Aspyr has announced that the next Star Wars game they’re remastering is the 2000 PS1/Dreamcast game, Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles. It’s a real why-the-hell-not moment, but what a game to have to remaster.
I really did not like the prequel trilogy. When Episode I was released, I was 11 and already a huge fan of Star Wars. I bought the novelization, which was released about a month before the movie hit theatres. I, uh, remember not feeling a whole lot after watching it. Not a massive disappointment, but definitely not what I was hoping for. That feeling has soured greatly since then. However, we did get a bunch of great games out of the deal. I still play Star Wars: Episode I: Racer rather frequently.
There was a massive flood of games that followed the movie’s release, and quite a few of them weren’t very good. Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is not one of those good games. A lot of its problems had to do with control and the actual feel of combat, but those are things that can be fixed. I doubt the whole tediousness of the experience can be addressed; that would probably be out of scope for the remaster.
However, they are throwing in 13 playable characters and levels unlocked from the start. I mean, that’s not a lot, but it’s not nothing. They boast modern controls and confirm that 2-player couch co-op will be included. You know, at the price of $19.99 you could definitely do worse.
I can dig Aspyr’s crusade to remaster all these Star Wars games, even if they could have picked a better one this time around. I would have even taken Star Wars: Demolition, the somewhat bizarre vehicular combat game that plays a lot like Vigilante 8, being from the same developer. If they want to take Star Wars: Racer Revenge and fix it to live up to the original N64 title, I’d be forever grateful, but I don’t think that game can be fixed by anything smaller than a 12-gauge.
I guess what I’m saying is I hope they keep going, even if their track record for remasters has kind of been all over the place. I mean, somebody has to do it, right? Who else is going to have the guts to remaster Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles?
Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is coming to Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC January 23, 2025.
