N64 Star Wars Title Shadows Of The Empire Is Getting A Soundtrack Release

Erm- if I remember correctly, they only used a few tracks that lasted a minute or two each. I recall because it’s been tattooed in my brain for the past 24 years or so...

Cool idea for a game but I felt it was poorly executed and the graphics have aged like blobs of moldy cheese. Hehe. Now if this were to be made into a flick or Disney + special, this EU chapter would’ve been a fine little project to explore in depth.

I hope there's some unreleased tracks. I've still got the original soundtrack release from the '90s so it would be cool to get something extra.

I’ve got the SotE CD from back in the day, it’s impressive. Most impressive.

I was excited for a second that the game itself was getting a re-release on consoles. Much overdue although with Disney’s plundering of the old canon, I’m guessing that’s no longer a possibility ...

I guess this is more of a reissue as I've had this on CD for years. Much more original music here than what got used in the actual game, and I think a lot of it is stronger than what we've heard in the recent Star Wars movies (Rey's theme is the only thing I could hum).

I think there was some CD-ROM content, as well as a decent booklet. Hopefully some of that is kept for this newer release.

As for the vinyl, as much as I like the music it's only the artwork that would tempt me to get it that way (The Empire Strikes Back is the only Star Wars on vinyl I'll ever need).

@ToneDeath

I had the soundtrack too, and the comic. It's not new for a release, but it had fantastic notes and art, and I could listen to it and read the comic, then go back into the game and wish the game were longer and had more to it than it did.

Good characters, good story, the vehicle levels were decent, but some of the platforming was terrible, even at the time.

I felt Joel McNeely did a fine job with the soundtrack. It had the right amount of emotive, energetic and somber throughout that made it sound like Star Wars. The game was okay but the novel was excellent!

I’ll certainly be grabbing the re-release as Ive only ever owned it digitally.

I need to get in quick before anyone else...

Well at least they are better than the latest Star Wars movies, as they are total garbage.

This is now the standard negative response to any Star Wars related article.

I really enjoyed this game. It's one of my absolute favorite N64 titles.

But that said, the music really wasn't anything special. Just a bunch of Star Wars-ish songs.

And I just want a Switch rerelease..sigh.

Who is this for

@Crockin Nerds of a certain age. Myself included since just yesterday I wore an N64 shirt and hoodie till I could get a new shirt for Star Wars Day (I’d already worn all my short-sleeved SW shirts)

But... why?
The actual Shadows of the Empire soundtrack which was released to coincide with the comics and toys was a trillion times better than what the game got. It only sampled a handful of tracks from Joel McNeely's impressive release (https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Shadows-Empire-Soundtrack/dp/B0000014YD)

This is my favorite Star Wars game to date and still is I think. When I was reading the title of this article I was like yes... yES... YES!! YES!!! thinking it was going to to read it was getting a re-release/remaster. This is still pretty cool though! I do love the soundtrack.

@Vicki_S I'm that demographic for sure, mostly curious why this would be a thing, beyond having the record sleeve. IIRC, wasn't the whole soundtrack just compressed bits from the empire OST?

This game was also released on PC, you can get it on GOG.

If the soundtrack to the game is coming out, won't the game too? The Switch is starting to get more Star Wars games. I sense this is on the horizon for coming soon.

I’ve got the soundtrack on cd (along with quite a few SotE stuff). It’s a nice listen, recommended.

I remember much of the soundtrack was just from the movies.

@Crockin fan boys and their nostalgia, I’d wager.

Mind you- I was but a wee lad when this came out, played it to death (as most wee lads often do) and enjoyed it. (At the time) looking back and having played it again recently; it had some novel ideas and neat music but as for its gameplay and graphics? -shudders- awful. Just bloody awful. Hahaha.

None of this music is from the game, it was made for the novel. The game's music was John Williams tracks from the movies.

@NoNoseNosferatu yea the joy of Nintendo choosing tiny carts - developers always had compromises to make on graphics, presentation and sound.

I played the game recently for the first time on N64, while it is definitely a mixed bag I have to say, things like riding on the rooftops of moving trains etc is very impressive scope for a very early 3D game.

@liveswired I can’t argue with that. :3

I know it's aged a bit but it's still my favourite SW game. I'd love for it to come to Switch.

I recall most of the music being sampled from the movies anyway?

But saying that, I was trying to find a song from this game a couple years back and it was very hard to find, so this is most welcome.

I started reading the title and thought “Cool they’re porti- a SOUNDTRACK. F€k.”

Now I am imagining a remaster of the game that actually features the "Whole" album and not just a few choice tracks. The game hasn't aged well but, this was back when Star wars was actually good and we had decent characters to root for and not meme machines.

@FargusPelagius EU did have some great characters, but if we're being honest, is Dash Rendar really one of them?

@judaspete Not Dash, his droid, Prince xizor and his bounty hunter Guri, the extended Hutt family.Dash is just someone to replace Han after he gets frozen in carbonate for a little hit. He is practically Han who didn't fall in love.