2005 is often regarded as one of the best years in gaming history, with well-regarded releases such asResident Evil 4andShadow of the Colossus. However, forStar Warsfans, 2005 is known as thegreatest year forStar Warsgaming. Within 2005 alone, PC and consoleStar Warsgamers received phenomenal hits in the form ofStar Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords,Star Wars: Republic Commando,Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, andStar Wars: Battlefront 2.
While not every 2005Star Warstitle sold exceptionally well, each game would go on to be regarded as a classic 20 years later. However, there’s oneStar Warsgame that never receives as much attention as it deserves compared to its 2005 siblings: The Collective’sStar Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith.
The Enthralling Development of The Collective’s Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith
Following the release of 2002’sStar Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones,Star Warsgame releases expanded exponentially in gameplay variety, storytelling abilities, and prominence as the sixth generation of consoles began to peak in game quality. From narrative-focused RPGs such asStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republictovehicle-centric titles likeStar Wars: Jedi Starfighterand even MMOs withStar Wars Galaxies,Star Warswas being adapted into practically every video game genre. While a few of these titles focused on their own original storylines, most tended to adapt or revolve around events from theStar Warsprequel trilogy of films. This trend continued going into 2005, with many games setting up events leading up to the release ofRevenge of the Sithon May 19.
According to then LucasArts Director Jon Knoles, LucasArts and The Collective began working on thegame adaptation ofRevenge of the Sithas the movie was still being filmed, edited, and conceptualized at Fox Studios and Skywalker Ranch. “LucasArts and George Lucas wanted to make sure that theEpisode 3game experience was just as complete and as authentic as it possibly could be,” said Knoles in the 2005Star Wars Episode 3 Making the Gamedocumentary. “So we’ve been working with George from the beginning.” Due to this early development and eventual release of this title, theEpisode 3game features some cut sequences and characters from the finished film alongside introducing some of its own creations. For example, parts of the An Explosive Development level can be seen inEpisode 3’s deleted scenes.
Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith Game’s Masterful Combat Explained
Aside from 1997’sStar Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi,Star Warshad never truly produced a fighting game akin to the popularStreet FighterorMortal Kombatfranchises. To rectify this and to makeRevenge of the Sith’s combat as authentic as possible, LucasArts and The Collective consulted the film’s legendary stunt coordinator, Nick Gillard, to train their animators in the art of lightsaber combat. The developers even hadAnakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, come in to consult on lightsaber combat and the way Skywalker would move throughout the game. However, Christensen did not reprise the role of Skywalker in the game. Instead, Skywalker was voiced by Mat Lucas, who previously voiced the Jedi Knight in the 2003Star Wars: Clone Warsanimated series.
LucasArts and George Lucas wanted to make sure that theEpisode 3game experience was just as complete and as authentic as it possibly could be.
Revenge of the Sith’s Film and Game Compared
Being an action-focused title, theRevenge of the Sithgame is largely consistent with the events depicted in the film, but any scene that does not involve combat never appears in the game. In fact, Padme Amidala never shows up in the game at all. To help extend the main campaign’s runtime, some events were expanded upon from the film. For example,Darth Vader’s attack on the Jedi Templeis shown in its entirety and fully playable, even featuring the death of Jedi Master Jocasta Nu and a boss fight against Jedi Master Cin Drallig, who was briefly played by Gillard in the movie but voiced by Tom Kane in the game.
Some sequences were altered from the film to improve gameplay scenarios and boss battle sequences. For example, instead of chasing General Grievous on a varactyl culminating in death by blaster, the game has Obi-Wan Kenobi fight Grievous in a three-phase boss battle ending with the cyborg dying from a lightsaber stab. Similarly, instead of Skywalker slicingJedi Master Mace Windu’s hand off and the Jedi Master being forced out into Coruscant’s sky, the game features a four-phase boss battle between Skywalker and Windu, culminating in the purple lightsaber wielder dying from a lightsaber stab. One of the more famous differences from the film is the game’s alternate ending, which has Skywalker defeat Kenobi and shortly after assassinate Emperor Palpatine, assuming control of the Galactic Empire for himself.
Revenge of the Sith’s Gameplay and Extras Explained
Besides theMortal Kombat-like boss battlesand PVP multiplayer, most ofRevenge of the Sith’s gameplay is filled with third-person PVE combat against battle droids, clone troopers, Jedi Knights, Neimoidian guards, and automated turrets. In between these combat scenarios, players will often have to solve environmental puzzles involving lifting large objects with the Force, destroying generators or power conduits, and slicing thrown doors and wall panels with a lightsaber.
Occasionally,Revenge of the Sithwill have players temporarily operate cannons to destroy infantry and large vehicles, including a Munificent-class star frigate, LAAT gunships, and Eta-2 Actis-class Jedi starfighters. While most boss battles will involve fighting lightsaber-wielders, a few will haveSkywalker or Kenobidefeat massive droids and ships, including an LM-432 crab droid and a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle.
As players complete the main campaign, they’ll eventually unlock a treasure trove of concept art made for theRevenge of the Sithgame and film, as well as a few bonus single-player and co-op missions for players to try out. Most of these bonus missions have players embodying Jedi Knights and other warriors besides Skywalker and Kenobi. For example, one single-player bonus mission has players embodying anIG-100 MagnaGuard fighting clones on Utapau, while another has players embodying Jedi Master Yoda fighting waves of clones in the Jedi Temple. One bonus mission even recreatesStar Wars: Episode 4 – A New Hope’s climactic duel between Darth Vader and Kenobi aboard the Death Star. The three co-op missions feature Skywalker, Kenobi, Drallig, and his apprentice Serra Keto fighting waves of clones and droids.
Players can quickly unlock all playable characters and other extras in The Collective’sStar Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sithgame by entering cheat codes such as NARSHADDAA, TANTIVEIV, and ZABRAK.
The Legacy of The Collective’s Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith Game
While The Collective’sStar Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the SithGame didn’t sell as well asLego Star Wars: The Video GameandStar Wars: Battlefront 2, selling over 2 million copies by 2006, it still went on to become a belovedStar Warsgame thanks to its gameplay, extras, and expansion upon the film. For many fans, theRevenge of the Sithgame is still regarded as the best fighting game the franchise has ever seen. Since 2005, the only officialStar Warsgame to feature similar fighting game mechanics asMortal Kombat,Street Fighter, and theRevenge of the Sithgame was the multiplayer of the Wii version of 2008’sStar Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Despite its relatively low sales, elements from theRevenge of the Sithgame can still be found inStar Warscanon today. For example, the B2 grapple droid was supposed to appear in theStar Wars: The Clone Warsanimated seriesuntil the show was initially canceled by Disney in 2013. Instead, the B2 grapple droid went on to appear in the 2014Darth Maul: Son of Dathomircomic, adapting four canceled episodes ofThe Clone Warsseries as well as the mobile gameStar Wars: Galactic Defense. TheRevenge of the Sithgame was further made available on platforms beyond the sixth console generation, including the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S consoles via backwards compatibility and digital stores.
Revenge of the Sith’s Potential Gaming Future
If players don’t have access to an Xbox console or a PlayStation 2, most gamers won’t be able to legally play theStar Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sithgame. MostStar Warsgames of the early 2000s have since been remastered and made accessible on all modern gaming platforms bythe developer and publisher Aspyr, save for theRevenge of the Sithgame. WithRevenge of the Sithresurging in prominence thanks to the film’s 20th anniversary re-release in theaters, Disney and Lucasfilm may allow Aspyr or another developer to remaster the game for modern platforms, even if it would require the removal of film clips. This would allow fans, new and old, ofStar Warsto experience one of the best game adaptations ever produced.
