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Here’s an interesting question: If the subject of a really good remaster is a bad game, does that mean the remaster is also bad, or just a good way to experience the original flawed product? That’s the question I’ve been pondering since playing Star Wars: Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles.
Launched 25 years ago on the original PlayStation, Jedi Power Battles is a beat ‘em up that includes co-op, platforming, and vehicle segments. As you slice and dice droids and criminals, you experience a condensed retelling of 1999’s The Phantom Menace. And uh, the game wasn’t very good, with clunky combat and bad platforming segments. But, that hasn’t stopped Jedi Power Battles from returning in 2025 via a newly released remaster.
Developed by Aspyr, the same studio behind last year’s Star Wars Bounty Hunter remaster, this new and improved version of Jedi Power Battles is out now on basically every platform under the sun. And like the original it includes local co-op as well as multiple characters (include non-Jedi ones) to play as, and 10 levels to work through.
As you would expect, Aspyr has visually upgraded Jedi Power Battles, too. So you get improved textures, better looking menus, and increased performance, which is much appreciated as the original PlayStation game looked rough and played poorly. (I should know, last year I streamed and beat the original.) This spiffy port also includes new characters to play as and all the original unlockable characters now included right from the get go.
And all the remastered aspects of this new port are great. In fact, this is a perfect version of Jedi Power Battles. It includes everything, looks great, runs well, and also features nice bonus features that will make super Star Wars nerds (like me) happy. For example, you can swap Mace Windu’s lightsaber color from the original, inaccurate blue seen in the game to a perfect purple. If you want to play Jedi Power Battles in 2025, this is the way to do so. No question about it.
However, I would point out that I’m not sure anyone really wanted to replay Jedi Power Battles 25 years later. I mean, sure, there are probably people who grew up with this game and have nostalgia for it. I was one of those kids who played hours and hours of this game back in 2000. But whenever I return to it, most recently to play this remaster, I find a bad, clunky game. Combat feels stiff and unresponsive; enemies take way too many hits; levels, like the section on Coruscant, go on forever and feel miserable. Playing in co-op is a bit more fun and some boss fights are entertaining, but overall Jedi Power Battles is a bad game that would have been forgotten if it weren’t connected to Star Wars.
So where does that leave the remaster of Jedi Power Battles? Well, if you are really desperate for a new couch co-op Star Wars game—which there aren’t many of—then you might have a fine time. For everyone else, well, I’d recommend only buying and playing this remaster if you are super nostalgic for the original game. Just be warned: You likely won’t enjoy Star Wars: Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles as much in 2025 as you did in 2000.
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Kurt Indovina
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