I'm not a terribly big Star Wars fan either to be truthful, though I did once have a lot of fun playing Battlefront II at a LAN party. 😁

I, too, have never been a particular fan of the franchise, but I really, really enjoyed Star Wars: Dark Forces, which I got initially interested in only because I'm a fan of old school 2.5D FPS games. In my opinion, SWDF does a great job recreating the atmosphere from the original trilogy, or at least this is the impression it made upon me.

I tried demo versions of Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight and the Mysteries of the Sith add-on but didn't like either, even though they added the ability to use a lightsabre, which was much coveted by the fans. Jedi Knight 2, on the other hand, made a favourable impression on me, but then again, I generally have a liking for games developed by Raven Software. BTW, the demo of that one contains a unique mission not included with the full game.

I also played the demo of Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. It uses the same engine as Age of Empires II and actually feels like a very sophisticated mod of that game. It's playable but kind of not to my tastes (although I'm a fan of the RTS genre in general and the first two Age of Empires games in particular).

Star Wars: TIE Fighter. Again, I only played an early demo that is closer to Star Wars: X-Wing than to the final game. I'm not an avid space combat sim player so I can't tell a lot. It's playable and has the old school feel.

Yoda Stories: it's a nice little game that is more of a puzzle than anything else. It has all the familiar characters and locations, but I wouldn't say it recreates the atmosphere of the original films.

Anyone who says they play Star Wars games but doesn't mention KOTOR is highly suspicious. 😁

Definitive Star Wars Games:

X-Wing/TIE Fighter: Get the Collector's CD-ROM versions, not the X-Wing Collection ones or whatever they're called. Play them on DOS in original hardware and MAKE SURE you have some sort of hardware MIDI option.

Dark Forces/Jedi Knight: Best intro to the post-movie Expanded Universe in gaming.

KOTOR: Brought the comics to the mainstream. Classic example of BioWare RPG. Plays like the father of Mass Effect because the underlying RPG system basically was the father of Mass Effect. IMMENSELY immersive story. KOTOR II continues the storyline but is somewhat broken because of early release and cut content but still holds its own. Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG is based directly on the KOTOR series and plays like it too.

I haven't played too many of the other games, but for getting into the Star Wars mythos, those are the important ones in my eyes at least.

Thank you for the suggestions.

How about the storyline of the universe? I'm interested in getting to know the history and current affairs in the Star Wars saga, via games, if that's possible. Games that introduce you to the history, major events in the saga and current affairs, and where things are standing right now.

Are there games that can do this - which stayed true to the original storyline, without deviating much, and bring you up to date, from the beginning of the Star Wars till the latest developments in the original storyline?

The KOTOR/Old Republic and Jedi Knight series of games are the ones that extend the universe pre and post movies. Most of the other games are either set during the clone wars or between movies. The Rebel Assault games are good between movies games storywise. Can't say much to the gameplay on those though.

I used to be quite the Star Wars nut.... But I've mostly lost interest at this point.

Of the games my favorites are:
-TIE Fighter (expanded universe material from Zahn's books)
-Dark Forces (You're a battle-hardended ex-Imperial spec forces guy without magic powers. Pretty unique approach. Nice original MIDI soundtrack.)
-Jedi Knight (very immersive, gigantic levels. force powers. lame lightsaber though)
-JK Mysteries of the Sith (play as the former Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade)
-Rebellion (a unique RTS / TBS with expanded universe content)
-X-Wing Alliance (final and most refined space game, cool average-joe approach to the universe)
-JK2 (best saber combat of all games IMO because it's 1st person and slick)
-KOTOR (expertly avoided prequel era awfulness and messy expanded universe by creating their own era)
-KOTOR2 (a better-written KOTOR game, but needs restored content mod or it's a mess)

Rebel Assault 2 had the first new film content prior to the prequels so that's worth checking out too.

I'm not sure what your objection to the movies is? If you're not into the story as presented by the movies, I'm not sure you're going to be into it as presented by games.

Having said that, there really aren't any games that are going to walk you through the story, just like the movie. If you wanted definitive Star Wars games, then KOTOR I and II and X-Wing and Tie Fighter are all great games but they aren't really going to give you the story, just add to it. Maybe you could find a graphic novelization of the movies?

If you decide you want to watch the movies and don't want to bother with the new trilogy, then just watch 4, 5 and 6...that's really all you need to know. You could throw in ep 3 before watching the others and that is probably enough to set up the events of the original trilogy. If you really want to watch eps 1 and 2 then I recommend the Phantom Edits. Of the new trilogy, the 3rd episode is the strongest, 1 and 2 are a bit plodding.

Oh, forgot to mention, the strongest between movies game storywise is Shadows of the Empire. It was the first multi-media (as in games, books, comics, toys) project Lucasarts put together. The story is very strong but the game is afflicted with the one curse I cannot abide by in 3D games...jumping.

My most favorite is TIE Fighter - an excellent introduction to Galactic Empire's side of the story. You're not only fighting "rebel terrorists", but Outer Rim pirates and renegade admirals as well. And the story is very well-told that at the end of the game, you'll sincerely believe that the Empire is necessary to maintain peace and order throughout the galaxy. Well I did.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

My most favorite is TIE Fighter - an excellent introduction to Galactic Empire's side of the story. You're not only fighting "rebel terrorists", but Outer Rim pirates and renegade admirals as well. And the story is very well-told that at the end of the game, you'll sincerely believe that the Empire is necessary to maintain peace and order throughout the galaxy. Well I did.

Yeah the storytelling of TIE Fighter is finely done. LucasArts during their heyday. Most aspects of the game show it.

Both X-Wing and TIE Fighter have great stories that go along with the game. In X-Wing, it mostly comes in the book-sized manual if memory serves (or was that the hint book?)

swaaye wrote:

-Dark Forces (You're a battle-hardended ex-Imperial spec forces guy without magic powers. Pretty unique approach. Nice original MIDI soundtrack.)
-Jedi Knight (very immersive, gigantic levels. force powers. lame lightsaber though)

Actually, in both of these, you're the same guy. Somewhere in between, you gain Force Powers. Retcon. 😉

Shadows of the Empire is a great story suggestion since it had that multimedia campaign. But it takes place between ESB and ROTJ.
Also, Rebel Assault / Rebel Assault II are basically FMV games and are entertaining.

There's really only two computer games that parallel the movies fairly well:
- Star Wars Episode 3: The Game. Since you've not seen Ep3, Malik, I wouldn't recommend it. Or maybe you'd enjoy it, I dunno. I hear the game itself is fairly awful.
- LEGO Star Wars / Star Wars 2 / etc. Not sure why nobody recommended these. Kid-level puzzle/platformers for the most part, but you visit many of the key scenes and worlds of the Star Wars universe, just targeted at children.

Other than these, fun tie-in platformers/etc. that parallel the stories mainly are for console/arcade:
- Star Wars (arcade, Atari) gives you the opportunity to assault the Death Star in an X-Wing in much the same manner as the film
- Empire Strikes Back (arcade, Atari) is a fairly similar style game
- Return of the Jedi (arcade, Atari) is an annoying isometric flightsim (in a way)...
all via MAME.

also, the SNES SW games are quite fun in my opinion.

Also, check out Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (using http://www.supermodel3.com/ ) which definitely gives you that "scene from the movie" feel.

As far as not paralleling events, Episode 1 POD Racer was an excellent little racing game. Also, SW Rogue Squadron is a lot of fun too.

Just to mention some obscure console releases, I thought Jedi Power Battles was ok for a simple hack and slash game. It's Episode 1 though so yeah... 🤣 Demolition gets a lot of hate, if one likes his cheesy 90s vehicular combat games it may be worth a try though.

Rogue Squadron II is very nice in case you are into spaceship shooting games, graphics are excellent and it has a nice cinematic feel. I thought it was somewhat overrated however, as the game is just too damn hard and doesn't have a real story to it other than some cutscenes from the movies.

But people seem to be missing the point: Malik is looking specifically for games that mirror the storyline
- not ones that take place hundreds of years before
- not ones that take place at the same time but with different characters
- not ones that are only tangentially related

So I stand by my recommendations: The LEGO Star Wars series is the only games that mirror the story (er, somewhat). And they're for kids. And don't exactly go deep. And the Episode 3 game does mirror the storyline - but also gives you alternative endings (which are hilarious BTW for SW fans.)

So no, there's no "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: The Game" other than the arcade games I mentioned, and the SNES run-and-jumps. And still: not deep at all. But something like the Episode 3 game, done well, for the original trilogy, might be cool... I dunno: "experience the movie" games tend not to do so well financially.

I also have a soft spot for SW: Masters of Teras Kasi on Playstation. It's terri-bad! 😁

Yeah there simply are not that many games that mirror the storyline that accurately. He said it himself that you need to watch the movies to get the whole storyline anyway. Only thing games can do here is get one interested in the whole franchise.

I thought Episode I Racer was a fine game and I hated Episode I.

Same for Republic Commando - excellent shooter and I hated Episode II.

There aren't that many games based on the movies directly (other than the LEGO games and the Sculptured Software platformers) - they're trying to get you to see the movies and buy lots of merchandise........

Even if you're not into Star Wars, you should play Jedi Knight. That game has some of the most amazing level design I've seen in any FPS.

If you liked Baldur's Gate, you should play KOTOR.

If you liked Wing Commander, you should play X-Wing vs Tie Fighter.

If you're just looking for the Star Wars story told through video games, I think Lego Star Wars is your best bet.

Most Star Wars games assume everyone has seen the movie, and that fans want new content in the Star Wars universe, not a rehash of the movies.

d1stortion wrote:

Yeah there simply are not that many games that mirror the storyline that accurately. He said it himself that you need to watch the movies to get the whole storyline anyway. Only thing games can do here is get one interested in the whole franchise.

What about the Atari 2600 Star Wars games? 🤣

Stiletto wrote:

Actually, in both of these, you're the same guy. Somewhere in between, you gain Force Powers. Retcon. 😉

Oh I am aware of that. 😁 People bitched endlessly about the lack of Jedi aspects in Dark Forces and so a sequel had some expectations. This outburst happened again when JK2 had you with no Jedi capabilities initially. Lots of people hated running and gunning in Star Wars for some reason...

However there is a cutscene in DF where Vader says Katarn is strong in the force. Hint hint.

Hatta wrote:

Even if you're not into Star Wars, you should play Jedi Knight. That game has some of the most amazing level design I've seen in any FPS.

Yes. 😀