The Collective’s Star Wars: Episode3 – Revenge of the Sith is Still One of The Best Game Adaptations 20 Years Later

2005 is often regarded as one of the best years in gaming history, with well-regarded releases such as Resident Evil 4 and Shadow of the Colossus​​​​​​. However, for Star Wars fans, 2005 is known as the greatest year for Star Wars gaming. Within 2005 alone, PC and console Star Wars gamers received phenomenal hits in the form of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, Star Wars: Republic Commando, Lego Star Wars: The Video Game, and Star Wars: Battlefront 2.

While not every 2005 Star Wars title sold exceptionally well, each game would go on to be regarded as a classic 20 years later. However, there’s one Star Wars game that never receives as much attention as it deserves compared to its 2005 siblings: The Collective’s Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith.

The Enthralling Development of The Collective’s Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith

Following the release of 2002’s Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars game releases expanded exponentially in gameplay variety, storytelling abilities, and prominence as the sixth generation of consoles began to peak in game quality. From narrative-focused RPGs such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic to vehicle-centric titles like Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter and even MMOs with Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars was being adapted into practically every video game genre. While a few of these titles focused on their own original storylines, most tended to adapt or revolve around events from the Star Wars prequel trilogy of films. This trend continued going into 2005, with many games setting up events leading up to the release of Revenge of the Sith on May 19.

According to then LucasArts Director Jon Knoles, LucasArts and The Collective began working on the game adaptation of Revenge of the Sith as the movie was still being filmed, edited, and conceptualized at Fox Studios and Skywalker Ranch. “LucasArts and George Lucas wanted to make sure that the Episode 3 game experience was just as complete and as authentic as it possibly could be,” said Knoles in the 2005 Star Wars Episode 3 Making the Game documentary. “So we’ve been working with George from the beginning.” Due to this early development and eventual release of this title, the Episode 3 game features some cut sequences and characters from the finished film alongside introducing some of its own creations. For example, parts of the An Explosive Development level can be seen in Episode 3’s deleted scenes.

Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith Game’s Masterful Combat Explained

Aside from 1997’s Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi, Star Wars had never truly produced a fighting game akin to the popular Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat franchises. To rectify this and to make Revenge of the Sith’s combat as authentic as possible, LucasArts and The Collective consulted the film’s legendary stunt coordinator, Nick Gillard, to train their animators in the art of lightsaber combat. The developers even had Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, come in to consult on lightsaber combat and the way Skywalker would move throughout the game. However, Christensen did not reprise the role of Skywalker in the game. Instead, Skywalker was voiced by Mat Lucas, who previously voiced the Jedi Knight in the 2003 Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series.

Revenge of the Sith’s Film and Game Compared

Being an action-focused title, the Revenge of the Sith game is largely consistent with the events depicted in the film, but any scene that does not involve combat never appears in the game. In fact, Padme Amidala never shows up in the game at all. To help extend the main campaign’s runtime, some events were expanded upon from the film. For example, Darth Vader’s attack on the Jedi Temple is shown in its entirety and fully playable, even featuring the death of Jedi Master Jocasta Nu and a boss fight against Jedi Master Cin Drallig, who was briefly played by Gillard in the movie but voiced by Tom Kane in the game.

Some sequences were altered from the film to improve gameplay scenarios and boss battle sequences. For example, instead of chasing General Grievous on a varactyl culminating in death by blaster, the game has Obi-Wan Kenobi fight Grievous in a three-phase boss battle ending with the cyborg dying from a lightsaber stab. Similarly, instead of Skywalker slicing Jedi Master Mace Windu’s hand off and the Jedi Master being forced out into Coruscant’s sky, the game features a four-phase boss battle between Skywalker and Windu, culminating in the purple lightsaber wielder dying from a lightsaber stab. One of the more famous differences from the film is the game’s alternate ending, which has Skywalker defeat Kenobi and shortly after assassinate Emperor Palpatine, assuming control of the Galactic Empire for himself.

Revenge of the Sith’s Gameplay and Extras Explained

Besides the Mortal Kombat-like boss battles and PVP multiplayer, most of Revenge of the Sith’s gameplay is filled with third-person PVE combat against battle droids, clone troopers, Jedi Knights, Neimoidian guards, and automated turrets. In between these combat scenarios, players will often have to solve environmental puzzles involving lifting large objects with the Force, destroying generators or power conduits, and slicing thrown doors and wall panels with a lightsaber.

Occasionally, Revenge of the Sith will have players temporarily operate cannons to destroy infantry and large vehicles, including a Munificent-class star frigate, LAAT gunships, and Eta-2 Actis-class Jedi starfighters. While most boss battles will involve fighting lightsaber-wielders, a few will have Skywalker or Kenobi defeat massive droids and ships, including an LM-432 crab droid and a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle.

As players complete the main campaign, they’ll eventually unlock a treasure trove of concept art made for the Revenge of the Sith game and film, as well as a few bonus single-player and co-op missions for players to try out. Most of these bonus missions have players embodying Jedi Knights and other warriors besides Skywalker and Kenobi. For example, one single-player bonus mission has players embodying an IG-100 MagnaGuard fighting clones on Utapau, while another has players embodying Jedi Master Yoda fighting waves of clones in the Jedi Temple. One bonus mission even recreates Star Wars: Episode 4 – A New Hope’s climactic duel between Darth Vader and Kenobi aboard the Death Star. The three co-op missions feature Skywalker, Kenobi, Drallig, and his apprentice Serra Keto fighting waves of clones and droids.

The Legacy of The Collective’s Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith Game

While The Collective’s Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith Game didn’t sell as well as Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and Star Wars: Battlefront 2, selling over 2 million copies by 2006, it still went on to become a beloved Star Wars game thanks to its gameplay, extras, and expansion upon the film. For many fans, the Revenge of the Sith game is still regarded as the best fighting game the franchise has ever seen. Since 2005, the only official Star Wars game to feature similar fighting game mechanics as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and the Revenge of the Sith game was the multiplayer of the Wii version of 2008’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Despite its relatively low sales, elements from the Revenge of the Sith game can still be found in Star Wars canon today. For example, the B2 grapple droid was supposed to appear in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series until the show was initially canceled by Disney in 2013. Instead, the B2 grapple droid went on to appear in the 2014 Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir comic, adapting four canceled episodes of The Clone Wars series as well as the mobile game Star Wars: Galactic Defense. The Revenge of the Sith game was further made available on platforms beyond the sixth console generation, including the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S consoles via backwards compatibility and digital stores.

Revenge of the Sith’s Potential Gaming Future

If players don’t have access to an Xbox console or a PlayStation 2, most gamers won’t be able to legally play the Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith game. Most Star Wars games of the early 2000s have since been remastered and made accessible on all modern gaming platforms by the developer and publisher Aspyr, save for the Revenge of the Sith game. With Revenge of the Sith resurging in prominence thanks to the film’s 20th anniversary re-release in theaters, Disney and Lucasfilm may allow Aspyr or another developer to remaster the game for modern platforms, even if it would require the removal of film clips. This would allow fans, new and old, of Star Wars to experience one of the best game adaptations ever produced.