Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

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Game Title: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Released: April 5, 2022
Game Length: 85 Hours
Grade: A

Setting

Introduction: Traveler's Tales was known for dishing out games year after year - that was until the Pandemic hit. We didn't receive a single game from them for three years. Then in 2022, we received a monster of a game. If Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga was impressive covering six films, wait until you see what Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga had in store. You'll have to collect over 1,000 Kyber Bricks across the vast universe. Though, there seemed to be a vastly different approach than the previous games. The camera would pan close behind the character instead of overhead. The story levels were abbreviated compared to the exploration of the world. The character roster was divided up into roles inside the main menu instead of their own display. The good news is that the game was in exceptional form and had a number of gags to keep you entertained.

Better AI: Traveler's Tales games never really had allies that could help you in a pinch. The fights were meant to be easy to overcome. If at any time you do want to change something in this game, you can browse through the many accessibility features to turn vibration off, health recovery off, target assist off, and fire shots only when you press the trigger button instead of holding it down. While there still isn't that much of a challenge, I've noticed quite an improvement in combat. Your friends can become quite formidable in battle. Borrowing the cover system from Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens, characters will rebuild broken down walls. Scavangers will use their tools. Jedi will use the force. Enemies will taunt you. You can counter moves by pressing the Y-button. People will react to where you shoot them. Hit them in the foot and they will fall down. Hitting them in the head and their helmet will come off. In a rare occurrence, it is possible to have one of your characters' helmet come off.

Details: I give the game a lot of praise for adding all the little touches. Characters will leave trails behind in sand or snow. There is a number of gonk droids with their own personalities. One will be clumsy and fall over all the time. A few will be part of a gonk competition. You can participate with the others in the slide you build over the waterfall. Stunned enemies will either show X-Wings & Tie Fighters or Meat & Bones flying around their head. Every single character involved in a mission has a voice. They will be modified depending on whether or not they have a helmet on. The sounds from mission-givers will change depending on if they are nearby, far away over comms, or inside a smuggling crate. Band members like Max Rebo will have deep smooth voices. You might recognize some of the voices since there are quite a few who have reprised their roles for the game. Musicians can be found playing on the planets after their mission is complete. The Cantina Bar will dismiss the droids in your party. You can see podracers pass the chasm on the outskirts of the planet. There is a huge number of references to animal wildlife like the Woolamander and Runyips. There are missions where you fight mini-bosses like the lava eel, Dianoga, lava fleas, luggabeast, and Krayt Dragon. Watto's mission includes wupiupi currency. There is a reference to the black hole inside the Rishi Maze. There is a reference to the Ewok-Dulok Wars. Although limited, you can ride various animals and vehicles across the planets. You collect actual key chains for ships. There is a meter on how long you have to fire to destroy gold bricks. You can automatically climb up cliffs if you are stopped short. While I normally like to list the idle animations of each and every character, it probably would be better to watch the video to see things like action figures, wookie cookies, music, singing, or admiration for other characters from the minifigures.

Movie References: The jokes in the game can go a little overboard on the perceived humor from the Internet. You will hear the Emperor say, "Let me DO IT." You'll hear Anakin say, "I'm not here just to help the men, but the women and children too." You'll hear Darth Vader say, "Superb and no sand on it, even better." The graffiti will also state "Sand for sissies" on the planet. There is a mission that is all about asking people whether Han Solo or Greedo shot first, depending on which version of the movie you watch. The language that displays in the background and for boss fights can be translated for some humorous references. There are loads more Easter Eggs that reference other movies like how Qui-Gon Jinn says a line from Taken or video games like Metal Gear Solid. They really stretch out the joke about how Chewbacca doesn't get a medal until the very last film. There is a couple missions that explain how Malakili opens a restaurant after losing Jabba the Hutt and his Rancor pet Pateesa. There is a mission where you assist Jabba's pet Salacious B. Crumb in asking around for better jokes. For example: Why did the Sith cross the road? To get to the dark side. There is a mission in building a better wheelbarrow that got destroyed by the rock Rey used while practicing her lightsaber in the film. All the planets are pretty spot on to their film counterparts, including Otoh Gunga, the Death Star ruins, the Great Temple, an expansion to the base in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Imperial Cruiser and overhead nets you see at the Resistance Base, and the Aki-AKi Festival of the Ancestors.

Problems: There are two things that are absent from this game - you are unable to grab people and you cannot customize your character. Beyond that, there are a few odd things that annoyed me. When sneaking underneath the crates, my ally never stopped moving. When Rey was carrying two lightsabers, she couldn't distinguish which side to pull it out from. Some character expressions seem quite random and twitch like a robot's face as seen in Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. You are only able to have one active mission at a time. I found myself revisiting the same planet several times because the mission system doesn't remind you of what could be nearby. A couple missions froze after conversing with a character at the same time it was trying to complete. There were a couple of characters who were obviously female but had a man's voice when you had a chat with them. Your partner would always appear wandering on the planet before your ship lands and sometimes you would switch with your partner when landing on a different planet. Replaying the podracer level after you lose will not save the items you collected beforehand. Your current setup with your ship and characters will not save when exiting the game unless you land on a different planet. I fell through the sand once. I got hooked on a couple objects. Dooku failed to advance during his lightsaber fight on the ship. Bricks inside buildings don't show on the overhead map. You cannot swap out any additional characters that follow you in the story levels. The biggest problem I had was trying to get the Executor capital ship to appear around the planet. And then it interrupted my lightspeed route to a planet somehow. The prompt to take over the ship never appeared. The Porg and Wookie challenges are quite difficult without the mission guide - I only managed 8/20 porgs and 22/33 locations of the wandering wookie before needing to ping the mission to guide me.

Datacards: Contrary to the tradition of collecting specific red bricks for specific rewards, Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga lets you spend them freely on any reward as long as you have the stud count. You will be familiar with some of the rewards as they offer different multipliers, colors, filters, and weapon types. The universal translator is a must-have so you don't have to keep switching to a protocol droid. The Big Head feature makes a return. The pew pew sound effects is cute for awhile when you are using your blasters, lightsabers, and bows. The silly blaster turns your weapon into a paintball gun. The two rather hilarious applications are the Porg or Super Gonk Droid pets that follow you around. Gonk civilians can be quite fun until you notice how they don't apply on characters or mission-givers. The biggest one is the Galaxy Rave that enables lights and sounds over planets and in outer space. Though, you can always buy the Cantina Band music in case the generic music gets too annoying.

DLC

General Information: It is a bit strange to be introducing all these additional character packs when there isn't a way to customize your own character. Any characters that are in these packs won't have any dialogue unless they are paired with some existing ones. Some journalists made fun of a few that were absent from the roster. Others pointed out the ridiculous number of minifigures they could have included from the previous games. Even though the standard edition costs $49.99, you can buy the Deluxe for $59.99 or Galactic for $69.99. Or if you are a real stickler, you can tack on $2.99 for each character pack, $14.99 for either character collection, or $24.99 for all downloadable content. There are no vehicles or exclusive levels. Each character pack includes around five to seven playable minifigures. The selection seems to be rather confusing when there are more prominent figures that could have been chosen, some that are designed quite differently in Lego form, or how the characters were ordered between the release of packs. The Deluxe Edition included an exclusive Luke Skywalker with Blue Milk minifigure along with the first half of these packs. The Galactic Edition has all 13 character packs. So let's cover both character collections.

Character Collection 1: The first seven packs include the classic Lego minfigures, the Trooper versions, Mandalorian Seasons 1 & 2, the Bad Batch, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. The Trooper pack seems like it should have been included in the game until you spot the special sound effects in their weapons and unique counter animations. The Mandalorian packs are pretty decent when their unique character models include huge additions of Ahsoka Tano holding two lightsabers and running twice as fast as the others, Moff Gideon holding the heavy darksaber, and Din Djarin assisted by Baby Yoda hovering around in his capsule that closes his lid when you take aim with your blaster. The Bad Batch is a mixed bag of minifigures that don't quite represent the characters in the series but are still quite fun with how Hunter uses his dagger and the way Wrecker fires his weapon. Rogue One and Solo provide a unique cast of characters all holding out new fancy weaponry (that don't do anything different from what already exists in the game) and unique counters.

Character Collection 2: The last six packs include Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, The Book of Boba Fett, The Clone Wars, Rebels, and Summer Vacation. Obi-Wan Kenobi introduces the whole gang of fancy red lightsabers and Grand Inquisitor's funny idle animation. What's weird is how they included some of the Mandalorian characters here, like the Armorer, and switched out the main character of Boba Fett (Re-armored) into the other set for The Book of Boba Fett character pack. Sadly, Cad Bane is not able to hover like in previous games. The Clone Wars is quite brilliant with its big stars of Captain Rex, Darth Maul, Asajj Ventress, Savage Opress, and Gar Saxon. Star Wars Rebels has a good cast despite not having the best options with Kanan Jarrus (Season 4 when blinded), Ezra Bridger (Season 3 appearance), and Sabine Wren (Season 4 appearance). Summer Vacation is a bit of an oddball to sell, considering how they offered the Holiday versions with online codes. They are based on the animated series (more about that below) with characters wearing their tropical outfits.

Animated Shows

Star Wars All Stars (2019): The style of this series is rather unorthodox as they are told in shorts from the perspective of R0-GR from the Freemaker series. The show was further expanded upon to show the previous and future generations of the Freemakers that take place during the events of the films.

Holiday Special (2020): Rey uses time travel to visit all the great masters of the force during Life Day. It is a humorous adventure that dives into specific moments in history of the entire series. There are some references from the calendar set of 2020. These characters can be unlocked in the game via online codes.

Terrifying Tales (2021): Three stories told in Lego fashion that explains the missing details of the films - Kylo Ren's desire to be with a cool biker gang (which is a parody on how things are told in the comics), how Darth Maul returned, and if Luke Skywalker gained the power to do what he wanted from the beginning. There is also a main portion of the film about Poe meeting up with the mysterious figure (who is seen during the scene of Rogue One).

Summer Vacation (2022): Finn gets visited by three Jedi masters of old as they tell their stories. Obi-Wan sings a song to distract Jabba the Hutt. Anakin Skywalker talks about his adventure with the Emperor on the sands of Scarif. Princess Leia tells of Ben Solo's rebellious nature when Han Solo tries to take him on a trip. There is a character pack you can purchase for some of these playable characters in the game. Some can be found in the calendar set of 2022. There are some really funny gags like BV-RJ "human cyborg libations" and a cameo from Weird Al.

Gameplay

Features: There are a total of 9 episodes with 5 levels each. From those 45 levels, the environments are based on several factors. The sequences include 5 chases, 12 lightsaber fights, 7 vehicle battles, 5 arenas, and 16 open area zones. Each level has a total of 5 mini-kits that gradually construct a specific micro vehicle. Each level also has a total of 3 challenges that highlights alternate pathways, different ways of taking down your enemies, or completing levels as efficient as possible. This includes finishing a level within a set time, firing accurately, or making sure you aren't detected.

Story: The way the main campaign is setup is quite contrary to how Traveler's Tales handled games beforehand. You can begin any of the three trilogies and unlock the following movies upon completion. Before, the original games only had around 12 levels. The length of the levels became so long that they began allotting different segments, chapters, or acts to be revisited from that level. However, Lego Skywalker completely breaks apart those portions so that each one identifies as their own level. This makes for some extremely short gameplay as each level can be rushed through in a matter of minutes to around ten minutes (for challenge completion). Instead of expanding the hidden sections of a level when you replay them, the levels are designed to offer you a choice between different sections to advance. This can include things like using a scoundrel to shoot a power console or using a droid to access the control pad. You might build a turret to take down a droid or construct a giant magnet to catch it on your second playthrough. You can use a Jedi to pull a lever in the distance or use an astromech droid to pull down the force field. It adds some replayability to compensate for the shorter gameplay.

Collectibles: So instead of the developers building up these levels, they cycle the story between action-packed sequences and a casual stroll through a location on a planet. This is where it gets extremely messy and overwhelming in figuring out what is available to you. There are 225 Minikits that unlock 45 microships (I managed 156 and only unlocked 15), 135 Level Challenges (I completed 92), 140 side missions, 765 puzzles, 38 trials, and 10 general challenges. Trials, challenges, and side missions will reward a mix of characters, ships, and kyber bricks. Story levels will unlock a kyber brick per each of the three stud-collecting tiers, upon receiving all 5 minikits, as well as completing all three challenges. Although there are 24 planets, you can visit the space outside the planet, travel or taxi to more than one location on the planet (or none in Kijimi's case as it is self-contained in a story level), or go on board any of the nine capital ships. Kyber comets can be destroyed around each planet's orbit for five kyber bricks each. There is further 19 Datacards (or red bricks if you are old fashioned) that can be used to unlock special abilities. In the beginning, you will only have access to about a third of the content. As you unlock more abilities and planets, you'll be able to reach more of the obscure ones. The other third will have interconnecting stories that will unlock once you complete specific missions. For example, the Jawa's Guild will only provide you one quest at a time and the Scholar will have you track down artifacts once you find a way into her place.

Missions: Contrary to how puzzles reward kyber bricks within the planet, missions can expand to the far reaches of the universe and can reward both characters and ships. The missions are all very nicely built in which you converse with a character, talk with characters along the way, and generally finish it in a way that unlocks the very items seen within the mission. Most outer space missions will reward you a pilot character. Droids asking you to deliver messages will reward you astromechs. Sadly, some of these can get excruciatingly repetitive. Sometimes you will need to select a Scoundrel to smuggle a crate behind your ship through several waves of enemies. Others will require you to select a Bounty Hunter to track down things. There is a list of missions that require you to track down several objects that span over multiple locations. Thankfully for every one mission that sends you on an errand, there is usually another that will be fun and entertaining.

Puzzles: Puzzles, when considered in the game's sense, is a place where you can collect a kyber brick. You can hear rumors on where to find one of these blue rewards from a stranger or buy what they say outright within the menu interface. Once you become aware of them, selecting any of the collectibles in the interface will provide you waypoints to their location in the game world. Pay attention to the title of the rumor as they are filled to the brim with humorous puns. While there is a variety of different puzzles, the planets will usually follow the same template. They will have one that requires you to shoot four targets within a time limit. There is usually some buttons that need to be pressed either in sequence, with the help of droids, splitting apart protocol droids, or placing down objects (usually by using force powers). Some will require you to use consoles or scavanger tools. A few will be expertly hidden away with a secret pathway somewhere to reach them. There is one puzzle that will require you to look around the environment for specific lights. Some will require you to slot power cells or security cards that can be found nearby. Maybe you might need to use some force powers to piece together a portrait or build a ramp. Each planet will have their own unique puzzle challenging enough to provide you a clue for a price from a nearby astromech droid. Some puzzles will automatically reward the kyber brick upon completion if you do not physically retrieve it after a few seconds. There will definitely be some that will surprise you and test your awareness of the environment.

Ships

Movement: Flying in outerspace can be quite tricky. You are able to turn 360 degrees and rotate your ship using the right analog stick. A part of me wishes there was an option to enter 1st-person mode with the camera inside the cockpit. Your ship will be moving at a snail's pace if nothing is happening around you or a quarter-full once you engage in combat. All ships have the same speed. So, a freighter is just as flexible as a Tie Fighter. Pressing either the left bumper or right bumper will cause your ship to evade enemy fire behind you with a spin. You can press both bumpers as you are flying upward to do a 180 degree rotation. Pressing both bumpers while flying in any other direction will flip your ship. There are a couple of ships that act slightly different than others. For an example, the B-Wing will reflect how the actual ship rotates around the cockpit by randomly moving its wings and tucking them in while flying around. Count Dooku’s Solar Sailer will have its sail open when in outer space.

Travel: You can highlight any nearby location and press the A-button when the prompt appears to travel. However, it is quite convenient to open your universe map and travel directly to your destination without physically running to your ship. There will never be a need to select a specific ship to travel. Doing this while inside a capital ship will bring it along with you. There is no need to hop through planets and the wait time is the same no matter how far you travel. Only a certain set of engines will light up during hyperspace when you pitch your ship up or down. Your Lego ship will make the necessary adjustments by folding in its wings, pulling out the landing gear, and opening up the cockpit for you to jump in and out of. This is noticeable in the Lambda-Class shuttles, X-Wings, and Darth Maul’s Scimitar. Because of how Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle is built in Lego, the wings actually bend inward instead of down into itself. Also, the Vulture Droids land on the tips of their wings and tilt their head forward.

Combat: You'll find yourself tearing through enemy ships relatively easy when they physically split apart a few seconds later after firing upon them. Though, I don't think the game becomes any more enjoyable if you decide to turn off the auto-assist features. You can upgrade your shield potential from the Hero category or firepower in general. These upgrades do not help micro-ships as they have a maximum of one shield bar and limited firepower. All ships, including the escape pods and transport vehicles, have torpedoes and can fire in space (the H-type Nubian Yacht being the exception). Each ship has their set of cannons, firing speed, aiming reticle, sequence of fire, color of shots, and sound effects. The firepower can also be drastically different between the ships, such in the case of an enemy falling from a single shot in the Ghost. Ships known for their bombing capability, like the B-Wing, Y-Wing, Tie Bomber, and HMP Droid Gunship, have an infinite supply of torpedoes and generally fire slower. Contrary to the description, the MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 does not move slower than the other vehicles, has infinite torpedoes, and alternates fire with its whopping four cannon spread. In the same sense, the U-55 Orbital Loadlifter does indeed have shields and a single cannon. Who you can target depends on the faction of your pilot and not the ship. This can cause some hiccups where it's possible to fire upon mission-givers.

Capital Ships: Depending on how you play the game, you might be surprised to find a giant ship orbiting around the planet. There seems to be an unusually amount of confusion in the forums on how to make certain ones appear. They appear after you complete certain story levels, after winning a series of space battles, only in specific locations, and if the game decides to bring one in. Some are unlocked through missions. I personally had a problem trying to invoke the Executor to appear around Bespin or Tatooine so much that the tooltip would pop-up telling me to try some place else. To obtain the ones in orbit, you must take down their defences, land inside, and defeat their captain. Then you can enjoy hearing some passive aggressive comments from people or over the intercom, collect some kyber bricks, or converse with the wandering wookie. Perhaps the coolest addition is how your capital ship can be seen in orbit while you are down on the planet. Once you do manage to snag one, generically-named capital ships will sometimes appear around orbit if you wish to repeat the encounter.

Features: While I did mention a few exclusive details about the ships, there are several other tidbits I should mention. The Galaxy's Edge Transport Ship is unlocked with the code: SHUTTLE and Razor Crest Mandalorian Ship is unlocked with the code: ARVALA7. There are three Millennium Falcons that all reflect the multiple changes it had over the years. Each one has a different dish as it had to be replaced each time it was destroyed. Despite the multiple changes that were made between owners, its escape pod is not attached to the ship and can be flown separately. While all of the engines in the Tie series sound the same, the Tie Interceptor is much quieter than the rest. The First Order ships fire green instead of the traditional red color. Jango Fett's ship does not come equipped with its iconic sonic depth charges. Your character can be seen hopping into the cockpit before take-off and inside the ship during flight, sometimes with their whole body poking out like in the case of IG-2000.

Jedi & Sith

Traits: The first category of characters we are going to cover are the force-users. This includes both "Jedi" and "Dark Side" characters. Unlike how other characters generally utilize a blaster, these can use a lightsaber in battle. They can reflect bullets by pressing the Left Trigger to guard their blade or throw the entire thing at a target using the Right Trigger. Holding down the Right Trigger button allows you to queue up multiple targets. Your characters are considered "agile" and can climb up poles. You can "climb" specific hooks by piercing your lightsaber into the wall and moving along a predestined path. Unlike how you used to cut along a dotted line in the previous games, you can now cut open the entire wall as long as you enclose the line (no matter the size).

Force: Your force powers have many uses. Pressing the B-button will initiate a destructive force push. Holding the B-button allows you to pick up the objects. Pressing the B-button again will drop your object or pressing the Right Trigger button will throw it. You have the ability to stack chests, build objects by levitating the pieces in the air, bend structures, and pull levers from a distance. Holding down the Y-button will allow you to either "Influence" people by taking control of them as a character (while the head of your character still shows on the screen), "Panic" by having them run and attack at anything that moves, or "Distract" by allowing them to dance in place. You may switch between the "mind tricks" without losing control of your character.

Jedi Personality: Any of the characters that you encounter through the story levels will generally make references to the more well-known lines from the movies. Ben will mention how he's good, Rey will show how naive she is with the current situation, Obi-Wan likes to greet people, and Yoda still splits his sentences. Yarael Poof can be rescued from a mission on Kamino when he gets mistaken as one of the scientists - he is very vocal when you unlock him. Kit Fisto actually makes references to his tendrils and some things about his home world being an ocean planet. Jocasta Nu will amusingly reference how she watches the Archives and mention Obi-Wan's Beard Techniques holocron. Barriss Offee will reflect her attitude from the Clone Wars series about keeping things away from the council while Mace Windu states how things can benefit them.

Dark Side Personality: On top of the Jedi standard abilities, those from the "Dark Side" have the added perks of initiating fear to those around them and slowly choking people when they grab hold of them. Darth Vader has his signature breathing. Rey (Sith version) will say how she has become evil and hiss at you. The Chancellor will be carrying his gold lightsaber in a couple variants. Snoke surprisingly is the only one that doesn't wield a lightsaber; he instead has the unique opportunity to shoot lightning sparks at people after jumping. Even The Emperor (unlocked with the code: SIDIOUS) merely adds electrical effects in his lightsaber for his ground smash. At least he has the cool effect of transforming his lightsaber into a cane (Yoda's cane disappears when pulling out a lightsaber and properly sheaths it to his side afterwards).

Combo Dialogue: When you decide to pick two specific characters, there is a chance to find them having little conversations. While this happens with quite a few characters, there seems to be a large amount of them centered around the relatively small number of evil characters available. Obi-Wan Kenobi will mention how Maul appears a little taller. General Grievous will admire Maul's unique lightsaber, talk to Count Dooku, greet Obi-Wan, and ask for Luke's lightsaber. When Palpatine mentions about Darth Plagueis the Wise, Anakin or Darth Vader will mention how annoying the story is. When Palpatine mentions how he is the Senate, Jar Jar Binks will respond accordingly. Kylo Ren will have multiple conversations with Rey and Han Solo depending on which variants you use. Darth Vader has several conversations with the Emperor, Count Dooku, Kylo Ren, Young Anakin, Lando Calrissian, Obi-Wan, and Luke Skywalker. The Emperor will also have a fun conversation with Yoda.

Fighting Style: Each character is hand-crafted with the right colored blade and fighting style. Their move sets get more complex as you alternate between strikes, using the force, and jumping. They usually get more flashier when spinning around, rotating their body, and moving their lightsaber through the air depending on how you move during combat. There are technically only around 30 characters total (not counting their variants) and about a dozen different fighting styles (using various lightsaber stances). Considering my ignorance on the subject, I've tried my best to sort them out the best I can. They are:

  • Playful (Form V): Luke Skywalker (and Luminara Unduli) will withdraw their blade and briefly spin the lightsaber into the air after a single strike. They will hold their lightsaber lower to the ground and cross their body with the blade (as seen in the iconic pose from the movie). They do not twirl the lightsaber when guarding like the others but do throw their lightsaber to the ground instead of piercing through it. You are able to equip Yoda in Luke's backpack variant and listen to him panic as you move around.
  • Stern: Jocasata Nu and Ki-Adi-Mundi are a couple of characters who are very patient with their stance. They will hold their blade straight up like a knight and pierce the blade perfectly straight down into the ground. They will wait for their blade to slowly retract before attaching the hilt to their waist.
  • Aggressive (Ataru form): Anakin Skywalker likes to hold his lightsaber down and to the right with only his right hand. He tends to keep the lightsaber in front of his body with each strike. This also includes his "Dark Side" variants, although they hold the additional evil perks. Darth Vader's form is slightly different with how he points it the other way across his feet.
  • Standard (Shii Cho form): Many characters like Qui-Gon Jinn and Shaak Ti (which can be obtained using the code VT1LFNH) will perform in a way you expect every Jedi to act. They hold their lightsaber in a typical fashion and swing it in a more reformed manner.
  • Inexperienced: This mostly revolves around how Rey holds the lighsaber in a very unorthodox way. Without the proper training, she lunges it forward and radically swings it around without tact. To use her traditional yellow lightsaber that's seen in the introduction of the game, use the base version of her without a variant.
  • Defensive (Soresu form): Obi-Wan's form might be similar to the others but you'll notice only he holds the blade over his head after he performs a single strike (even when performing a ground smash).
  • Reserved: This revolves around Obi-Wan's much older form where he hugs the blade close to the chest no matter how he swings it. You'll rarely see him expend any energy swinging the lightsaber around.
  • Sharp: This mostly revolves around Kylo Ren (or Ben Solo) with how he still uses the lightsaber like his own personal sawblade. You'll see him twirl the blade while attacking, jumping, and even right before he withdraws it onto his waist. He uses his signature "sword" red lightsaber when part of the dark side and the standard blue one seen when being redeemed in Episode 9.
  • Alert (Vaapad form): Mace Windu (and Kit Fisto to some effect) have a more guarded stance. They like to lower themselves closer to the ground and slant the blade out in a way as if they were ready for battle. Their attacks are slightly different than the others with how it covers their body with every swing.
  • Speed (Form IV): Both Yaddle and Yoda (https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Yoda%27s_species species unknown) have more vibrant attacks with the way their bodies align with standard humans. They will hop around in the air and tend to be easier in performing maneuvers other members aren't capable of doing.
  • Contention (Makashi): Count Dooku likes to show off how he uses his bent lightsaber with only his right hand. Other than Snoke, he is the only one that shoots electricity at the ground.
  • Moderation (Niman): Darth Maul is well-known for using a double-bladed lightsaber, but his moves are much more reserved than what you expect in the game. He does have some fancy spinning while in the air and likes to perform a little kick in his third attack. The evil version of Rey that is shown from the mirror in the movies is showcased here as well. Her extended blades with some really fancy sound effects neatly bend like nunchucks when she pockets them.

Heroes

Abilities: Heroes are one of the types that use their grapple gun to reach certain areas. Except for a select few, they use their grapple gun for their ground smash abilities as well. One exception for example is Leia (Jabba's Palace) in how she instead uses her gold chains when attacking directly underneath her (which is hinted at how she jingles when she walks). They have access to Hero consoles. They have the rare opportunity to equip armor pieces that fall off the enemy. Once fully equipped with all three disguise items, they essentially become the opposing faction and are able to use their consoles or equipment.

Characters: There are around a dozen pilots with some interesting dialogue. Ello Asty is very vocal about his skills, Temmin Wexley (obtained by entering the code: SKYSAGA) makes jokes about how Snap is his nickname, Wedge Antilles makes childish ship sounds, Wrobie Tyce is a mature pilot, and Zev Senesca makes it clear he is from Rogue Two. There are a dozen "good" clone troopers with a variety of guns. However, the two commanders are the only ones who will converse. There are a few Gungans that use booma-shooting staffs, a couple wookies that love slamming their body into the ground, and Bail Organa that seems to be the only one that can't use a weapon. There is a laundry list of interesting characters: Roe Tico who looks very mature in her Episode 9 variant, Nien Nunb who still speaks alien but talks about his days no longer being a co-pilot, Leia (Ewok Village) having her free-flowing dress and hair that moves like jelly, Captain Antilles joking about finding the Death Star plans, Boolia saying how he "spies" stuff when he didn't last very long in Episode 9 after passing on the information, and Finn's bacta suit that actually leaks water. Then there are these few that need special mentioning:

  • Admiral Holdo (obtained using the code XV4WND9) rolls into enemies and happens to fire purple blaster shots that match the color of her hair. Seeing three of them during the story mode is actually a play on how often her hair color changes throughout the series in other mediums.
    Beaumont Kin brings up his actor's role in Lord of the Rings when he talks about "second breakfast" and bringing "meat back on the menu" during his mission.
  • Jannah has an affro, uses her bow and arrow instead of a blaster, has some fancy dialogue, does this weird hand-raising gesture when moving, and throws her arrow back into a quiver when pressing the B-button.
  • Jar Jar Binks wildly swings his body around even in his Senator version and occasionally throws out his tongue too. Since he is a gungan, he also uses a special stick that shoots out boomas.
  • Luke Skywalker sounds incredibly naive with how he expressively talks about blue milk and his time at the moisture farm. He is very unique in the way he reacts to how his fist hurts after smashing it to the ground and fires a single blaster shot while in the air. He also spins the blaster in his hand after a single shot, similarly to how he spins his lightsaber.

Villain

Characters: There is about a dozen officers. Rose Tico carries around a taser that can be used by pressing the B-button between strikes. There are seven battle droids that all scrunch up when smashing the ground. There are around 40 different types of Stormtroopers. All the pilots have lights that blink on their chest. The heroes all in disguise carry their original traits and dialogue. Out of all of the troopers, the non-variant Stormtrooper is the only one that has any dialogue. Most of these characters are mere cosmetic variants with a few sporting better weapons. For example, the "First Order Cold Weather Assault Trooper" is "First Order Snowtrooper" with a cape. The commanders will be carrying a mini-gun blaster. The Sandtrooper Sergeant and Stormtrooper (Squad Leader) both carry a gun in each hand that provides you twice the firerate. Three characters use sticks: Emporer's Royal Guard, Sovereign Protector, and Ushar (though his doesn't flow with electricity). Other characters with weapons include: Ap'Lek (giant axe), Captain Phasma (spear), Fn-2199 (uses electric stick that he hops on with a ground smash), First Order Flamethrower, Trudgen (orc-blade), and Vicrul (very noisy raptor-claw). First Order Jet Trooper & Sith Jet Trooper both use jetpacks that enable them to hover in the air for a few seconds. You can continue to hover by switching the A-button to the Left Trigger while in the air. One shoots rockets while the other uses a blaster.

General Grievous: The one anomaly in this category requires a whole paragraph to explain. Grievous has a horrible backstory where his vital organs were implanted into a powerful new robotic body. His standing in the army appropriately gives him the Villain perks. However, he became a skilled lightsaber duelist under Count Dooku's guidance. His fighting style might not match up with other Jedi, but being able to use four lightsabers at once with his extended arms is definitely intimidating. He cannot use the force and thereby uses a blaster for ranged combat. His ground smash takes an additional second to prepare. You can initiate his signature lightsaber fan maneuver by continuously pressing the B-button after a single strike. Pressing the B-button after your second strike will add a large kick to his combo. While I did see him once crawl on all four limbs at a time, I was unable to replicate it.

Scavengers

Abilities: Scavengers are what you might consider as your crafters. They are still agile enough to swing from the bars, but they don't use their staffs to slot those holes anymore. You can upgrade Scavengers to be much faster climbers. Holding the B-Button will allow you to equip one of three different devices. The first is the Breaker Blaster which is not only a very useful weapon but can be used to break down puzzle walls. You can equip the glider to cross short gaps. The third, you can equip a Net Launcher that allows you to climb up certain areas and fire at targets to immobilize them. There is a fun option in the upgrade menu for more colorful versions of these items.
Characters: There are five ewoks with their own fascinating long sticks. Each one has a bow and arrow for ranged combat. They will use their belly to slam against the ground. Teedo carries only his staff. Tusken Raider uses his staff and shotgun blaster. The Jawa can be unlocked after helping the extremely long chain of missions returning their broken droids. He carries the traditional Lego stun gun with round blue shots. Rey's Episode VII & Grey Vest carries a staff while her Starkiller Base variant has her using a lightsaber before she learns how to use the force.

Protocol Droids

Abilities: Although these droids appear worthless without the use of weapons, they are extremely handy for many reasons. They can access and store password keys in their database that later can be used to open security doors. They can turn on a fire alarm to clear the room, turn off security alarms, access turrets, and take control of other droids. They can split into two separate characters (voluntarily or by another character) with control of their top and bottom halves. This allows them to travel through tight passageways or be thrown as physical objects. These two elements must reassemble before switching to another character. You can upgrade to the point that all blaster shots, including your own, will always bounce off the droid. Their separation technique can be upgraded to do additional damage. While they are needed to translate alien languages, it is much more convenient buying the universal translator perk with a datacard so that it automatically happens without the presence of the protocol droid. While each of the 14 protocol droids (including the holiday special variant unlocked via code) have a fascinating story attached to them, only C-3PO has any sort of dialogue.

Astromechs

Characters: Most of these astromechs are recolored droids that have helped serve Naboo. A bunch of these are unlocked by delivering messages to characters on the planets. R2-KT has a fascinating backstory where she was added as a tribute to the costume designer's daughter that was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She can be unlocked in the touching mission as the "Droid with the Heart of Gold" rescuing a few members from danger. You do have BB-8 and his crate disguise. His nemesis BB-9E is also present. You'll spot a good description of R5-D4's sacrifice at the beginning of Episode 4. R2-D2 is pretty hilarious with how the glasses he carries in his waiter variant is always on the brink of falling off his tray or his messy swamp variant. Poe's girlfriend Zorii Bliss has the turquoise colored K3-R1. The more obscure droid of R5-2JE was nicknamed Too-Jay for Episode 9.

Abilities: Astromechs are commonly used for accessing terminal sockets. While it is possible to be ignored by enemies, it can be extremely fun distracting people with a hologram of a character. Depending on your upgrade status, you can cause people to laugh with Jar Jar Binks, be fearful of Darth Vader, or run in terror with an image of the Emperor. These holograms will occasionally spout famous lines from the movies. They can use their grapple to climb up walls. Their attacks are rather limited but can shock people with some electricity. Characters can "mount" on these droids - those that are controlled by the player or those found in the world (like during a Gonk mission). Mounted droids may continue to attack enemies while someone is on top of them.

Scoundrels

Abilities: Scoundrels, or smugglers as I sometimes still refer them as, are characters with a lot of flair. You can upgrade them to slide, fire while sliding, or charge up a shot that will bounce around the room. None of these things really improve your situation, but they can be extremely entertaining in the middle of battle. Despite the fact that almost every mission that unlocks these iconic characters is worth it, their charged shot holds them back from doing any consistent damage no matter what versatile weaponry they personally use. If you can upgrade their shots to hurt enemies behind cover, what's so beneficial of bouncing a shot around the room? If you get bored, you can always take Lando Calrissian's (Jabba Palace) axe for a spin. The one ability these guys have is how they can "sense" power consoles and follow the line back to the source.

Bounty Hunters

Abilities: When you want a job done right, you can put your trust in these characters. They have the ability to highlight all enemies with a red outline, even behind walls. You can upgrade scattered shots when accuracy isn't your thing. Although their stun grenade doesn't quite break open silver objects like the Villains, it does bring down droideka's shields. Besides, they are the only ones that can break open gold objects with their blaster fire.

Characters: While these perhaps are the best to have in combat, they can also be a quite chatty bunch. Since 4-LOM is technically a protocol droid, his movements will be a little more stiff. IG-88 functions like a battle droid and has some narly kung-fu arm action when pressing the B-button in combat. Leia is in disguise and uses an electric staff in her attacks. Bazine Netal uses her grappling gun in her smash attacks. Each of these characters have a chance to rope their enemies around when pressing the B-button in the middle of combat. The ones that outshine them all is how Boba Fett and Jango Fett make use of their jetpacks in the air, when jumping side-to-side, or use their helmet in a ground smash attack. The one difference between the two is how Boba Fett comes equipped with a flamethrower when pressing the B-button after an attack.

Extras

The General: There are approximately 80 Extra characters to choose from if you include the seven unlocked with codes. Six of them will function like standard battle droids. There are around thirty who are essentially civilians with absolutely no weapons. Half of them will converse with you. About a third will have some additional feature like how Oola jingles when she moves or Sith Acolyte leaves behind red residue in his strikes. There are a few who do utilize weapons like Jubnuk, the Gamorrean Guard who squeals while falling into the Rancor pit, or Weequay (species name, not actual name) carries an axe. Luke Skywalker uses a staff and can yank people over him in combat with the force. Bobbajo carries around a backpack with a couple snakes poking their heads out. Klaud, that weird creature you see in the Millennium Falcon in Episode 9, uses his head and feet since he has no arms.

The Large: There are a few who behave differently because of their stature. Jabba the Hutt and Mama the Hutt (as seen in Clone Wars) are two giant disgusting figures that make slimy sounds when they move and use their tongue in battle. They also make some of the most comical sounds when hopping around. Jabba's language still needs to be paraphrased when he speaks. Grummgar and Wampa move similarly to the Hulk in previous Lego games. The Rancor may not be able to grab enemies but he certainly destroys things as he stomps around like one of the dinosaurs in the previous games. He sports the metal tag in his left ear and dangle chains (that actually make jingle sounds) in his right claw. You can collapse smaller objects when you run into them. If you enter into smaller areas, the AI will automatically switch to a more appropriately-sized figure.

The Unusual: A few characters simply stand out from the others. Anakin Skywalker uses one of four different utensils to throw and use in his ground smash. He pulls out a black wrench with the B-button and throw out brown jars. Babu Frik is so tiny that he can fit into droid tunnels, attack and spin with the B-button during his attack, somehow still launch characters into the air, and incapable of mounting on anything. Han Solo (Carbonite) is essentially a walking brick that swings wildly around in every attack. Poggle the Lesser and Watto both have wings that cycle through their own preset animation. Poggle's staff is only seen while moving and disappears the moment he starts attacking. Watto's nose is so big that it slides down the side of his face when he glides through the area. The wacky moves Salacious B. Crumb does and how Sebulba walks with his arms and attacks with his feet line are both interesting to watch. Ubbla Mollbro lets out a singing note in her third strike. Willrow Hood is sort of an inside joke with that ice cream maker of his.

Praetorian Guards: There are four guards you can choose from. Two of them use different spear weapons. They pierce their blades through the ground in their smash. The Seventh Guard can split his dagger into two and swing them around with a connecting yellow electrical beam. That cute little lantern that the Third Guard carries is actually quite deadly when he pulls out the hidden chain in his strikes.

The Droids: There are around 15 droids that need special mentioning:

  • The B2 Super Battle Droid is a lot more flexible than what you know from the movies. He can jump around, move his arms like a human, and perform ground smashes. He can use a grenade and use his rapid blaster fire. In the middle of an attack, using a B-button will cause him to fire blindly in front of him.
  • D-O is a very small droid and has an alternate holiday version with a hat. He can squeeze into tunnels and roll around smoothly with that wheel of his. While his speech is limited like that in the movies, he will react with "ouch" when getting hurt. His attacks consist of spinning his head around.
  • Droideka's Lego model might not be exactly what you remember from the original trilogy. He functions like what you expect by rolling across the landscape, generating shields when in position, and rapidly fires his blaster. If you hold down the aim button, he will be able to crawl around without transforming into a ball. He has his own set of double jumps and ground smashes.
  • Gonk Droids are about what you expect from a useless droid. They use their bodies in every attack.
  • IG0101 MagnaGuard Droid carries around an electric staff. It is too bad that you are unable to guard or wield the weapon like a lightsaber. He can throw a grenade. His movements reflect his ability to move individual body parts. Notice how his head remains still as his body moves around.
  • Imperial Probe Droid is a lot cuter than the one you see on Hoth. He can attack with his little arms, swing around like a round clothes rack, and fire from that little red eye of his. You'll hear the fun sound effects from the film. It's also quite fun to see him blow off his top when you collect a kyber brick.
  • At first, LC-24 seems like an impressive robot. He is one you will see in the background for a couple seconds taking care of the fire from the Millennium Falcon about 15 minutes in the film. Unfortunately, he might as well be described as a bigger Gonk Droid without the chance of firing anything.
  • If you are like me and wondering where in the Star Wars universe Mister Bones comes from, you'll be comforted to know that he comes from the novels. He is a battle droid with the bones and scars showing off his unique nature. He pulls out a blade in his attacks and throws a grenade.
  • I don't think anyone will be choosing a mouse droid to fight. He does do flips in the air but does not carry around that giant laser you had during the Battle Droid mission. Though, the cute sounds might make him appealing enough to travel through the landscape.
  • The Pit Droid sound effect will probably keep you away from using him over any length of time, but his movements is something special to admire. He doesn't simply scrunch up his body like a battle droid. The actual Lego pieces vividly move with the black long piece piercing through his top when he falls to the ground or how his eye rotates 360 degrees. He also takes off his head pieces and use them against the enemy in one of his attacks.
  • There is a redeeming quality in carrying Roger around. That dialogue and modified body parts will bring back some memories of the animated series. Although he doesn't have any weapons or that fancy backpack with the Makers logo on it, you might enjoy having him around for some time.
  • Sith Probe Droid shines the most as a tiny floating death sphere. His little antennae is pretty fun to watch as he hobs along or spins in the air. You can even "evade" while aiming. He fires a single blaster shot from one of his eyeballs and explodes rather spectacularly in a pile of burning ash.

Summary

Review: Lego Skywalker is a monster of a game. You are able to collect over a thousand bricks on or in orbit around 24 planets. There are 9 capital ships that you can engage, board, and take control of after fighting their captain. While there are now 45 levels covering 9 films, the total amount of time it takes you to complete them is no different than the standard 15 levels you see in other games of the series. While you are unable to create your own custom character or grab enemies, there is still a long list of fun characters to choose from. There are an abundance of puzzles, missions, and achievements to keep you busy. I only wished that they would have cut down a little on the waves of enemies you have to fight when traversing through outer space, reminded you to collect scattered artifacts when you were on a planet, or improved the character roster. I most certainly recommend this game.

 

3-20-2023