Gameboy Advance - Lego Star Wars

Format
Gameboy Advance
Publisher
Eidos Interactive
Developer
Griptonite Games
Country of origin
US
Genre
3rd person adventure

LEGO Star Wars

By David Rasmussen
17th Jul 05

The Summer of 2005. It’s been kind of a Star Wars summer, hasn’t it?
Sure, Fantastic Four just hit and the 6th Harry Potter book (Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince) hits shelves shortly with the fourth movie (Harry Potter & the Box Office Sales of Fire… I mean Goblet of Fire) coming in November due soon with it’s only present competition being the long in coming Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to contend with. But still, with all the promotionals going in the past weeks to Star Wars (with Fantastic Four only really “catching fire” recently public relations blitz wise) it has been at least partially a Star Wars summer.

Since it’s the end of the Pre Trilogy with Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, we’ve been bombarded with more Star Wars stuff than you could shake your wookie at! And whether you liked the last movie, hated it, or just wished they’d make a Post Trilogy Episode VII to IX already you’ve all had opinions about the end of the trilogy… Pre Trilogy in anycase.
Will there be a Post Trilogy? Probably. If not George Lucas than someone else will take up the reins and continue where Return of the JedI left off. Will we be there? Depends on how long it’ll take to make.
But of course while we wait for that, and the rumored launch of a TV Series, we still have Star Wars Episode III products to keep up “company” until the next phase of the Star Wars franchise kicks in.

Star Wars Episode III products. Product placements, tie ins, comics, books, and of course video games.
While some of the games have not been… well… up to snuff (Star Wars Episode III’s official game comes to mind) one game has been, despite the fact it’s the ultimate merger of product placement and official tie in merchandising! Yes, of course I’m referring to LEGO Star Wars, the game. Back when I reviewed LEGO Star Wars for the PS2 I said good things about it, but will that hold true for my review of LEGO Star Wars for the GameBoy Advance? Let’s find out.

Of the Episode III games only a few come portable. LEGO Star Wars & Star Wars Episode III (official game). But which of these games is the one you should keep in your pocket? When it comes to the GBA there’s only one, LEGO Star Wars. If you mean the Nintendo DS… uh… pray they get LEGO Star Wars. Ditto for the PSP by the way if there‘s any Lucasarts tie ins for that system, just so you know.

You know the drill. Once again we return to a LEGO time ago, in a LEGO galaxy far far away.
It’s Star Wars, done LEGO style. You can’t make it anymore product placement than a game filled with official Star Wars merchandise as the main playable characters. The cute little LEGO figures return in this GBA version of the big LEGO Star Wars game, and unlike the GBA version of Star Wars Episode III, which flopped to a disappointing 2 out of 5 review from X-Play, LEGO Star Wars for the GBA manages to hold onto some of the quirks that made big LEGO Star Wars such a sleeper hit to play!

Once again you play through the Pre Trilogy, working to earn the right to “purchase” LEGO figures for free play mode (15 available when it’s all said and done at the end). Each time you finish a level you earn a new character to buy in Free Mode, until you finished all the Episodes and all the chapters, upon which you earn a bonus LEGO character for completing 100% of the game, giving you good reason to play the game to completion. And, if that wasn’t enough, the game also has other incentives to keep you coming back for Free Play mode which makes this a game with decent replay value (unlike the official Episode III game).
As for the gameplay itself? It’s pretty much the same gameplay as the big version, with some tweaks for the smaller system.

1-No Dexter’s Bar, you just jump straight into gameplay. Too bad. That means there’s no place to catch your breath and hang out between levels, no place to earn free “credits” for Free Play character purchases, and no place for your JedI purchases to get into fights with your Sith purchases.

2-Some of the traits of certain characters have changed. No grapple mode for gunners, not as detailed lightsaber animations for JedI/Sith characters (though it does have a little quirk here and there in that respect nevertheless), and far less characters than before. Even with the bonus characters you can unlock after completing the bonus “mission” of certain levels you’ll still end up with less characters than the original LEGO Star Wars version.

3-Since the bonus is different this time out that means you can’t do the same thing you did in the big LEGO Star Wars. That means no model kit parts to find and assemble which is kind of a letdown. Instead levels yield Death Star plans as bonus items (5 plans per level) which, in turn, unlock secret codes as you play along, which is actually a partially useful trait as you’ll see.

4-So far it looks like some of your possible favorites from the movies have not made this version.
Let’s see… due to space constraint there’s only one of each LEGO of certain characters (Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padme being the big ones) so no variants of each to play with (no more teaming up Young Anakin with Dark Side Anakin in Free Play)! Also certain LEGOs got axed altogether (in some cases it‘s a total shame)! No LEGO Captain Panaka from Episode I, no LEGO C-3PO or LEGO Mace Windu from Episode II (and of course no wide range of JedI LEGOs), and no LEGO General Grievous in Episode III which is the worse since that is one of the more interesting LEGOs that should have been added to this set! There are a few extra LEGOs, but they’re all earned through the collecting of bonus codes.

5-Certain levels have been replaced.
Example. Instead of fighting through the cloning facility of Kamino as Obi-Wan, you’ll take Anakin and Padme on a trip to save his LEGO mother on Tatooine! Yup. First you find the guy who bought LEGO mom, then you spend time fixing his towers on his moisture farm while fighting off Tusken Raiders on his land. Then you sneak into the Tusken Raider camp to save his mom! Aww… how sweet! Oh, and this should end well since, well, it’s LEGO Star Wars after all so they won’t do something so mean as to ax off LEGO Annie’s LEGO-- AGGHH!! THEY KILLED LEGO ANNIE’S MOM! Now you’ve done it!! LEGO Anakin’s pissed!!

6-Certain levels have been skipped.
Again, example in Episode II. You start the level as Anakin/Padme looking for Obi-Wan, which ends as you two exit the level and… well… instead of playing as LEGO Mace Windu to fight through the arena of Count Dooku you’ll jump ahead to the end where you fight LEGO Count Dooku (and all in one level too).

7-And now, a good thing!
Remember how JarJar is useful now since he’s a big leaper (and can do high jumps)? Well, there is a character that can easily replace JarJar in the jumping dept. for those who don’t like JarJar (who is just about everyone I can think of). All you have to do is finish Episode I to 100% completion ASAP, then go over to Free Play and unlock Darth Maul ASAP. Darth Maul is a great replacement for JarJar in many levels since he not only has the high jump of JarJar, but he also has the kick-butt moves of JedI characters. AND since his lightsaber animation has him doing all out full swinging motions his laser beam reflection rate is much better and he is good at knocking down groups of enemies quicker than other JedI characters.

Yeah. It just doesn’t have the quirks of the big version of LEGO Star Wars, but then again this IS for the GameBoy Advance so some cutting had to be done so it’d all fit.
Still it does have it’s quirks. One of these quirks is that while this game doesn’t have the huge scope of figure purchasing you have with the big version, it does make up for the small amount of character available for purchase by having extra characters you can play as via the use of “secret codes”. At the end of each level (once you collected all five parts of the Death Star Plans) you get a code. At first the codes are not very good. Change the color of your lightsaber, change the color of this or that, ect. But once you get enough codes you’ll start to see “Start Start” type of codes, which unlock new playable characters for you to give a shake with. Now I wont reveal any codes since this is one of the charms of the game (to earn the codes) but the flavor of your codes I found so far all lean towards the mechanized bonuses (hint hint).

I don’t know how many codes equal new characters, but anything to add to the list of 15 playable characters is a plus in my book. One thing… if you pick up a character after you arm a character using a code it’ll go over the slot where your added character was. To get that character back you’ll have to input the code again to re-access that character for the level in question. And this isn’t like a “purchase” which means in order to play that character again on another level you’ll have to input that code again at the start of the level.

Gameplay is easy. Really. It’s LEGO Star Wars so I’m guessing this wasn’t meant to baffle the kids. Still simple doesn’t mean boring. There’s still enough here to give you lots to sink your teeth into, and just because it’s an E for Everyone game that doesn’t make it a pushover! You’ll find challenge here! Yes, eventually you’ll achieve 100% completion on each Episode, and eventually you’ll unlock all the codes of the game, but again you still have lots of challenge to get there and it’s fun! And yes, lots of uses for the force returns. Here, as in the larger version of LEGO Star Wars, using the force often will yield you things. However this has also been “neutered” in a sense since there are less things to “use the force” on than in the large scale LEGO Star Wars game. Still you’ll have your chance to shake things and use the force to do some simple puzzle solving so it’s not a complete waste.

Levels are few, less than the big version, but it still has some punch.
There are 5 levels in Episode I, 3 in Episode II (which is the most disappointing of the three Episodes), and 6 in Episode III! And, again, once you beat all 14 levels you’ll get a bonus unlockable character to reward you for your efforts… and a bonus bonus code as well which makes the work well worth it. And as an added bonus there’s no JedI Temple level, unlike the GBA Star Wars Episode III game. That means there‘ll be none of this in LEGO Star Wars…

Announcer - “From the beautiful planet of Coruscant, once again we bring you everyone’s favorite Reality TV game show… SMITE - THOSE - YOUNGLINGS!!”
(applause)
Announcer - “That’s right! It’s SMITE THOSE YOUNGLINGS! The gameshow where everyone is the winner, except the Younglings! Now let’s introduce our returning champion! He’s a city boy from the big city on planet Tatooine who loves pod racing, marrying former royalty and emoting away the hours of other people’s lives. When he’s not making hot JedI on Royalty action with Padme he’s whining and nagging his way through script after script, boring fans, and making people wish Obi-Wan cut his head off instead of his limbs. Here he is, best known for smite-ing Younglings, Anakin (“Nnnnooooooo!!“) Skywalker!”
(applause)
Announcer - “And now let’s roll out the Younglings to smite since we don‘t want to hear him emote for another three hours!!”

Yeah. What gives with the JedI Temple level where you off Younglings in Star Wars Episode III for the GameBoy Advance anyway… and are they going to repeat that for the DS? Oh, yes, no doubt they are.
Killing underaged kids on the GBA just isn’t fun enough. Gotta do it on the DS too, just for the sake of whacking fictional non-existent underaged children. Way to go, George! Putting that level in the GBA and DS version was a GREAT idea! You go, George!

Of course since characters are of the essence (being that you only have so many to pick from) that means you get MOST of the money characters to play with -- notable exception being Mace Windu & General Grievous. But as for who’ll you’ll be able to choose from I’ll leave you to discover who you get for your hard work. Again it just won’t be a surprise if I ruin it all for you now would it!

Otherwise there isn’t much else to talk of. If you liked the big version, and want to take your LEGO action on the road (plus this is way better than Episode III for the GBA) what better way than with the use of LEGO Star Wars, a cute little slice of JedI on Sith action for the GameBoy Advance proving that there can be the occasional gem for the game series!

Ah… but what other LEGO trilogies would we like to see? Well, we as in me of course. Let’s see… if for nothing else than to kill time.

LEGO video games that tie into movie trilogies I’d like to see (the top five).
LEGO Jaws - Just in time for the upcoming anniversary (complete with a brand new PS2 Jaws game coming shortly, and yes I‘m NOT joking) we bring you the tale of a LEGO shark, the LEGO law enforcement officer (LEGO Roy Schneider) and those brave LEGOs who’ll fight the menace of LEGO munching LEGO sharks… one shark to be precise, the LEGO snapping Great White LEGO Shark! Four chapters featuring LEGO Jaws, LEGO Jaws 2, LEGO Jaws 3-D (only without the 3-D) and LEGO Jaws the Revenge!
At least it’ll be more fun than that godawful NES Jaws game, since anything’s better than that!

LEGO Rocky - Yes, we could have done LEGO Rambo, but the first two Rocky movies are cult classics and parents will have an easier time explaining boxing to kids anyway! Besides which if they could make two games for the PS2 on the topic (Rocky & Rocky Legends), why not a LEGO game!
You’re a LEGO bum! A bum, I say, a bum! You, as LEGO Rocky Balboa, must LEGO box your way to the top with the help of LEGO Burgess Meredith. Train as you chase LEGO chickens, box LEGO slabs o’ beef, run along LEGO highways avoiding being hit by LEGO cars, and jogging up LEGO stairs to cheer before LEGO bystanders! Along the way you’ll find yourself fighting LEGO Apollo Creed, LEGO Mr. T (who seemed rather out of place coaching, of all things, a gymnastics team in that animated series he was in way back in the distant past of the 70‘s… I think!) and LEGO Dolph (I can’t believe they let HIM be the Punisher) Lundgren.
Learn the rules of the ring, and fight like LEGOs in this fast paced LEGO boxing series that makes you hurry up and wait, featuring action from all five LEGO filled chapters of the LEGO Rocky trilogy!

LEGO Lord of the Ring - Because New Line Cinemas could always use an extra few million in their pockets, and maybe people will finally forgive & forget Lord of the Ring - The Third Age after playing this, we present LEGO Lord of the Ring where the battle for Middle Earth has never been cuter!
You know the story by heart, now play it LEGO style! Play as the LEGO Fellowship, including the strangely appropriately named LEGO Legolas as you quest to throw the One LEGO Ring into the LEGO Mt. Doom! And heck, if they do it like LEGO Star Wars you’ll have lots of characters to unlock in this puppy! Hooray! Why New Lines hasn’t gone running to Eidos/LEGOs to put this LEGO cash cow into the bank yet is anyone’s guess!

LEGO Exorcist - She doesn’t have an openable mouth, but we’ll find a way to hurl green pea soup at those pesky LEGO exorcists anyway! The dark world of the devil, and demonic possession, becomes cuter than zombie puppies eating Michael Jackson in this LEGO money making series that shouldn‘t make money since nobody in their right mind would ever release such a thing!
In a series of confused LEGO episodic games you’ll bounce backwards and forward through Exorcist movies, starting at the first movie then moving onwards… until you end up at the last movie and before or after the first movie timewise… or something… I lost count, what Exorcist movie was last? The Beginning? Dominion? What?! What’s going on? Who and what? How many Exorcist movies are there now? Agh!!

But even if the material seems iffy, and the topic kind of insensitive, that won’t stop LEGO from unleashing demonic fun can be had by all as you wind your way through cute LEGO mini games, each meant to drive the LEGO demon fun out of those pesky LEGO victims! Bah, LEGO minions of darkness! LEGO smash!
Sure to make Exorcist fans spin their heads in a blind rage, LEGO Exorcist is not for anyone. Not for kids who shouldn’t be playing games about demonic possession, not for fans of the series who’ll think this is blasphemy to make a LEGO game based on a horror series like the Exorcist, and it’s not for me because I think there is a limit to what LEGOs can do… like fight the forces of the dark lord in green pea spitting mini game LEGO madness, for instance. So run, don’t walk , the minute LEGO goes over the edge of sanity and makes LEGO Exorcist, the game that even makes LEGO Resident Evil sound like a good idea.

And finally…
LEGO Harry Potter
Because, well, the WB would like it if you just randomly sent them money for no reason, but are trapped in the harsh reality that they have to EARN the money they want… so why not spin out ANOTHER HARRY POTTER MONEY MAKER! Agreements with J.K. Rowlings? Nothing more money thrown her way won’t cure! And just in time for Harry Potter and the Marketing Schemes of Fire to hit theaters we have LEGO Harry Potter, one of 1001 ways to milk people of their cash in the 2005/2006 people milking season!!

If you can’t get enough from the 6th book, the tie in merchandise for the 4th movie, AND the official movie video game tie-in tied into the 4th movie INCLUDING a PS2, GameCube, Xbox AND GameBoy Advance/Nintendo DS and probably even a PSP version?!? Why not go the extra mile and put out LEGO Harry Potter 1 & 2!! Of course you can’t jam FOUR movies into one game, so this is more of a (ahem) “original” game with the first… uh… TWO movies in it! Play LEGO Sorcerer’s Stone and LEGO Chamber of Secrets, and wait for the DVD release for LEGO Harry Potter 2 with LEGO Prisoner of Azkaban and LEGO Goblet of Fire! Why? Because the WB needs YOUR money, and no other reason than that!
Ok. I thought too much… now my head hurts. Breakdown (and Tylenol PM) time!

LEGO Star Wars Breakdown the portable
What’s Hot? - It’s LEGO Star Wars. Even in this smaller version it still has it’s quirky charms that makes LEGO Star Wars something to check out either in the big version, or the small version.
It’s not a terribly long game, but the ability to purchase characters for sue in Free Play mode gives this game some level of replay value which is far better than the abyssmal Episode III GBA game which has zero replay value as far as I know. If you are going to buy one portable Star Wars game? Make it LEGO Star Wars. It has more replay value, cuter characters, better gameplay and is just plain good.

What’s Not? - The game could have been longer. It could have used more characters (missed out on not having LEGO Mace Windu or LEGO General Grievious). And finally it could have had Dexter’s Bar (for starters). Still the game is solid, moreso than the official Episode III game, and if I had to pick between the two I’d swing with LEGO Star Wars. More fun for the money than Episode III in my book.

Moments to Remember? - I’d tell you, but then it’d spoil the fun. It doesn’t have the same amount of quirky fun the large scale LEGO Star Wars has, but it does have it’s moments.

What to Ignore? - Nope. No Franken-Vader this time out. This time it’s all just Darth Vader… they didn’t include the whole stupid “Nnnnoooooo!!” thing so that’s a blessing. Thank you Star Wars game with no spoken dialogue or movie footage! Thank you very much!

Overall? - Given your choices for portable Star Wars gaming, which is few since they aren’t exactly killing themselves to make Star Wars Battlefront Advance, Star Wars Republic Commando Advance or Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Advance, I’d stick with LEGO Star Wars. In comparison the the official Episode III game, LEGO Star Wars is just better, and has replay value which is not something Episode III for the GBA can boast from what I’ve seen of it. If you’re gunning for pocket Star Wars you might as well get the ultimate pocket Star Wars, and get LEGO Stars Wars, featuring three movie tie-ins in one game, as well as gameplay that is good AND offers replay value which is oh so important!
You could do worse than LEGO Star Wars, by the way, so why go worse when you can go better?
LEGO Star Wars, in the war between Episode III spin-offs it’s the only real choice.
So get your LEGO on this summer, and may the LEGO be with you.

-- David Rasmussen 17th Jul 05

Gameboy Advance Lego Star Wars Images