The most important date of the year coming up with speed! It’s not me! I’m not among those who start counting down toward Christmas on the first of January. It is, of course talking about Star Wars Day. On May 4th, I relive my love for the Star Wars franchise that is set in a galaxy away, through watching the films or reading stories, or perhaps, as a result of the list above, I play old-fashioned Star Wars video games. We (I) made the list of the (mine) Top 10 Star Wars games on Gaming Respawn just over five years ago. However, things shift, new games come out, and older games get…older. It’s time to refresh and extend this list to include Star Wars Day 2022 approaching us with a light ……nope and we’ve already played the game! It’s now time for us to get our Mother Bantha list up and running since the 4th day is coming up in only 12 seconds! This is Part One of our top twenty Star Wars games.
20. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is something of an unbalanced bag. It is a great game with some really amazing elements and moments, however, it also has a lot of imperfections and flaws. It was released in 2008 and it revealed the (then canon) story of Darth Vader’s private apprentice Starkiller. Lord Vader had Starkiller travel all across the galaxy in search of the Jedi who escaped Order 66. The plot was good enough to keep one entertained but the gameplay was not. The Force Unleashed was fantastic fun…for approximately an hour. The combat of hack and slash and the extremely linear gameplay resulted in that, after the first few levels, you’d be playing through the motions. The Force’s capabilities were enjoyable but they weren’t enough to keep Force Unleashed from being ruined. Force Unleashed from becoming an impressive game in the early stages of production but failed to meet expectations upon release.
19. Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (2001)
Star Wars is the perfect series for an incredible RTS game, isn’t it? There have been a few, as well. Galactic Battlegrounds was the first one to be released. In the majority of cases, Galactic Battlegrounds is a great title. You could lead legions of your favorite soldiers and fight some fierce combat. The design is still acceptable in the modern world. Why is it so far on the list I think you’re asking? While Galactic Battlegrounds is an enjoyable game, however, it’s an almost identical remake that is a re-skin of Age of Empires II. It was a sure way to guarantee Galactic Battlegrounds would be a huge success however, from someone who played lots (and I’m talking about lots) during the time of AoE at the time, Galactic Battlegrounds always felt a little too familiar
18. Star Wars: Squadrons (2020)
Star Wars: Squadrons takes place following The events from Return of the Jedi and sees the Empire struggling to defend itself against the newly created New Republic. The game lets you play as warriors in The New Republic and also the Empire and you will be creating your own characters! Do not expect a lot of depth and variety of choices for customization You can pick from a variety of characters and pick your own name. However, it’s an excellent feature and makes players feel in the middle of the action. The game will be fun…but the controls are complicated and confusing sometimes, which could cause the game to lose interest. It’s like the designers wanted to make a deep space-based combat game, like Elite Dangerous and however, and they changed their minds and removed some controls. Squadrons is an enjoyable game, but lacking an online community It’s not a game you can replay after you’ve completed the game.
17. Super Star Wars and the Sequels (1992/93/94)
The original Super Star Wars celebrates its 30th anniversary this year! The release, as well as the sequels that followed, have proved to be one of the toughest to classify in this regard. I’m not sure the number of times it’s been ranked up and down on the lists of the drafts However, I think 16 is an appropriate spot for it. In the 1990s, Super Star Wars was an absolute blast and, even during the time that followed it was an absolute “go-to” game to talk of Star Wars video games. The years have not been friendly to these releases, however. Looking through those rose-colored retro glasses off Super Star Wars could have been a great release back in the day but at the time of its 30th birthday, the story isn’t so great.
16. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (2002)
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter could be a lot better on this list but one issue that is frustrating is the controls. In particular, the camera is the problem with what’s otherwise an action-packed third-person shooter that is fun. Ten years prior to that episode II in which we witness Jango Fett in his top form being one of the world’s most fearsome bounty hunters throughout the galaxy. Bounty Hunter takes you through the galaxy on various missions making use of many of the tools that we see in the movies throughout.
15. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (1997)
It’s more than an announcement of a video game, Lucasfilm developed a multi-media developing story with books, comics, trading cards, toys, and, of course, the infamous video game. The story is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Shadows of the Empire introduces us to Dash Rendar, who gets involved during The Battle of Hoth. Shadows of the Empire is one of those games where its concepts are much superior to the way it is executed. The real threat that is at play in Shadows isn’t the Empire, however, but rather the camera. The game was also a game that showed how cartridges are limited since the game was exclusively released to the N64.
14. Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith (2005)
It’s rare to see movie tie-in games nearly as often today however, in 2000sthey became quite popular. Many major film releases included a video game alone with it, some were great, the worst, and some were decent. Episode III is somewhere between passable and good. It is a continuation of the story from Episode III and includes a few scenes from the film to aid in the plot. The gameplay? Was enjoyment! Lightsaber combat is an absolute blast when it is done correctly which is why this game was good to test. The settings for the various levels were a bit disappointing, as it was basically played in the hallways of the film’s locations, but Episode III proved to be enjoyable and has an amazing hidden conclusion!
13. Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1994)
With the same issues of aging similar to super Star Wars, during the 90s and through the 00s, TIE Fighter was the reigning king of space dogfight simulations! It’s still fun to play today and it was refreshing to see the conflict as a battle between the Empire and the Republic for a moment. It’s not an easy simulation to simply start playing in the same way as the battles on ships in Battlefront for instance. It takes time to master the art of shooting down Rebel criminals However, with perseverance and perseverance, TIE Fighter is still entertaining.
12. Star Wars: Empire at War (2006)
Star Wars: Empire at War is a game that accomplishes exactly what it states on the cover. The game is set between Episodes III as well as IV and IV, the Rebel Alliance campaign mode sees you directing numerous attacks at Imperial installations, liberating from the Wookiee homeland of Kashyyyk, and finding out about the Empire’s secret weapons (the Death Star). The Imperial campaign sees you take instructions from Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader, as you fight to destroy your opponents from the Rebel Alliance before they can make any significant harm. Empire at War is a bit different than other RTS games. If you fight you are only able to utilize the forces you’ve brought along. It is limited on the number of vehicles and troops you can place in the game at moment, and the additional troops are used as reinforcements, which can be used as your numbers begin to decrease.
11. Star Wars: Dark Forces (1995)
Doom as well as Quake could be the most talked about among the names of the top FPS games from the mid-90s however, Star Wars: Dark Forces must be given a mention. The graphics at the time were quite impressive, it should be mentioned, and the design of the levels provided exciting and challenging gameplay. Dark Forces also introduced us to one of the old Expanded Universe’s beloved sons, mercenary-turned-Jedi-turned-mercenary Kyle Katarn. Dark Forces also introduced mechanics that are similar to what we have today however, back in 1995 they were a big deal. Kyle could not just move his eyes up and down, but also move around! If it weren’t for the amazing performances which will be featured in the second part of this series, Dark Forces would have been on our list of favorites for sure.
We have it. Part one of the top 20 Star Wars games. In Part 2, we will review the top 10 most popular games of the Star Wars franchise. For all things Star Wars games related, be sure to stay tuned to Gaming Respawn.
Leave a Comment