There will never be another moment for Star Wars gaming like there was during the prequel era. Buoyed by the renewed interest in Star Wars and evolution in gaming graphics, LucasArts and its partners began pumping out a trove of games based on the IP. That era gave us beloved titles likeKnights of the Old Republic,Battlefront I and II,Republic Commando, andJedi Power Battlesamong many others. Once thought lost to time, publisher Aspyr Media has spent the past few years porting these titles to modern platforms with various improvements.
While the quality of each release has varied, it’s admirable to see time and effort into making these games accessible, which brings us to their latest port. Originally released on PlayStation and Dreamcast,Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battleswas a difficult, but fun beat ‘em up platformer that loosely followed the plot of The Phantom Menace and, despite its rough nature, became a cult classic. Does Aspyr recapture the magic of the original release, or does this port ofStar Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battlesbelong in the trash compactor?
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The Trade Federation Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battlesloosely followsThe Phantom Menace’splot, starting with the failed trade negotiations between the Jedi and Trade Federation. From there, the game follows your chosen Jedi as they travel to major locations from the film, including the swamps of Naboo, the Royal City of Theed, Tatooine, Coruscant, and Theed Palace’s generator.
Jedi Power Battlesfocuses squarely on getting players into the action rather than strictly following the plot of The Phantom Menace. There are additional playable characters that didn’t play a major role in the film, each level is only given a brief snippet of context, and several levels feature scenarios that didn’t happen. Back in 2000, given the newness of the film’s plot, this was an issue. Today, given how well known the plot is, this overly abridged version isn’t that much of a dealbreaker.
Return of the Phantom Menace
It’s important to note thatJedi Power Battles, like all of Aspyr’s previous Star Wars releases, isn’t a remaster or a remake. Instead, it is a faithful, native port of the Dreamcast version with quality-of-life improvements and some additional playable characters. Other than that, it’s a 1:1 conversion with all ten story levels, four bonus levels, and previously secret characters available for play. By choosing to port the Dreamcast version instead of the PlayStation original, Aspyr saved themselves a lot of headaches as it already included a lot of improvements over the poor PlayStation release.
As a port,Jedi Power Battlescomes in as one of Aspyr’s best. The game runs and performs well on modern hardware, all the added content is enjoyable, and it’s nice to play as a wide selection of characters from the start. There are some issues, including audio cutting in and out and progress not saving while playing as certain characters (i.e. Darth Maul), but this is still a quality port with plenty to enjoy.
The Not Last Jedi
While the core of the game remains the same, Aspyr has done work to modernize the gameplay and make it more accessible. The controls have been touched up to fall more in line with modern day beat ‘em up-style games. Platforming has been tightened to prevent accidental deaths, though you still only have a certain number of lives per level. The difficulty also feels finer tuned and fairer compared to the PlayStation original.
Aspyr also unlocked all levels and playable characters from the get-go. From the start, you’re able to select Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui Gon-Jinn, Mace Windu, Plo Koon, Adi Gallia, Ki-Adi Mundi, Darth Maul, Queen Amidala, and Captain Panaka. Beating the game unlocks some additional playable characters based on various NPCs. They’re nice additions, even if they aren’t anything original.
There are also plenty of fun features thrown in. Couch co-op remains intact, making an already fun solo experience a more enjoyable one with a friend. Cheat codes like Big Head Mode and Ultimate Lightsaber add layers of hilarity to the main game. Combined with all the playable characters, there’s quite a bit to discover and enjoy in this port.
The biggest downside toJedi Power Battlesis that it is just a port of the Dreamcast version. We were never going to get any surprise new characters like Darth Vader, General Grievous, Anakin Skywalker, or Ahsoka Tano, or new levels based on other sections of the film. However, it would have been nice to get quality-of-life features like online co-op, unlimited lives (for those platforming sections), or vastly improved vehicle controls. What Aspyr has done withJedi Power Battlesis quite good, but a few more additions would have helped modernize the port even more.
Jar Jar Binks is New Playable Character in Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles
The Gungan Jar Jar Binks wrecks droids in Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles. How rude!
Attack of the Dreamcast Graphics
As previously stated,Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battlesis a native port of a 2000 Dreamcast game. Aspyr Media has upscaled the assets to improve visual fidelity, but this is still a Dreamcast game. Expect to see plenty of muddy textures, low-poly models, and blocky characters. However, nothing looks quite as bad as the low-resolution, extremely compressed pre-rendered cutscenes. Low quality pre-rendered cutscenes have been a consistent issue in Aspyr releases, and that trend continues inJedi Power Battles.
The audio, much like the graphics, is of that era. Expect to hear loud, repetitive, and obnoxious sounds played ad nauseam (i.e. those awful Tusken Raider cries) at loud levels. Meanwhile, the in-game dialogue feels entirely too soft when it bothers to play at all. As stated above, while the quality of the port is quite good, we did encounter various audio issues that would sometimes cause it to cut out. While the quality-of-life improvements for the gameplay are genuinely great, it would have been great to receive more improvements to the presentation.
Closing Comments
Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battleswas a staple for many gamers’ childhood. Despite the rough nature of the original PlayStation release, the game’s fast-paced, co-op action managed to find a place in many hearts. While it would have been great to see a proper remaster that smoothed out all the game’s rough edges, Aspyr Media has done an admirable job with this port. The studio has managed to preserve the fun, couch co-op beat ‘em up adventure all while modernizing the controls, smoothing out platforming, and unlocking all content from the start. While it would have been nice to get some other modern quality-of-life features (i.e. online co-op, better vehicle controls) and a massive enhancement to the game’s presentation, what we do get is the most accessible, fair, and fun version ofJedi Power Battlesever released.Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battlesis one of Aspyr’s best Star Wars ports yet, and for $19.99, it is hard not to recommend.
