First released in 2000, Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is set during the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and is loosely based on the events of said movie. Two Jedi are sent to negotiate an agreement between the Trade Federation and royal government of Naboo, unfortunately, it turns out to be a trap and managed to escape. Players are tasked to take back the Theed Palace.
Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is beat’em up game where players have to complete a handful of levels by killing everything in their path and platform their way around various obstacles. When starting the game, you’ll be prompted to select from a handful of familiar faces as your protagonist.
Each character has three different types of attack across X,Y and B button. You can also pick up and throw grenades for some additional firepower. Jedi characters can use the force (duh!). Holding down LT while pressing one of the three attack buttons will result in a force-based skill; shield, short range and long range attacks. Jedi characters can use a lightsaber while others use a pistol. There’s also a nifty block feature.
The block feature is also used as a parry mechanic for lightsaber wielders. While you can just hold block and hope the lasers bounce back on enemies, it might not work very efficiently as the path they take is random, however press Block just as the projectile is about to it will return it to sender.
Each level has its own objectives. Interestingly enough, you can tackle all levels in the order of your choice. So if a level is giving you a headache, you can also tackle it later. Each level is also peppered with collectible items such as Health, Jedi power ups, temporary power ups (turns pistol into a grenade launcher and lightsabers into a… longer lightsaber for example).
Additionally, for those played it back in the day, this remaster is based on the Dreamcast version of the game and Aspyr tried bringing the PS1’s perks such as the UI. The game also has an auto-aim feature that is competent for the most part, as long as you’re looking in the right direction. Thankfully, players can pick up checkpoints through each level in case of a death; but if game over, you lose all level progress and have to start over.
The game looks half way decent. Using the Dreamcast version, which was slightly better visually speaking than its PS1 counterpart allowed Aspyr to give this game a decent visual make over. Each level has its unique design, which feels quite archaic by today’s standards. The soundtrack will sound familiar to anyone who’s ever watched a Star Wars movie or heard snippets of the score over the year.
Oh boy. This. This hasn’t aged well. Melee combat is incredibly clunky and feels more like a rock-paper-scissor scenario than actual “real time” combat. You can’t attack and move; also when using characters with pistol, after shooting, it feels like they are temporarily soft-locked meaning you can’t move for a second leaving you open to damage.
Additionally, the game feels incredibly glitched. On a few occasions, on a specific level, I was booted back three checkpoints back. Without even dying. And sometimes, while you’re trying to progress a level, the game glitches and level won’t progress because either something is bugged or a specific enemy won’t spawn.
For some reason, the game doesn’t always save and keeps tab of your progress. While I was playing/quitting to menu in order to try various characters/level, I had the Continue Game option. But when rebooting the game I only had New Game. As characters can level up and gain experience, if the game doesn’t save, that’s a big red flag. I had cleared a few levels as Darth Maul, yet his progress was still 0%. If you were looking for a game to feel like a bad ass as Darth Maul, this ain’t it. He struggles dispatching droids.
Another irritating quirk is the fixed camera. Given that you can’t move the camera, more often than not, you’ll have off-screen enemies shooting you, barely giving you a fraction of a second to react to either dodge or block. Also if you find yourself surrounded by 3-4 enemies at once, they’ll stun locked you until death, whether it be by punching you up close or shooting non stop from afar.
Unfortunately, Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is the prime example why not every game should be remastered, let alone considered for the remaster treatment. The combat is archaic and clunky. While I can understand that back in 2000, this was passable and borderline revolutionary, this doesn’t cut it in 2025. This game is clearly for those who hold a fond place in their heart for it. If like me, this would be your first attempt at this game, highly recommend skipping it. There are a bevvy of better beat’em ups available. Never thought playing as Darth Maul would make him such a pathetic weakling.
Overall
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40%
Summary
Pros
- More enjoyable with a friend
- Play levels in any order
- The shooting mechanic is solid
- Diverse cast of characters
Cons
- Up close melee combat is clunky
- Enemies can spam you so you can’t even attack back
- Irritating glitches
- Who knew Darth Maul could be so weak?
- Platforming is sketchy as all hell
- Aspyr should’ve turned this into a shooter. Would’ve scored higher.