Star Wars: Jedi Knight is a series of first- and third-person shooter video games set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe. The series focuses primarily on Kyle Katarn, a former Imperial officer who becomes a mercenary working for the Rebel Alliance, and later a Jedi and instructor at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy. While the first game is set a year after the events of A New Hope, the sequels take place in the decade following Return of the Jedi.
The Jedi Knight series began in 1995 with the release of Star Wars: Dark Forces for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, and PlayStation. This was followed in 1997 by Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II for Windows, in which Katarn learns the ways of a Jedi. In 1998, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith was released as an expansion pack for Dark Forces II, this time giving the player control of Mara Jade as well as Katarn. In 2002, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast was released. Jedi Outcast was developed by Raven Software and powered by the id Tech 3 game engine. It was released for Windows, Mac, Xbox and GameCube. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy followed in 2003 on Windows, Mac and Xbox. It was powered by the same game engine as its predecessor. Jedi Academy was the first game in the series where the player does not control Katarn at any point, although he is featured prominently in the storyline.
The games in the Jedi Knight series have received generally favorable reviews. Multiple publications have commented on the quality of the series as a whole. The use of the lightsaber in the series, a prominent gameplay element in all but the first game, has received specific praise for its implementation.
Games
Star Wars: Dark Forces was developed and published by LucasArts, and released in North America on February 28, 1995, for MS-DOS and Macintosh, and on November 30, 1996, for PlayStation. It was the first officially produced first-person shooter set in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II was again developed and published by LucasArts, and released in North America on October 10, 1997, for Microsoft Windows."In stores today [is] LucasArts' Jedi Knight..." Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith is an expansion pack for Dark Forces II. Developed and published by LucasArts, it was released on February 24, 1998, for Microsoft Windows. The expansion includes a single-player mode and fifteen multiplayer maps. Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast was developed by Raven Software for PC and Vicarious Visions for the Xbox and GameCube. LucasArts published the Windows version worldwide and the Xbox and GameCube versions in North America, Activision published the Xbox and GameCube versions in Europe, and Aspyr published the Mac version worldwide. The PC version was released in North America on March 26, 2002, the Mac version on November 5, and the Xbox and GameCube versions on November 19. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy was developed by Raven Software for PC and Vicarious Visions for the Xbox. LucasArts published the Windows and Xbox versions in North America, Activision published them in Europe, and Aspyr published the Mac version worldwide. Jedi Academy was released on September 16, 2003, for Mac, on September 17 for Windows, and on November 18 for Xbox.
Overview
Gameplay The Jedi Knight series is composed primarily of first/third-person shooter gameplay elements, with a number of variation on the norms of the genre within each game. All of the games use a level based system which contains a series of objectives that must be completed before the player can continue. From Dark Forces II onwards, the games have included lightsaber combat and the use of Force powers, which have been tweaked and modified as the series has progressed.
In the first game, Dark Forces, the focus is on combat against various creatures and characters from the Star Wars universe, and includes environmental puzzles and hazards, whilst following a central storyline outlined in mission briefings and cutscenes. For combat, the player may use fists, explosive land mines and thermal detonators, as well as blasters and other ranged weapons, with the gameplay leaning more towards ranged combat.
In Dark Forces II, the player has the option of a third-person view, plus an option to switch automatically to third-person when the lightsaber is the selected weapon. Three types of Force powers are introduced in this game: Light powers provide non violent advantages, Dark powers provide violent ones, while Neutral powers enhance athletic abilities. The game has two endings, depending on whether the player chooses to focus on the Light Side or the Dark Side.
Unlike its predecessor, Mysteries of the Sith has a single, morally positive course, as the player progresses through the game in a linear fashion. The game includes most of the enemies featured in Dark Forces II, plus some new monsters. The player has access to Force powers and projectile weapons such as a blaster or railgun, as well as a lightsaber.
Jedi Outcasts gameplay is similar to that of its predecessors, with some small additions, such as access to gun turrets, or the use of combos unique to each of the three lightsaber styles in the game; fast, medium and strong. As with Dark Forces II and Mysteries of the Sith, the use of Force powers is restricted by a "Force Meter", which depletes when the powers are used.
Jedi Academy features very similar gameplay to Jedi Outcast, although one new feature is that the player may customize their lightsaber at the outset of the game. Later, the player has the option of choosing dual sabers, or a "saber staff", similar to Darth Maul's double ended lightsaber in The Phantom Menace. Instead of moving linearly from one level to the next, the player chooses from a selection of different missions which can be played in any order. The game also introduces player-controllable vehicles and vehicle-based levels.
Starting with Jedi Knight, a multiplayer mode has been included in every game, in which up to eight people can compete with one another via a LAN or up to four people online. In Jedi Knight, the player creates an avatar, and then selects a ranking, with higher rankings having access to more Force powers. There are two types of multiplayer game available; "Capture the flag" and "Jedi Training". Mysteries of the Sith includes fifteen multiplayer maps, four of which only allow players to battle with lightsabers, and a ranking system that tracks the player's experience. The multiplayer mode allows the use of pre-set characters featured in both Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith, as well as characters from the Star Wars films, such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Boba Fett. In Mysteries, the "Capture the flag" mode is altered, with the gradual reduction of the Force powers of the player who is carrying the flag.
Jedi Outcast features several multiplayer modes, which, in the PC and Mac versions, can be played over a LAN or the internet. Multiplayer mode is limited to two players on the Xbox and GameCube versions of the game. Game modes include "Free-For-All", "Team Deathmatch", "Capture the Flag", "Power Duel" and "Siege", all of which can be played with other players, bots, or both. Jedi Academy introduces several multiplayer modifications, such as Movie Battles II which allows players to take part in lightsaber duels that featured in the Star Wars films. Movie Battles also lets players choose different classes of character, ranging from Jedi Knight to Wookiee. Another popular modification, Evolution of Combat, allows players to use more movie-realistic saber combat along with other additions such as a movie accurate class system featuring tens of new characters.
Story The Jedi Knight video games are set in the Star Wars universe. For the majority of the series, the player controls Kyle Katarn, who begins as a mercenary, eventually learning the ways of The Force, becoming a Jedi Master and teaching at the Jedi Academy.
Prior to the events of Dark Forces, Katarn was a student studying to follow in his father's career of agricultural mechanics. However, while at an academy, he was told by officials that the Rebel Alliance had killed his parents. His anger led him to enlist in the Imperial army, where he soon met Jan Ors, an undercover double agent working for the Alliance. Ors uncovered the real information about Katarn's parents; they had actually been killed by the Empire. Shortly thereafter, Ors' cover was blown, and she was taken prisoner. Katarn helped her escape, thus ending his career with the Empire. He then became a mercenary, and due to his hatred for the Empire, regularly took on jobs for the Alliance.
In the first level of Dark Forces, which is set prior to A New Hope, Katarn recovers the plans to the Death Star, a heavily armed space station capable of destroying entire planets. The Rebel Alliance uses the plans to find a weakness in and then destroy the Death Star. Katarn then aids the Rebels in stopping the threat of the Imperial "Dark Trooper" project. Despite the successful missions on behalf of the Alliance, however, Katarn does not join their cause. Dark Forces II begins several years after the destruction of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi, when Katarn is informed of the exact details of his father's death. His father, Morgan Katarn, had discovered the location of "The Valley of the Jedi", a source of great Force power, but a Dark Jedi named Jerec murdered Morgan in an attempt to find the location. Katarn travels to the Valley of the Jedi while learning the ways of the Jedi himself. Eventually, he confronts and defeats Jerec, avenging his father's death. However, Katarn still does not join the Jedi Order, instead using his powers for the New Republic, and taking on an apprentice with a similar history to himself; Mara Jade. During this time, Katarn learns of a Sith temple on the planet Dromund Kaas. There, Katarn is corrupted by the Dark Side of the Force. However, Jade is able to convince him to return to the Light and they leave together.
This incident causes Katarn to distance himself from the Force and return to mercenary missions with Jan Ors. In Jedi Outcast, Ors is captured by Desann, a former pupil of Luke Skywalker who has turned to the Dark Side. Katarn believes Desann to have killed Ors, and so he returns to the Valley of the Jedi in an attempt to reconnect to the Force so as to stop Desann. Eventually, it is revealed that Ors' death is a ruse by Desann for the express purpose of having Katarn return to the Valley, so Desann may learn of its location. Desann, in league with the Imperial Remnant, uses the power of the Valley to endow his troops with Force power, before using them to launch an attack on the Jedi Academy. However, Katarn defeats Desann and discovers his true path, becoming a tutor at the academy. In Jedi Academy, Katarn takes on two students: Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin. The protagonist of the game is Jaden, who is dispatched on various peace-keeping missions across the galaxy, sometimes with Katarn, sometimes alone. Jaden eventually encounters a Sith cult led by Tavion (Desann's former apprentice) who plans to restore the Sith to power by using stolen Force energy to resurrect an ancient Sith Lord, Marka Ragnos. After learning that Rosh has betrayed the Jedi and joined Tavion, Jaden may either kill him and turn to the Dark Side or let him live and remain on the Light Side. If Jaden chooses the Dark Side, they kill Tavion, defeat Katarn, and flee with Tavion's staff, which is capable of absorbing the Force. The game ends with Katarn setting out in pursuit of Jaden. If Jaden chooses to spare Rosh, they ultimately defeat both Tavion and the spirit of Ragnos, and are lauded for their actions by Katarn and Luke.
Development