Though the franchise suffered a “Dark Age” in the 90s, the early 2000s heralded a new golden era forStar Wars. With the prequels releasing in fairly quick succession, and merchandise filling the shelves in toy stores once again,Star Warswas having a sort-of renaissance in the public conscious. It was at this time that some of thebestStar Warsgameswere released, such asKnights of the Old Republic, Battlefront, andStar Wars: Jedi Academy.
Though it certainly had its rough edges, and wasn’t considered to be as ground-breaking as its predecessor,Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast,Jedi Academyoffered an interactive glimpse at one ofStar Wars' most interesting time periods, whenLuke Skywalker began his Jedi Academy. With a recentBook of Boba Fettepisode showing the canon humble beginnings of Luke’s academy, it seems like the perfect time to bring back some of the ideas fromJedi Academy.
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The Unfulfilled Potential of Star Wars: Jedi Academy
When it released in 2003,Star Wars: Jedi Academyhad a surprising amount of expectations to live up to. Being part of the long-runningJedi Knightseries of games, and being the direct sequel to the innovativeJedi Outcast,Jedi Academyhad to deliver upon its predecessors intuitive, brilliant lightsaber combat, while also providing a story that built upon the legacy offan-favorite character Kyle Katarn.
While the game retained its predecessor’s lightsaber combat, it decided to take a step away from Kyle Katarn, instead choosing to put the player in the shoes of a new Jedi recruit, on their way to Luke’s Jedi Academy. The general formula of the game sees the player hop between planets, going on various daring missions for Luke. Along the way, the player will meet some familiarStar Warsfaces, all the while leveling up their decentrange of Force powers, and choosing what type of lightsaber combat style they prefer.
On paper,Star Wars: Jedi Academyseems like a fan’s dream come true, but in reality, the game lacked a great deal of polish, and wasn’t met with the best critical reception. Though its combat was highly praised, adding a few new mechanics to the already-acclaimedcombat of its predecessor, the game’s disjointed and farcical story was heavily criticized, along with the game’s poor voice work and disappointing graphics.
But there are many fans out there who still remember this game fondly. While it could just be the nostalgia talking, many fans still playJedi Academytoday, with its multiplayer arena mode being a particular highlight. Its story and mission structure may seem pretty disorganized, but the core idea ofJedi Academyis excellent, and should definitely be brought to a modernStar Warsgame.
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Making a New Jedi Academy Game
The core idea ofJedi Academy, that Luke is sending an Apprentice on missions across the galaxy for training, is the perfect backdrop for a newStar Warsgame. As fans haven’t seen much of it in canonStar Warsyet, this setting has an unlimited amount of potential. Between its recent introduction inBook of Boba Fett, and its eventual destruction as seen inForce Awakens/Last Jedi, there’s about 24 years to play around with.
As fans have seen inThe Mandalorian, this new era can give writers a lot of freedom in what characters they use, and where they choose to set their stories. A potential newJedi Academygame could use Luke’s Academy as a consistent backdrop, acting as a hub for the Jedi player-character to return to between missions.
Each mission could function similarly toJedi Academy’s, with Luke tasking the player to find a certain Jedi-related object, save a group of civilians against an Empire Remnant faction, or help out some familiar faces with their own issues. This setting would help tokeep the game nostalgic, showing characters, factions and places that are immediately recognizable, while also providing quite a bit of freedom for the writing team as they have a 20-year span of time to work with.
With regard to gameplay, the obvious choice would betaking a leaf fromJedi Fallen Order, and itsSouls-like approach to combat. Although it wasn’t considered perfect,Fallen Orderdid a great job of taking the more deliberate, difficultSoulscombat, and translating it to aStar Warssetting.Fallen Order’s purposeful combat would suit a newJedi Academygame perfectly, with the player unlocking more lightsaber skills over the course of the game.
Similarly, in the originalJedi Academy, players receive the opportunity part way through the game to choose between a one-handed, dual-wield, or double-ended lightsaber.Fallen Order’s approach to havingdifferent lightsaber combat styles, with both a single blade and a double bladed lightsaber being available from the halfway mark, was a genius move, and should be implemented into a theoreticalJedi Academysuccessor.
If a newJedi Academywanted to go one step further thanFallen Order, then it could even include the ability to swap between a double-ended, single-bladed, and two individual lightsabers on the fly. It hasn’t appeared in anycanonStar Warsmaterialyet, but this concept isn’t too outlandish, with the comic version of Asajj Ventress owning two lightsabers that have an interlocking hilt, joining to create a double-ended lightsaber. Being able to swap between three different types of lightsaber styles would likely do wonders for gameplay variety.
Jedi Academyalso featured a lightsaber stance system, whereby players could choose between heavy swings, medium attacks, or light jabs. A player being able to change up their lightsaber forms mid-battle was one of the most engaging aspects ofJedi Academy, and kept opponent’s on their toes in multiplayer. This system, paired with the aforementioned three distinct types of lightsaber combat, would make a modern dayJedi Academysuccessor really stand out, not only fromotherStar Warsgames, but from all other third-person action games on the market.
Stars War Jedi Knight: Jedi Academyis available now for PC, PS4, and Switch.
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