Lego Star Wars: The Video Game

Gameplay

Gameplay in Lego Star Wars is geared towards family play, and does not feature a game-over scenario. Given a specific set of characters in each scenario, based on a scene from each of the movies, up to two players can control them, using their different abilities. By walking up to another friendly character, the player can switch control over to that character; this interaction is necessary in order to use another character's abilities to complete certain puzzles. Studs can be collected by finding them, smashing or using the force on certain objects, or defeating enemies. Players lose studs (as opposed to lives) if their character is destroyed. These studs can be spent on unlocking new characters for Free Play mode. Certain segments of the game feature players controlling spaceships flying on a flat plane. There are also several minikit canisters hidden throughout each level that, when collected, combine to form a vehicle.

When the player first starts the game, they must first complete Chapter I of The Phantom Menace ("Negotiations"). However, once that Chapter is completed, the player may choose to play any unlocked levels from the other two movies in their desired order.

Completing all the game's levels with full stud bars will unlock an additional chapter based on the opening scene of A New Hope, which features a 'prototype' Darth Vader, who uses Anakin's fighting style, and a Stormtrooper whose movements are identical to the Clone Troopers (both of these are remodeled in the next game).

The background music is the same music used in the Star Wars movies, but as the game was released before Episode III's soundtrack, music from the original trilogy (1977, 1980 and 1983) was used for that movie's levels. For instance, the alternate soundtrack for the "Binary Sunset" was used in the second Chapter of Episode III, and "The Battle of Yavin" was used in Chapters I and III. In The Complete Saga, these tracks would later be removed and replaced with ones from Episode III.

Characters

Lego Star Wars contains a total of 59 playable characters for LEGO Star Wars; 56 in the GameCube, PS2, Xbox, and PC versions. The three missing are Gungan, Tusken Raider, and STAP, playable in the GBA version, though the Gungan and STAP are only available through cheat codes. The playable characters are modelled like actual Lego parts and, on dying, they fall to pieces and also lose studs. There is a wide variety of characters included in the game, all of which are unlocked by completing levels or by purchasing them at Dexter's Diner. Characters are divided into groups according to certain skills. For instance, Jedi and Sith can double-jump, use lightsabers, and have control of The Force, which they can use to activate or lift Lego objects or defeat certain enemies. Darth Maul has a double-ended lightsaber which improves his defence from laser fire. Jar Jar Binks, General Grievous and his bodyguard have the super-jump, which allows them to reach obstacles that the Jedi and Sith can not jump to. Characters like Padmé Amidala and clone troopers, who carry blasters, have the ability to grapple to reach higher places. Droids, while unarmed, can travel through the game without being intentionally attacked by enemy characters. Protocol droids and astromech droids can open special doors. Characters such as Boba Fett and Young Anakin can fit into tight places. Every character, other than the PK Droid and Gonk Droid (whose only ability is that they are never attacked by enemies) and Chancellor Palpatine, has a special ability.

Unlocked characters can be imported into the game's sequel, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, as an extra called "use old save", which costs 250,000 Lego Studs, and can be used in its character creator function.

Because the game is based on the Prequel Trilogy (1999, 2002, 2005), Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian and other characters from the original Star Wars Trilogy (1977, 1980 and 1983) are not shown, appearing in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. However, if the player unlocks the last level (an episode 4 preview), Darth Vader, a stormtrooper, a rebel trooper and Princess Leia become available.

Free Play

Once a level has been cleared in Story Mode, the player may play through that level again in Free Play Mode. In this mode, players can choose to play through the level with their choice of unlocked characters randomly selected by the program based on their abilities. At any point, the player can rotate instantly between each of the chosen characters to access areas not accessible during the Story Mode and obtain hidden extras. No story cut scenes appear in this mode.

Dexter's Diner

Dexter's Diner is the area where the player chooses what level to enter, or they can enter the Parking Lot to view any vehicles whose parts they have found and pieced together. The parts to these vehicles are contained in 10 mini-kit canisters which are hidden throughout each level. Battles often take place in the Parking Lot between canon-good and canon-evil characters, such as Jedi and Sith, respectively. At the diner counter, the player may purchase, or enter codes, to unlock extras in exchange for Lego studs they have collected by playing through the levels.

Development

Publisher Giant Interactive Entertainment came up with the concept of a game using Lego figures in 2003 and approached Lucasfilm who saw the potential of such a title. Developer Traveller's Tales, which had previously worked on Crash Bandicoot and Sonic the Hedgehog games was commissioned as game designer.

Heading the project were James Cunliffe (lead artist), Jeremy Pardon (lead animator), and John Hodskinson (lead programmer). Tools used to create the game were designed in-house. Lucasfilm provided assistance in various ways including the commissioning of new sound effects and music from their Skywalker Sound facility. The Lego company in Billund, Denmark also helped out.

Game Boy Advance version

The Game Boy Advance (GBA) version of Lego Star Wars has several differences, including fewer playable characters, devalued studs, fewer levels, only one player character on screen at a time, and cutscenes consist of still frames of the home console versions.

All lightsaber users are able to deflect blaster shots aimed at them and each character has its own style. They are also the only ones able to use the force to interact with undeployed platforms and switches. However, unlike other versions of the game, blaster shots can only be deflected if they are headed straight towards the player at the front, not its back or sides. Blaster characters can charge a shot by holding the button making it stronger, and are able to pass through several enemies. However, they do not have the shot deflecting abilities of Jedi. The game has 15 playable characters that are unlocked through gameplay. These include: Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin, Jar Jar Binks, a clone trooper, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, a battle droid, R2-D2, R4, Padme, and a Tusken raider. The game also has multiple cheat characters.

Scrapped levels

There were several planned levels that never made it into the game. These were: 'Anakin's Flight' (set during Episode I, the player must pilot a Naboo Starfighter as Anakin destroys the Trade Federation Cruisers); 'Bounty Hunter Pursuit' (set during Episode II, the player controls Anakin and Obi-Wan as they pilot their speeders and chase down Zam Wessel); 'Asteroid Dogfight' (also set during Episode II, the player controls Obi-Wan in his starfighter as he escapes Jango Fett in the asteroids of Geonosis); 'Boga Chase' (set during Episode III, the player must control Obi-Wan as he rides on Boga to catch General Grievous as he attempts to escape on his wheel bike); and 'Palpatine Duel' (set again during Episode III, the player must control Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin and Agen Kolar as they arrest the chancellor). While the five levels were scrapped and removed from the game before completion, 'Anakin's Flight' and 'Bounty Hunter Pursuit' were later finished and incorporated into a bonus level and a main story level in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, respectively. Footage from 'Anakin's Flight' was also used in several promotional trailers for the game, one of which was reused in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy uncut.

Release

This game was released on the Game Boy Advance nearly two months before Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Another month later: on Xbox. In the first week of the game's release sales shot up, possibly due to the fact that the basic plotline of Revenge of the Sith was in the game. To prevent inadvertent spoilers, most reviewers warned that this was the case in their reviews.

Reception and legacy

Lego Star Wars received generally positive reviews. The PC version received a score of 77/100 from Metacritic and the game maintained a consistently high position at the top of the UK charts in May 2005.

Lego Star Wars was the thirteenth best-selling game of 2005. Figures released by The NPD Group show the PlayStation 2 version as the tenth best-selling single-platform title of 2005. The game's worldwide sales total exceeded 3.3 million copies in March 2006 and 6.7 million in May 2009.

It was one of the The Best-Selling PS2 Games with more than four-fifths of the copies sold on the PlayStation 2.

IGN rated the game 8 out of 10 saying, "If you're a parent, LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game should be at the top of your child's birthday list. It has everything a family-oriented title needs: it has personality, puzzles, cooperative modes, replay value, low violence, a lack of frustrating difficulty, and most importantly, it has Darth Vader. And that's what makes it enjoyable for adults too, because let's face it; Darth Vader makes everything better -- it's a fact."

The game's sequel, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, was released in September 2006, while a compilation, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, was released in November 2007 and Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars was released in March 2011. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, based on the 2015 film of the same name, was released in June 2016.