image: lukiegames.com
In this new series, I will gush about my love for the licensed LEGO games. I will cover all of the games that I have played, ranging from really good to not as good.
The very first LEGO game that started this modern LEGO style was LEGO Star Wars, which was released along with Revenge of the Sith in 2005. As a fan of the toy, I was beside myself considering two things that I loved were combined into one. I got this as soon as I could and practically broke the disc shoving it into the GameCube. I turned it on and my world changed.
Before we get started, I must state that I will try to be as critical as I can, but there is a lot of nostalgia associated with this game. There is a lot that I will say that might not be completely accurate to the rest of the world’s opinion, but I do think that I can see this critically.
I was a prequel kid, as I didn’t know that there was an original trilogy until after the prequels came out, but seeing the ability to play as basically every character from the trilogy blew my 7 year old mind away. The ability to play as almost every prequel character is something to be admired at the time, and I do think that it is something that should not be overlooked to this day. You can play as every memorable character like Episode III Obi-Wan to hated characters like Jar-Jar Binks. Something that I like about this game is that Jar-Jar is actually useful. He is able to jump higher than any other character, and that makes him useful at solving 3 mild puzzles. The character abilities in this game usually fall into Jedi, gun wielder, R2 droid, C-3PO droid, crawlers and worthless. They are all playable, and having the ability to play as Darth Maul and fight Darth Maul is still fun to this day.
All the music is here, as well as accurate to movie sets, which is super great to see and can be a very welcome addition to an otherwise drab level. I would argue that the level that is made better with the music is the Darth Maul level, as it is tedious and annoying to fight him, but Duel of the Fates is amazing and adds suspense to a boring level. I think that there is a lot that the music does for the game that should not be overlooked.
The levels are almost all great save for the spaceship levels and a few from Attack of the Clones. Episode II is a fairly boring movie, and it made for some very boring levels like the Droid factory and the Jango Fett level, but they are both redeemed by the amazing Jedi Battle where you can play as many different Jedi and can demolish droids until the end of time. The starship levels aren’t that creative as compared to the rest of the game, as they are mostly rail shooters. The screen is always moving and all the player has to do is move and shoot. There are no creative puzzles and there aren’t many difficult obstacles, so I think that there is a lot that could be improved upon (which they did in the sequel).
I could go on on how great the game is, but something I should say that is not touched upon too much in other reviews. Though this game does not have dialogue or voice acting, it gives life to the prequels. A major complaint with the prequels is the lifeless nature that most of the actors have and how difficult it is for any emotion to come out of the actors. Without dialogue and a kid friendly vibe, LEGO Star Wars is able to make the prequels funny, relatable and overall enjoyable. I have stated in the past that there are good things in the prequels, but this game does so much to improve upon it’s foundation without alienating the story or characters. Obi-Wan is cocky, Anikin is conflicted, Yoda is wise, and many characters have way more emotion and fun in this game than they ever had before. The slapstick is placed beautifully and fits the tone the prequels should have gone for.
LEGO Star Wars is breakout hit that retains a lot of its flavor, but had room for improvement. I love a lot of things about this game, and those things have been carried over into other entries. For a starter, the developers hit it out of the park.
