics; specifically, spaceships. Each ship felt unique and served a clear purpose. Seeing large-scale space battles was a truly epic cinematic experience that helped define the series. Unfortunately, not all of the Star Wars ships can make the Kessler run, as there have been a couple of stinkers over the years. Let's examine the 5 best (and the 5 worst) ships in the Star Wars universe.
10. Worst - Delta 7 Jedi Starfighter
There's very little the prequels got right, unfortunately, and one of those was coming up with proper spaceship aesthetics. The best that can be said about the Delta 7 Jedi Starfighters are that they are... functional. They are fast, but completely unremarkable in every way appearance-wise and can only sit a single pilot. They also feel unwieldy to look at during the scenes we see them in. Given that these are standard Starfighters for the Jedi Order, one would imagine they invoke a sense of awe or power. Instead, they feel slightly underwhelming and generic, especially given the wide variety of ships we see in the galaxy.
9. Best - Naboo N-1 Starfighter
One of the things the prequels DID get right with spaceships was the Naboo N-1 Starfighter. While they are unfortunately synonymous with the worst of the Star Wars prequels, it's difficult to deny the style and function these ships have. Given that they are one of the few ships that could feasibly achieve lift-off and not be horribly weighed down by drag, they manage to look cool and are theoretically functional, a rare achievement for Star Wars. In space battles, seeing a squadron of the N-1 Starfighters gives off an impressive and fun atmosphere, one of the few times The Phantom Menace achieves such an effect.
8. Worst - A Wing
When a space ship gives off the impression of driving a smart car in a monster truck rally, it might be time to go back to the drawing board. The little brother of the X-Wings, A-Wings are intended to be quicker and more maneuverable than their X or Y wing counterparts. In doing so, it loses a lot of the firepower that those two ships have. They're intended for reconnaissance or scouting missions at best, but somehow found themselves making an appearance in the Battle of Endor. What that left us with was an unimpressive looking ship that failed to stand out in a space battle, and was less effective than every ship it was fighting with and up against. In other words, the A-Wing was an F.
7. Best - Slave 1
The personal vehicle of famed bounty hunter Boba Fett, Slave-1 is both awe-inspiring and deadly. A modified Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft, the Slave-1 is kitted out to a flying armory. With laser cannons, proton torpedoes, seismic charges and more, this ship destroys the competition in a one-on-one fight.
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When upright and vertical, the ship gives the impression of a face, with the cannons being the eyes that have you locked in its sights. Impressive design and destructive functioning, this is a ship worth fearing.
6. Worst - Solar Sailer
No ship looks quite as ridiculous as Count Dooku's Solar Sailer. Seen only briefly as Dooku was escaping Genosis, the ship is mind-boggling to look at. Functionally, the sails of the ship are supposed to absorb stray space energies as a way to fuel the ship. Which begs the question, then, of why other, similar sized ships don't have the same problem. Even worse, wouldn't destroying the (large, defenseless) sail now mean you have no way of fueling your ship? The design of the ship beggars all belief, even for a franchise that has telekinetic warrior-priests who use laser swords.
5. Best - X Wing
There are few ships as iconic as the X-Wing starfighter ships in all of Star Wars. Sleek, fast, and boasting impressive firepower, the X-Wing is the preferred starfighter of the Rebellion and Resistance movements. We've seen what skilled pilots like Poe Dameron can do in one, and the results speak for themselves. X-Wings can control the battlefield of any fight they find themselves in given a skilled and confident pilot.
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The biggest drawback to them is their lack of defenses; while they're quick and pack a punch, a well-placed shot can take an X-Wing down easily. Still, there's no denying that when push comes to shove, seeing those flying X's in the sky serves as a beacon of hope to all who fight the Dark Side.
4. Worst - Storm IV Twin Pod Cloud Car
Lando Calrissian is a smooth talker and one of the coolest characters in the Star Wars universe. It's easy to forget that when we first meet him in Empire Strikes Back, he had denizens of Cloud City escort Han and the gang with several Cloud Cars firing warning shots across their bow. Native to Cloud City, the Cloud Cars have a bizarre control scheme for pilots. The engine is located in the middle of two sections; the left side requires a pilot to steer and control the ship, while the right side requires someone to control and fire the weapons. Meaning that the maneuverability and weaponry of the ship isn't just difficult to control, it's almost set up to fail. Being attacked by what looks like a brown pair of Mr. Potato Head's shoes makes this ship even more ridiculous than it would be just off the concept alone
3. Best - Tie Fighter
When these ships come racing towards you with their trademark blasters and screaming engines, the full force of the Galactic Empire can be felt. These ships are fast and deadly, able to outmaneuver an X-Wing and destroy it in a few shots. While they lack the deep-space travel that other starships possess, they make up for it in numerical superiority; you will almost never be fighting a single TIE Fighter by itself. Given their versatility in space and in planetary atmospheres, it's no wonder that the Empire was able to maintain control for decades across an entire galaxy.
2. Worst - Trade Federation Battleship
An engineering failure of gargantuan proportions, the Trade Federation Battleships take the cake when it comes to the worst of the worst of Star Wars ships. At the end of Phantom Menace, a single Trade Federation Battleship is in control of the massive droid army on the planet below. Somehow, an inexperienced nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker blunders into one of the hangar bays of the ship in a ship of his own. Not only that, but he then fires a missile directly into the unguarded, unshielded main reactor... located in the same hangar. Not only does this somehow create a chain reaction that destroys the Battleship, it immediately deactivates the thousands of droids on the planet below. While people give the Death Star a hard time for their engineering snafu, this one is far more inexcusable.
1. Best - Millennium Falcon
Where would we be if we didn't include the only starship capable of...well, you know what this ship is capable of. First introduced by Han Solo as a smuggling ship, the Millennium Falcon has become a symbol of the fight against the Empire. Despite a sometimes malfunctioning hyperspeed drive, this ship is far more than people give it credit for. Capable of deft maneuverability and boasting weaponry that can take down TIE Fighters in a single shot, the Falcon isn't just some bucket of bolts. It is a true, honest spaceship, and one that has come to symbolize the love that generations have had for Star Wars for decades.