Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles

Genre: Action

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

(Note: There are multiple Star Wars bundles on Nintendo Switch. If you want a breakdown of which bundles contain which games, please check this page.)

There is some solace in knowing that even when the Star Wars film franchise is at a low point, you can still reliably find good videogames based on the property. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a good example. I think it’s fair to say this was an aesthetically beautiful but poorly-written, poorly-directed, and poorly-acted film, a huge disappointment for everyone who waited sixteen years after Return of the Jedi for a new Star Wars film. Yet Star Wars Episode I Racer was generally seen to be a solid Racing game for the time, the massively-successful Lego Star Wars franchise got its start with a tie-in to this film, and both Star Wars Episode I: The Battle for Naboo and Star Wars: Starfighter were critical successes.

So why, I wonder, when Aspyr chose the next Star Wars game to port to modern platforms, did they dredge up this piece of bantha poodoo?

Originally released in 2000 on the original PlayStation and Dreamcast, and then remastered in 2025 and released on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles may have somehow tricked some critics into thinking it was worth playing in its original release, but time has not been kind to it, and I can’t imagine players will see many redeeming qualities in this game a quarter century later.

The overall resolution and framerate of the original game has apparently been improved here, but Jedi Power Battles still has the same low-poly character models, barren environments, bland textures, and stiff animations. Plus, the pre-rendered cutscenes appear to be unchanged from the original release, which is to say they look extremely rough. If it wasn’t for John Williams’ gorgeous film score, none of the audiovisual splendor of the films would be present in this game.

It hardly matters though. This is without a doubt one of the worst Star Wars games I have ever played. Combat is extremely clunky, inelegant, and often unresponsive, with enemies taking potshots at you from afar with surprising accuracy, and with each hit interrupting your current animation to make even a walk across a room to reach said enemy into a stuttering stop-start-stop-start affair.

In fact, you often find that in the time it takes you to wind up with your quickest attack, your enemy has already gotten a shot off and interrupted your animation. And because the game doesn’t do anything to ensure your character is facing the right way, even if this doesn’t happen you’ll often find yourself slicing your lightsaber right past the enemy, leaving yourself vulnerable during your long follow-through animation. Hitting your enemy isn’t much better, with the impact being highly unsatisfying and often seemingly ineffective.

Pair this with some excruciating bad platforming with terrible hit detection on edges and a double-jump that slows your momentum to an excruciating crawl. Honestly, everything about this game feels clunky, frustrating, and wholly unsatisfying.

Do not waste your time and money on this absolutely terrible game. You have so many other better options to choose from on Nintendo Switch, even if you’re looking for a Star Wars game. The Force is not with this one.

tl;dr – Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles is an Action game set during the first of the Star Wars prequels, and it’s even worse than the movie is. Everything from the combat to the platforming is terrible here, and the visuals haven’t aged well either. Do not buy this.

Grade: D-

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