Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles (Nintendo Switch) Review

I’m not sure why seeing a rerelease of Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles surprised me. I kind of felt like we were somewhat past the point of dipping into the old LucasArts well, but then I remembered I reviewed Star Wars: Bounty Hunter naught but five months ago. But I’ll admit I was excited for Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles because I have a bit of a soft spot for it—being one of the few PlayStation games I used to play growing up.

If Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is anything, it’s a good reminder of the adage, “You can never go home again.” It is yet another low-effort port of an old Star Wars game, thoughtlessly slapped onto the Switch—and every other console for that matter—with no notable improvements, and little justification to play other than pure nostalgia.

I was genuinely surprised at how quickly Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles broke on me. I was playing through the first level, and after picking up a Force power-up my model of Obi-Wan Kenobi (as played by Ewan McGregor) turned into a bizarre ogre—with his hands and feet far exceeding their normal proportions, and also clipping into the ground. That set the tone for the rest of the experience. 

If you missed out on it back in the good ol’ year of 2000, Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is a Star Wars flavoured Beat ‘Em Up where players zwhing their way through 10 levels based on events of Star Wars: Episode I. At the time, it seemed pretty incredible, and maybe it was, but the version I played on the Switch was less than stellar.

To start, the game gives players practically everything at the start. You get a swath of characters, including ones that originally needed to be unlocked through beating the game—like Padme or Darth Maul. Not only that, players can access every level and a few side games right from the get-go, which felt incredibly odd to me. I’m all for giving players modern mechanics like allowing them to revisit completed levels or having a sort of save state, but giving players everything right from the start creates little incentive to play through the game. 

This isn’t a story-driven game, and it’s not a particularly gameplay-rich game. Beat ‘Em Ups are at their most special when you’re progressing through them naturally, withstanding the onslaught in front of you. I kind of get expanding the game for a rerelease by making most of the characters accessible, but you’d think you’d still want players to play it the normal way. Also, it generally just doesn’t make a lot of sense since your character is supposed to gain skill and become stronger. But Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles just allows players to jump to the final boss after pressing the start button, so Darth Maul can fight Darth Maul.

“What’s the point of having lives if you also have to contend with the game’s awful 25-year-old checkpoint system?”

Progressing through the game isn’t particularly enjoyable. I’m not sure if it was always like this and my memory is failing me, but the combat in Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles feels incredibly unresponsive. Sometimes the game doesn’t register button inputs, requiring you to mash the button multiple times to execute an attack. Moving while attempting to attack is particularly problematic. I think this is due to the characters being designed to perform a dashing attack, but sometimes it doesn’t work, and the move triggers seconds after pressing the attack button.

The checkpoint system is also poorly implemented. You can lose significant chunks of progress if you die, not only because the checkpoints are spaced far apart, but also because they’re collectables you need to pick up. For a game that claims to offer “Arcade action,” it seems to miss the mark. The best arcade-style beat-’em-ups respawn you right where you die. What’s the point of having lives if you also have to contend with the game’s outdated 25-year-old checkpoint system?

Also, it’s an incredibly ugly game. It genuinely comes off like the lowest-effort attempt to bring a game from 2000 that was on the PlayStation into the modern age by slapping a coat of HD paint onto everything, so you’re left with these horribly blocky character models that have high-definition textures wrapped around them. Everything else is just flat and boring to look at. 

It’s also noticeably buggy. Aside from the previously mentioned impromptu DK Mode, I encountered another instance where I attempted to jump onto a ledge, only to clip against it and fall to the ground, dying instantly. This wasn’t a high drop—just a normal jump height. Overall, there’s a sense of sloppiness throughout the game, such as how the Kaadu Race! minigame abruptly returns you to the main screen after you win.

If you were seriously starved for a Star Wars-styled Beat ‘Em Up, then I hate to be the one to have to say that you’ll have to keep waiting. Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is a genuine waste of time and money, and I’d say this is the worst thing to happen to Star Wars in a while, but The Rise of Skywalker still exists.