10 Star Wars Games That Rocked the 1990s

Although it dominated film screens in the 1970s and 80s, Star Wars didn't truly become the widespread multimedia franchise it was destined to become until the 1990s. It exploded into every possible form of entertainment imaginable, and its nascent relationship with the world of video games started to bear some rather enticing fruit.

Star Wars video games were absolutely crushing it in the 1990s. There was no genre left unexplored, and no perspective was off the table. Shooters, RPGs, strategy games, it didn't matter. If you could apply the Star Wars IP to it, it was going to happen.

The 1990s is where some of the greatest video games of all time were born, and that's most certainly true of Star Wars games. It was a magical time for Star Wars, and video games based on the franchise were attuned to the Force in some pretty incredible ways.

10 Star Wars: X-Wing vs TIE Fighter

Stay on Target

It's safe to say that the climactic assault on the Death Star in A New Hope triggered something in an entire generation of young people. The thrill of flying a high-speed space vehicle made quite an impact, and everyone had strong desires to relive those epic moments in interactive form.

Star Wars: X-Wing vs TIE Fighter was among the first games to really scratch that itch. The X-Wing series had already been doing space combat sims set in the Star Wars universe, but this was hitting at just the right time. Space combat simulators were reaching a fever pitch thanks to games like Wing Commander, and there was no better fit for Star Wars than this genre.

X-Wing vs TIE Fighter lets you play either as the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, chronicling the long-standing conflict with some of the most advanced tech available at the time. It really was a special experience that is able to stand the test of time even today.

A Digital Star Wars Movie

The 1990s had a pretty close relationship with digitized sprites. The act of taking filmed content, then digitizing it into a sprite for a video game powered multiple iconic 90s titles, including Mortal Kombat and the Rebel Assault games.

Star Wars Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire was as close as you could get to living out the movies back in the day. It seems rather crude today, but it was such a visual feast for anyone who loved Star Wars.

The Hidden Empire also features some wonderfully cheesy live-action cutscenes. It was the first live-action filmed Star Wars content since 1983's Return of the Jedi, marking it as something of a special occasion.

8 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

Cut the Chatter

One of the key foundations of Star Wars has always been its spectacular ship and vehicle design. Even going all the way back to A New Hope, there was something different about Star Wars ships that made it stand out against other scifi franchises.

Those iconic ships have formed the basis of some truly amazing video games, and if you were a kid with a Nintendo 64 back in the day, you made sure you owned Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. It was released during the multi-year wait for The Phantom Menace, and while it wasn't a tie-in to that film, Rogue Squadron helped ease everyone over a little bit.

Factor 5's incredible technical mastery of PCs and Nintendo hardware is still such a marvel to look back on. They really understood what made flying around in a spaceship feel fun, and Rogue Squadron was ultimately just the beginning of an outstanding run that would see them produce even more incredible Star Wars flight combat games in the years to come.

7 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

The Official Game of the Movie

The Phantom Menace wasn't just a movie. It was a pop culture event, a moment that seemed to stand still and now lives forever. The movie didn't need any help, but it got some in the form of a stack of tie-in video games from multiple different genres.

There were racers, flight combat games, even a few edutainment games. The one that had its hooks in me the most, however, was the third-person action-adventure game that was based directly on the movie.

The Phantom Menace followed the plot of the film rather closely, only deviating from the movie in a few minor sections. It was a faithful, charming recreation of the movie that will be forever entrenched in the hearts of every 90s kid until the end of time.

6 Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi

The Ancient Art of Teras Kasi

One thing that Star Wars really doesn't have enough of is fighting games. There are a few games that have modes similar to a fighter, but as far as a dedicated fighting game, the only one that really fits the bill is Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi.

It fit right in alongside its contemporaries, having the same dark, edgy vibe that so many fighters of its time had. Masters of Teras Kasi also took some pretty heavy influence from a lot of the expanded universe at the time, including Mara Jade and a Boba Fett impersonator known as Jodo Kast.

These days, Masters of Teras Kasi actually feels quite enjoyable to play. A lot of fighting games from this era still hold up quite well, and Masters of Teras Kasi has a certain offbeat funkiness to it that really works in its favor.

5 Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

Kyle Katarn is Back

I spent almost the entirety of the 1990s and 2000s being absolutely obsessed with the Jedi Knight series. These games were incredibly important to me, and all these years later, I still find them to be some of the most enjoyable Star Wars games you can find today.

Dark Forces II was the game that got me to upgrade my PC, as it just simply wasn't enough to run the game. I wouldn't be nearly as deep into PC gaming and hardware culture today if it wasn't for Dark Forces II, which is a game that has so much passion and clear love for the Star Wars franchise.

The live-action cutscenes are delightful, and the then brand-new Sith Engine was mighty impressive. The speed of the game is perfect, and running around its maps will make you feel like you've been transported all the way back to the 1990s.

4 Super Star Wars

A Brutal 2D Adventure

With George Lucas' prequel trilogy only a mere fantasy in the early 1990s, Star Wars was in need of something to keep it in the public eye. Video games helped to fill the void, and in an effort to bring back all the nostalgia of the classic trilogy, LucasArts teamed up with Sculptured Software to produce Super Star Wars.

Super Star Wars was all about speed and escalating difficulty, designed to unfold at breakneck speed with little to no time to relax. You may feel tough since you've cleared Bloodborne blindfolded with a Guitar Hero controller, but you haven't felt fear until you've played Super Star Wars.

The entire trilogy would be adapted in the same style, but there's something about Super Star Wars that just hits so much differently. Perhaps it's the innocent charm of A New Hope shining through, as they both marked the beginning of something truly special.

3 Star Wars Episode I Racer

Now This Is Pod Racing

You'd be forgiven if you walked into The Phantom Menace in 1999 and wondered what the heck pod racing was. It was just some madcap nonsense that George Lucas made up, after all. Maybe he was on to something, though, as it served as the basis for one of the film's most exciting scenes.

You couldn't just let something with as much potential as pod racing die on the vine, of course. Everybody saw the vision, and Star Wars Episode I: Racer blasted onto PC and Nintendo 64 in 1999, just two days after the release of The Phantom Menace.

Even back then, Episode I: Racer passed the test that all racing games have to face. It was fast, fun and outrageously addictive. Everyone was hooked on it, and it was so beloved, it became the inspiration for multiple sequels and spiritual successors in the future.

2 Star Wars: Dark Forces

Let's Steal the Death Star Plans

Well before the prequel trilogy, before George Lucas put pen to paper on The Phantom Menace, the expanded universe was something of a Wild West. Literally anything could happen, and even if George used his veto power to strike it out of canon, it still cultivated a rich canvas for artists to explore on.

Star Wars: Dark Forces was one such project, and the first game in the vaunted Jedi Knight series that saw Kyle Katarn take center stage. It's one of those games that just stops you in your tracks, because the mere concept of Doom meets Star Wars sounds like something only the most devious of minds could cook up.

The pace and flow of Star Wars: Dark Forces is absolutely stellar. There's no wasted motion, every single level is a treat and the overall presentation still holds up quite nicely. This is one Star Wars game that any fan of the franchise needs to play immediately.

1 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

One of the Greatest Star Wars Games Ever Made

The launch year of the Nintendo 64 was really pretty special when you look back on it. Owning an N64 made you feel like one of the cool kids, and that was mainly due to the fact that it was the only way to play Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, as the PC version of this magnificent game was still a year away.

Putting you into the boots of Dash Rendar, Shadows of the Empire was part of a larger multimedia franchise designed to drum up interest in the forthcoming special editions of the original trilogy. Playing this game back in the day felt like you were looking at the future of video games, as it combined third and first-person action with adventure game elements, a functional jetpack in certain levels, flying missions and an epic boss fight against Boba Fett.

The Hoth mission alone made the game worth playing, and the way it just keeps throwing fun Star Wars things to do at you on a regular basis is just superb. Among the many Star Wars games released in the 1990s, this is the one. It is still an absolute blast to play, and it's high time this game got a remaster of some kind.