Aspyr’s choice of Star Wars games to bring into the modern age has seen many greats releasing over the last few years. Which is why it was so surprising to see the next game they were bringing over be this. Episode I: Jedi Power Battles. A beat ‘em up style of gameplay, Aspyr unlocked everything from the original game from the start with this modern port. Meaning playing would be just for the fun of it.

And honestly? I’m happy to have everything unlocked from the start. It meant I could run wild as Darth Maul right from the off. And after playing for a few hours, there’s another reason to be happy about that. I’m honestly not sure I could face numerous serious runs through the game to unlock those additional characters. There’s fun to be had with Jedi Power Battles, but that fun can start to wear after a few hours.

Following the story of The Phantom Menace, the first level is the Trade Federation Battleship. Bursting forth from the room where Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were meant to have their meeting, the gameplay instantly begins. Utilising lightsaber attacks, I slashed through the droids and quickly moved through the level. Across the way, there were item pickups such as health and Force replenishment, along with checkpoints scattered throughout. And a few powerups, such as a longer blade.

This first level provided a great time, including boss battles against a loader droid and a droid starfighter. The combat seemed to flow well enough, launching into attacks easily. Bringing up a guard to deflect blaster fire. A few easy bits of light platforming. It was such a fun time. I didn’t feel there was much wrong with the gameplay. And then began the second level in the Naboo swamps. Oh, where to even begin.

Droid numbers had now increased, and they were now more spread out. Blaster fire was now starting to get through guards, since I couldn’t be defending all directions at once. Verticality had started to come into play, with droids now on varying levels of terrain. Battles quickly saw my health chip away, with so many droids defending health pickups. So many droids between the next checkpoint. The eight lives were soon whittled away to nothing.

And so the first run ended with me smiling with disbelief at my earlier feelings that this was going to be a nice, easy time. I guess it could be, using the easy mode. For the next run, I had a look through the characters to see who I might like to play as next. The two with the story focus, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Other Jedi, such as Mace Windu and Plo Koon. Characters who use blasters such as Padmé or… Battle Droid? Oh, yes please!

Choosing the Battle Droid for the next run was such a good choice. After all, where else are you going to see a Battle Droid do a flying kick? It was something I hadn’t really noticed while playing with Maul, but these droids have learnt some close-quarters combat. And it’s just as ridiculous to see in motion as it sounds. Punching, kicking, and even using both hands to slap an enemy flying through the air. It was a hoot!

Of course, there was the blaster, too. Which was nice, as it gave me some distance between the enemy. Except, there’s some awkwardness here. There’s no moving and shooting, so whatever fire was coming my way I had to take. And before a shot could even be fired off, the game felt the need to do a melee attack before bringing the blaster up to readiness.

I managed to get to the third level with the Battle Droid, where I found vehicle control to be weird. Up on the stick to go forward no matter the direction faced is certainly an interesting choice. Progress stalled upon getting to the boss of the streets of Theed. As, while it had a health bar this time, it also seemed to regen its health whenever its shield was restored.

Jedi Power Battles also has a few other modes, with versus and training. The training mode offers small platforming challenges to work through. Fun enough, but also frustrating, as these really highlight the flaws with both the momentum-killing double jump and lack of depth perception. So many falls… As for versus, it’s simply a one-one-one battle arena to just mess around in with a friend.

Despite the fun I have been having with Jedi Power Battles, I struggle to think of many reasons to recommend it. While there might be smooth movement, the fluidity just isn’t there to provide great combat. And with combat being the focus, Jedi Power Battles is one I can only maybe recommend. If you’re wanting to give it a chance, I wouldn’t say to avoid it. But you can do better, even among just those Star Wars games Aspyr have previously ported.

Images Taken From:
Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles | Nintendo Switch [Docked]