FollowingStar Wars: Return of the Jedi’s release in 1983, the franchise took a step back from the spotlight for the better part of two decades. ButStar Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menacebrought the franchise back in full force in 1999, arriving alongside an onslaught of merchandise, novels, and, of course, video games.Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battleswas one such game.
Originally released in April 2000 for the PlayStation,Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battlesreceived a very divisive reception on launch. But like mostStar Warsgames, it became a core part of some fans' childhood. Developer/publisher Aspyr is tapping into that nostalgia with its 2025 port ofStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles, but that nostalgia might not be enough to paper over all the cracks in this modern port.
Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles is a Fun But Flawed Piece of Nostalgia
Condensing the events ofThe Phantom Menaceinto 10 levels,Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battlesis aside-scrolling action gamethat sees players hacking their way through hordes of Battle Droids and hopping across a variety of well-themed levels. It’s a fairly simple game, but there’s a key component that’s kept it in the memories of fans for well over two decades, and that’s its difficulty.
Jedi Power Battlescan be a challenging game, and that can be both a blessing and a curse due to some outdated gameplay design. For instance, while hard-hitting enemies do a good job of keeping players engaged in the action, that paired with the game’s infamouslyfloaty platforming mechanicscan quickly lead to frustration, with many enemies being able to hurl the player off the map. These cheap deaths are made worse byJedi Power Battles' arcade-like “lives” system, which requires the player to restart the entire level if they die too many times.
A key strength ofStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles, however, is the game’s variety. Each level takes players to a newStar Warslocale ripped right out ofThe Phantom Menace, complete with its own unique layout that matches the environment well and adds a nice layer of verticality to the gameplay.Jedi Power Battles' roster of playable characters is also fairly diverse, offering six Jedi with distinct combos, Force Powers, and attack animations.
Sound design is a bit more of a mixed bag, though. WhileJohn Williams' iconic scoreis implemented well throughout the game, switching each level to match the tone of the stage, sound effects aren’t so graciously integrated. Though the effects themselves sound authentic, there are only a handful in the entire game, leading to a lot of repetition. This is particularly egregious when a level is dominated by a specific enemy type, such as the Tusken Raider-laden Tatooine stage, where players will hear nothing but tribal screams for the level’s entire 20-minute duration.
Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles Drops The Ball on its Biggest Selling Point
A core part ofStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles' appeal both back in the day and now with the release of Aspyr’s port is its couch co-op, letting two players battle together throughout the game’s 10 campaign levels and a handful of bonus stages. Unfortunately, this part of the game doesn’t hold up.
Hacking away at waves of Battle Droids together can be fun, but the cracks begin to show the moment two players start to move across the screen. While common at the time forco-op games,Jedi Power Battles' screen-drag is incredibly harsh. Players need to stick within just a few feet of one another, or they’ll quickly end up pushing their co-op partner off-screen.
This is fine for close-quarters combat sections, but it makesStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles' already finicky platforming nigh impossible, with both players needing to jump at exactly the same time or risk dragging their partner to their doom. To be fair, this can lead to some pretty humorous moments, but it doesn’t remain funny for long, and it certainly won’t last throughoutJedi Power Battles' 4-hour runtime.
Boss fights also become much more difficult in co-op. If players are not standing right next to each other, bosses will swap targets flippantly, often in the middle of an attack sequence. This makes it virtually impossible to learn boss attack patterns, making them feel less like tests of skill and more like tests of patience.
Essentially, every element ofStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battlesis made worse via co-op, which is the opposite of what a side-scrolling beat-em-up should be, and likely the opposite of how fans remember it. In all fairness, these issues were present in the original game, but they’re much more noticeable 25 years later given how much the genre has evolved.
Jedi Power Battles' 2-player VS Mode is exceptionally janky, but the lower stakes of the mode makes its jank feel much more amusing.
It’s Hard to Say This is The Definitive Version of Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power BattlesAspyr Adds Little to The Original Jedi Power Battles Experience
Just like most of the studio’s pastStar Warsventures, Aspyr’sStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battlesis not a full remake or remaster, it’s a port that brings the original 2000 game to modern consoles. More specifically,the Dreamcast version of the game, which itself improved upon the original PlayStation version in numerous ways.
The graphics are probably the most immediately noticeable change in Aspyr’sJedi Power Battles, with environmental textures and character models being perceptibly cleaner and lighting effects being less blurry. But in general, things don’t look vastly different from the Dreamcast version of the game. Similarly, though the frame rate during gameplay is consistent in Aspyr’s port, that was the case with the Dreamcast iteration as well.
A key selling point in Aspyr’s marketing forJedi Power Battleshas been the 13 new playable characters it adds to the game’s VS Mode. Sadly, these characters are a pretty big letdown. The vast majority of these characters are just enemy types brought over fromJedi Power Battles' campaign mode, and though each has a unique moveset, it’s extremely limited, featuring just a few basic attacks and no combos, no special moves akin to Force Powers, and not even a dash attack.
The only non-genericStar Warscharacter to join the roster is Jar Jar Binks, and he’s a barebones reskin of the Gungan Guard character. There’s no reason for players to choose these new characters over any of the Jedi (or even Padme and Panaka) from the original game.
A “modern control scheme” has also been mentioned inJedi Power Battles' marketing. This is also pretty rudimentary, simply changing the face-button layout so that “A/X” is jump, and binding the Force abilities to the left trigger so that players can now use them without needing to block.
A neat addition, however, is the ability to change some Jedi’s lightsaber colors. Launching before characters like Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, and Plo Koon wielded a lightsaber on screen for the first time, the originalJedi Power Battles' lightsaber colorsdon’t conform to the currentStar Warscanon. Aspyr’s port gives players the option to fix that.
Aspyr Brings Some New Issues to Jedi Power Battles
Aspyr has a fairly mixed track record when it comes toStar Warsports and technical issues. While some previous ports have run perfectly, others have been completely broken at launch. Aspyr’sStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battleslands somewhere in the middle.
During my time withJedi Power BattlesI experienced a swathe of technical issues ranging from mildly irritating to game-breaking. Starting with the mildly irritating, the handful of cinematic cutscenes inJedi Power Battlessuffered some major frame rate issues. Enemy pop-in was also a consistent issue throughout the game, occasionally leading to Battle Droids appearing out of nowhere and landing a cheap shot before I could react.
Two separate audio issues also occurred during my playthrough. One of these occurred during theTheed Palacemission, in which one Battle Droid’s STAP Speeder could be heard for the entire duration of the mission. The other happened during the Coruscant stage, where the audio cut out completely for about half the mission’s length.
By far the worst technical issue occurred in co-op. Upon finishing a mission,Jedi Power Battlessimply stopped recognizing any controller inputs for either player, locking us at the upgrade screen. The only way to resolve the issue was a full restart of the game. Luckily, progress was saved for both characters, but it still wasn’t ideal, and it occurred on two separate occasions.
Aspyr’sStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battleshas some nice graphics and quality-of-life improvements, but it doesn’t really add anything substantial that wasn’t there in the Dreamcast version. And unfortunately,Jedi Power Battlesis far fromthe bestStar Warsgameout there.
This might be the most apt example of why Aspyr’s steadfast approach to authenticity might not always result in the best player experience. WhileJedi Power Battlesis very authentic to the original game, that original game had a plethora of well-documented issues, all of which have only become more apparent in the 25 years following its release. And the lack of any proper fixes on Aspyr’s part might have some wondering why it was brought to modern consoles at all.
For this reason, and the range of technical issues experienced, it’s difficult to recommend this port, especially to anyone who has never playedJedi Power Battlesbefore. But for die-hard fans of this game orStar Warsin general, the $20 asking price might be worth it for a fleeting hit of nostalgia.
Reviewed on Xbox Series X
WHERE TO PLAY
Take back the Theed Palace in this fast and furious lightsaber action game. You will have the power of the Force and your trusty lightsaber to help you ward off legions of battle droids, destroyer droids, assassins, and other creatures from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.Jump into Side-Scrolling Arcade Action in the Star Wars GalaxyPlay as Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon, Adi Gallia, or Qui-Gon Jinn facing off against droids and other familiar foes from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.Or, play as one of the previously locked characters such as Darth Maul, Captain Panaka, Queen Amidala, Ki-Adi Mundi, and the Battle Droid, now available from the start!Bring a Friend in Classic Couch Co-opBattle side-by-side with a companion in 2-player couch co-op for the entire 10-level campaign and bonus mini-gamesClassic & New Game+Use classic or modern control schemes, toggle your Lightsaber colors to match the films, enjoy new playable characters such as the Tusken Raider, enter classic cheat codes like Big Head Mode, and discover more surprises in this 25th anniversary celebration of Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles
Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battleswill release on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on June 29, 2025. Game Rant was provided an Xbox Series X code for this review.
