19. Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (Switch eShop)
Jedi Academy is a lengthy trek across the (Expanded and non-canon) Star Wars universe that acts as a nice little time capsule back to when Star Wars games were a bit blockier and a bit sillier (perhaps for the better). The multiplayer might not stand up like it used to and the game is certainly showing its age, but it's still got plenty of lightsaber-swinging and all-in-all is a decent chunk of nostalgic Star Wars gaming, even if you can't play as Kyle Katarn.
18. Star Wars: Republic Commando (Switch eShop)
Star Wars: Republic Commando has aged surprisingly well and proves to be a ton of fun to revisit in this admittedly rather basic Switch port. The squad system here is still supremely satisfying to get to grips with, the HUD elements are slick, and there's plenty of atmospheric fun to be had as you blast your way through the three campaign stories on offer. Yes, there's no doubt the level design is archaic, there's no great variety in enemies, the visuals have had only the most basic of touch-ups, and it's a real shame the multiplayer was been completely excised. Overall, though, this was still a welcome return for one of the very best Star Wars video game offerings.
17. Super Empire Strikes Back (SNES)
Extending the on-foot action sequences of the source material into a colourful 16-bit side-on adventure, Super Empire Strikes Back peppers the platforming with some vehicular sections, too. You get the opportunity to play as Luke, Han, and Chewie, plus ride a tauntaun, pilot a snow speeder and an X-Wing (with some classic Mode 7 gameplay), fly into an asteroid field with the Millennium Falcon, and duel Darth Vader. A tad unforgiving, but arguably the best of the 16-bit 'Super' series.
16. Star Wars Pinball (Switch)
Zen Studios has been plugging away at digital Star Wars pinball tables for years. The Wii U version was excellent, although we described the 3DS iteration as "a downgrade in almost every way". On Switch, Star Wars Pinball features 19 tables spanning the entire series, plus support for vertical play and some Switch-exclusive features. If you're a pinball wizard, this is a fine way to soak up all the iconography of the saga without indulging in lacklustre lightsaber combat or other mechanical disappointments.
15. Super Return of the Jedi (SNES)
Wrapping up the Super Star Wars trilogy on Super NES, you get to finish the battle against the Dark Side (well, until Palpatine somehow congeals back into existence and the New Order arrives on the scene to take everything backwards again). The difficulty of this entry is a little easier than the others, and with five playable characters (including Leia and Wicket), and the opportunity to give Jabba, Vader, and Palpatine a sound thrashing, it'd be rude not to finish the fight.
14. LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Wii U)
Also on 3DS, this brought the third trilogy into the Lego world on a generation of consoles which enabled a graphical fidelity that hadn't been seen before. For the first time, you'd see scuffs and light bouncing off the plastic bricks — quite the upgrade if you'd previously only experienced the charming Lego Star Wars games on DS or Wii. It's a solid, slapstick romp through the beats of the movie and captures the spirit of adventure well.
13. Super Star Wars (SNES)
The 16-bit 'Super' series might not have been the most faithful or most exciting Star Wars games ever made, but they were solid platformers that gave us and many others the perfect dose of Star Wars action on our Super Nintendos back in the day. They're great-looking, let you take control of different characters, and even take a stab at introducing some gameplay variety with vehicular sections. With the Game Boy versions scaling everything down to work on the monochrome handheld, world-changing video games or high points of the medium they are not — and perhaps nostalgia is getting the better of us — but as old-fashioned movie-licensed platformers go, we can't help but like 'em.
12. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64)
Ah, yes, Shadows of the Empire. There's huge nostalgia for this one, and it has its moments — specifically the opening Hoth battle which stands head-and-shoulders above anything else the game has to offer — but it undeniably benefited from the fact that there were so few games available for the N64 for several months following launch. Players who did pick it up paid an arm and a leg and were possibly inclined to give it more chances than it deserved. It's not the worst Star Wars game by quite some margin, but it's probably best left in the memory banks. Time hasn't been kind to ol' Dash Rendar.
Still, cracking box art, no?
11. Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo (N64)
Battle For Naboo was essentially Rogue Squadron 1.5 with prequel trilogy ships. With a base that solid from developer Factor 5, it was hard to go wrong, and along with Episode I: Racer, this gave The Phantom Menace two great tie-in games on Nintendo platforms, while other consoles had to endure some unspeakable droideka dross.
10. Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster (Switch eShop)
Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster brings back this 1995 'Doom clone' in style — another resounding success for Nightdive Studios (who also handled the excellent Quake and Quake II remasters, among others). It returns LucasArts' curious, nostalgia-laced FPS with loads of new bells and whistles, including enhanced gameplay, revamped visuals, and a wealth of accessibility options. This is easily the best way to experience Dark Forces and revisit an oft-forgotten era of Star Wars before the prequel trilogy and before the sequel trilogy booted the Expanded Universe out the 'Legends' airlock.
9. Star Wars Episode I: Racer (N64)
Based on the best bit of The Phantom Menace (apart from the Darth Maul bits and all the soundtrack), Star Wars Episode 1: Racer tapped into the same vein of high-octane antigrav racing as WipeOut and F-Zero X. While not quite as smooth or accomplished, it utterly captured the energy of sequence in the movie, throwing in a deep upgrade and trading system and a dual-handed two-pad control scheme that more closely mirrored the controls of the onscreen pods, which really let you relive the thrill of boosting past Sebulba, Ben Quadinaros, and... erm, the rest. The Game Boy Color got a limited top-down version, but the N64 iteration is one of the best games ever to bear the Star Wars brand. Watto’s banter and post-race rendition of the Cantina theme is also excellent.
Happily, a Switch port of the game is now available with some HD spit polish and a lovely smooth frame. Utinni!
Comments 59
Ooooohhh...I wonder if Limited Run is gonna ship KotoR 2 today. That would be cool.
Empire Strikes Back on Game Boy is one of those games I'm going to die without finishing. It just becomes so unplayable after a while.
Jedi Outcast should have been higher though.
HK-47 alone makes the KotOR series #1 by default.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg1gTas7OAA
Do feel like playing rogue leader again... hope i'll get my wii up and running
Rogue Leader is the best and it isn't even a competition (and I say this as someone who has enjoyed MANY Star Wars games).
It feels just as impressive today as when it released over 20 years ago.
You are strong and wise. And I am very proud of you.
Shadows of the Empire is the only one I ever played in my entire life that was worth remembering.
@Cashews Bounty Hunter is basically Shadows 2.
Lots of good games here, however I've said it before and I'll say it again..... when is there going to be a Star Wars collection with NES Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, SNES Star Wars, ESB and ROTJ and throw in N64 SOTE, RS and Gamecube RS 2 and 3! You have my money already! PS and may the fourth be with you all today. PPS I appreciate the licensing issues involved with my request, however who would have thought we would have a TMNT collection now??!!
I know it'll never happen but I really want an HD Remaster of Rogue Squadron on Switch (or at the very least, put the N64 version up on Nintendo Switch Online along with Shadows of the Empire)!
@DarthFoxMcCloud Yep with you there, it's about time these treasures were remastered on the Switch!
@TheHighGround Hello there
Jedi Power Battles is ranked lower than Yoda Stories? I don’t think so. Yes the GBA game’s criticisms are fair, but it’s in no way worse than Yoda Stories.
Man I want them to release the original Lego Star Wars collection on the switch so bad. Loved it even if it’s a bit dated now.
Surprised the Skywalker Saga isn’t number 1 since it honestly seems like the perfect Star Wars game period to get into. Well for what it’s worth I’ll be celebrating the Star Wars holiday by doing a nice big old session of Jedi: Survivor tonight after work.
What's with the release dates on this article? The Super Star Wars games definitely did not come out in 2009.
It has always kind of bothered me how more developers didn't take advantage of the Gamecube's graphical prowess the way that Factor 5 did with Rogue Leader.
How I wish they would remaster the Rogue Squadron games and make them a trilogy in one cartridge. As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy Star Wars games, this would still be a day 1 for me. Those games were exceptional.
I skipped ahead to make sure RS2 was #1.
I have the bottom 4 games on the list 😆
Flight of the Falcon should be #39. It's 3 levels of unrelated mini-games strung together with mediocre controls and sometimes awful graphics. And when you die you start back at the beginning of the level.
The cover art was definitely the best part of the game.
The other three had their good moments though..
Played Revenge of the Sith (GBA) on an emulator early this year. An absolute blast
Here's hoping for a console re-release of "Star Wars: Rogue Squadron."
Oooookay. I'm going to get the damned Skywalker Saga cause it's on sale, despite not being a fan of LEGO or Star Wars. Somehow (I assure you), it's still your fault if I do this dumb thing and dislike the game.
I know many Star Wars games are on sale on the eShop and I was tempted to splurge...until I realized I have nearly all of them on GOG.
We need a new Rogue Squadron game. Jedi Survivor does bring me some hope, as we are seeing some OK star wars games again, but looking at the past you have to say Disney are making a right mess of their vodeogames. They need to stop outsourcing based on money, and start having a cracking at it themselves based on quality.
@FawfulsFury
General Kenobi!
You are a bold one.
They ever get around to finishing KOTOR2?
@DarthFoxMcCloud I think Rogue Squadron is available in HD on Steam.
Otherwise, just get a Nintendo 64. I'm best best case an RGB modded one and one of these super modules with all N64 games on it. You can than throw away the laughable Switch Online selection.
There's a good amount of worthwhile Star Wars games. Too bad Nintendo gamers can't enjoy Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order and Survivor, since they are like best of all.
But maybe on the next system.
Glad the Skywalker saga finished behind the original I was really disappointed with it, you spent most of the time running around and the puzzles weren't at the same level.
@Krysus update! It did! Bwuahahaha! I forgot to check the mail Thursday! Super happy!
I recently got Star wars Rouge Squadron on the N64. Holy crap it is decent. I knew it was a good game just didn't realize it was that good
Whoever made this list raise your fists and meet me behind the Denny's
Ah, I remember pre-ordering my black GameCube with Rogue Squadron II, Luigis Mansion and a memory card (59?!) for a midnight launch at Game back in the day! Miss those gaming days 😢
@dartmonkey Have you thought about doing a best movie tie in switch game list? With Alien Isolation, the Jurassic Park collection, Ghostbusters and more, it could be quite a good list!
The SNES trilogy should have been in the top 10. They were real videogames and true Star Wars games. Anything Lego is a dumbed down, not really that funny waste of time.
This is as voted by NL users themselves, I know. But besides Rogue Squadron 2 & 1 being the top 2 the placings are all a bit odd. The Skywalker Saga ought to be no.3 and the Wii complete saga collection being high in the positions is understandable. But the other lego star wars games are too overrated. I liked them, but they're not THAT good, lol. I even think Force Unleashed ought to be higher. The SNES trilogy ought to be higher as well, though I struggled with them last time I played the games - on the Wii VC was it? You have to acknowledge how good they were for their time. I think I've played about 60-70% of these games purchased mainly based on reviews and some on a whim I have dabbled in the odd ds release. Extreme waggly Lightsabre Duels Wii was one of my "guilty games". Lol
The visuals in Rogue Squadron 2 were absolutely mind blowing back in the day, particularly the battle of Endor mission where you fly into the second death star. Really felt like playing a scene from the movie.
The super star wars games will always be close to my heart, even though I don't think I've ever actually beaten any of them, haha.
And I still love Shadows of the Empire. The use of licensed music from the films really helps elevate that game.
I never played Star Wars post Super Nintendo era, but Super Star Wars brings back so many fond memories. Seeing it is only 14 in the list makes me wish I had time to play other titles. When the Wii was in full swing I was running around trying to collect GCN games from mark down bins and was desperate to get a copy of rogue squadron but never got my hands on it
Suggestion to the editors: these list articles would be amazing if you could choose to reverse the order. I just skip to the #1 title and read backwards anyway. Doing it last to first is a bit click baity for my thinking, and scrolling backwards I usually go through 2-3 pages anyway.
There have been so many good games released in the last 30 years that it's hard to single out just one as the best. In my opinion, one of the best was Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike (GCN). A phenomenal game in every way.
The very first Lego one and part 3 The Clone Wars are my favorites. So disappointed with the Skywalker saga.
@AstraeaV
What was wrong with Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga, compared to the older games? I did not play the older games.
is it just me or some GC games look way better than on Switch ?
Honestly not surprised that most of the Star Wars games that I own turned out to be absolute stinkers, especially Jedi Power Battles and Attack of the Clones. Probably the only "good" Star Wars game that I have on this list is Rebel Strike. Maybe The Force Unleashed (the Wii version, that is, although I also have the DS version).
I do have Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy on the PS2, but since it's PlayStation and not Nintendo, I doubt that counts. Ditto with Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, which I own on the PC (as in, an original copy of the game, back when you needed two discs to play through the whole thing: the first half of the game on one disc, the second half on the other), and Angry Birds Star Wars, which I have on iOS. I even have a rather simple game for the PC called the Millennium Falcon CD-ROM Playset, which uses a mockup of the Millennium Falcon's cockpit that you lay over your keyboard and use that as a controller.
It is quite the pity that many Star Wars games, especially on Nintendo consoles, just aren't that good, either due to hardware limitations, boneheaded decisions from the dev teams or their higher-ups, time constraints, or being just a cheap cash-grab. But personally, I think it's best if they told original stories instead of trying to adapt the movies.
That being said, if there was one Star Wars game that I wish came to consoles, it was the Star Wars Trilogy Arcade game made by Sega in 1998, which adapts scenes from the Original Trilogy. I played it at a GameWorks many years ago and fell in love with that game. Being able to play it at home or on the go has always been a dream of mine. How I wish Sega would just port it to consoles already!
RIP Expanded Universe. For me, the KOTOR games, as well as some of the comics and novels, were the best thing about Star Wars. Of course, they can’t exist without the original films/media (which I still like a lot), but I feel that the best examples of Star Wars media were created as part of the Expanded Universe. Yes, there is also dross, but the gems are true diamonds. Although George Lucas had an on/off relationship with it, he allowed it to happen as long as certain elements/stories of the whole Star Wars universe were kept intact. Out of this agreement sprung games such as KOTOR, which delved into the distant past rather than tread on any film canon.
Now Disney is in charge and it feels as if the Dark Side has won. Not the cool Dark Side, with its lust for power/development and a commitment to a selfish form of mysticism. Rather, it’s the banal and tedious Dark Side, with its lust for control and safety at the expensive of creative expression. Unfortunately, I just don’t gel the new trilogy, or the Mandalorian, or Jedi Outcast/Survivor.
Maybe there’s hope, though. Now Disney has established themselves with the IP, maybe they can start to take some risks, or let third-party developers do it for them.
Rogue squadron games are my favorite star wars games. The graphics on the Gamecube are amazing even today.
Christmas 2024.
Analogue 3D.
Star Wars Rogue Squadron.
Good times!
(Subject to Analogue achieving a street date... and my nostalgia for the game not being tainted by reality!)
Rogue Leader is AMAZING. It really needs to be remastered, it would instantly become another must have.
It tough to score some of the Aspyr re-releases. Jedi Knight 2 was lovingly ported by Raven on GameCube; they worked on the controls and multiplayer to fit the machine nicely. The Switch version is based on the superior PC game of that era…but it’s a bit of a weak effort in comparison, the controls are fussy, the multiplayer is missing, and it feels lazy. Same with many of the Aspyr ports, nominally better versions than old Nintendo hardware got, but so lazy compared to those old ports and with so much missed potential.
I really hope if they ever bring Rogue Squadron out they get Nightdive on it instead.
I love how some of the LEGO games made it up to the top, they actually deserve it
Little confused how Lego Star Wars the complete saga is higher than skywalker saga. As someone who loves both of them skywalker saga is definitely the better game
The NES one it’s the best one. It had a lot of variety, amazing 8 but portraits of the characters (That seemed magic back in the day) great music.
Where's a new Rogue Squadron game for the Switch? That's an open goal for success...
I have Battle for Naboo lined up as my first game when the Analogue 3D drops later this year! Haven't played it before so looking forward to it!
In the meantime, I'm about to start Super Return Of The Jedi on the Pocket. There was a Game Gear port of the game - not the other two sadly. I'll probably end up putting all three of the SNES versions on the openfpga SNES for the Pocket, as I think that's one of the best ways to play these classics today (unless you pick up an Analogue SNES). Intrigued to see how the Game Gear version does though, and I love the save state feature to help you past tricky parts - the openfpga SNES hasn't had the save state feature added. Too much work apparently (I'd argue it was worth the work, but I'm not the one doing it so hey!)
I would like to see the Super Nintendo trilogy appear on Nintendo Switch...
Again, Episode I: The Battle for Naboo is CRIMINALLY underrated. The best Episode I tie-in game, period. Yes, better than Racer.
It's not eligible for the list but I needed to scratch a Star Wars itch recently a couple of years ago and I picked up Disney Infinity 3.0 and the Star Wars bits and bobs for reasonably cheap, and I had a really good time with it. Fetch-quest-a-riffic.
I think Dark Forces and Rogue Squadron 64 are too high for me...
Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight and Dark Forces (3, technically): Jedi Knight II are superior to Dark Forces 1 by quite a bit.
even though Dark Forces was absolutely incredible looking when it was first released and still doesn't get all the credit it deserves.
Not to be that guy but I would move classic collection higher on the list. I will admit it was absolute crap at launch but the more updates it has gotten over the past few weeks the better the experience has gotten.
The storage is also bull crap seeing that it takes up half of my SD card
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