My “Star Wars” was me as a kid constantly watching the '97 SE VHS set; I probably played A New Hope the least cause I thought, “ah, desert stuff and boring space battle.” Return of the Jedi got played the most because I really enjoyed the space battle and the duel between Luke and Vader. Empire Strikes Back got played the second most (“Hoth? HELL YEAH! Yoda stuff? Borringgg skip Luke vs Vader? Weeeee!”)
I did get the Prequel Theater experience, but I barely remember TPM, and even when my parents got it on VHS at the time, I hardly watched it and instead went back to all my time favorite, Return of the Jedi. By the time AotC came out, that was my first Star Wars DVD and watched it a fair amount, but still rather dull. Then my parents get the 2004 DVD set, and oh boy, I still remember how pissed my dad was when Hayden’s ghost appeared, but hey, at least I get to watch Star Wars again since the VHS tapes are worn out and essentially trash (we still have those 2004 DVD’s and in pretty decent shape aside from the box). Alongside the films, I drew countless drawings that were Star Wars related and even made a homemade X-Wing, Falcon, Star Destroyer, AT-AT, and an AT-ST head (was meant to be a full walker, but never finished ha).
To be honest, those 2004 DVD’s have been the definitive Star Wars Trilogy for me, as for years, and even now, I have no memory of actually hearing Boba Fett’s original voice nor can I remember Shaw’s Force Ghost in Jedi, nor Yub Nub. Due to how much longer the 2004 version lasted throughout my childhood, Yub Nub can be a little jarring to me and still prefer Victory Celebration.
Expanded universe wise, Knights of the Old Republic is my “extra” Star Wars experience. Star Wars Clone Wars remains my all time favorite Star Wars cartoon, the one from 2003-2004. I felt “George Lucas’d” when they stopped that cartoon in favor of that blocky CGI “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” version, which still makes me scratch my head why so many like it despite adding weird continuity between AotC and RotS (how the hell does Anakin have an apprentice and still count as canon, when no hints of this are evident in RotS??).
Now though, I’ve grown more appreciation for A New Hope or “Star Wars” for most of you all. Empire Strikes Back remains my all time favorite Star Wars film, and Return of the Jedi, I believe it’s only redeeming aspects are the space battles and the conflict between Luke/Vader/Emperor. Not even Rogue One’s space battle compares; it’s really boring to me actually and feels like someone having too much fun throwing a ton of ships together in one scene for the sake of explosions and lasers.
I’m still quite content with TFA, and it’s mainly due to me really liking the new characters and interested in how their stories will develop. Plot stuff is lacking, sure, but if both the characters and the plot fell, I wouldn’t like it as much as I do currently.