Your favorite Star Wars games?

[Steven]

Quicktime

God, Quicktime... now you are making me feel super old lol

Well, I'll try to figure out how to get some better audio on DOSBox, which I have basically never used before. Also never used real DOS because I was not born/a Mac guy back then after I was born. I wish I could just play the damn Mac versions of this and X-Wing instead of these DOS versions, but I don't know anything about old Mac emulation, or even if these games work that way.

Got a 10 yo kid at home, and he is a Star Wars fan as any 10 yo kid can be.

Trying to get him a game set in the SW universe, but it is actually hard because it needs to be kid friendly (no blood/death everywhere) and have easy difficulty settings.
The Lego Star Wars game he enjoyed a lot of course. Maybe Jedi Knight Fallen Order might fit ? Any other recommendation ?

Will second the Rogue Squadrons, but when I was 10 I was playing the hell out of Episode I Racer (PC version). Rogue Squadron II's first non-training level might be rough at 10, but you never know. I was already playing X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and various RTS games at 10 (StarCraft, C&C, Total Annihilation, etc.), so yeah.

[guigui]

Thank you for Rogue Squadron recommendations ; I'll keep an eye out for them, though not easy to get with our current gaming platform at home which are Switch and PS4.

[Sumez]

Disappointed to not see more love for Jedi Knight.
Like, especially if you liked Dark Forces, that game just takes the few interesting things that game did and expands on it in the best way possible.
I don't think I've ever played another game which really felt like it threw me into the world of Star Wars in the same way. And being a pre-prequel game, that means that world still felt kind of magical.

But I primarily appreciate it for breaking the FPS mold in the way it did. The stages were so completely massive the game really didn't even *need* to be split into stages (they were mostly a primitive way to segment loading, really, since a lot of them lead directly into eachother). And I love how the way forward was never the most obvious one. The game really required you to investigate your surroundings and figure out where you needed to go. Areas would be modeled after industrial complexes, small settlements, cityscapes, etc. and instead of just walking down the main street, you'd have to find detours through maintenance channels, navigate dangerous jumps on the outside of buildings, or abuse mechanisms designed for different purposes. It felt really creative and involving, helping each area feeling like a "real" place. And Jedi Knight still stands out, because to this day I've never played another FPS that really manages to do that thing as well.

God, Quicktime... now you are making me feel super old lol

For some reason, Quicktime is still super prevalent on the internet today. I think it's some phones which are perpetuating the format?

[Sima Tuna]

Episode 1 Racer and the Jedi Knight games are pretty safe recommendations. I don't know how the porting jobs are, because Apsyr has a very spotty track record on their own in-house/affiliate port jobs. Some of them are "fine" and others are a real mess. Supposedly, Republic Commando was a big botch job. KotoR 2 also had a problem with the Aspyr port, where they promised they were going to integrate the restored content mods. I mean, they sold the game based on the idea it was going to be the first complete version of KotoR 2 and they'd add all this cool stuff in patches later. But they never did. I think they left KotoR 2 on switch in a just about playable state, although I would have to go check. It had a ton of bugs when I played it on launch... Just like the old classic days of playing kotor games on original xbox/pc.

Aspyr also ported Neverwinter Nights to Switch, which is a broken port. I mean, literally broken with bugs out the ass. Constant crashes and such.

So I just want to make you aware that you'll want to seek out some information about the port job for the jedi knight games if you decide to get them on Switch. I don't want to see any shmups farmers get burned.

[Sumez]

Episode 1 Racer and the Jedi Knight games are pretty safe recommendations. I don't know how the porting jobs are, because Apsyr has a very spotty track record on their own in-house/affiliate port jobs.

There's a port of Jedi Knight??
I can't find any report of Aspyr touching it. Though apparently they did port some of the (shitty) sequels.
I'd love to see a modern release of JK+MOTS for sure

[Sima Tuna]

Episode 1 Racer and the Jedi Knight games are pretty safe recommendations. I don't know how the porting jobs are, because Apsyr has a very spotty track record on their own in-house/affiliate port jobs.

There's a port of Jedi Knight??
I can't find any report of Aspyr touching it. Though apparently they did port some of the (shitty) sequels.
I'd love to see a modern release of JK+MOTS for sure

I meant Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy yeah. I remember enjoying Jedi Knight II as a kid, no idea what I'd think of it now.

[Sweatlord_STG]

Disappointed to not see more love for Jedi Knight.
Like, especially if you liked Dark Forces

Last time I played it I thought it wasn't as good as I thought it was back then, plus it was a pain in the ass to set it up. I just checked and by now there seems to be OpenJKDF2, "a reverse-engineered source port of the Sith engine that includes QOL improvements", have you played it that way? I might try it out soon.

[Sumez]

I meant Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy yeah. I remember enjoying Jedi Knight II as a kid, no idea what I'd think of it now.

Oh yeah, those games really let me down. Didn't feel like they had any of what made Jedi Knight so cool.

I think Raven Software is an admirable company. They always take on cool projects, and what they are aiming for feels cool. But I'm not sure I've ever played a game of theirs I actually enjoyed much? Feels like they just don't know how to make fun level design

[Sumez]

Also I completely forgot about Fallen Order. Or, "Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order: EA" as it's apparently called.

I really liked that game a lot! Actually surprised me.
I can't remember if I touched on it here when I played it, maybe in the non-shmup thread. But basically, I feel like it's a style of game that doesn't really get made anymore, and which I didn't realise I had nostalgie for.
It has that late 90s/early 00s "3D action adventure" design where you're just tossed into cool locations and get to go around. Doesn't feel unique, and it's hard to really describe what separates it from modern games, but it really feels right out of the GameCube era. The only other games which capture a bit of that feel is the souls series (but they set themselves apart further in other areas), but the comparisons from Fallen Order to "soulslikes" is a bit weak outside of that, I don't think it describes the game at all.

I also think it treats the Star Wars universe well, mostly unpoisoned by everything that's happened to the franchise since the late 90s. In this game it just remains an alien fantasy world as it should be, and still retains some of that magic I'd feel from Star Wars games prior to the prequel trilogy.

[Sweatlord_STG]

A few years ago I purchased the Japanese PSX version of Dark Forces because I liked the cover and it was cheap. I can't remember how much exactly, but I'm sure it was something under $5. I was too lazy to take a picture of my own copy so when I just looked for one, I saw it on Ebay for 72 Euros. I have no idea why, but I doubt anybody will buy it.

[Steven]

I replayed Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy a few years ago. I have nothing but positive things to say about Jedi Outcast. It always was and still remains one of the best Star Wars games, and it's an excellent game regardless.

Then there is Jedi Academy, which just kind of exists. Its single player component feels like a very cheaply and quickly (or even fan-made; this is very hard to explain, but it has a definite but hard to describe fan-made quality to it) expansion pack in comparison. Great multiplayer, though. That's the best reason to play it, and the only real reason to play it instead of Jedi Outcast, which is better at almost everything else.

As for PS1 Dark Forces, see above

Also want to mention that the PS1 version sucks compared to the PC version.

[Sweatlord_STG]

Also want to mention that the PS1 version sucks compared to the PC version.

Don't worry I'm not the kind of person who would play this on a console

[Sima Tuna]

I replayed Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy a few years ago. I have nothing but positive things to say about Jedi Outcast. It always was and still remains one of the best Star Wars games, and it's an excellent game regardless.

Yeah, that's why I recommended it. I think most people have a generally positive opinion on Outcast, even if Sumez didn't enjoy it. It's a blend of FPS/TPS with some pretty interesting lightsaber combat. I know that one has been ported by Aspyr but again, no idea what the port quality is like. But it is available on Switch and (obviously) PC, per the request.

[dan76]

I think the OP hit it first. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade is the best one. Just sticks to the original films, can be played (and I'd say is better) as a light gun game via Supermodel 3.
Star Wars Battle Pod is pretty good. I kind of wished it was more like trilogy arcade when I first played it, but it's a fun score attack game. Has basic chaining, plus there is a super rare exploit at the beginning of the first Death Star level where you can get more enemies. I've only triggered it once. Runs perfectly on Teknoparrot.

One that I love but could be argued as shit... is Star Wars Blaster Strike. It only came out in the US and was a plug and play Jakks light gun game. You get an orange replica Han Solo pistol and play 9 levels through the OT. You get to shoot Stormtroopers on Bespin, what more is there..?

[Steven]

This thread caused me to play Galactic Battlegrounds for the first time in a while. Still an excellent game, even if it does have some oddness. I do generally prefer RTS factions to be more differentiated from each other, something that StarCraft excels at, but Galactic Battlegrounds is still pretty great. It's also funny to see the TIE bomber turn into this mutant freak thing with an increasingly large number of fuselages fused together as you upgrade it.

I replayed Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy a few years ago. I have nothing but positive things to say about Jedi Outcast. It always was and still remains one of the best Star Wars games, and it's an excellent game regardless.

Yeah, that's why I recommended it. I think most people have a generally positive opinion on Outcast, even if Sumez didn't enjoy it. It's a blend of FPS/TPS with some pretty interesting lightsaber combat. I know that one has been ported by Aspyr but again, no idea what the port quality is like. But it is available on Switch and (obviously) PC, per the request.

It is quite excellent. I couldn't play it, or FPS games in general, on consoles, though. Can't play FPS with a controller. Mouse and keyboard are required for that.

[Sweatlord_STG]

Star Wars Battle Pod is pretty good. I kind of wished it was more like trilogy arcade when I first played it, but it's a fun score attack game. Has basic chaining, plus there is a super rare exploit at the beginning of the first Death Star level where you can get more enemies. I've only triggered it once. Runs perfectly on Teknoparrot.

Is the game really meant to be played like you just score attack each mission and that's it? Because I was confused when I played it that I was always Game Over after each mission, regardless of how well I did. Or can all missions be played in one go, kinda like trilogy arcade, if you change some kind of dip settings?

[dan76]

Is the game really meant to be played like you just score attack each mission and that's it? Because I was confused when I played it that I was always Game Over after each mission, regardless of how well I did. Or can all missions be played in one go, kinda like trilogy arcade, if you change some kind of dip settings?

No, after each mission it game overs, you're supposed to put another coin in and continue to the next, but it keeps track of your score. Once you've finished all the levels or don't continue it adds all your scores up for a total. I guess the best way to look at it is it's £5 to play the whole thing, but it gives you the option of playing just a few levels if you like.

Playing it in Teknoparrot means that if you play well for one level, then crap the next you can just replay the crap level until you're happy with your score, then move on to the next. As well as the chaining you need to try and kill every enemy in the centre circle, as you get more points that way.

I managed once to get a 37 kill streak on the first Death Star level. The brake function hasn't been emulated properly so on Endor a scout trooper jumps on your speeder and it always breaks the chain. Playing for score is really the only thing to enjoy about it, because it's more of an "experience" than an actual game and I don't think you can actually die until the Vader level.

[vol.2]

Dark Forces is evergreen.

I actually owned DFII Jedi Knight before I had my own copy of the original, so I'm very nostalgic for JK. I got a Fujitsu Lifebook laptop with an MMX CPU in 1997 and JK was my first game for that PC. I even still have the strategy guide that me and my then roommate purchased to figure out how to use the force powers correctly. It was a whole journey and I loved every minute of it.

But now, I'm more of a DF player. It's a far more consistent game than any of the JK games ever were. The maps are designed better and it's just a lot more fun through to the end.

The trouble with JK is that once you get a lightsaber, the rest of the game is a cinch. And also the last couple levels and the ending is terrible.

But still, I'd rate JK as the second best SW game, followed by KOTOR, JKII and then Republic Commando.

Republic Commando really doesn't get enough love. It's a thoroughly enjoyable game. There were some weird graphic issues because it relied heavily on bumpmapping technology, and a lot of newer generation GPUs kind of skipped bumpmapping and moved very quickly on to something else. So unless you're playing a console version, there's a good chance something is graphically fucked up about the game you're playing.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Real shame if Republic Commando is graphically messed up on newer GPUs. Played on PC WITHOUT quicksaving/-loading (its own checkpointing is perfectly fine for me to rely on it) was one of the most involving first person shooters I've ever played (then again - I hardly ever finish these and nowadays I seem to be even less of an FPS-player than ever before). I think only SWAT4 around that time, among team-based tactical shooters, oozed about as much atmosphere as Republic Commando. Neither game was a huge success as a "seller", if memory serves. And Republic Commando's gameplay was very polished indeed.
Also, I felt Republic Commando introduced the prototype kind of a video game plural playable character to me - the squad. This made all the voice acting job accompanying action seem less "tacked on" than, say, all the small talk in somethimg like Half-Life 2 (or the majority of games with a silent protagonist and talkative NPCs, or games when lonesome dude explores largely "lifeless" levels whilst talking to him- or herself sometimes).