19. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (GCN)
This lacklustre third-person shooter served as a prequel to Attack of the Clones (well, it kind had to considering how — SPOILERS! — Jango loses a particularly vital body part in the movie), and despite looking and sounding passable (and having a wicked cover), it didn't have the necessary technical chops to make it memorable in any way.
A shame, but perhaps we'll see this sort of game done right in the future. Star Wars 1313 might be a distant, cancelled memory, but Mandalorians are so hot right now.
18. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (DS)
Also available on GBA, Ubisoft's Revenge of the Sith on DS was a real surprise. It's a 2D belt-scroller with a unique cartoon style, fluid animation, and responsive controls. The DS version also has some exclusive space-based sections which work surprisingly well, and that dogfighting mode is available in multiplayer, too. The game pits Jedi against Jedi (although it doesn't have you slaughtering younglings), and hits all the major beats from the movie with panache. The whole thing is really rather good.
17. Super Empire Strikes Back (SNES)
Extending the on-foot action sequences of the source material into a colourful 16-bit side-on adventure, Super Empire Strikes Back peppers the platforming with some vehicular sections, too. You get the opportunity to play as Luke, Han, and Chewie, plus ride a tauntaun, pilot a snow speeder and an X-Wing (with some classic Mode 7 gameplay), fly into an asteroid field with the Millennium Falcon, and duel Darth Vader. A tad unforgiving, but arguably the best of the 16-bit 'Super' series.
16. Super Return of the Jedi (SNES)
Wrapping up the Super Star Wars trilogy on Super NES, you get to finish the battle against the Dark Side (well, until Palpatine somehow congeals back into existence and the New Order arrives on the scene to take everything backwards again). The difficulty of this entry is a little easier than the others, and with five playable characters (including Leia and Wicket), and the opportunity to give Jabba, Vader, and Palpatine a sound thrashing, it'd be rude not to finish the fight.
15. Star Wars: Republic Commando (Switch eShop)
Star Wars: Republic Commando has aged surprisingly well and proves to be a ton of fun to revisit in this admittedly rather basic Switch port. The squad system here is still supremely satisfying to get to grips with, the HUD elements are slick, and there's plenty of atmospheric fun to be had as you blast your way through the three campaign stories on offer. Yes, there's no doubt the level design is archaic, there's no great variety in enemies, the visuals have had only the most basic of touch-ups, and it's a real shame the multiplayer was been completely excised. Overall, though, this was still a welcome return for one of the very best Star Wars video game offerings.
14. Super Star Wars (SNES)
The 16-bit 'Super' series might not have been the most faithful or most exciting Star Wars games ever made, but they were solid platformers that gave us and many others the perfect dose of Star Wars action on our Super Nintendos back in the day. They're great-looking, let you take control of different characters, and even take a stab at introducing some gameplay variety with vehicular sections. With the Game Boy versions scaling everything down to work on the monochrome handheld, world-changing video games or high points of the medium they are not — and perhaps nostalgia is getting the better of us — but as old-fashioned movie-licensed platformers go, we can't help but like 'em.
13. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64)
Ah, yes, Shadows of the Empire. There's huge nostalgia for this one, and it has its moments — specifically the opening Hoth battle which stands head-and-shoulders above anything else the game has to offer — but it undeniably benefited from the fact that there were so few games available for the N64 for several months following launch. Players who did pick it up paid an arm and a leg and were possibly inclined to give it more chances than it deserved. It's not the worst Star Wars game by quite some margin, but it's probably best left in the memory banks. Time hasn't been kind to ol' Dash Rendar.
Still, cracking box art, no?
12. Star Wars Pinball (Switch)
Zen Studios has been plugging away at digital Star Wars pinball tables for several years. The Wii U version was excellent, although we described the 3DS iteration as "a downgrade in almost every way". On Switch, Star Wars Pinball features 19 tables spanning the entire series, plus support for vertical play and some Switch-exclusive features. If you're a pinball wizard, this is a fine way to soak up all the iconography of the saga without indulging in lacklustre lightsaber combat or other mechanical disappointments.
11. LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Wii U)
Also on 3DS, this brought the third trilogy into the Lego world on a generation of consoles which enabled a graphical fidelity that hadn't been seen before. For the first time, you'd see scuffs and light bouncing off the plastic bricks — quite the upgrade if you'd previously only experienced the charming Lego Star Wars games on DS or Wii. It's a solid, slapstick romp through the beats of the movie and captures the spirit of adventure well.
10. Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo (N64)
Battle For Naboo was essentially Rogue Squadron 1.5 with prequel trilogy ships. With a base that solid from developer Factor 5, it was hard to go wrong, and along with Episode I: Racer, this gave The Phantom Menace two great tie-in games on Nintendo platforms, while other consoles had to endure some unspeakable droideka dross.
Comments 32
Ooooohhh...I wonder if Limited Run is gonna ship KotoR 2 today. That would be cool.
Empire Strikes Back on Game Boy is one of those games I'm going to die without finishing. It just becomes so unplayable after a while.
Jedi Outcast should have been higher though.
HK-47 alone makes the KotOR series #1 by default.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg1gTas7OAA
Do feel like playing rogue leader again... hope i'll get my wii up and running
Rogue Leader is the best and it isn't even a competition (and I say this as someone who has enjoyed MANY Star Wars games).
It feels just as impressive today as when it released over 20 years ago.
You are strong and wise. And I am very proud of you.
Shadows of the Empire is the only one I ever played in my entire life that was worth remembering.
@Cashews Bounty Hunter is basically Shadows 2.
Lots of good games here, however I've said it before and I'll say it again..... when is there going to be a Star Wars collection with NES Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, SNES Star Wars, ESB and ROTJ and throw in N64 SOTE, RS and Gamecube RS 2 and 3! You have my money already! PS and may the fourth be with you all today. PPS I appreciate the licensing issues involved with my request, however who would have thought we would have a TMNT collection now??!!
I know it'll never happen but I really want an HD Remaster of Rogue Squadron on Switch (or at the very least, put the N64 version up on Nintendo Switch Online along with Shadows of the Empire)!
@DarthFoxMcCloud Yep with you there, it's about time these treasures were remastered on the Switch!
@TheHighGround Hello there
Jedi Power Battles is ranked lower than Yoda Stories? I don’t think so. Yes the GBA game’s criticisms are fair, but it’s in no way worse than Yoda Stories.
Man I want them to release the original Lego Star Wars collection on the switch so bad. Loved it even if it’s a bit dated now.
Surprised the Skywalker Saga isn’t number 1 since it honestly seems like the perfect Star Wars game period to get into. Well for what it’s worth I’ll be celebrating the Star Wars holiday by doing a nice big old session of Jedi: Survivor tonight after work.
What's with the release dates on this article? The Super Star Wars games definitely did not come out in 2009.
It has always kind of bothered me how more developers didn't take advantage of the Gamecube's graphical prowess the way that Factor 5 did with Rogue Leader.
How I wish they would remaster the Rogue Squadron games and make them a trilogy in one cartridge. As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy Star Wars games, this would still be a day 1 for me. Those games were exceptional.
I skipped ahead to make sure RS2 was #1.
I have the bottom 4 games on the list 😆
Flight of the Falcon should be #39. It's 3 levels of unrelated mini-games strung together with mediocre controls and sometimes awful graphics. And when you die you start back at the beginning of the level.
The cover art was definitely the best part of the game.
The other three had their good moments though..
Played Revenge of the Sith (GBA) on an emulator early this year. An absolute blast
Here's hoping for a console re-release of "Star Wars: Rogue Squadron."
Oooookay. I'm going to get the damned Skywalker Saga cause it's on sale, despite not being a fan of LEGO or Star Wars. Somehow (I assure you), it's still your fault if I do this dumb thing and dislike the game.
I know many Star Wars games are on sale on the eShop and I was tempted to splurge...until I realized I have nearly all of them on GOG.
We need a new Rogue Squadron game. Jedi Survivor does bring me some hope, as we are seeing some OK star wars games again, but looking at the past you have to say Disney are making a right mess of their vodeogames. They need to stop outsourcing based on money, and start having a cracking at it themselves based on quality.
@FawfulsFury
General Kenobi!
You are a bold one.
They ever get around to finishing KOTOR2?
@DarthFoxMcCloud I think Rogue Squadron is available in HD on Steam.
Otherwise, just get a Nintendo 64. I'm best best case an RGB modded one and one of these super modules with all N64 games on it. You can than throw away the laughable Switch Online selection.
There's a good amount of worthwhile Star Wars games. Too bad Nintendo gamers can't enjoy Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and Survivor, since they are like best of all.
But maybe on the next system.
Glad the Skywalker saga finished behind the original I was really disappointed with it, you spent most of the time running around and the puzzles weren't at the same level.
@Krysus update! It did! Bwuahahaha! I forgot to check the mail Thursday! Super happy!
I recently got Star wars Rouge Squadron on the N64. Holy crap it is decent. I knew it was a good game just didn't realize it was that good
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