There’s nothing quite like hunting bounties across the galaxy or swinging a lightsaber through wave after wave of battle droids—especially when it’s free. As part of a special limited-time Star Wars gaming promotion, Star Wars Bounty Hunter and Episode I: Jedi Power Battles are both available to play for free on Nintendo Switch. Yes, absolutely free—no credits, no microtransactions, no shady deals with the Hutts. But you’ve only got until 11:59 PM PT on May 6th, so consider this your hyperspace-level heads-up. What’s the Deal? Two Classic Star Wars Games, Free to Play Nintendo has quietly rolled out a limited-time offer that lets players try out two retro Star Wars games on the Switch—both originally released on PlayStation consoles and lovingly preserved for a new generation of gamers. Here’s what you can play: Star Wars: Bounty Hunter Episode I: Jedi Power Battles Both games are available for free download for…
Star Wars Retro games
Star Wars Retro games: Yoda Stories
They don’t make games like these anymore. It isn’t overly complicated or terribly pretty by today’s standards, but that’s the source of it’s charm. It is exactly now what it was then: a desktop game, a way to fill an hour or so between work projects or homework. The adventures are randomly generated, the dialogue is humorous, and the game itself brings an innocence and nostalgia back to a period that has otherwise largely lost it. For a Star Wars game, it captures the feel of the movies in a way that many modern games with the same license don’t. Why? Because the material, too, evokes a more innocent time, back before special editions or blu ray edits. It’s Star Wars as it used to be, as so many of us grew up with. As part of Lucasarts’ Desktop Adventure Series, players take control of Jedi-in-training Luke Skywalker, as he…
Star Wars Retro games: Masters of Teras Kasi
The concept of a Star Wars fighting game is definitely an exciting one. Even less-than-rabid fans of the series have to agree that the thought of conducting epic light saber battles definitely sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, Masters of Teras Kasi fails on many levels, resulting in a game that could have been incredible but instead is filled with disappointment. The storyline takes place after the destruction of the first Death Star. The Emperor’s growing annoyance at having been unable to crush the Rebel forces that are responsible, presses Darth Vader to enlist the aid of Arden Lyn, Master of the ancient fighting art, Teräs Käsi. Teräs Käsi draws its energy from the Force, which increases the powers of the Jedi. However, those who dismiss the Force as a “hokey religion”, are able to pick basic combatants (Such as Han Solo or Boba Fett) and fight alongside their allies….
Star Wars Retro games: Dark Forces
With the release of DOOM in 1993, the gaming industry went into overdrive in coming up with similar games using the first-person perspective. Some games, such as Heretic and Hexen, simply licensed id Software’s game engine. Others choose to build their own 3-D first-person shooters from the ground up. LucasArts Entertainment was one of the latter companies, and Star Wars: Dark Forces was their first stab at the genre. Released in 1995, Dark Forces was the first Jedi Knight game, though the original release did not use the “Jedi Knight: Dark Forces” tagline. Later re-releases would, however. The story revolves around a mercenary called Kyle Katarn, an ex-soldier of the Empire who now works freelance for the Rebel Alliance. After a minor interlude wherein Kyle steals the plans for some obscure new Imperial weapon called the “Death Star”, our hero is tasked with investigating General Rom Mohc and his plans…