Years ago, when the Star Wars franchise wasn’t under the world-dominating scrutiny of the House of Mouse, developers were farming out all games like no one’s business. And while that did mean we were ‘treated’ to the likes of Star Wars: Demolition and Kinect Star Wars, it also meant the long-defunct LucasArts produced some of the best genre-crossing gems of the ‘90s and the ‘00s. The Jedi Knight franchise (and its more traditional FPS progenitor, Dark Forces) was one such bountiful series, culminating in the expansive and varied action-adventure, Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy in 2003.
Fast-forward 17 years and the journey of young padawan Jaden Korr has been ported over to Nintendo Switch, following in the footsteps of the game’s direct predecessor, Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Much like Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy benefits from improved visuals, modernised controls (including motion, naturally) and support for online multiplayer. That’s right – Jedi Academy proved to be a real treat both on PC and the original Xbox (back when Xbox Live was still a bright young thing) with its own support for multiplayer. That mode is fully present on Switch, but before we get into that feature, let’s take a look at the campaign.
Unlike the previous games, the customisation of online and local play influenced the core story, trading series antihero Kyle Katarn for a fresh Force-sensitive progeny. So instead of a gruff, beardy human, you can select from a number of different species, genders and outfits. You can even start off by customising the look of your lightsaber and the colour of its blade. It’s a simple RPG addition, but it immediately helps Jedi Academy feel a little more personable back when multiplayer gaming and online avatars were becoming more and more prevalent.
While not being able to play as series antihero Kyle Katarn is still a bit a letdown after so many years battling the Sith (or joining them, depending on your Force persuasions), having the opportunity to play as a brand new character does make more sense as you, Luke and co head out into the galaxy to uncover a new Sith plot while fighting off the ever-present Imperial Remnant. The plot itself isn’t the best the series has ever achieved (Jedi Knight’s wonderfully corny FMV scenes will forever wear that crown), but it does feature a huge variety of levels, many of which offer more than one way to approach a mission. You can choose to follow the Dark Side or the Light, and your choices will affect the game’s ending in true Jedi Knight fashion.
Combat is quite clumsy, but then again, that was part of its charm back in the day. Playing the likes of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order shows just how far we’ve come in terms of melee finesse, and while it is possible to ‘master’ the slash and pray combat model, it’s a tough ask when you trade the greater control of a mouse for the far less responsive analogue sticks of the Joy-Cons – an issue that’s been made very apparent since PC players recently found a way to access Switch servers, creating a crossplay bloodbath in multiplayer where non-keyboard and mouse players regularly paid with their virtual lives. However, the inclusion of different stances and lightsaber hilts – which actively adjust your overall movement and position – does help add some much-needed strategy to the campaign if you’re willing to spend the time to learn their nuances.
PC death squads aside (a fix is in the works), we’re pleased to see a retro online component retained in a modern port. Multiplayer was dropped from the port of Jedi Outcast, but it’s retained here – albeit with more than a few concessions. You can jump into all the usual modes – including classic deathmatches with weapons, force powers, lightsabers and more – and with support for up to sixteen players online it’s a decent recreation of a popular multiplayer haunt. Not being able to select specific servers does make matchmaking more of a Russian roulette, but with the ability to customise match rules (such as Force powers and weapon types) the slapstick combat of Jedi Academy makes for a fun if forgettable online experience.
In terms of controls, port specialist Aspyr has done its best to ‘modernise’ a game that did feel quite clunky and imprecise, especially when it came to the focal lightsaber combat. It’s certainly a little smoother this time around, with the addition of quick shortcuts for your Force powers enabling you to access them a little faster in the heat of a battle. When it comes to presentation, the in-game visuals have transitioned over surprisingly well (despite those classic awkward animations), but pre-rendered cutscenes seemingly haven’t been adjusted and really look out of place as part of the whole package.
The aspect ratio of the game has also been changed, and not for the better. The widescreen format is now standard, and with no option to change it back to the original ratio you’re left with a portion of the screen cut off at the top (something that really stands out in cutscenes where character faces are sometimes partially obscured). Bizarrely, the option to switch between ratios was present in the port of Jedi Outcast, but not here.
Conclusion
While it’s not the best the series has been – many could argue Jedi Knight II or Jedi Outcast will perpetually battle for that title – Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is still a fun and lengthy trek across the (non-canon) Star Wars universe. The multiplayer doesn’t live up to its former glories, but the sprawling and semi non-linear campaign certainly makes up for it with its lightning-fast lightsaber combat and that quintessentially silly approach to Star Wars that was still rife in the early 2000s. Don’t expect Jedi: Fallen Order, but do expect a time capsule of an action-adventure.
Comments 44
This is definitely among my all time favorite Star Wars games. The lightsaber action in this is top notch!
I hope Pod Racer doesn’t end up like this buggy mess
So, I guess this game doesn't have motion control?
@swagbag713 Indeed, Jedi Knight II is Jedi Outcast. Someone made a typo.
That line in the conclusion section should have been "many could argue Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II or Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast".
I can't wait to jump back into this!
I've always heard this is significantly better than Outcast, which takes 5 or so hours to get fun.
@MrBlacky paragraph 2: “(including motion, naturally)“
@gaga64
Okay, but then what has aiming to do with the control sticks?
@MrBlacky it does, unfortunately.
I hope that the Switch gets a modern bespoke Star Wars game or at the very least a decent remake rather than just the aged ports.
I would it if Jedi Fallen Order could be ported.
@MrBlacky probably an optional alternative - I’m guessing you can aim with either one of the control sticks or through motion controls, like in Spla2n
This review is pretty out of whack, based on playing Jedi Outcast on Switch, and then on PC ... and also playing Jedi Fallen Order and Jedi Academy on PC.
The Switch port of Jedi Outcast was abysmal - gameplay was atrocious. Best of all is Jedi Academy, followed by Jedi Outcast ... even after 17 years Jedi Fallen Order doesn't match those classics in terms of lightsaber combat. Not even close.
If I thought Outcast had maybe the most confusing level design I've ever seen in a game, is there any chance I'll like this one? Or is it more of the same?
Alot of mixed reactions. Tempted to try it as always enjoyed the series. I recently went back to my GameCube copy of Jedi Outcast, runs badly, controls take a little getting used too, but bloomin heck how baddass you feel when you best 4 sith at once, manically shifting force powers while summersault blocking.Classic thrills.
I'm really enjoying it, yes its a game of its time but that i feel is part of its charm. Nice hearing the JW score used in it and i actually love the combat.
This is the 3rd article about this game and yet still no mention of the fact that you cannot play online with friends, but only with strangers.
@SuperWeird Wait, seriously?
Aaaaand the review completely fails to mention that online play lacks friend/party options. So if you want to play online, its with RANDOMS only.
It's a huge letdown. Shocked its not mentioned here.
@MrBlacky no need to guess, it’s right there in the review.
@SuperWeird I talked to Aspyr and Nintendo and got a refund on the game.
It's a really baffling feature omission. Apparently you can do it on PS4, just not Switch.
This is one of my favorite Star Wars games ever And as such this is my eighth copy of the game.
xbox ( twice)
pc cd rom
pc steam
mac cd rom
mac steam
gog
And now this one.
I'm still playing my pc copy I've had since the days of Windows XP.
Looking at the cd/jewel case for the game, to double-check myself, I was correct that it could run on (base/original/first-version) Win 98/Second Edition/Me/2000/XP. (Its predecessor, Outcast, can run on Win 95, if I remember correctly.) Mods greatly enhance the character customization.
Edit: While I love Rogue One, my headcanon is that Kyle always helped secure the DeathStar plans, along with that Twi'lek, and interrogation droid from the Nintendo DS game.
Am I the only one who got terrible motion sickness playing this? I’ve never experienced that playing a game before.
@Fry2000 Sorry to hear that. Please be careful, & maybe for your own safety, while playing video games, you should get checked by a doctor. Better yet, you shouldn't play until a doctor clears you.
Does this have online multiplayer only or is there local offline as well? Like split-screen?
The old school expanded universe Star Wars was so much better than current Disney Wars! No it wasn't perfect, but I loved the way the games books and comics built off of each other.
Another game in this vein was planned, set during the "New Jedi Order" stories. But sadly that never saw the light of day. I've seen conflicting explanations for why. But that's probably my top complaint about the Disney purchase of Star Wars, now we'll never get any more games set during the books and comics I grew up loving... I would have killed for even one game set during the NJO... Let me play an RPG with characters like Jaina, Jacen and Anakin Solo, Kyp Durron, Corran Horn, Mara Jade, Wedge Antillies...
Thank God for the Empire at War modding community!
@Heavyarms55
Mara Jade showed up in an expansion pack for Jedi Knight.
@KitsuneNight Well that's something. I think she was playable in Empire at War: Forces of Corruption too, but I've played that game with mods for so long I can't remember what was and was not in the actual game anymore.
@Heavyarms55
She is playable in Mysteries Of The Sith
A stand alone "expansion".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Jedi_Knight:_Mysteries_of_the_Sith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1QG6yzoRak
..That's pretty 90's
@KitsuneNight Ah you know what, I remember seeing and wanting this but I didn't have a PC of my own at the time, and my parents hated me installing games on the family machine because even though the machine had the room, they still had the old DOS-era mindset of computers with like, 100MB of storage. And by the time I had my own machine, I forget this existed. I should pick it up on Steam. Or maybe, just maybe, they'll port it to Switch. lol
@Heavyarms55
It's dirt cheap on Steam about 2-3 bucks.
A port seems unlikley but never say never.
My first pc was Pentium II and it came with Jedi Knight but I couldn't really get to grips with it.
Took a while before i took to PC gaming.
Found some lovely old Star Wars PC games ina thrift store a while back
Rebel Assault II
Street Racer
Die Hard Trilogy 2
Alien VS Predator 2
Monaci Grand Prix 3
X-wing Cdrom edition
And best of all:
Dark Forces on cd rom
and Blade Runner.
But if you do buy Mysteries of the Sith.
You may find this usefull.
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Star_Wars:Jedi_Knight-_Mysteries_of_the_Sith
Just in case cause PC gaming can be ...tricky.
@KitsuneNight I understand that. I picked up I think it was Dark Forces 2 way back in the day and I had never played a game like it with keyboard/mouse before and couldn't do anything. And even now I vastly prefer to play games with a controller, even on PC. Which I know is blasphemy among the PC-Master-Race people.
@Heavyarms55
Oh no I am totally the same.
I stil prefer controllers, especially the xbox ones, for PC games.
And some games just feel right or better with a controller.
Driving games, beat em ups, action games, platformers,
are all better to me with a controller in my hands.
I can make do with mouse and keyboard but i'd rather not.
It's why I prefer Jedi Academy on the Xbox ( and NX)
@MrBlacky thank the force, no it doesnt.
@swagbag713
the naming convention of the Jedi knight series is
...convoluted
Dark Forces
Dark Forces II Jedi Knight.
Jedi Knight II Outcast ( Should be Dark Forces 3 )
And finally Jedi Knight Jedi Academy ( Dark Forces 4 then )
The full title should be: Star Wars: Dark Forces 4 Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy.
A ludicrous title of epic Japanese proportions.
Never seen a series before, that actually changes its title midway through.
@Krambo42
Jedi Academy is more straight forward most of the times.
@KitsuneNight Awesome.
@Krambo42 Jedi Academy has way better level design than Jedi Outcast, it’s better on every aspect
@Edu23XWiiU Sold
@Krambo42
Some levels can be a bit obtuse, especially the sith tomb one.
But that's mostly later in the game
And you can choose what levels you want to play.
I wish I had trusted this review... then I wouldn't have wasted $20. Even though i generally love games of this era, this game feels terribly janky. The control of the light saber is horrid. I think all the positive user reviews I've seen online are from pretty hardcore nostalgia.
@MrBlacky Motion control is included. It can be turned off in the settings menu, but is on by default.
No Kyle Katarn? No purchase! Wake me up when Kyle shows up!
@sketchturner Ouch!
Tap here to load 44 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...