STAR WARS: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles Review

Originally released on the PlayStation and Dreamcast back in 2000, STAR WARS: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles has received the remaster treatment from developer Aspyr. The Dreamcast version was considered to be better at the time, so the source code from that version was used here. The game boasted a 3D perspective and lightsaber combat that let you perform different combos to change up your attack, making this title feel like a combination of an action platformer and an arcade beat ‘em up.

The original game only had five characters unlocked to play as in the beginning: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Ali Gallia, and Plo Koon. With four others that would be unlocked once you complete the game, Darth Maul, Queen Amidala, Captain Panaka, and Ki-Adi-Mundi are then available. All the characters have their own specific lightsaber styles, force powers, strengths, and weaknesses. In the Remaster, they are all available at the beginning to use, along with a few characters like Jar Jar Binks and a new Battle Droid to select.

Jedi Power Battles has a training mode available to play before you hop into the main game. I never got the opportunity to play the original Jedi Power Battles, so I needed to learn how to perform all the different moves available for my Jedi. The training is split into seven different topics to check out: double jumping, using force powers, and lightsaber battles.

Graphics wise, the remaster has improved the game's resolution and has sharpened the textures, but the screen transitions are quite choppy. One of the things that hasn't been improved is that there aren’t many spots where you can save your progress in the stages. If you fall in battle, you may get sent pretty far back, so you will need to do some backtracking.

The audio in Jedi Power Battles is alright but the sound effects don't feel like they are timed properly with the action they belong to. Despite that, it isn't overly noticeable when you’re running around swinging your lightsaber non-stop, so it’s still super cool to slash at enemies. There was also a weird static sound that would occur while I was walking around in Coruscant, it sounded like someone was using a walkie-talkie that kept cutting in and out.

Controlling your character was a bit tricky to figure out, even if you tried to complete the training. Besides misjudging jumps, Jedi Power Battles got challenging when you get to the boss battle where you need to deflect the incoming shots towards your enemy. The game doesn't tell you outright what needs to be done; I thought you could reflect it by using the button to block, but it never directly hit the target. After failing multiple times, I realised I had to use the force shield; this was the only way to defeat the boss, and it also worked great against other groups of enemies.

There is a 10-level campaign to challenge in Jedi Power Battles that has you travel through Naboo, Theed, Tatooine, Coruscant, and a Trade Federation Battleship. The game can be tough with one or two players on Easy Mode or Jedi Master for people who want more of a challenge. In co-op, when someone dies, they won't come back until the other person gets to a checkpoint. If they are defeated before finding it, you both go to the last point reached.

There are a variety of power-ups that you can get like Blade Amplifier, which makes you inflict more damage; Blade Extender, which increases the length of your lightsaber; Red Shield, the ultimate weapon that increases your health and force power to max, along with HP replenishing items.

Once a level is completed, you can select which combo you would like to learn, if you want to increase your health or Force Meter, and view how many points you earned during the level. This is always fun when you are playing with someone else and you can compare your scores.

Despite a few issues, I have had a lot of fun fighting enemies from the Star Wars universe like Tusken Raiders, a collection of different types of droids, and Darth Maul himself. The sound of a lightsaber is incredibly satisfying! If you were a fan of the original game, or enjoy the Phantom Menace movie and its characters, you are sure to find Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles entertaining, especially once you learn how to effectively use the Force against your enemy. Plus playing with a friend locally is always great!