10 Star Wars Games Everyone Forgot About
“Star Wars: Bounty Hunter” (2002)
Top 10 Video Game Bounty Hunters
For the time being, this is probably as close as we’ll get to a Boba Fett or Mandalorian game, but only time will tell. The game was met with moderate success and critical reception but even despite its tie-in nature to the history of one of the galaxy’s original bounty hunters, it has been mostly forgotten when discussing the best of the early Star Wars titles. Designed by LucasArts to explore the early bounty hunting days of Jango Fett before he became the alpha design for future clone troopers, players were given access to many tools of the bounty hunter trade, including the iconic jet pack, and could even take on secondary bounties within the game's levels for additional bounty rewards. Gamers were even given the option to bring them in warm or bring them in cold, for this is the way.
“Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi” (1997)
Top 10 MegaMan Robot Masters
This is one that while still an interesting piece of Star Wars history, might be better off forgotten. Beyond the fact that any Force user with a lightsaber would easily beat any opponent in a one on one fight, there were many larger issues with LucasArts’ first attempt at a fighting game in the Star Wars universe. Released to mostly negative reviews, critics called out the characters’ sluggish movements, unwieldy controls and overpowered Force moves while praising the roster of familiar and beloved Star Wars characters faithfully recreated within the game. Surprisingly, the style of fighting within the game Teräs Käsi, has been referenced in more recent Star Wars properties such as Solo: A Star Wars Story and The Mandalorian.
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Lightsaber Duels” (2008)
10 Times Star Wars Infiltrated Other Games
Ever since the release of the first Star Wars film in 1977, fans everywhere have dreamed of wielding a lightsaber, and with Nintendo’s Wii console, it seemed they might finally be given the chance. Meant to be, this was not, however. Set during the events of season 1 of the series, players could assume the roles of Anakin, Obi-Wan, or Ahsoka and wield not only a lightsaber but Force powers with the Wii’s nunchuck controller. However due to the minimal structure of the game and the Wii mote’s often unwieldy nature, what should have been a Star Wars fan’s dream come true was more of an exercise in frustration. The game did an admirable job matching the series’ now iconic art style, but ultimately the title ended up being more style than substance and was one duel that the Dark Side won.
“Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire” (1996)
7 Ways Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is Still a Souls Game
LucasArts did an admirable job expanding the known universe of Star Wars with video games that helped flesh out the time between films, and Shadows of the Empire is certainly one of their better efforts. Set between “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” players take control of mercenary Dash Rendar (awesome name), and his mission to help Luke Skywalker rescue Princess Leia from Prince Xizor, who fancied himself the next Darth Vader. The game was far more arcadey in design than many other Star Wars titles, with levels having set time limits, and should the player run out of lives, they would have to start the game over from the start. Shadows of the Empire received mixed reviews upon release with many praising the variety of gameplay but criticizing the game’s poor controls and frustrating camera that held it back from becoming the classic it could have been.
“Star Wars: Empire at War” (2006)
Given the epic scale of many of the legendary battles within the Star Wars universe, it’s honestly shocking how few titles have attempted the RTS angle. With the ability to play as either the rebels or the Empire in battles that can take place either in space or on a planet surface, players are given faction-specific objectives such as defending or destroying the Death Star. Strategists also have access to legacy characters such as Darth Vader or Obi-Wan who can use special abilities, turning the tide of the battle in your favor. While not as deep as many other RTS games on the market, the team at Petroglyph Games did a fantastic job putting gamers in the tactician seat over large scale battles in the Star Wars universe. This is a game even non Star Wars fans could find much to love in a galaxy far, far away.
“Kinect Star Wars” (2012)
Mass Effect 3: What's New, Kinect Support
Yet another attempt to make Star Wars fans’ Force wielding dreams a reality and yet another example of the technology’s midi-chlorian count not being high enough to control that amount of Force power. The game featured 4 separate game modes, from pod racing to Jedi training and even one on one duels with characters from the Dark Side. However, none of these game modes were particularly well received or designed, and while much of the blame lands on the Kinect’s unreliable tracking abilities, even with normal controller options the game would still have been a hollow representation of what gamers wanted to do with their Force powers. Sadly, this would also be LucasArts’ final Star Wars game after Disney’s acquisition of the license. Nowadays, the game is mostly forgotten, except for Han Solo riding Solo on the dance floor.
“Star Wars Demolition” (2000)
Top 10 WORST Star Wars Games
Here’s the pitch: Twisted Metal: Star Wars. That’s it. After the Empire bans pod racing, Jabba decides to create an even MORE dangerous sport by eliminating the racing altogether and just focusing on vehicular destruction. As if you needed any more evidence of the game’s inspirations, Demolition was even developed using the game engine of another car combat title, PS1’s Vigilante 8. All in-game weapons were reskinned to fit the Star Wars universe, such as thermal detonators and proton torpedoes, and even the addition of fan favorite characters like Boba Fett using only his jet pack in a vehicular combat game couldn’t save this title from the bargain bin. Clearly a cash grab to capitalize on the Star Wars IP, Demolition received mostly mixed reviews upon release, with some critics calling the game downright “boring”.
“Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing” (2001)
10 Hidden Secrets In Super Mario Games
After the success of Star Wars Episode 1: Racer which focused on the wildly popular pod racing featured in the movie, no one was really expecting the follow-up to be a kart racer with Big Head Mode Star Wars characters. While a novel concept and clearly aimed at younger and less “hardcore” fans, the game could have at least achieved some kind of cult status had it actually been anything other than simply another generic kart racer. Critics lambasted the game for its simplistic design and seemingly “tacked on” use of the Star Wars license. Even with familiar characters and environments lifted from the beloved movie franchise, this is probably one race where Star Wars should’ve thrown in the white flag.
“Star Wars Episode 1: The Gungan Frontier” (1999)
Top 10 HARDEST Star Wars Video Games
Probably by far the least known title on our list, The Gungan Frontier was developed by LucasArts subsidiary Lucas Learning that created more educational games set within the Star Wars universe. Now before you write this game off as kid’s game shovelware, its gameplay is actually far deeper than it had any right to be. Players are tasked by Boss Nass to build a new ecosystem to co-exist with the Gungan race on the moon of Naboo. Players can design their own creatures or “critters” and select which plant life they want to use to build their ecosystem in order to help their critters grow and prosper alongside the Gungans. If this sounds a bit familiar, it’s because many of the systems in Wil Wright’s game “Spore” were all seemingly inspired by this game’s mechanics.
“Star Wars: Obi Wan” (2001)
10 Star Wars Games That STILL Hold Up Today
Well, hello there. Hands down one of the most underrated and forgotten titles in the Star Wars gaming space, Star Wars: Obi-Wan details the events taking place before Episode 1, leading up to Qui-Gon’s untimely death at the hands of Darth Maul. Players control Obi-Wan as he uncovers much of the conspiracy threads that lead directly into the events of Episode 1 and provide further backstory to how Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan ended up on Tatooine. Players are given access to Obi-Wan’s Force powers and iconic lightsaber, intuitively controlled by the right analog stick, and on occasion, though it’s uncivilized, even a blaster from time to time. Sadly this title has remained console exclusive to the original Xbox and with seemingly no plans to make the game backwards compatible, this is sadly a title that did not become more powerful than we could ever imagine after being struck down.
