For those who remember the classic Robotron: 2084, Rogue Leader is a remake of that game. The retro style and pixelated graphics perfectly recreate an arcade experience from 1990.
The “star wars rogue squadron” is a game that has been released for the PC, PlayStation 2 and the Xbox. The game was developed by LucasArts and published by LucasArts in 1998. The game’s story takes place during the period between Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
I have a simple inquiry for you. Try to recall your childhood and adolescent years. Try to recall the one time in your gaming career when you said to yourself, “I am seeing the future.” That one time when you were dumbfounded, your mouth dropped, and you wondered if gaming could ever be any better. It may seem to be a challenging task, but the solution is really rather easy to me. That day was Christmas 2002, when I received my first GameCube. It was the day I first started playing Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, and my perception of video games was permanently altered.
What a way to get a game started…
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader was a launch release for the GameCube, which I believe to be Nintendo’s greatest console to date. Sure, it had its flaws, such as the disc’s ridiculous storage capacity and the controller’s absence of a few buttons, which made transferring multiplats to it more difficult than it should have been. The GameCube, on the other hand, won in terms of physical power, Nintendo gimmicks that really worked, third-party support, and a consistent stream of fantastic exclusives. It is still in charge. The great majority of its games are still in excellent condition. Rogue Squadron II is a good example. I’m not saying this (just) through rose-colored glasses; I’m saying it as someone who played it up to 10 minutes before writing this essay. It is the greatest Star Wars game ever made.
It’s hard to discuss Star Wars Rogue Squadron II without first discussing the first. The original Rogue Squadron was a fantastic Nintendo 64 game, but its powers were severely limited. It lacked space fights, had framerates in the single digits at times, and a draw distance that was… amusing. Only a few feet in front of you could be seen. It was a contest that delivered more than its fair share of punches. The idea was there; all Factor 5, the developer, needed was additional horsepower to completely realize its vision. They did a fine job with Battle for Naboo, Rogue Squadron’s Episode I-style pseudo-sequel, but the GameCube’s shockingly robust technology was the answer to the company’s problems.
When the music grows more strong, you can sense the strain.
The date was November 18th, 2001. Consumers can get their hands on the GameCube, as well as a stellar launch lineup that includes Luigi’s Mansion, Crazy Taxi, Wave Race: Blue Storm, and more. However, none of these games were the one killer app accessible at launch. It was Rogue Squadron II from Star Wars. That game wasn’t simply Nintendo demonstrating how much more powerful their new system was than the Nintendo 64. That game, on the other hand, was Ninty’s middle finger to its competitors, demonstrating that the derided purple lunchbox could produce graphics and performance that its competitors could only dream of.
Even before the game began, Nintendo, Factor 5, and LucasArts all wanted to show off and demonstrate their abilities. The opening cinematic, which included Stormtroopers dancing to the Cantina theme music, demonstrated how many characters the GameCube’s technology could produce at once. The Factor 5 logo would then appear, followed by some of the best explosion effects still seen today, as well as amazing MIDI work and an ultra-realistic representation of an X-Wing. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II showed us everything to anticipate from it in a single small cutscene: realistic graphics, amazing soundtrack, and a show-stopping performance.
I seldom, if ever, discuss the design of a game’s main menu, but Star Wars Rogue Squadron II’s menu interface is hard to discuss without discussing its uplifting fanservice. You’re constantly welcomed with footage from the original Star Wars movies, whether you’re in the main menu, the choices screen, or the passcode screen. This is the kind of fanservice that you don’t see anymore. That was beyond epic when I was a youngster and didn’t have access to the original trilogy’s DVDs until their re-release in 2004. The game was telling me that I was ready to immerse myself in the movies I grew up enjoying, as a Star Wars enthusiast. They also know just how to introduce the game’s mechanics.
Instead of celebrating Shadows of the Empire’s Hoth level, you should be praising Rogue Leader’s Hoth level.
In fact, there are two excellent methods. You have two levels to choose from when beginning a new save file. The first is Tatooine Training, a faux open-world instructional area including Jabba’s Palace, Mos Eisley, C3PO’s escape pod, Banthas, womp rats to shoot, and more. Simply fly over certain red symbols, and the announcer, the legendary Denny Delk, will teach you a mechanic or direct you to a minigame. The T-16 Skyhopper isn’t the most thrilling spacecraft to fly, but its low speed and basic handling make it ideal for training. However, this isn’t the game’s official start. Factor 5 has something far bigger in mind.
The first level of the original Rogue Squadron game was located in a quiet environment with simple goals and a laid-back attitude. On the other side, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II begins with the Battle of Yavin. Yes, what was once a bonus task has been enlarged and transformed into an introduction level in the sequel. The first level is suspenseful and grandiose. You just need to demolish a few towers at begin. It’s simple since they’re standing there, but the music elevates the experience of firing at motionless targets. You must fire a couple TIE Fighters in the second section of the level. Again, nothing too challenging here; they’re simply flying about and going about their business, but the sights and music add to the whole experience.
The level’s last section is the cherry on top of a scrumptious cake. The Trench Run is a film based on a true story. The music begins to play. The higher framerate adds to the drama. Lasers are being fired in every direction. Obi-Wan advises you to make use of the Force. Darth Vader attempts to kill you, but Han Solo arrives to save you. The soundtrack grows considerably more suspenseful as you get closer to the trench’s conclusion. You are the only one who can rescue the galaxy. We’re all going to perish if we miss that shot. When you press the secondary fire button and launch the missile into the exhaust port, the game will seamlessly shift from its polygonal elements to an actual movie footage of the Death Star exploding, making the experience even more immersive.
Isn’t it amazing that this game is now twenty years old? Take a look at the graphics.
From then, things only get better. On Hoth, Bespin, Endor, and Yavin IV, we battle. We also battle in space, something that the original Rogue Squadron couldn’t do. When you’re ordered to blow up a Star Destroyer in one of these space levels, Razor Rendezvous, it could be one of the best moments in game history. Every Star Wars game after then has copied that level when it comes to the methods of destroying the ship. It only goes to show how significant Rogue Squadron II was and continues to be.
If the performance wasn’t up to par, it wouldn’t seem as spectacular. The statement that Star Wars Rogue Squadron II is the greatest looking and performing game on the GameCube is not an exaggeration. It looks and runs better than almost every other game on the system, and the fact that it’s a launch title doesn’t hurt the rest of the catalog. That’s how wonderful this game was.
The best fanservice ever placed on… a menu interface? Star Wars Rogue Squadron II may have the greatest fanservice ever put on… a menu interface?
The game that educated me about framerates was Star Wars Rogue Squadron II. Going from the Nintendo 64, where I was fortunate to have a game running at 15 frames per second, to the silky smooth, nearly ridiculous 60 frames per second afforded by Rogue Squadron II the following day was enough to educate a nine-year-old that, sure, the GameCube helped games “go faster.” Sure, it has certain flaws, but the fact that it was able to attain such a level of performance almost two decades ago is something to be proud of. EVEN MORE SO, GIVEN HOW GOOD THE GAME APPEARS TO BE.
Oh, my, the images. This game is just stunning. It was in 2001, and it continues to be now. There are several PS3 and PS4 games that do not have the same visual quality as Star Wars Rogue Squadron II. Sure, they don’t run at 480i like this one, but the art design, animation quality, lighting, degree of detail on each ship, particle effects… everything is flawless. I can play this bad boy on a huge LED screen, the same one I use to play my PlayStation 5, and be blown away by the sights. It holds up well.
Tatooine Training is effectively the first open world level in Star Wars game history, now that I think about it.
I haven’t even mentioned the gameplay yet, yet there are no flaws in my opinion. Not at all. These controls work well. They’re far from realistic, and they don’t attempt to replicate the mechanics of Ace Combat or even Star Wars: Squadrons, but considering the fast-paced, arcade-like style of Star Wars Rogue Squadron II, they fit right in. Per spacecraft, there are only two ways to fire: an endless laser blaster and a finite secondary armament. Proton torpedoes are given to X-Wings, bombs are given to Y-Wings, the tow cable is given to Snowspeeders, cluster bombs are given to Vader’s personal TIE Advanced, and so on.
You may simplify your goals and medal criteria with the assistance of a fresh new targeting computer system that displays whether or not an enemy’s annihilation is required to accomplish a mission. The more you utilize the targeting computer, the worse your score will be, so use it carefully. Use it to educate yourself opponent patterns and placements so you can retry a mission and get a Gold Medal. The more medals you earn, the more hidden levels you’ll be able to access.
Not only can you unlock new levels and ships by playing the game and completing objectives as rapidly as possible, but you can also get a few extra starcrafts by… entering passwords! It was the early 2000s, kids, so relax. Because there were no prizes or accolades, you were free to enter codes and cheat. You were just doing it because you wanted to have some fun with the game. The Naboo Starfighter, the Slave I, TIE Advanced, an Imperial Shuttle, a flying Buick, and everything else from The Phantom Menace could all be unlocked. By the way, I did not make a joke with the final one.
Even by today’s standards, it’s not quite as immersive as Star Wars: Squadrons.
Was there anything in Star Wars Rogue Squadron II that I didn’t enjoy back then or now? There is one unpleasant task, and the difficulty level might be uneven at times, but those are simply personal complaints, not problems. That’s pretty much all, to be honest. My major issue is that it comes to an end. It’s endlessly replayable, yet it does come to an end. Here at, I do my hardest to evaluate a game and uncover defects in a work of art, since perfection should be a difficult goal to accomplish. Star Wars Rogue Squadron II is one of the only games I’ve ever played in which I can’t think of a single flaw. It’s possible that it’ll be ideal.
In 2021, it may be difficult to play Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader in an official capacity, but it is a game worth playing. I can’t believe this behemoth, as well as the GameCube in general, is twenty years old. It’s the apex of Star Wars video games, arguably the finest game for Nintendo’s purple lunchbox, and one of the best games ever. It’s as simple as that. There’s no reason to equivocate. Rogue Leader, I’d like to wish you a happy twentieth birthday. You’re almost perfect, and you’ll always be that way.
As an example:
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Look at them!
Related Tags
- rogue squadron movie
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