The Problem Nobody Wants To Admit About Star Wars Games

The Guardians of Peace and Justice

It is perhaps fair to say that nowhere is the run-and-gun mentality more prevalent and more jarring than in the portrayal of Force-wielders - particularly the Jedi order - in video games.

The story of Star Wars - TIE fighters and Podracing notwithstanding - is the story of the Jedi, the Sith, and the Force, and it is the Jedi for whom the audience is supposed to root for. The movies, animated series, the books and comics published over the years have all painted a picture of the Jedi which is fundamentally at odds with 99% of their video game portrayals.

Think back to your favourite - or least favourite - Star Wars games featuring the Jedi as playable protagonists, and you will no doubt recall hacking and slashing through waves of battle droids in Jedi Power Battles, cutting down stormtroopers and Dark side acolytes as Kyle Katarn in Jedi Outcast, or more recently, pitting your lightsaber skills against Darth Vader's Inquisitors as fugitive Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis in the awesome Jedi: Fallen Order.

The Bantha in the room, however, is that such cavalier, swashbuckling combat is at odds with the fundamental role of the Jedi. The Jedi are scholars, spiritual beings whose time is mainly spent in training and meditation, in deep contemplation, ruminating on the great mystery of the Force, unlocking its seemingly limitless secrets, as Qui-Gon Jinn with such significant consequences.

When necessary, however, the Jedi are called to intervene in conflict all over the galaxy, by sitting all parties around the table and negotiating, talking, using their wisdom to find common ground and broker peace where possible, and only reverting to "aggressive negotiations" in the most dire of circumstances. Even Jedi Master Mace Windu himself is on record as stating that the Jedi are "...keepers of the peace, not soldiers" in the 2002 documentary Attack of the Clones.