Star Wars is something of an institution. For more than 40 years, this movie franchise has enthralled, excited and amazed film fanatics around the world. The franchise is now said to be worth an eye-watering $42 billion, according to a recent report by Fortune.com, due largely to its enduring pull away from the big screen. In the world of video gaming, Star Wars has been a real force majeure, maintaining fans’ relationship with the film’s characters and storylines in between movies. This article is designed to celebrate the best – and worst – Star Wars video game titles across generations of consoles and devices, before leading us to speculate on the types of games that the franchise could yet explore in the years to come.
Top of the pile
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer (1999)
One of the most fascinating scenes of Episode 1 is the pod racing, which is unsurprisingly why a racing game was recreated based on the movie for Windows, the Nintendo 64 and more platforms. It has hallmarks of the Wipeout video game, as you encounter and dodge hazards en-route to winning sprint races. Although the graphics no longer do it justice, it was ahead of its time when LucasArts developed it, with global sales of well over three million. As of the early 2010s, it was still the best-selling sci-fi racing game of all time.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
One of the most expansive Star Wars video games of all time, Knights of the Old Republic was hugely engaging, with a fantastic plot twist and fascinating characters. Developed by BioWare and released on both the Xbox and for Microsoft Windows, the game is set almost four millennia prior to the creation of the Galactic Empire. Time Magazine labelled it one of the top 100 video games of all time.
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (2001)
This all-action game took the Nintendo Gamecube by storm in 2001, co-developed by LucasArts and Factor 5. Set within the Star Wars galaxy, it plays out within all three of the original Star Wars trilogy settings. As you control both Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles, you enter scenario-based missions to battle against the Galactic Empire with the Rebel Alliance. Official Nintendo Magazine has named it the 100th best game made across all Nintendo consoles ever.
Bottom of the ladder
Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi (1997)
This fighting game, developed by LucasArts, was something of a rip-off of Street Fighter. Star Wars had never published a beat’em up video game before – and after the release of Masters of Teras Kasi, it was easy to see why! From a woeful storyline capable of sending you to sleep in minutes to rigid fighting mechanics, it simply did not work.
Kinect Star Wars (2012)
Developed especially for the Xbox 360’s Kinect motion technology, Kinect Star Wars features four game modes that will almost certainly leave you scratching your head in confusion. From pod-racing rampages to galactic dance-offs, the game’s developers Terminal Reality lost touch with reality with this version. Their poor show played a part in the studio closing its doors in 2013. It ranks regularly as one of the worst Star Wars games ever released, so it belongs at the bottom of the ladder here too.
Star Wars: Jedi Arena (1983)
It almost seems wrong to be listing a video game made 35 years ago, but in terms of gameplay, this is as dull as it gets for any Star Wars fan. Developed for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers, this two-dimensional overhead shooter was based on a scene from the original Star Wars film. The primitive gameplay sees you play with the Seeker ball to defeat your opponents and block laser attacks using a lightsaber. Its somewhat abstract combat sees Jedi Arena regarded as one of the poorest Star Wars titles of all time.
What next for the franchise?
The danger for LucasArts is that although millions of film fanatics around the world will buy any Star Wars game, few non-Star Wars gamers will buy them due to the lack of ingenuity or gameplay flair. There are many types of video games that the Star Wars franchise has not yet explored. A sports-themed Star Wars game would be interesting. Perhaps, with the 2018 FIFA World Cup around the corner, a Star Wars soccer game would capture the imagination? Darth Vader would certainly make a very imposing defensive midfielder! Video slot games have been developed by many other successful film franchises. One look at an article from Betway Online has published about pop culture influences on casino games demonstrates that the likes of James Bond and Jurassic Park as franchises have sought to bring their unmistakable characters and plotlines to this type of game. There are many other genres yet to be explored too. The development of augmented and virtual reality seems to make sense with the Star Wars franchise. The Jedi Challenges title has already made an impression, allowing fans to encounter what it’s like to have a real lightsaber battle. But there’s so much more they could do; from manning the Millennium Falcon to flying a Star Destroyer. There’s long been an argument that single-player Star Wars games have had their time.
It is hoped that the success of Star Wars: The Last Jedi on the big screen will be enough to breathe new life into the franchise’ video games too. For now, we can take solace in the fact there are plenty of existing titles to enjoy.