Allan Muir – EiC, Admin, Standard Nerd

Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

You had to have known this would be my choice. For heaven’s sake, it was the launch LP of the VGUTV 2.0 YouTube channel. For good reason too. You see, back in 2005, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was the last film in the Star Wars saga until a decade later when the first film of the Sequel Trilogy was released, but that’s a discussion for a later, more civilized time. While there are people who think Episode 3 was great because it was “the darkest” or bad because “it ruined my childhood”. Regardless of where you fall on these two stances, you can probably find some common ground on the game based on the film being a pleasant experience.

The video game runs the course of the film as movie-based adaptations tend to do. But Revenge of the Sith did something different that future Star Wars titles would revisit: a darker alternate story. After each mission, you would unlock an alternative route for said mission. The biggest stand-out is the duel on Mustafar between Anakin and Obi-Wan that, in this version ends with Anakin successfully landing the jump and slaying his former master and killing the Emperor to boot.

When it comes down to gameplay it is arguably the best way lightsaber combat was done at the time. There is a feeling of satisfaction upon landing a hit with the iconic tool of the Jedi that I wouldn’t feel again until nearly fifteen years after the fact with Jedi: Fallen Order. Frankly, I don’t think we could get to Fallen Order’s lightsaber combat if Revenge of the Sith couldn’t be used as a stepping stone.