Summary

You’ve likely gotten your galactic kicks time and time again from classicStar Warsgames like Super Star Wars or more contemporary hits like the Star Wars Jedi series. There’s nothing at all wrong with that. These games are beloved for a reason. But you might have also overlooked something truly special.

There exist a great many Star Wars games, most definitely more than you even knew about. So it’s natural that a good chunk of them fall by the wayside in casual conversations. Some are forgotten for good reasons, like whatever Flight of the Falcon was. But some never got the shot they deserved, and they may end up among your favorites if you can track them down.

Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash

Platforms

PC, Nintendo DS, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii

TheStar Wars: The Force Unleashedgames retain a respectable fanbase to this day, but there’s no denying they never quite reached the bombastic heights the developers were shooting for. Even among that missed potential in these over-the-top lightsaber romps, fans still tend to prefer the first one.

The first game is certainly more meaty in terms of story and content, but don’t write offThe Force Unleashed 2just yet. Its campaign may be only a few hours long, but it’s got some real polish on what’s there. Plus, you get to pilot a crashing ship in a way more extra way than Anakin ever did.

Platform

PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS

There’s a tragic lack ofStar Wars games where you don’t play as a Jedi, but Star Wars: Lethal Alliance fills that niche in a lovely (if a bit janky) way. You play as Twi’lek mercenary Rianna Saren, getting by in the galaxy after escaping her life of slavery. Also she has a droid sidekick. Top marks just for that.

Being on the PSP and Nintendo DS held the game back a bit, partially due to a lack of interest in a handheld title and also the inherently less comfortable control schemes that come with the respective platforms. But you should give it a try if you can find a way to play it, if only to see her ridiculously cool artificial lekku.

PlayStation 2

Sometimes you just want to have fun with a game that will make others mad. Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing regularly tops lists of bad licensed games, but the truth must come out. This game is fun, and it ruins friendships just as effectively as any Mario Kart title.

So yes, it’s a kart racer, and yes, it’s not quite as polished as the more popular ones. But you know what it does have? Weird stuff. The title screen plays a bouncy rendition of the Imperial March, you can find shortcuts that make no sense whatsoever, and everybody’s got big heads.

Arcade

This game is particularly obscure, at least unless you’ve been to one of several movie theaters back in the day that really liked it for some reason. This arcade machine was a shiny beacon of flashy lasers, and you might be surprised to discover it’s actually from 1998.

This joystick-centric compilation thrusts you into some of the iconic battles from the original Star Wars trilogy, largely in vehicles but also with an interesting lightsaber twist. You turn the stick to angle your bladeagainst Darth Vaderand Boba Fett, deflecting and attacking. Just stock up on quarters, cause this one is hungry.

Nintendo 64, PC

You’ve probably played Star Wars: Rogue Squadron on the Nintendo 64, but have you played its spiritual successor, Star Wars: Battle for Naboo? Statistically, probably. It sold very well. But does anyone talk about it these days? Also probably yes. But not enough.

It’s a ship combat game in the same vein as Rogue Squadron, with the added twist of land and sea-based vehicles. It controls just as well as its contemporaries, so give it a shot if you haven’t already.

PlayStation, Dreamcast

Something we unfortunately don’t see enough of anymore is developers going real hog wild with the Star Wars property. Super Bombad Racing was one thing, but how about a straight up Twisted Metal clone where you’re able to fight Boba Fett in an AT-ST?

Star Wars: Demolition revels in chaos, letting you pilot an array of your favorite vehicles and also a Cloud Car. It’s a deadly competition and your only goal is to survive in the coolest ways you may. Plus, you can ride a rancor. You deserve it after fightingthe rancors in Jedi: Survivor.

PlayStation, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance

You don’t really see games anymore that just retell the events of the thing they’re based on. Even less often do they just completely go off the rails with random new enemies while letting you play as someone who was very much not there, at least not outside of Kingdom Hearts.

Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles was probably the most pure embodiment of this idea. You pick one of several Jedi to play through the story of Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, also traversing the Coruscant underworld for some reason. Try the code VMC3QZJ in the Game Boy Advance version.

PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, PlayStation 3

Like Battle for Naboo, Star Wars: Starfighter brings back the classic Rogue Squadron formula in a new setting. But unlike Battle for Naboo, the story in this case is a bit more focused on individuals outside of the typical military setting.

That alone gives this PlayStation 2 game a fresh take on theStar Wars ship combat genre. But the characters themselves are also pretty entertaining. Naboo security recruits Rhys Dallows, mercenary Vana Sage, and alien pirate Nym all make the experience much more eclectic.

Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Before The Clone Wars was a shockingly good animated series, then another shockingly good animated series, it was an anomaly of a PlayStation 2 game telling a completely new story.

It’s largely vehicle-based, but at certain points, you get to jump out and do some Jedi stuff on foot. Except the humans somehow control just like the ground vehicles you drive for most of the game. It gives new meaning to the phrase “tank controls” but the game is still pretty fun.

PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4

A lot of people probably didn’t expectStar Wars: Episode 1: Racer to become such a hitamong players even so long after its original Nintendo 64 release. But fewer still likely even know about its PlayStation 2 sort-of sequel, Star Wars: Racer Revenge.

The high-octane energy of the first game is cranked right up, embellishing the damage and repair system to a game-changing point. Instead of crashing and just respawning, if you get destroyed, you’re out of the race entirely. You can even win by taking out everyone else, which probably explains why Racer Revenge was non-canon even at release.