6 ‘Star Wars’ Characters Who Deserve Their Own Video Games

Source: Lucasfilm
Source: Lucasfilm

Star Wars is a rich world of ancillary characters and never-ending story opportunities. We’ve seen games take place thousands of years before the films, alongside the films, and after the films. And we’ve had playable characters from Luke Skywalker and Jango Fett to Dash Rendar and Kyle Katarn.

So it’s particularly surprising that some characters have gone decades without a title role in a video game. Sure, some characters make brief playable appearances in side scrollers, or show up as alternate skins on a movie game of some kind. And there are games like Battlefront and Masters of the Teras Kasi that let you play a fighting game and pit Luke against Han (for some reason).

But there are so many opportunities out there. Here are just five of the un-represented characters in the Star Wars world ripe for their own games. We even gave the Disney folks some guidance on what to tell the studios to do with them. This should be easy, like bullseye-ing womp rats in a T-16.

1. Boba Fett

Boba Fett
Source: 20th Century Fox

Boba Fett should already have a video game, and this diatribe should be completely unnecessary, but alas. In 2002 Lucasarts released Bounty Hunter, a puzzle-jumpy gunslinger title featuring Boba’s dad Jango in the titular role. That was an enjoyable game for the most part, though repetitive.

Now we’d like to see Boba in an open-world situation, populated with bounties to hunt and weapons to upgrade. Somewhere between Splinter Cell and Destiny is the perfect blend of heroic and realistic that would do Boba proud. Same would go for a puzzle-jumping cinematic experience like the Arkham series. Point being: There’s a lot you can do with the most notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy — someone just needs to do it.

2. Mace Windu

Source: Lucasfilm
Source: Lucasfilm

Windu actually made an appearance as an alternative-play character in Jedi Power Battles, but we’re not going to count that, in part because Windu was essentially a re-skin option. And that’s not fair to a character who attracted much attention despite a limited presence in the films.

Windu has his own mythology, story arcs, and fighting style, and while we know how his last fight went, we’re a little disappointed that there hasn’t been a game where you can pilot the most badass (remember, Windu single-handedly beat The Emperor and Yoda didn’t) of all the Jedi through wave after wave of baddies.

And to be honest, while a button masher would be great, we’d really like to see something along the lines of Shadows of Mordor or Assassin’s Creed for the purple-saber-wielding Master Jedi.

3. Han Solo

Source: Lucasfilm
Source: Lucasfilm

We love Han, and we love Chewbacca. There are plenty of resources to fill in the (non-canon) blanks of their backstories, but once he meets up with Obi Wan and Luke in the cantina, everything else is pre-ordained. So what about the early years? We could take a cue from the non-canon books and use them to script out a game. We could wait for a rumored Han Solo spinoff film and then buy the maybe-to-come game adaptation.

Or we could demand a “Solo: The Early Years” game, complete with Wookie co-op, high stakes Millennium Falcon card games, and evading the Imperials and the Hutts alike. It would feature changing allegiances, gray-area living, and tons of paths to choose all leading up to the day he shakes hands with Ben Kenobi and puts one in Greedo’s chest cavity.

Oh, and you’d always have the option to shoot first. We promise.

4. R2-D2

Source: Lucasfilm
Source: Lucasfilm

This doesn’t seem like a great idea from the start: one of the least agile characters in the Star Wars universe as a main character in a game. But R2-D2 is at the core of every major film, and countless times he’s the dependable figure who saves Jedi and royalty alike from terrible fates. But without the heroes to look after, perhaps sent on a mission of some sort, R2 doesn’t really lend himself to combat roles.

So what does his game look like? Maybe it’s a bit of everything. R2 is, after all, a piece of technology. He’s upgradable. And you could be in control of building that R2 unit, like a Spore creature. Imagine R2 stuck on a planet and trying to earn credits to hire a transport offworld.

It’s a bit of non-canon silliness, but the idea of R2-D2 roving a heavily populated planet like Coruscant looking for work sounds addictive. Make it a sandbox, where he can hack terminals to steal credits or act as a courier, and suddenly you’ve got an entertaining game full of side quests and alternate endings.

5. Jar Jar Binks: Sith Saboteur

Source: Lucasfilm
Source: Lucasfilm

Before you throw your computer in anger, think about this. A recent fan theory explains the presence of the bumbling, awful, mildly-racist Jar Jar as a Sith agent helping willingly to move the plot along on behalf of Darth Sidious.

If Disney wants to have a bit of fun, a tongue-in-cheek, comically ridiculous game where Jar Jar is a Damien-like saboteur undermining the Jedi at every turn would be fun, especially if done right. Jar Jar could be tasked with sneaking about, while other events are unfolding, and setting traps, or coordinating the right “stroke of luck.” Admit it: You’d play the game just for the death cinematics whenever he’s found out.

Nothing could be more rewarding in a Star Wars game than watching a lightsaber burst through Jar Jar’s chest before his amphibious body falls to the ground. Where’s the pre-order?

6. Yoda

Source: Lucasfilm
Source: Lucasfilm

Yoda has his badass moments, and his fighting style looks perfect for a button-mashing, blade-twirling game. We won’t dispute that, and we encourage any studio considering that game to make it. But what if, instead of a combat-heavy game, we received something totally different from Yoda, focusing on the Dagobah years?

Think about it: an uninhabited, force-sensitive world of plants and wilderness. Animals to tame and master with the Force, landscapes to master and manipulate with the mind. Sounds much like a point-and-click Minecraft, doesn’t it?

We’re not saying the game should be boring: Plenty of enemies could crop up, including roving bands of mercenaries hunting the Jedi master, or Imperial scouts. But consider the things you could do in a truly open-world, nonlinear force-interactive world. Surely in there somewhere is a story-rich plot about communing with the force. And in the meantime, some lightsaber bog monster fights could be fun too.