The first Star Wars Trilogy was released in 1977, 1980 and 1983. Until 1999 there were no new Star Wars movies filmed but fans were able to journey to a galaxy far, far away via Star Wars-themed games. The early games were played in arcades and as time went on, games were released for console play and today there are even Vegas casino online games with Star Wars themes.
Some of these games were based on specific movies or characters while others have created their own, new storylines. Many Star Wars gaming aficionados say that the games released in the ‘90s were, overall, the best, with top gameplay and solid storylines.
Five of the most highly rated Star Wars Games of the ‘90s include:
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was released in 1994 and is often cited as the best Star Wars game ever made. It was created for Super Nintendo systems and is the third and final game in the Super Star Wars trilogy.
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi provides the end to the Super Star Wars saga. It follows the previous 2 Super Star Wars games including multiple playable selectable characters – Han Solo, Chewbacca, Wicket, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker — who move through the Return of the Jedi storyline. There are additional scenes including the popular scene in which Luke Skywalker fights through the Death Star to reach Emperor Palpatine.
There’s an Endor speeder bike chase and a cruise in the Millennium Falcon while Luke manages with five force powers that allow him to recharge his abilities. The Princess Leia character is consistent with the game’s plot and is pretty badass herself as she wields a blaster in a fight on Endor, fights with a broken chain and has a sword fight with bounty hunter Boushh near Jabba’s palace.
Super Return of the Jedi is one of the acknowledged best film adaptations of the Star Wars franchise and definitely among the top Star Wars games on the market.
Star Wars Dark Forces
Star Wars: Dark Forces was one of the top first-person shooters of the ‘90s decade, featuring solid graphics and a superb level design that used the Jedi game engine which was developed specifically for the Dark Forces game.
Star Wars: Dark Forces was set in the Star Wars expanded universe, with a storyline that began right before the original 1977 Episode IV: A New Hope film and then moving forward a year to the scene after the film’s events. Dark Forces introduced Star Wars fans to protagonist Kyle Katam who was a major character in many of the future Star Wars video games.
Thanks to the Jedi game engine, Dark Forces was able to add gameplay features that were not yet common in the era’s first person shooters including the ability to look up and down and level designs with multiple floors. The game’s PC version was especially well-reviewed though some of the console versions suffered from slow frame rates.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was released in 1998. The storyline takes place between events of the original Star Wars movie and the follow-up Empire Strikes Back. The player controls Luke Skywalker who, together with his Rogue Squaron of elite X-wing pilots, fights the Galactic Empire across the Star Wars galaxy.
The focus on flight combat in Rogue Squadron was in response to a Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire level in which the player could pilot a snowspeeder. Rogue Squadron was one of the first games to take advantage of Nintendo’s commercial release of the Nintendo 64 memory Expansion Pack that provides for a higher display resolution during gameplay.
The gameplay of Rogue Squadron is presented from a third-person perspective. There are 4 categories of game objectives, reconnaissance, rescue, search and destroy and protect. Players control five craft each with a unique armament arrangement for each craft. Every craft has its own level of speed and maneuverability. Throughout the game the player will find bonus power-ups hidden in different levels that improve the weapons on the crafts. Upon completion of each level the player’s performance is compared to medal benchmarks.
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Star Wars: TIE Fighter was released in 1994 as a space combat/flight simulator game to complement the previous Star Wars: X-Wing series. Events are set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi after the Empire’s victory on Hoth. Players take the character of an Imperial starfighter pilot to fight Rebel Alliance forces, pirates, civil war combatants and traitorous Imperial forces. This game presents the Imperial forces – usually the villains – as those who maintain peace and order in the galaxy.
Gamers navigate a “concourse” where there are doors that lead to different game features. In the training simulator area, pilots fly through a complex obstacles course while in the combat chamber, every craft gets extra missions such as historical reenactments of important missions and training scenarios. One room has mission recordings, another has mission briefings and in another, there’s an animated map that illustrates basic flight patterns and vessel positions.
Many critics consider Star Wars: TIE Fighter to be one of the best video games of all time.
Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire
Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire is a LucasArts release that follows Star Wars: Rebel Assault. It is played as a rail shooter in which players proceed down paths while aiming, shooting and dodging. The player character is Rookie One who pilots Y-wing, B-wing and Corellian Transporters with the goal of uncovering and disabling production of the new TIE Phantom. Reviews of this game were mixed but the game has become a classic due to its intricate plot and because it broke barriers in incorporating live-action footage into the gameplay.
Gamers user a gamepad or a mouse to navigate, dodge or attack while the video plays on the screen. Action sequences take place on-foot and in starships with the starship sequences divided into first-person sequences that involve attacking enemy shpis and third-person sequences where the player must dodge obstacles while navigating tight spaces.