I’ve a smooth spot for long-forgotten video video games. It’s in my DNA. As a lot as I like to remain on prime of the most recent releases and revisit classics, I at all times discover myself circling again to obscure, janky video games that grabbed my consideration for approach too many hours as a result of I didn’t know any higher.
As a ‘90s child whose dad and mom weren’t into gaming, my yearly choice of titles across the PlayStation 1 period was fairly restricted. And since I hadn’t been engulfed by gaming magazines or web sites but, I typically gravitated in direction of huge IP stuff that I acknowledged on the cabinets. Star Wars was one thing I very a lot loved, so I performed a number of The Phantom Menace when it got here out — it was an honest sufficient, albeit complicated, tie-in. Then got here Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Energy Battles out of the blue.
This recreation at all times felt bizarre as a result of it was LucasArts’ second action-adventure tackle the occasions of the primary prequel movie. It was on the quilt – Jedi Energy Battles was retelling The Phantom Menace once more on the PS1 and Dreamcast. So what was the catch? Properly, for starters, Huge Ape Productions hadn’t developed it, so this was technically LucasArts’ inside method to creating an Episode I recreation. And boy was it totally different.
Whereas the sport The Phantom Menace tried to juggle a number of genres without delay, (It could possibly be described as an nearly top-down action-adventure RPG of kinds.) Jedi Energy Battles was way more easy, as a substitute turning the movie’s locales into large platforming gymkhanas and beat ‘em up corridors. LucasArts’ method was overtly arcade-y, excessive scores and native co-op included. However there was sufficient leaping round to make it stand out from the common button-mashing crowd. In reality, its platforming sections is likely to be the toughest bits of the complete journey.
One may argue The Phantom Menace borrowed some gameplay parts from Expanded Universe video games resembling the primary Jedi Knight, and in case you look previous the flip of the century, most Jedi-centric Star Wars titles expanded on that system. In the meantime, Jedi Energy Battles was this bizarre little anomaly that was simply goofing round with the IP.
With hindsight, maybe that’s Jedi Energy Battles’ largest defining trait: how unabashedly kooky it’s. All storytelling and dialogue are diminished to the naked minimal previous the normal Star Wars opening crawl, the enemies are principally braindead and can even chase you into deadly jumps they’ll’t make, and also you’re always pushed from one chaotic degree to the subsequent in full arcade trend. Nothing makes a lick of sense in case you haven’t watched the movie. And when you have (like most individuals), the sport finds methods to go away you scratching your head greater than as soon as anyway.
Usually, first timers’ confusion comes from the random-ass boss battles (They’re fairly ample.) within the form of every kind of lethal droids and offended creatures / aliens. Thoughts you, they’re really cool for essentially the most half, as the sport does little or no recycling of transfer units and conditions in opposition to all expectations, however seeing a giant white humanoid straight out of Prometheus crashing a speeder into the Coruscanti taxi you’re on prime of with none clarification — and to the rhythm of funky music however Star Wars — is one thing else.
The general zaniness that covers Jedi Energy Battles additionally extends to the five-Jedi roster of characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, and Plo Koon. Since solely Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had had on-screen lightsaber motion at that time, the opposite three Jedi acquired colours at random: Mace Windu makes use of a darker blue lightsaber; Adi Gallia has a pink one, full Sith-style as a result of why the hell not; and Plo Koon owns a bitchin’ mild orange saber.
Koon is the one alien within the beginning roster, in order that’s further cool factors. And in case you have been a child like me who at all times favored to select the weirdest freak accessible, you most likely had a tough time making an attempt to beat the sport with Mr. Koon, since he was the strongest however least agile of the bunch. And that was unhealthy information through the already tough platforming sections I discussed earlier than.
It seems that, predictably, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have been the common Jedi Knights. Adi Gallia and Plo Koon have been essentially the most distinctive however hardest to grasp. And Mace Windu was simply freakin’ damaged as a result of he was Samuel L. Jackson, I suppose. I gained’t spoil who does what for these being satisfied proper now to take a look at the sport, however Windu can spend a bit of his Pressure bar to only duck and let his sword destroy something making an attempt to the touch him.
Jedi Energy Battles can also be meatier than you’d anticipate, with a few sections dropping the beat ‘em up style and embracing vehicular warfare, and every character’s full playthrough unlocks sudden extras resembling playable Darth Maul and Padmé Amidala, amongst different issues. Whereas robust, getting the cling of it — hilarious collision bugs included — is fairly enjoyable, and also you would possibly end up replaying it with a special character or perhaps a good good friend for further laughs.
It additionally had a Dreamcast launch in late 2000 with smoother graphics and body charges, plus the addition of Ki-Adi-Mundi… sporting a purple lightsaber! It’s the superior model of the sport, however on the identical time, it’s not practically as janky as the unique, shedding a lot of the allure I’ve been discussing on this piece.
Forward of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Soulslike fight and Metroidvania construction taking up your gaming periods in March, Jedi Energy Battles is an effective reminder that not each outdated Jedi-centric Star Wars recreation tried to duplicate the movies’ surprise and grandeur. As a substitute, generally you had stuff like Yoda laughing at your deaths (not a joke, I swear).