Soapbox options allow our particular person writers and contributors to voice their opinions on sizzling subjects and random stuff they have been chewing over. At the moment, Jim celebrates Revenge of the Fifth with a DS throwback…
You felt it, did not you? A disturbance within the Drive. Over on Coruscant, Darth Sidious has known as for the execution of Order 66, however maybe extra pressingly, I’ve lastly discovered the chance to wax lyrical in regards to the Star Wars prequels. It is occurring, of us. Strap in.
If yesterday (Could 4th) was Star Wars Day, then that makes as we speak (Revenge of the Fifth) the proper — and, let’s admit it, solely — alternative to speak about Episode III, the greatest Star Wars film. Sure, I stated it.
Now, I am all for standing for the Republic, for democracy, so I will not maintain it towards you for those who do not feel the identical means (heck, you would not be alone), however the place I have to maintain the excessive floor is on all issues regarding the Revenge of the Sith DS recreation, a tie-in so candy that just about 20 years on, I’m nonetheless of the completely unbiased opinion that it’d simply be the height of all Star Wars gaming.
A very long time in the past in a galaxy far, far-off, film tie-in video games had been as quite a few as Anakin’s midi-chlorian depend. It appeared that again within the age of the GBA and DS, no large movie may hit cinemas with out being accompanied by a rushed 2D platformer. They had been a dime a dozen and have lengthy been misplaced to the sands (coarse and tough and worsening) of time. However not Revenge of the Sith. Now right here is an instance of a tie-in carried out proper.
Launched on each Sport Boy Advance and DS, this Ubisoft Montpellier-led undertaking is a 2D belt-scroller that usually follows the identical narrative threads because the 2005 film. There was additionally a 3D motion model launched elsewhere, however these aren’t the consoles you are searching for. For the methods related to us at Nintendo Life, you select to play as both Obi-Wan or Anakin and make your means via 13 ranges of lightsaber-swinging, beat-’em-up motion. There’s a handful of minibosses sprinkled in there and the dual-screen model even comes with some 3D area battle sequences.
Fascinated about it within the run-up to this Star Wars weekend, I had begun to fret that maybe this was simply as normal as all the different tie-ins of the time. Is it doable that my rose-tinted nostalgia for the sport was born out of my unabashed love for the movie? It was a really actual chance and one that would solely be put to the take a look at by a interval of intense scientific analysis (shopping for a replica on-line and staying up all night time enjoying it to the tip).
The outcomes are in and this Padawan was proper on the cash. The sport nonetheless slaps.
This would possibly look from the surface like your normal Poodoo affair, however there’s a shocking quantity of depth underneath the hood. The controls are clear and responsive, the fight is surprisingly deep with quite a few particular assaults discovered alongside the way in which, and there’s a neat ability-upgrade menu on the finish of every degree — one that might inevitably encourage a ‘However is it an RPG?’-induced headache if it had been launched as we speak.
My shock at how the sport performs was one factor, however the way it seems introduced me much more pleasure. By Qui-Gon’s beard, I hadn’t anticipated simply how effectively the cartoon aesthetic would maintain up! The sprites look gorgeous — one thing that can’t be stated for the sport’s 3D PS2/Xbox 360 counterpart — and every lightsaber swing is full of such persona that it places some fashionable animations to disgrace. For actual, when can I play this on my OLED?
As I sped via the Anakin storyline, recollections of my first playthrough got here flooding again. The tank that may solely be defeated by deflecting Troopers’ blasters at it, the bonus goodies hidden in destructible elements of the stage, my incapacity to fly any ship with the Y-axis controls inverted (yep, I positively did not nonetheless wrestle with that one…).
The one factor lacking was the absence of the sport’s good multiplayer — a pure product of enjoying a 20-year-old DS recreation in a night as an grownup, I suppose. It ought to come as no shock that I lapped up this re-playthrough as if I had been a Youngling over again, however it has left me thirsty for 3D dogfight sequences with my friends. The only-player flights are nonetheless stuffed with peril, however nothing fairly as palm-sweaty as the specter of passing your DS over to another person for those who die, to adjust to the principles of a do-it-yourself winner-stays-on match. Wow, I used to place actual planning into my recreation nights.
The Obi-Wan aspect of issues is… effectively, a lot the identical, with some apparent story tweaks to suit with the plot of the movie. However that is nonetheless two tales! The adjustments would possibly solely quantity to, ‘Do I combat Common Grevious or Mace Windu?’ however that is okay. It is extra Star Wars. And good Star Wars at that!
Look, the prequels have their issues, even I can settle for that, however this tie-in isn’t one in every of them. If you’re a fan of their character arcs and top-notch lightsaber fights, then a DS throwback like this may welcome you with open arms. If, alternatively, the tacky dialogue and picket performing left you eager for a Jar-Jar-free world, then a well-made retelling like this would possibly simply be sufficient to make you see the movie’s deserves.
I am not saying that blockbuster tie-ins ought to make a comeback (although I would purchase a Dune: Half Two beat ’em up in a heartbeat), however if you’re solely ever going to play one, it ought to be this. To today, Revenge of the Sith on DS is a Should(afar)-play.
Did you ever play this one? May you attempt choosing it up now? Tell us within the feedback.
