One of the Best Star Wars Prequel Games Released 25 Years Ago

There have been hundreds of sequels, spin-offs, and expansions of the Star Wars franchise over the years, building on the 1977 film in lots of unexpected and vivid ways. Even beyond the core films, there have been countless permutations of the galaxy across various forms of media. Video games in particular have been a fertile ground for the universe, with plenty of unexpected characters and tweaks on the formula appearing across various titles.

Some of the most memorable have taken the universe and fleshed it out in exciting ways, including a flight sim that took a minor, unnamed background fixture of the films and added some personality to the narrative. In the process, the game was an early sign of a trend in the franchise’s evolution that would see further expansion away from the central characters who initially defined the series, a path that would lead to hits like The Mandalorian and the Star Wars Jedi games. Especially for the games set during the prequel trilogy and used to build out the world, this 25-year-old PS2 game was a sign of how the franchise was going to continue to grow.

Star Wars: Starfighter Placed Players Into The Background Of The Phantom Menace

Debuting February 21, 2001, Star Wars: Starfighter brought the LucasArts approach to action flight-sims to the PlayStation 2. Eventually receiving an Xbox and PC port as well as a sequel in the form of 2002’s Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Starfighter was a solid game and an early example of how Star Wars would begin to expand the galaxy in video games, movies, and TV shows. Instead of directly adapting the events of the movies, Star Wars: Starfighter was a surprisingly compelling side-story set alongside the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, focusing on some of the minor figures on the outskirts of that film’s plot.

The game’s narrative brings together of disaparate figures from around the galaxy, who all find themselves united against the Trade Federation for various reasons. As a vengeful Naboo pilot and some opportunistic criminals work together to bring down the Trade Federation, the players go on unique missions and play important but very minor side roles in the established canon. Similar to the Rogue Squadron games set during the events of the original trilogy, Star Wars: Starfighter was a well-constructed arcade flight sim that put more of an emphasis on action than anything else.

While critics took note of the relatively short length of the campaign, they also commended the central gameplay and the controls. The most memorable element of the game was the way it fleshed out the universe by giving players a new perspective on some climactic moments from The Phantom Menace, giving a sense of identity to the typically nameless pilots that fill the background of the series. This makes the game part of an early trend in Star Wars tie-ins that stopped simply adapting the source material and began expanding on the universe.

Star Wars: Starfighter Helped Predict The Future Of The Franchise

The Star Wars prequels remain a controversial period for the franchise. While some fans still harbor frustration with the disappointing aspects of the prequels, younger generations have found a greater connection with the prequels and their tragic portrayal of Anakin’s downfall. Whatever you think of the prequels, though, it’s hard to deny that game developers found a lot of fertile ground with the setting. The Star Wars franchise has always been a great space for games, ranging from the early shooters to the more expansive adventures of Cal Kentis. The period around the original trilogy especially showcased a lot of interesting games that used the set-up from the movies as a runway for new ideas.

Star Wars: Starfighter was a good early example of that, with an entirely unique storyline that fit neatly into the larger events of the saga. Other games, like 2002’s Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, 2004’s Star Wars: Battlefront, and 2005’s Star Wars: Republic Commando, all did something similar, using the concepts and broader universe to tell stories that fleshed out the canon. This was an era where Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic could take the core concept of the prequels and expand on it even further, branching out the galaxy in ways that creatives across mediums have been following after for decades now.

In the years that would follow the purchase of the Star Wars franchise by Disney, more official tie-ins (like the Clone Wars animated shows) would do more work fleshing out the period. Games like Star Wars: Starfighter highlighted the potential of that kind of angle long before those shows debuted, introducing new characters and fresh complications to the universe. Star Wars Starfighter remains a highlight of the era, a short but sweet action-packed flight sim that placed the player in the cockpit and turned them into the hero of another story. It’s the kind of spirit the franchise would continue to embrace in movies and television, but it’s interesting to look back at the games that laid the groundwork for all those developments.