Lego Star Wars Review (GBA)

So we all know about the Lego series of games that have taken over the market lately, but not many realize that the original game didn’t even come out for the GCN, at least not until around 2006. So all Nintendo fans had was this GBA port, which was overshadowed by the great Revenge of the Sith GBA/DS game that was released at the same time. How does this forgotten Lego game stack up (no pun intended)?

Story

It’s basically the first three Star Wars films (the Prequels). If you haven’t watched the movies, this story makes no sense, for there’s no words at all, just static images.

Gameplay (6/10)

This game plays like most other isometric 3D Platformers. You have limited health, unlike the console versions, and once you die, you have to start at the last door you came through. The combat is pretty smooth with guns, but it’s a bit harder to play with Jedis. And the fact the game’s not actually 3D makes it hard to walk through narrow platforms, and hovering from platform to platform with R2 and R4. Also, there’s six entire levels for Epsisode 3, but only three for Episode 2, and two don’t even have the arena or Geonosis battles. Boss battles have a meter that when two Jedis are slashing at the same time, you have to press B enough times to earn a strike. It’s pretty boring. Strangely, there’s no multiplayer, which is what MADE the console versions. There’s also no world map to play on, which made the others very fun whenever there were huge fights between NPCs and you.

This game is fun, but hard to control at times and it lacks the extra fun things that made the console versions fun.

Graphics (5/10)

The 3D graphics are very good for a GBA game, being in full 3D. Sadly, the gameplay factor is the same in graphics— as the Jedi are harder to play as, their animations are far choppier, giving you a lot less feel of actually attacking. There’s also only about seven enemy types, which is poor, considering the amount of enemies to attack in the prequels, especially 3.

The good graphics are no match for choppy animations and a poor selection of enemy types, including a random generic cannon.

Sound (8/10)

The sound’s amazing for a GBA game, and most of the console sounds are the same in this, even the character voices. The music, however, only contains a few tracks (between 5 and 10). The MIDI sound is pretty basic compared to what you could have in a GBA Game (see Super Mario Advance 2 and both Fire Emblems).

The sound is good, but this music is mediocre.

Challenge (8/10)

Episode 1 is medium difficulty for a pretty BAD player. The others are harder, especially some of them in Episode 3. But not because of challenge…

Episode 1 detracts from this score.

Frustration (8/10)

The whole of this game— the isometric platforming— causes most of the frustration, such as repeatedly falling off of paths, and not being able to go anywhere with R2 or R4, which I mentioned in the Gameplay Section. The frustration is also higher because of unclear mission objectives. For example I had no idea where to go while playing it today on the Droid Factory, so I just quit and went on to a different level. It’s very boring to trek across a level in hope you can find where to go.

The isometric controls and unclear objectives help this score.

(anything past 4 not counted)

Replayability (8/10)

This game is replayable. It’s hard to unlock all 16 characters, because this game has less studs to collect. But replayability is hindered by the absence multiplayer and the fact there are no secret areas you can only reach by using a certain character. But for you soloists, this game will keep you busy for at least a few hours more than it takes to complete it.

Not much replayability except unlocking the character, though that will take pretty long. Plus the game’s pretty long already.

Value

It’s a GBA game. It’s probably about 20 dollars now, if used it’s probably about 15. This is in US dollars, btw.

(Value not factored into final score)

Overall (7/10)

I give this a 39/54, or about 7/10 overall. This game will interest Star Wars or Lego fans, and even Platformer fans. But don’t expect a deep, complex, and rich game, just expect a game you’ll play at times, or all at once if you’re on a road trip or some other long event. Of course not when you’re driving on the road trip…

Thanks for reading my review. I hope to review some more soon, like Sonic Advance 3, Mario Pinball Land, and Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge. I just hope the second GBA version was deeper.