Top VII Star Wars Video Games - Article
by Brandon J. Wysocki , posted on 26 December 2015 / 19,751 Views
I have long been a fan of Star Wars. I watched it, played it, and quoted it before I was truly acquainted with it, let alone in love with it as I am now. It was in 1995, as I watched The Empire Strikes Back one Saturday morning at a friend’s house that I began to became particularly fond of Star Wars. About a year after that, at a different friend’s house, I was introduced to Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire for the Nintendo 64. Getting to explore the worlds that I had watched in the films, and being able to see the original trilogy story expanded in that manner was an incredible experience.
Sadly, subjective as this judgment is, many Star Wars games have failed to pull me in as much as Shadows of the Empire did. Worse yet, in my opinion there’s been a steady decrease in AAA Star Wars game release quality. I had hoped for a return to glory with Star Wars Battlefront, but as beautiful as the game is it simply doesn’t compare favorably to other FPS titles due chiefly to its lack of depth.
Having now watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens a few times (yeah, you should go see it if you haven’t already...), it seemed fitting to list some of my favorite Star Wars games, and read about some of yours in the comments below. So, without further ado, here is the list of my top VII Star Wars video games. These are games that further immersed me in the Star Wars universe, and increased my love of the series on every level.
Star Wars: Yoda Stories (1997)
This may prove to be the most controversial of my picks, but keep in mind that this is strictly the PC version I’m referring to, not the Game Boy Color version that I hear was a complete mess. With procedurally generated levels and a random order to its 15 possible missions, Star Wars: Yoda Stories had a unique way of making you feel like you were getting a good slice of the massive Star Wars universe. As simple as the presentation and gameplay both are by today's standards, Star Wars: Yoda Stories was above all highly enjoyable and instantly comes to mind when I think about Star Wars video games that I love.
Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005)
I fully expected to be able to put the latest Battlefront title in this game's place, but because of some iffy design choices and an overall woeful lack of innovation after more than 10 years, I give the nod to its predecessor Star Wars: Battlefront II instead. Battlefront II expanded well on the original Battlefront and still provides the most well-rounded Star Wars competitive multiplayer experience to-date.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (1996)
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire blew many a gamer away back in 1996. It boasts a genuinely interesting story and a great mix of established characters and locations that are made to blend well with wholly new ones. It was (and remains) unique for also being accompanied by a novel and soundtrack of the same name. The only thing it lacked was a feature length film. On the surface, the new Star Wars Anthology films are quite similar to Shadows of the Empire, which makes me incredibly excited by the prospect of a potential video game tie-in at some point.
Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (2001)
I've always enjoyed the StarCraft series as an RTS, but I've never been particularly invested in its lore. While this is quite the oversimplification, Galactic Battlegrounds is almost StarCraft but with a wonderful coat of Star Wars paint. I enjoyed countless hours playing alone and against others. A long-time friend of mine and I often had ridiculously drawn out battles with back-up bases that helped prolong the fight. Each match in Galactic Battlegrounds often told quite the story of decisions, consequences, and struggles from both sides. Jeff, if you’re reading this, consider it a formal challenge for a long overdue rematch!
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (2001)
All three Rogue Squadron console games are well worth playing, but Rogue Leader remains the most balanced and polished entry in the series. Graphically, it was jaw-dropping at the time. Refined gameplay was combined with the excellent visual and audio presentation, as well as solid writing and acting, to produce a truly AAA video game package. I would love to see a new entry in the series made with the same level of polish, as Rogue Squadron is undoubtedly one of the best ways to experience the Star Wars universe in the medium of video games.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (1997)
While it successor - Jedi Outcast - gives it a run for its money, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II did a great job of building on the more standard FPS that was the original Dark Forces, and crucially it took the series in a new and exciting direction. Solid FPS gameplay was combined with clever puzzles and a solid story (even if it was conveyed via FMVs that were a mixed bag in terms of writing and acting), allowing gamers of the era to take on the role of a Jedi and feel like they were really part of the Star Wars universe.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
KotOR stands out as a spectacular example of how complimentary - arguably even essential - a game can be to the Star Wars universe. If you haven’t played at least the first game in this acclaimed series then I highly recommend that you take the time to give it a shot, even if it is now over 12 years old. KotOR features great gameplay and an alignment system that tracks your actions and choices and aligns you with either the Dark or Light side accordingly. The massive RPG also takes you to incredible Star Wars locales, both old and new, and has a narrative and character progression that matches (if not surpasses) much of the content in the film series.
What I notice as I reflect on my list of top Star Wars games is that they peaked as the movies resurged. Between the Special Edition releases and the prequel films, we didn’t just see a logical and expected increase in Star Wars games, but we also received a number of gems that make up the entirety of my list. I can only hope that the plan to release a new Star Wars movie annually for the next 4-5 years will result in an awakening of Star Wars games; games that will further develop the Star Wars universe and will allow us to engage with it in an increasingly immersive way.
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Brandon J. Wysocki is a writer for VGChartz. You're invited to contact Brandon (username SpaceLegends) in the comments below or through private messages on VGChartz, or even at his barely ever used and effectively dormant Twitter account @BrandonJWysocki.
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Good list. The Super Star Wars trilogy on the SNES (despite their tough as balls difficulty) and SW Episode I Racer are also among my other fav Star Wars games of all time.
KOTOR is by far, my most favorite as well. That and Halo, were the 2 main reasons that i bought my one and only Xbox console. I liked some Episode 1 Racer (not on the list), back on the N64, for my 2nd favorite. I'm really surprised that they haven't revived the KOTOR games.
I wish they would make another entry in the KOTOR series, both games were great! Episode I Racer nearly made my list. It allowed you to travel the Star Wars locales, new and old, and see it all from a unique perspective. I enjoyed that game much more than I ever would have expected.
I dug on "Episode I Racer" as well. Great graphics for the time, and the DC port was even sharper.
They did update KOTOR 2 on steam this year actually. Adding some more achievements and making it easier to install that "mod" that was basically the ending of the game which was incomplete.
Jedi Outcast & Jedi Academy are awesome! :)
No Jedi Outcast? SMH
I called it out by name, but in trying to pick the best of the series, I felt Jedi Knight deserved the recognition, namely for what it did and how well it did it at the time (5 years before the equally great Jedi Outcast).
Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy are my two favorite games of all time, being the only two games that I finished multiple times.
Academy was cool, but I don't recall it's narrative being of much interest to me. I was torn on whether Jedi Outcast or Jedi Knight should be listed. Right, wrong, or indifferent, Jedi Knight got the nod mostly because it started the new direction of Dark Forces and was really a great experience just as Jedi Outcast was.
I read the title, I was thinking, KOTOR should be #1, I am not suprised.
Yeah, I believe KOTOR stands out among many great Star Wars games. That was an experience that I will always cherish. I have copies of the games for my children in hopes they will enjoy it as much as I have.
Decent list. My favorite are:
X-Wing: Alliance - LOVE the epic space battles in this game. This was also my first time flying into and destroying the second death star
Rogue Leader - beautiful graphics with wonderful gameplay
KOTOR - amazing RPG with choices that impacted everything
Dark Forces II - great story, awesome introduction of FPS lightsaber combat, countless hours on MSN Gaming Zone playing online
Pod Racer - fantastic racing game
Battlefront II - best Star Wars multiplayer
Shadows of the Empire - this should be a movie
Jedi Knight II: Outcast is not just the best star wars game ever, it's one of the best games ever made. The multiplayer saber combat and light/dark force power combined with the FPS guns has game play that is unmatched to this day. They should have just taken that game and re-skinned it for the new battlefront.
Great list, but instead of Star Wars: Yoda Stories (1997), I would put Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
And we're all here, just hoping that 1313 isn't dead.... :-/
X-Wing Alliance is my Favourite SW game.
Good list, but I think Galactic Battlegrounds can't be compared to SC, since it's pretty much Age of Empires 2 in space :) A totally different dynamic of the game. I also think that Jedi Knight truely took off with the expansion Mysteries of the Sith and a much more advanced missions' structure.
The only game I'm missing there is SW: Rebellion. My goodness, do I love that game :) I'd buy a new version of that gem day 1.
Not a bad list, but no 'Top' or 'Best' SW game list should be without SW: TIE Fighter.
Maybe I need to kick the tires on that and see if I become a bigger fan. I just never got too into it. Alternatively, I may just be a bad person.
I know this is off topic, but the picture for "Yoda Stories" gives me great memories of Windows XP.
You mentioned Yoda Stories! I thought I was the only one that knew that game existed lol.
Anyway, awesome games on this list, with KotOR the easy and clear winner, that game's genius. I played Galactic Battlegrounds for countless hours. Would personally have picked Jedi Outcast as well, but at least you have Jedi Knight, which was great as well. A personal favorite of mine has also been Rebel Assault II.
I really enjoyed Yoda Stories. I actually had it on my last computer before I had to replace it just a few months ago. It had a certain amount of magic to it. It felt so organic to me because of the random aspects. I remember the first time my brother and I encountered Vader on a mission. We actually got stuck on the mission and never got to face him before we started a new one, but it was stuff like that that made it special to me.
The only SW game I have ever liked was RS2.
I always assumed that I'd never be able to play KotOR, being a Nintendo/Mac person. Just found out there is a Mac version. Sweet!
All with better plots than the new movie? Yes.
Disney Infinity 3.0 is decent too
Disney Infinity is not bad, but for the price and the quality of the content, it's not that special in my mind. All the same, I have all 3 Star Wars playsets...or my kids do. It's a weird love/hate relationship.
Lego Star Wars deserves a spot! You know I am right!
I really like the Lego Star Wars games, the reason I didn't include it here was that compared to almost every other game on the list, it didn't really expand or further develop Star Wars. It's fun, no doubt, but not much more than that in my opinion.
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back for the Atari 2600 is my favorite Star Wars game...and I'm not kidding.
Good choices. Dark Forces II and Jedi Outcast and legendary PC hallmarks. Dark Forces II has some of the best total conversion mods, play designed maps, and character models. My god the DBZ mod in Dark Forces II is the best mod 've ever played to date.
Jedi Outcast wins on the saber combat though. Both amazing games with kill online multiplayer. MotS also had some great multiplayer moments but lacked the flexibility of the other two. DF and Academy deserve honorable mentions.
