Star Warsis one of the few film franchises to also have immense success in the video game market, with dozens of games set in the iconic universe. Many of these games use the space adventure series’universe to tell original stories, often set completely separate from the movies. Some others use the movies as jumping-off points, then tell alternate fictions that reimagine or run alongside the well-known plots.
That said, there have also been plenty of games that are directly tied to the nine core entries in the film saga. These could be tie-ins, literal one-to-one video game adaptations that attempt to recreate the scenes, or games that have montage-style campaigns that pick famous moments and allow players to experience them in a new way.
Due to the age of many of these titles, GameRankings scores have been used despite the site having shut down. The games are not necessarily ranked in order.
10Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace
62/100 on GameRankings
This 1999 game adaptation of the film was one of the best-selling games of its time. Despite being clunky to play in retrospect, it was wildly popular because of its multiple character choices and impressive graphics.
Players can choose between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon,both with lightsabers, or Queen Amidala and Captain Panaka, with blasters and explosives. The game even received a PS4 and PS5 rerelease on January 16th, 2024 as part of the PlayStation Classic catalogue.
This Playstation and Dreamcast game loosely follows the plot ofThe Phantom Menace,with players having the ability to swap out the canon Jedi Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon forother playable characterslike Mace Windu or Plo Koon.
The gameplay is surprisingly complex, with players having the obvious slashing attacks, but also having force powers and the ability to block and deflect laser blasts back at droids.
Coming out right before a new console era, this game was arguably the peak of theoriginal Xbox and PlayStation 2’s capabilities. it offered a wide variety of missions, including starfighter dogfights, hack-and-slash Jedi battles where players could dismantle rooms of droids, and a one-on-one fighting game section for Jedi duel boss battles.
The story follows the film closely, but players who choose Anakin’s campaign can see an alternate ending where he comes out on top at the end of his duel with Obi-Wan.
While their single-player campaigns are lacking story as a whole, both of the classic games loosely follow the movies, dropping players into every famous battle from the first five films, in chronological order.
It would take established knowledge of why the events are transpiring, but if the player hasalready seen the films, then these games will make them feel like they are playing through what they’ve seen far more than many of the direct film adaptations out there.
6Star Wars Trilogy Arcade
4.5/5 on AllGame
Considered to be the pinnacle of the multitude ofStar Warsgames to infiltrate arcades in the 80s and 90s, this sequel to the originalStar Wars Arcadeupped the ante by adding more refined controls and having missions spanning all three movies from the original trilogy.
Players sit in a booth designed to look like an X-Wing cockpit and control the game using a large joystick that works as the control system of X-Wings, a handheld blaster, and finally, during the game’s final boss battle against Vader, Luke’s lightsaber.
5Super Star Wars
82/100 on GameRankings
The first of a trilogy of games for the Super Nintendo, this 16-bit side-scroller has players go through the events of the originalStar Wars,battling jawas, sand people, and, of course, Stormtroopers.
There are multiple characters with slightly different abilities, but the general gameplay loop is platforming through semi-vertical levels and shooting everything that moves with a blaster. There are even someimpressive vehicle levels,where players guide a speeder or X-Wing sideways while blasting other vehicles out of their path.
4Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
78/100 on GameRankings
Fundamentally identical in presentation to the first game, the sequel unsurprisingly takes the same game design but uses it to tell the story of the next film. Vehicles are back, and the character options are slightly altered, with certain levels requiring certain people.
Most notable is the new feature that each character gets two weapons they can switch between, except for Luke who gets his lightsaber and force powers. Playing as Luke and blocking blaster shots makes this sequel better than the last alone.
3Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
The final chapter in the Super Nintendo saga. Once again,the iconic charactersgo through the film’s plot via 16-bit platforming levels and some ultra-charming retro cutscenes. There are some added scenes to make the plot more action-oriented, such as Luke having to slash his way through the Death Star to reach Vader and the emperor.
The vehicle levels in this one include the Endor speeder bike chase and the Millenium Flacon Death Star attack and both utilize a bizarre pseudo 3D that was impressive and experimental at the time.
Easily the most misleading name of any game based on this franchise, considering that there would be more films after, and even another Lego game after it containing more saga. This platforming adventure game closely follows the plots of every film in both the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy, retelling all the famous moments with a lighthearted tone and sense of humor.
While it might feel slightly dated now, it still has a number of features that would be absent from later Lego games,like character customization.
The most recent Lego adaptation of the series and the definitive video game for anyone who wants to play through the movies' classic moments. This update on the hit series allows players to play through all three trilogies, seeing the nine films retold through Lego’s colorful tone.
The game also has updated graphics that make every brick-based Jedi look great and modern gameplay revamps, adding combos and abilities for every character.
