The greatest Star Wars games you have to play and some you shouldn't
We look back at the greatest and most disastrous Star Wars games ever made! Many are worthwhile playing just for the storyline and great gameplay, so hop in and find out what they are.
Note: This article was first published on 13th December 2015 and it's republished today in celebration of Star Wars Day.
Believe it not, this isn't a complete representation of all Star Wars games. Some titles, like the arcade games, are missing.
It's been said that when the original Star Wars launched in 1977, not even George Lucas himself expected his movie to be the massive hit, eventually spawning the juggernaut multimedia franchise that it is today.
Luckily for us, it was, or else we'd not have gotten to play some of the best games (and worst) ever to grace consoles and the PC.
Best Star Wars games (in chronological order)
Star Wars - Famicom
Star Wars for the Famicom has to be seen (and played) to be believed.
Released in 1987
We all remember A New Hope. It's the story of the murderous Luke Skywalker, who goes from planet to planet killing everything in order to rescue his captured friends, who have been captured by an army of cloned Darth Vaders. No? That doesn't sound like the plot of A New Hope? All the more reason to play the official Star Wars game that was originally released for the Famicom (the Japanese version of the NES).
Hokey plot aside, it was actually pretty fun and required decent skill to progress. The bosses were weird (the Darth Vader that morphed into a giant scorpion in the Jawa Sandcrawler will forever haunt our nightmares) but they took skill to beat and the chance to pilot the Falcon in-between worlds was almost worth the price of the game alone. It even culminated in an awesome top-down shooter sequence with Luke's Death Star trench run.
If nothing else, the chance to see how weird a Japanese game can get with the Star Wars license should be enough to get anybody interested.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
If you have a working Famicom (or a machine that can play Famicom cartridges), you can easily get one for a decent price on Ebay. Of course, since this is a Famicom game, it's not to hard to track down a working ROM of the game to play on an emulator.
The Empire Strikes Back - Game Boy
The Tauntaun looked like a dinosaur, but the Game Boy version of The Empire Strikes Back is a great portable game.
Released in 1991
Unlike the Star Wars Famicom game, the Game Boy's version of The Empire Strikes Back is a relatively faithful adaptation of the movie. The pivotal scenes are all intact, from the Battle of Hoth, to Luke's Jedi training on Dagobah to the climatic duel on Cloud City.
While the game play is nothing special nowadays, it's a great example of how archaic portable systems could still create great experiences. The Empire Strikes Back on the Game Boy was one of the first times the Battle of Hoth was ever portrayed as an interactive experience and succinctly captured the Rebel's desperate fight to buy enough time for evacuation by sending the Snowspeeders against the AT-ATs. The bosses this time around are much more grounded as well, with recognizable characters and vehicles as boss characters. One of the most memorable, was a gigantic probe droid Luke has to fight in one of the game's early stages.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
Again, the game's not exact hard to come by, especially if you do you searching on Ebay. Of course, a ROM image of the game is easily found on the Internet for use in an emulator.
Super Star Wars - SNES, PS4
Certain liberties were taken by the game, such as the Sarlaac now being barely bigger than Luke.
Released in 1992
The Super series of Star Wars games on the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) is arguably the zenith of the platform's games. All three games followed the plot of the movies they were based on loosely (which is why Luke slaughters the entire Imperial army stationed on the Death Star 2 to get to the Emperor) and had multiple playable characters. What the series was most known for however, was the incredibly tough difficulty (in an era with no saves) which made it a real challenge for all.
Out of the three, we felt that the original was the best. Not only did it pioneer the looks that would be the series' trademark, it was the hardest of them all, which really gave a sense of accomplishment after beating every stage. Besides, we're partial to A New Hope.
During the 16-bit era, the Super series was one of the most visually impressive titles on consoles. Exclusive to the SNES, the series utilized the console's infamous Mode 7 effects for certain stages (the vehicular ones), giving them a pseudo-3D feel in an age of 2D gaming.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
You guessed it, Ebay. Though much more expensive, they're still relatively affordable and finding a working SNES shouldn't be a problem either. Of course, there's always the ROM option. Also, if you own a PS4, Super Star Wars has been ported to the system for US$10. No news if the other two games will also make the jump.
We're not done yet! Head on to the next page to see even more great games!
TIE Fighter - PC
The game uses Gouraud shading, which gives the ships in the game a unique, simplistic look that still holds up today.
Released in 1994
TIE Fighter was the second game in LucasArts groundbreaking X-Wing series. It was a space dogfighting sim that took all the great parts from X-Wing (the gameplay, the visuals, the depth) while infusing it with an Imperial flavor and a much better plot. Instead of being a Rebel pilot, now you're a hotshot ace for the Imperial Navy instead, hobnobbing with the likes of the Grand Admiral Thrawn (who fans might recognize as being from the EU) and the Emperor.
TIE Fighter was also the series' first foray into using polygons for visuals, which was a definite plus point in an era of mainly sprite based graphics. Despite that, the simplistic look of the game still holds up today thanks to the great gameplay that transcends time.
The last two games, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and X-Wing Alliance, were decent games in their own rights, though nowhere as groundbreaking as the first two. Still if you've always wanted to fly into the Death Star 2 with the Falcon, X-Wing Alliance is the one of the games that's done that sequence justice, which is why it's on the list.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
Since they're PC titles, the easiest way to get them is through Steam or GOG.
Star Wars Trilogy Arcade - Arcade
The game even had your score at the end of every stage appear in Aurebesh first before changing to English.
Released in 1998
There's a reason why Sega dominated the arcades back in the 90s. Their games usually had big impressive cabinets like the faux racing cars for Daytona USA or the 18-Wheeler cab for 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, with fun gameplay and cutting edge graphics. While Star Wars Trilogy Arcade didn't have the former, it did have latter two points in drove. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade is an on-rails shooter that allows you to play the major events of the trilogy through the selection of three different stages.
The reason it's on the list though is the Endor stage. To date, no other game (not even the latest Battlefront) has been able to pull off the Endor speeder bike chase sequence as successfully as the Star Wars Trilogy Arcade did. While it's still on rails like the other parts of the game, the Endor sequence in the game is as close as games have gotten to replicating the chase in an interactive medium; you're careening in first person view on Endor, as the trees whiz by and the scout troopers try to take you out.
Some might wonder why we're not including the newer Star Wars Battle Pod instead of Star Wars Trilogy Arcade. The answer is while Battle Pod is great to look at, it's all too easy due to the auto-locking lasers once enemies are in your sights. If we're going purely with visuals, Battle Pod easily trumps Star Wars Trilogy Arcade.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
Unless you know an arcade which still has the game for play, finding it can be difficult. Even the PCB boards (basically game cartridges for arcades) are rare to come by and can fetch hundreds of dollars. As always, using a ROM is an option though one can easily play Star Wars Battle Pod instead. It's not quite as challenging as Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (due to the automatic lock-ons for weapons as we mentioned) but it's still a great substitute with similar gameplay and stages.
Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader - GameCube
The jump in graphics from the N64 to the Game Cube meant that we finally got a game that looked like the movies.
Released in 2001
Rogue Leader was the seminal sequel to Rogue Squadron, which took Star Wars games to a whole new level.
There's a reason for that. The game not only looked like the movies, it had great sound and gameplay to boot. It was arcade-like but never too dumbed down. It was nowhere near as complex as the PC's X-Wing series, but as a console title, it was perfect. It recreated the Star Wars trilogy almost flawlessly, from the Death Star trench run, to the Battle of Hoth and finally, ending with the Battle of Endor, with extra missions picked from the EU comics too!
Even to this day, Rogue Leader's slavish dedication to recreating the starfighters you can pilot is unsurpassed. Take the X-Wing for example. You can toggle the lasers to fire between single, dual and quad modes. You can open and close the S-Foils. You can even use the targeting computer that Luke turned off when he was making his run at the Death Star's exhaust port. Jump into the cockpit view and you're not only seeing a perfectly replicated cockpit, you're hearing it too!
Unfortunately, Rebel Strike (the sequel to Rogue Leader) added in tedious third person segments to the game, ruining an almost perfect formula. Still Rebel Strike did have one redeeming quality; it had Rogue Leader's entire campaign, and thgis time, every single stage was playable in multiplayer!
How it looks like in action:
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Here's where it gets a little tricky. Both Rogue Squadron and Battle for Naboo received PC ports but getting your hands on one now is incredibly hard if you're looking for them legally. Rogue Leader and Rebel Strike are Game Cube exclusives to this day, which means the only way to play them is to either get a Game Cube or a Wii, as the system is capable of reading Game Cube discs. The Wii U can also play Game Cube games, though that requires installation of several mods and is not entirely legal.
We're not done yet! Head on to the next page to see even more great games!
Racer Revenge - PS4, PS2
Yes, that's teen Anakin in his old podracer. Racer Revenge's plot doesn't really make sense, but just go with it.
Released in 2002
Racer Revenge (and its predecessor, Racer) are podracing games. Similar to Wipeout, Racer Revenge has you racing at breakneck speed, all while maintaining your pod and wrecking others. Racer Revenge is everything the original Racer (N64, PC) was and more, featuring an expanded roster, better visuals and framerate and a much more tolerable difficulty. The extra power afforded by the PS2 meant that Racer Revenge could seem even faster at times than the breakneck pace of the original Racer.
Like the Rogue games, Racer Revenge has phenomenal sound and if you have a decent sound system, you'll definitely get a kick out it. We'd recommend the Star Wars Racer for arcade but seeing as how even the ROM is incredibly hard to find and part of the experience of that way was the unique throttle controls, we figured Racer Revenge would be a passable substitute.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
You can either get the PS2 disc, the Limited Edition PS4 Star Wars bundle or just wait a few weeks for Sony to release the PSN standalone version, like Super Star Wars, which was also from the Limited Edition PS4 Star Wars bundle.
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (Xbox, PC, Game Cube)
Kyle isn't afraid to dabble with Dark Side powers to get what he wants.
Released in 2002
If there's a Star Wars game that captures the feeling of being a Jedi that game has to be Jedi Outcast. As one of the very few games that actually acknowledge the pre-Disney EU, Jedi Outcast wasn't only a great game, it actually gave us a glimpse at things only mentioned of in the books, like Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy on Yavin IV.
The best part of Jedi Outcast is that it seamless combines a third person action game with an FPS. Use any of the guns in the game and it's a first person game, showing its Dark Forces roots. Switch to the lightsaber however and the game becomes a third person title as the camera hangs behind Katarn, so that you can enjoy the visceral combat. It's here that the PC version of Jedi Outcast has the edge. With console commands, a player can enable realistic dismemberment. Yes, you read that right. FINALLY, a game portrays the lightsaber as it is supposed to be.
Kyle not only has his saber and three different stances, he also has force powers. Depending on your actions in the game, Kyle will walk the light or dark side, with appropriate powers for each. Needless to say, the Dark Side with Force Choke and Force Lightning is incredibly fun to use, though the Light Side's Force Heal and Energy Absorb is useful too.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
If you have an Xbox or GameCube, you can easily find the discs for sale cheap online. But even if you do, get it for a PC instead. Realistic dismemberment makes it a whole different (and much better) experience on the PC and with the whole Dark Forces series on Steam, there's no easier way to experience the whole quadrilogy.
Knights of the Old Republic - Xbox, PC, Android, iOS
Knights of the Old Republic showed that a Star Wars game need not be set during the movies' time period to be great.
Released in 2003
While Jedi Outcast made you feel like a Jedi, Knights of the Old Republic made you one. An RPG from Bioware (creators of Mass Effect and Dragon Age), the game puts you in the shoes of an amnesiac Force Sensitive, who slowly learns the ways of the Force, creates a lightsaber and then decides the fate of the galaxy. As an RPG, Knights of the Old Republic was much more open ended than most games at the time. Your choices in-game dictate whether you embrace the light or dark side of the Force, which changes the storyline significantly.
With its unique blend of real-time battles (with turn based elements), the game entertained even those who normally can't stand the slow paced nature of conventional RPG games. Its deep plot, coupled with the numerous sidequests made exploring the Star Wars galaxy an incredible experience, one that still holds up today.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
We heavily recommend playing it on the PC, with versions on sale on Steam and Gog. The Android and iOS versions, while competent, aren't as visually impressive as the PC version. The PC version also allows mods, which can make the game even more interesting. Of course, if you want to play it on a console, the Xbox version is capable enough, though the long load times can make area transitions a pain.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 - Xbox, PS2, PC
It might not look as good as EA's new Battlefront, but Battlefront 2 had more content and better gameplay.
Released in 2005
If you thought the new Battlefront is great, you'll love Battlefront II. Despite being released years ago, Battlefront II is a much more enjoyable and deeper game, especially when compared to EA's Battlefront. You not only have the ability to play as the Rebels or Imperials, you also get maps when you can play as the Old Republic's Clone Army or the CIS from the prequel trilogy. On top of that, each faction had different classes, with different weapons and gameplay styles.
But best of all, it had something that the new Battlefront sorely needs; space combat. Battles in Battlefront II might not look as good as the one in the new Battlefront but the battlefields are just as chaotic and immersive. Also, Battlefront II has single player modes that replicate the multiplayer battles, so even if you're playing alone you can experience what an online experience might be like.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
You can get the original Xbox or PS2 DVDs, or use emulators. If not, Steam also has Battlefront II on sale, though it needs user patches and mods to support high resolutions and multiplayer.
We're done with the top recommended Star Wars games, but head on to the next page to see the worst of them to avoid!
The best of the worst
We've taken a look at some of the games that made great use of the Star Wars license. Now here's a few that made the worst use.
Yoda Stories
Released in 1997
What do you get when you mash Star Wars with turn-based dungeon crawlers like Chocobo's Dungeon? You get Yoda Stories apparently. An endless series of fetch quests, the game makes you the errand boy for Yoda, doing tasks like rescuing Han Solo and fighting Darth Vader.
Somewhere along the line though, the developers of the game forgot to add in any semblance of fun, a plot or even basic gameplay. If Darth Vader had Yoda Stories, he wouldn't have needed that interrogation droid to get the information from Leia that he was looking for.
How it looks like in action:
How you can play it:
Get it on Ebay. But why would you want to?
Star Wars: Episode 1 - Playstation, PC
The PS1 version of the game was utter rubbish. It had visuals that were worse than a first generation PS1 game and was incredibly buggy.
Released in 1999
Episode 1 was a very weird game. It was a semi-top down action game with RPG mechanics but didn't do the action or the RPG parts very well. It was obviously a rushed game, released to coincide with the film's release.
The game came out on both the Playstation and the PC and while it wasn't great on the PC, subsequent patches eventually made it into a playable, if somewhat crappy, game. On the Playstation on the other hand, what you see was what you get. That meant that console gamers were treated to a game with visuals that put first generation Playstation titles to shame, buggy gameplay and shoddy collision detection.
How it looks like in action:
How you can play it:
Ebay has the game dirt cheap, for both the PS1 and PC versions.
Jedi Power Battles - Playstation, Dreamcast
Yes, that's Mace Windu wielding a blue lightsaber.
Released in 2000
Don't be fooled by the name, Jedi Power Battles is less about Jedi fighting with the Force and more about Jedi bludgeoning tons and tons of battle droids with their weirdly ineffective lightsabers. The gameplay is a tad better than Episode 1's but that's like saying rotten eggs are better than rotten bananas. No matter how you cut it, both leave a bad aftertaste in your mouth.
Like Episode 1, the game suffers from a host of problems. Jumping is terribly awkward due to the fixed camera angles, the visuals look nowhere near the quality other PS1 games that were released at the time, collision detection is iffy and controls were unresponsive at best.
However, the game does have a silver lining. The Dreamcast release eventually fixed nearly all of the issues the game had, which actually made it in a pretty decent brawler with Jedi characters.
How it looks like in action:
How you can play it:
Ebay of course. But if you don't want your mental image of Jedi to be forever tarnished, we suggest getting the much superior Dreamcast version instead.
Super Bombad Racing - PS2
Forget bombad, Star Wars Super Bombad Racing is just plain bad.
Released in 2001
Apparently, somebody thought it was a good idea to associate a game with Jar Jar Binks. Never mind that most people don't even know what bombad means (we sure don't), it was deemed good enough to attach to the title of the PS2's horrendously bad first Star Wars racing game.
We wonder who thought that having nightmarish super deformed characters in a sloppy racing game was a good idea. Not only was the game impossible to play well due to its finicky controls, it had some of the worst audio and visuals ever seen on the PS2. Even kids know better than to play this.
How it looks like in action:
How you can play it:
In an ideal world, the game would've been deemed an abomination against Star Wars and all copies jettisoned to the sun. But we don't live in an ideal world, which is why the game's available on Ebay.
Masters of Teras Kasi - Playstation
If only the game was as good as it looked (at the time of release).
Released in 1997
Masters of Teras Kasi was a 1-on-1 fighter where each fighter had two styles of attack; hand to hand or with their signature weapon equipped. Unlike most games on the list, the visuals for the game were decent and while it's a bit weird why Luke might want to punch Vader out, stranger things have happened in Star Wars games. Master of Teras Kasi does get points for delving into the EU for its unlockable characters, like Jodo Kast and Mara Jade, which was interesting.
The major fault with the game though lies with its controls. To call them unresponsive would be an understatement. Pulling off moves like Luke's Saber Throw special move requires skill AND luck because even if you get the movement right (the game uses both Street Fighter and King of Fighters style button combinations), it doesn't mean the game will register. For a fighting game, having shoddy controls is pretty much a shot right to the head, which means that Master of Teras Kasi was pretty much dead on arrival.
How it looks like in action:
How to play it:
Like most of the other games, Ebay has it for sale.
So there you have it, our list for the best and worst Star Wars games! Hit our comments section if you think we should've included a certain game that wasn't in the list.
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