After the release of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1983, the franchise largely stepped out of the spotlight for nearly two decades. However, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace revitalized the series in 1999, ushering in a wave of merchandise, novels, and video games. One such game was Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles.
Originally launched for the PlayStation in April 2000, Jedi Power Battles received a polarizing reception. Still, like many Star Wars titles, it became a nostalgic cornerstone for some fans. Now, Aspyr aims to capitalize on that nostalgia with a 2025 port of the game. Yet, while the port introduces modern tweaks, it struggles to cover up the original’s flaws.
Jedi Power Battles: A Nostalgic Yet Flawed Experience
Condensing the plot of The Phantom Menace into 10 levels, Jedi Power Battles is a side-scrolling action game where players battle waves of Battle Droids and navigate themed environments. The game’s enduring appeal lies in its challenging gameplay, which can feel rewarding but also frustrating due to outdated mechanics.
The game’s notorious “floaty” platforming often leads to cheap deaths, especially when enemies knock players off the map. This frustration is compounded by an arcade-style life system, which forces players to restart entire levels after running out of lives.
However, the game shines in its variety. Each level features a new Star Wars location, faithfully inspired by The Phantom Menace, with unique layouts and vertical gameplay. Additionally, the roster of six Jedi characters, each with distinct combos and Force powers, adds depth to the experience.
Sound Design: A Mixed Bag
While John Williams’ iconic score is well-utilized to match each stage’s tone, the sound effects fall short. With only a handful of effects in the entire game, repetition becomes grating—most notably in stages dominated by specific enemies. For example, the Tusken Raider-heavy Tatooine level bombards players with the same tribal screams for its entire 20-minute runtime.
Co-op Woes: A Missed Opportunity
One of Jedi Power Battles’ main selling points, its couch co-op mode, unfortunately doesn’t hold up. While battling hordes of enemies together can be fun, the game’s restrictive screen-drag mechanic creates significant problems. Players must stay close to one another, making platforming sections especially frustrating, as one mistimed jump can drag a partner to their doom.
Boss fights also suffer in co-op mode, with bosses unpredictably switching targets if players aren’t positioned side by side. This makes learning attack patterns nearly impossible, turning battles into tests of endurance rather than skill. While these issues were present in the original game, they feel even more glaring in a modern context.
Aspyr’s Port: Incremental Improvements and New Issues
Aspyr’s 2025 port isn’t a remake or remaster but rather a faithful port of the Dreamcast version, which already improved upon the original PlayStation release. Graphically, the game features cleaner textures, sharper character models, and smoother lighting effects, though these changes are subtle. Gameplay remains consistent, with stable frame rates carried over from the Dreamcast version.
New features include a “modern control scheme” that slightly adjusts button layouts and an option to customize lightsaber colors for certain Jedi to align with current Star Wars canon. The port also adds 13 characters to the VS Mode roster, though most are generic enemy types with limited movesets. Even the one unique addition, Jar Jar Binks, is essentially a reskin of the Gungan Guard.
Unfortunately, the port introduces its own technical issues. Cinematic cutscenes suffer from frame rate drops, enemy pop-ins disrupt gameplay, and audio glitches—ranging from persistent sound effects to complete audio dropouts—are frequent. The most significant problem occurs in co-op mode, where controllers occasionally stop responding after completing a level, forcing a full game restart.
Is the Port Worth It?
Aspyr’s commitment to authenticity is admirable, but it highlights the original game’s many flaws rather than addressing them. While Jedi Power Battles holds nostalgic value for die-hard fans, its dated mechanics and technical issues make it a tough sell for newcomers. At a $20 price point, this port might offer a fleeting trip down memory lane for dedicated fans, but others may find it difficult to justify.
Ultimately, this version of Jedi Power Battles feels less like a definitive re-release and more like a reminder of why the game struggled to leave a lasting legacy in the first place.
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