At all times two, there are. No extra. No much less. Grasp Yoda’s clever phrases might have rung true for the Sith, but it surely could not be farther from the speed at which Star Wars video games have been being pumped out within the early 2000s.
Some confirmed promise (Episode I: Racer, Battle for Naboo) whereas others have been as boring as The Phantom Menace‘s commerce agreements (Obi-Wan’s Adventures). The overwhelming majority fell right into a obscure center floor, a spot neither Darkish nor Gentle, the place video games handed the time effectively sufficient however would not occupy sufficient area within the thoughts to distract from the subsequent cinematic entry.
One such title was Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Energy Battles, an action-platformer/beat ’em up that loosely re-trod the juicy bits of Phantom’s plot a 12 months after its cinematic debut and threw in some combo-focused fight and Padawan-level platforming for good measure. It was removed from the worst tie-in the movie could be handled to, however definitely not the sort of recreation you’d assume would ever get the remaster remedy.
Properly, shock! Aspyr has as soon as once more caught its hand right into a dirty sack of ‘Forgotten Star Wars Video games’ and pulled this out. As with Racer, Drive Unleashed, and, most just lately, Bounty Hunter, the studio has as soon as once more turned in a by-the-numbers remaster with minimal additions and visible flare. The nostalgia is powerful with this one however, as we shortly discovered, a recreation must do greater than merely play Duel of the Fates to cease itself from feeling horrendously dated.
For essentially the most half, Jedi Energy Battles is identical recreation we performed on PlayStation and Dreamcast (not the GBA model) again in 2000. After studying an obnoxiously lengthy end-user settlement, you choose a hero from the unique recreation’s full lineup (Plo Koon followers, stand up!), and slash, shoot, and… Drive? your approach by 10 chapters set in acquainted locales from the 1999 film.
Aspyr’s remaster presents the total roster and all 10 story ranges unlocked and absolutely playable proper from the start alongside the unique’s 4 minigames and arcade-style cheat codes (for many who actually need to play with huge heads). Taking part in by every of the story beats unlocks a further 13 characters in your subsequent playthrough, together with the likes of Jar Jar, a number of Tusken Raiders and Droids, Ishi Tib, and Weequay — Star Wars B-Tier, little doubt, however a pleasant addition nonetheless.
Having the total recreation open to you from the soar is a welcome change — we’re nonetheless haunted by recollections of the Droid onslaught in Theed Palace — and two-player co-op means there’s nonetheless the possibility for some native lightsaber laughs for those who occur to have a fellow Jedi close by with a hankering for nostalgia.
That is significantly true for the 4 minigames and one-on-one Coaching mode. Mario Celebration and Smash it ain’t, however the former helped break up the gameplay loop with its game-specific controls (just like the button-mashing Kaadu Race! and Gungan Roundup’s goal of herding a terrified Jar Jar into your opponent’s objective), whereas the latter helps you to duel it out like a traditional fighter — helped by an honest variety of combos for every character.
Nonetheless, unlocks and obscure cameos aren’t sufficient to cover the truth that Jedi Energy Battles’ essential story may be very a lot of its time. Except for the time trial-based Palace Cliffs and the top-down speeder shoot ’em up Streets of Theed, the extent construction grows shortly repetitive. Continually inputting combos makes the fight really feel sluggish, whereas button-mashing makes each encounter really feel similar. Most enemies might be dispatched with a well-timed block to ship their bullets proper again at them; these that may’t at all times handle to inflict unfair injury whereas your hero performs out their assault animation.
Those that actually damage are the situations when the sport does not load an enemy sprite till you are proper on prime of it, or when a foe clips into the close by atmosphere, however nonetheless manages to fireside its blaster with one leg morphed to a close-by plant pot. It is one thing that often performs out to comedic impact (we correctly belly-laughed on the variety of Droids that fell to their demise by making an attempt to observe us round a good bend), however the “Aww, 2000 gameplay, what are you want!” nostalgia can solely get you to this point.
Being hit by an enemy is one factor, however the recreation actually reveals its age within the platforming challenges. That is certainly not an ‘open world’ and the trail to the objective is at all times clearly signposted, but it surely took little bit of time for us to get again into the 2000s headspace. It was a time when double-jump momentum was non-existent, depth notion was far and wide, and cameras would stubbornly stay in a single spot whilst you blindly leapt to the display screen’s edge, hoping to discover a ledge.
All that stated, we had enjoyable with it. If you happen to’ve received affection for this period of video games and this trilogy of Star Wars movies, you will not have a foul time with this.
Efficiency on Change is general fairly sturdy, with minimal body drops all through the principle marketing campaign. The aforementioned clipping and sprite loading points have been more and more a nuisance, nonetheless, significantly within the remaining chapter the place you’re required to destroy a sequence of panels to progress previous hazardous followers. Within the unique launch, these panels have been clearly signposted with a pink button, however no such button, nor panel, seems within the remaster. As a substitute, you stumble upon an invisible object, blindly assault in its normal course, and anticipate an explosion visible to inform you the trail is evident. With out information of the unique launch, we’re unsure you’d ever work that one out, Drive-sensitive or not.
As was the case in Bounty Hunter and Battlefront, Aspyr has loosely up to date the visuals and controls right here to deliver issues in keeping with the current day. For the management scheme (simply swapped between ‘Fashionable’ and ‘Basic’), it is principally only a case of swapping ‘Soar’ from ‘A’ to ‘B’, and the visible modifications seem simply as easy. The characters and environments present quantity of additional element in comparison with their PlayStation days, granted, however the polygonal fashions and restricted textures are nonetheless harsh on the attention.
Maybe an choice to toggle between previous and new graphics (as Aspyr included in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered) may need made the visible tweaks just a little extra spectacular, however for those who’re hoping to see improved animations and recognisable character silhouettes at a look, these aren’t the upgrades you are searching for.
Conclusion
For many who loved the unique launch again across the flip of the millennium, Star Wars: Episode I – Jedi Energy Battles is simply in regards to the most secure remaster you could possibly think about. The moment degree unlocks and expanded character roster are each good touches, however Aspyr’s restricted enhancements go away this sense very of its time. If you may get previous the sluggish fight, painful platforming, and efficiency ‘quirks’, then it is a enjoyable journey down reminiscence lane; if you cannot, then put together for a lesson in what video games felt like a very long time in the past.
