I agree that many SW games are really not up to their own potential and that there has been a real dearth of any games recently after the demise of Lucas Arts. The best games are the ones that really capture the spirit of the films and try to break new ground in gaming.
My personal picks for the best home games are:
Dark Forces series, specifically Jedi Knight, Jedi Outcast Jedi Academy
Rogue Squadron 1-3
Battlefront I and II 2004-2005And though I’m not a fan of the style of game, KOTOR is really great. I never did play the sequel.
I never got to play past the demo of Republic Commando but it seems like another great game. I missed out Bounty Hunter and only played the Clone wars PS2 game at a friend’s house once. I also never played Super Bombad Racing, Racer Revenge and the Xbox exclusives but otherwise I’ve at least tried or beaten every SW console released game. I grew up with the Rebel Assaults on PC and have only recently gotten to play around with the X-wing series if I could get it going on my modern PC without hassles.
I tried the new Battlefront 1 when it was on sale on the PSN store for a few bucks but the load times were so insane I found the game unplayable. There are many saying that BF II is now much better but I don’t know if it’s something to try since I thought the fan boycott of EA over the lootbox issue was pretty justified.
The new BattlePod arcade machine is pretty interesting but doesn’t really take much skill. It’s really more of something to dazzle you with the graphics and booming chair speakers and since the design has an inverted screen it’s again more about the wow factor.
Ultimately the best Star Wars game ever made is still SW Trilogy Arcade which I still play at every opportunity and dream of one day owning. Finding a mint machine without problems or a jacked up joystick and then nailing all 15 secret options on a perfect run on one credit is still an absolute joy. Of course in 2019 all I ever find are busted up machines and thus I can’t get that perfect run and always miss one swing with Vader augh!
This post has now made me want to go and play all the SW games I haven’t yet.
I will say I did quite like the ROTS game despite the repetition because it was the first SW game in that style of gameplay that actually worked without any major problems. To me it was like Jedi Power Battles that was playable and worked.
Oh god, Jedi Power Battles…good lord now there’s a HARD game!
M2 and SEGA said in an interview they want to rerelease their Star Wars arcade games (including Trilogy Arcade) on the Switch. Sega’s Mickey Mouse games are being rereleased, so this is a possibility.