Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles Remaster

More and more, we’re getting remasters of classic games in the modern era. It’s a joy to see childhood favourites come onto modern consoles and PC, meaning I no longer have to pay stupid, nostalgic prices to play a beloved game that doesn’t run all that well. Aspyr is raking up an impressive list of remasters with the likes of Tomb Raider 1 – 3, and Soul Reaver 1 – 2 coming out last year and impressing us immensely. Now comes another old cult classic Star Wars game I never thought would see the light of day again!

Time to review Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles!


What is Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles?


Back in the day, when Star Wars: The Phantom Menace came out, the merchandising was unlike anything I ever saw, with a whole host of toys and video games littering the scene. And to be honest, a lot of the games weren’t very good at all, unlike the Lego games and other titles for the other two prequel films later on. But the odd game or two did give it a decent stab and one of the better ones is Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles I remember.

It’s simple in concept, allowing players to venture through the best parts of the first film, picking from a roster of characters including Obi-Won, Mace Windu, Queen Amidala, and Darth Maul, and mostly battling it out with Lightsabers and laser-pistols. You will be fighting through the Swamps of Naboo, City of Theed, and Tatooine, like in a good old-fashioned side-scrolling fighter, while occasionally doing something special such as riding a vehicle through the City of Theed, making your way to the Royal Palace.

For a 2000 PS1 game, it was decent, and now 25 years later, we can appreciate it again with 4K resolution, and 60 frames per second. But was it worth bringing back such an obscure title after so long?


The 4K Force is strong with this one


We’ve seen PS1 games remastered for current-gen in recent years. Hell, some of the best examples are from the same studio, Aspyr, and Jedi Power Battles has its pros and cons. The resolution and upscaling are masterfully done, with the game itself running incredibly smoothly without any hitches. Overall, it doesn’t look half bad, and the UI is clean, with controls that feel responsive and modern. Where the game is let down in its upgrade is with the sound design, as it's generally not that impressive, and a little annoying at times with certain sound effects. Now to be fair a lot of PS1 games did have that one or two sound effects that would drive anyone up the wall. Look at Shadow Man and the pistol sound … it’s so freaking annoying.

There’s nothing on that level here, but a few such as the jumping sound, and the little sound bite of Yoda going “Hmm-mmm” when you pick up any item do get a little tedious and silly. I will also acknowledge that the graphics could have received a little more fine-tuning, to flesh out the detail and pointy bits in character models. It’s just comparing this to Soul Reaver and Tomb Raider, and it does look like the odd one out.

But Jedi Power Battles has been exceptionally upgraded, comparing it to the original PS1 version, it’s night and day to be honest. Aspyr has indeed done a proper job at smoothing all the rough edge, adding more vibrancy to the world, lifting those dull greys, and fog of war effects (which didn’t work for the original version … it’s not an RTS), and making it shiny, and feeling new. I get and I had thoughts that it wasn’t a massive improvement over the original version, but it does. Watch a long play of the original and you’ll see the difference. I guess without a toggle that switches the graphics from old to new, you can easily miss appreciating the upgrade. But we do indeed get slick visual refinements, good upscaling, and overall holds together incredibly well without any crashes, or glitches from my playthrough.


Jedi Power to the MAX!!!


5th Generation gaming had its quirks and strengths, with the limitation of hardware came big risks, and usually more of a cinematic feel in positive oddities. With Resident Evil’s tank controls, and fixed cameras, and Tomb Raider’s tank controls and grid-based level design, they brought about wholly unique experiences and meaningful gameplay. Jedi Power Battles is straight-up goofy, arcade fun, and all in the best possible way.

The core gameplay loop and a majority of level themes will be picking a character, fighting through a level, picking up some neat weapon upgrades, scoring as many points as possible, and doing the clunky, yet fun bit of platforming. With the odd set piece here and there for good measure. One of my favourites is a trek up a hill on Tatooine, where giant boulders are endlessly coming at you. It’s mental, I don’t remember that in the film, but God it’s just like Takeshi's Castle, and I love it.

It’s nothing revolutionary, it's very straight to the point and you can this thoroughly engaging, or a little dull depending on your opinion of older games. For me, I found plenty of fun that’s ultimately quite timeless in the grand scheme of things, but isn't fleshed out for the long haul. Much like Star Wars: Battlefront. There is a good variety of environments, all willing to make any Star Wars fan day, with the good-level design that elegantly paces action, bosses, platforming, and key hunting. What makes everything a bit more special is the roaster of characters you can pick from, and in this remaster, you have all the main characters from the get-go, including the originally unlockable ones. This also goes for the special missions, including a survival mode which is a ton of fun, especially with a co-op buddy.

All characters and missions are there from the get-go, and thinking about it, this would've been quite devastating in a way as these are the main unlockable extras in the original game. Thankfully new bonuses are included to bump up replay value and push you to do all the challenges. Or you can use cheats! Yep, there are new cheat codes implemented to make the game even better, or just allow you to have a massive head for a laugh! There might be more unlockable content I've not come across, but there is an important announcement to make ....

You can play as Jar-Jar now .... yay!

As I said, it’s not the most revolutionary gameplay that comes to mind, even for the era. Even other remasters from Aspyr, as Tomb Raider and Soul Reaver did, and to this day have great dynamics and gameplay loops which are timeless. But Jedi Power Battles is true, and true arcade fun that you can play solo, or team up with a buddy and battle it out. It’s stellar, good old fun which you can play for 10 minutes or invest an hour into it. The only downside for the campaign is the slight repetition in gameplay and lack of bigger set-pieces or more interesting level design changes. We get one level which allows us to control a vehicle, and that’s it. Not even a top-down shooter, space-themed level or better yet, playing the Pod Race from the actual film. There are a lot of creative liberties here, so doing one more or two to include a bit more level variety was sorely needed. But again, we get the survival mode and two other special missions which make up for the lack of variety in the campaign. So, it’s not all bad.

Bottom line, Jedi Power Battles is humble, simple, wholesome old-school fun which is vastly more enjoyable with a friend, but still pretty decent solo.


Overall?

Jedi Power Battles is something that could have been easily forgotten about, and to be honest I wouldn’t lose sleep if it did. Compared to games like Tomb Raider, Soul Reaver and Battlefront, it didn’t seem so deserving of a full remaster. But weirdly, I am quite glad it has been, even if the original game itself is far from a treasured icon of the PS1 era.

The quality of the upgrade is quite significant both visually, and performance-wise. I do wish that maybe some sound effects were changed, and new extra content was added. But the quality of life and presentation overall are quite strong. It’s a long-forgotten game, that was more a cash grab than a work of passion and art. Yet still, it’s a fun little game to play solo or with a friend. There’s all the unlockable content ready from the start, including some cool missions such as the survival mode, and a little bonus content including concept art for those looking for the "Behind the scenes" of the game. It’s not as impressive as Soul Reaver’s but still nice to have.

Overall, I ended up having a soft spot for Jedi Power Battles, and while not the most impressive game to begin with, there is just enough here making it worth checking out. Like I said, you may dig it if you're into older games, that clunky execution, and limitation in certain realms of gameplay. But there is a charm and timeless quality here that is somewhat endearing. This would be most enjoyable to the 30-something Star Wars fan looking for a trip of nostalgia that has held up decently well over 25 years.


++ The presentation is great, with nice, smooth visuals and good performance
+ Clunky controls have been tweaked and refined massively
+ Solid action gameplay whether playing alone or with a buddy
+ All unlockable content from the original game available from the start and new bonuses

- No new story missions or proper "Behind the scenes" content
- Gameplay can be quite repetitive after a while
- Some sound effects are tedious and annoying