That's what happens to me basically every game. You hardly ever encounter a machine set to easy mode and in the higher difficulty settings, you're most likely going to to have your one death somewhere on the Battle of Endor before the Shuttle boss. This is due to bad screens, broken or fixed joysticks etc. I have only beaten the game physically on one credit when these outside factors were absolutely minimal, because you are limited to your timing, aiming, accuracy and speed. and having a seat model helps, but not the projector 50" screens or larger because you actually cannot get to the sides of the screen to aim.

The best model is the Namco arcade which is just a normal standup cabinet with an attached Sega era custom seat. This was my favorite and best machine and I played this in a nearby arcade until it closed.

My goal on every machine I come across no matter condition or parts that are fixed to have you pumping in more quarters is to have the one death as near to the end of the DSII battle as possible and beat both Fett and Vader, achieving as many of the 15 secrets as possible. Usually I get one DSII death, one lightsaber opponent beaten and anywhere between 12-14 secrets achieved.