Aspyr has been hitting it out of the park with their recent remasters of Tomb Raider and Soul Reaver. Can we add Jedi Power Battles Remastered to those?
I have the fondest memories of rushing home from school to my friend’s house that had a copy of Jedi Power Battles. We would fight over whether we were going to be Mace Windu or Plo Koon. It didn’t matter who we were though, the controls were so clunky that the platforming during the Coruscant level was as far as we could ever get.
Going into Jedi Power Battles Remastered I was a little hesitant. Do we need a remaster of this old Star Wars hack and slash from 24 years ago?
What is Jedi Power Battles?
After spending only 15 minutes with my man Plo Koon, my answer was a solid YES. These are the sort of games that should be getting remastered. Ones that require old consoles or are extremely hard to find. This will make sure these classics are never forgotten.
For those of you that never played Jedi Power Battles it was released on the original PlayStation in the year 2000. Jedi Power Battles is a 3D platforming hack and slash where you play through the major parts of The Phantom Menace.
Better, Faster, Stronger
Originally there were 5 Jedi to choose from, with a couple more to unlock after you completed the final battle on Naboo. However, Jedi Power Battles Remastered has given us access to all the characters plus new ones like a Battle Droid or even Jar Jar Binks right from the start.
The controls have been updated too, which has made this game monumentally easier. Using the thumb sticks to move instead of the D-Pad makes those pesky platforming parts a breeze. The Combat is fluid, and the blocking of blaster fire feels like you are a real Jedi. All the characters have stats and combos to level up and master. Some of them have had a little more thought put into their kits than others.
The graphics still feel reminiscent to the PS1 edition of Jedi Power Battles, but with the enhanced movement it looks and feels great. I didn’t have any performance issues on the Xbox Series X except there was on time I fell and continued falling until I had to quit myself. Seeing as there are no mid mission checkpoints having to start again was a little annoying.
Having never finished Jedi Power Battles there are some extra levels that might be new too. One of my favourites is Gungan Round up. You must chase Jar Jar Binks around an arena herding him into a goal. To do this you must hit him and chase him and hit him again while your enemy is trying to do the same thing. Hilarious.
Who is this Remaster for?
I very quickly got through easy mode in a few hours and jumped straight into Jedi mode which lasted a little longer. If you have never played Jedi Power Battles, while short this Remaster is a must. If you have played it, it’s a great nostalgia hit for a rainy weekend romp down memory lane.
So to answer my question, yes Jedi Power Battles is a great Remaster and it has made me think we could do with another one. Jedi Power Battles 2 has a nice ring to it.
Jedi Power Battles Remastered was reviewed on Xbox Series X and is also available to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
I’d like to thank Aspyr for supplying a review code.
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