Star Wars Episode 1 Jedi Power Battles Remaster developed and published by Aspyr is available now on Playstation 4/5, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.
Well, what can I say about this one? The title says it all. I am completely conflicted about this title. On one hand, it’s a game I played for 29 hours and managed to get the PlayStation Platinum for which means for me it was pretty good. On the other hand, it is a broken mess of a game that had me wanting to tear my hair out at multiple points in the experience.
Star Wars Episode 1 Jedi Power Battles is similar in style to such games as Golden Axe and Streets Of Rage style beat them-up game where you kill several enemies and move on to the next section, it’s fairly basic in its formula. You’ll have the options of choosing multiple characters from Star Wars The Phantom Menace and Clone Wars TV show, who each have multiple abilities to aid you in your journey. As you beat each level, you’ll earn points for killing enemies and grabbing the pick-ups that provide such things as health, extended lightsaber, better attack power and more. In the end, these points add up to upgrading your character which in turn unlocks new force powers and makes the character more powerful. It has a very simplistic premise but one that ultimately hooked me and kept me going. The remaster adds the ability to have all characters that were previously locked in the original, which is good for adding multiple-choice at the beginning so you can get a real feel for them all. You’ll be able to play as Darth Maul, Queen Amidala and Captain Quarsh Panaka, and as a bonus, you will get Ki-Adi-Mundi, which was exclusive to the Sega Dreamcast. Aspyr has also added the ability to play as many of the enemies you’ll encounter in the game in the New Game +, which again adds a whole new way to take the game on. There are a variety of enemies to go up against and bosses, some of which I question as to why they’re in the game but they are still fun to go up against.
Why the conflict though? Well, it’s an addictive formula; the remaster adds a bunch of new content that is interesting and engaging, and for fans of the original game and Star Wars, it was an unexpected but welcome remaster. However, the game is completely broken in every hair-pulling way imaginable. Aspyr has been doing amazing work in bringing some of the more obscure titles back from the dead, I am here for it, but what I don’t understand is that they add a ton of new content and upgraded visuals but the bugs from the older version are still present and untouched. Here are some examples, there’ll be invisible walls everywhere you go, you’ll get stuck on most props, the game will crash at random, you’ll fall through the map or walk off the map and the list goes on I won’t mention “FALL DAMAGE”. The controls also still feel tanky and I found it hard to pull off combos and difficult to deflect, but I think that might be on my skill level rather than the game. The difficulty level, Jedi Mode is still difficult and some in the community think it has been cranked up a little, which I find hard to disagree with, on the final battle VS Darth Maul, no single force power can help you, I couldn’t manage it and had to ask my partner to step in as player 2 so Darth Maul would be confused at who to go to, (yes you did read that right I used my partner as bait and I am ashamed). This is what the game drives you to do I could not do it solo. Unless you choose Queen Amidala, who can shoot spam things in the distance. The difficulty of the game is extreme, but there is an easy mode however in easy mode, I wasn’t able to unlock any new powers despite getting the score to do so. Despite all these problems that stressed me out, I couldn’t get enough of it. Aspyr has done a great job in everything but the polish and refinement.
You’re probably thinking, why did you bother going for the platinum if it is so frustrating and that is a fair statement. I think because I loved it as a kid it reignited the nostalgia and as I kept going I thought, “I can do this”. It stressed me out though, often I had to use Queen Amidala’s gun to get through the levels because as a Jedi it can be so hard to get through. I often found myself having to repeat the game over and over again because I’d missed something or I’d accidentally overwrite a save by clicking New Game instead of Continue which again is on me but having separate save slots would have made this so much easier. There is a charm about this game that pulled me in and honestly, I think I’d do it again and with local sit-down coop, you’ve got one hell of an entertaining title.
Aspyr has done a good job of making the graphics look a lot smoother and more refined, they still have that Dream Cast PlayStation 1 charm, but it’s a lot smoother and less choppy and it ran great. It is good to go back and experience all the levels in a new and fresh way, I have no complaints about the design as such. This is more aimed at the original developers of the game in which many of the enemies in the game don’t ever appear in the movies at all, it’s an odd choice to me as I feel there are a massive amount of Star Wars-related enemies they could have used but perhaps that’s just a game design thing and they needed more variety. The sound seems to be quite broken. Unfortunately, you’ll get the same old Star Wars tracks from The Phantom Menace that plays frequently but they’ll cut out quite a bit, then you’ll get sudden soundbites of background noise that last for a second or two and then they’ll break. Qui Gons voice plays over Queen Amidala’s for some reason which I found hilarious.
Verdict
I both love this game and hate it. I don’t recommend Star Wars Episode 1 Jedi Power Battles Remaster to new players unless you want a brutal and unforgiving Star Wars experience. However, if you, like me, loved the game originally, then I think it’s worth going back to. Hell, even if you are a new player looking for a punishing experience, then this is the game for that. I think Aspyr has added some good content but they just haven’t refined any of the bugs and glaring issues this game has. I believe it has the bones of a good game which Aspyr could have made into something much bigger than it is now. They are great at remastering games, Tomb Raider and Legacy of a Kain Soul Reaver, for example, they did incredible jobs with, but Star Wars titles don’t seem to get as much love, and I truly believe if they put that effort in, these would be up there. In one respect I love it and laugh at its jank, if it was a film it would be The Room. In the other respect, IF I FLY AWAY ONE MORE TIME DUE TO THOSE DAMN FANS EVEN THOUGH I TURNED THEM OFF!!! I might just need to replace the TV and Controller. That is my experience which is why I feel my score is justified because of pure entertainment value.
If you’re interested in checking out our other Aspyr game reviews, Tomb Raider 1 to 3 is HERE and Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remaster HERE.
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