Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles
On paper, Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles for the original Playstation and Dreamcast sounds incredible: one or two players pick from a selection of five Jedi and run Hulkamania wild through the environments of Star Wars: Episode I. Then, after demolishing everything in their path, players battled with bad boy Sith Darth Maul to the death. On top of all that, you can play as Mace f’n Windu for the entire game. Come on!
So what went wrong? Well, the Jedi are the galaxy’s top warriors–known for their grace an expertise in battle. Now picture those same Jedi repeatedly falling to their deaths because they couldn’t properly judge the placement of a platform. Next, picture these masters of the Force being unable to lock on to anything consistently, while being stuck in attack animations which went on for far too long. Doesn’t sound very Jedi like, does it? Well, that’s Jedi Power Battles in a nutshell.
Also, Jar Jar is in the game and is impervious to your attacks. Really, LucasArts?
Ultimately, anyone expecting the game’s Jedi to play as fluidly as their movie counterparts were let down. Jedi Power Battles‘ awful, wonky controls would be the major factor in classifying it as a bad game. This is unfortunate, because there’s a solid premise for a Star Wars game here. It’s a shame because Jedi Power Battles could have been a terrific franchise, given the proper attention it deserved.
