Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Description official descriptions
Set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire tells the story of Prince Xizor's quest to replace Darth Vader as the leader of the Sith, and wipe out the Rebels' chances of victory. The only man that can stop him is the interstellar bounty hunter Dash Rendar. The game is based on the novel of the same name, with locations including ice planet Hoth, Mos Eisley and the sewers of Imperial City, all in full 3D.
Levels each have very different objectives, ranging from piloting snowspeeders on Hoth and racing speeder bikes on Tatooine to shooting stormtroopers and droids on foot throughout the galaxy. Dash primarily uses a blaster with unlimited ammo, but can also find more powerful weapons with limited ammunition. Each level has optional "challenge points" that are hidden throughout the level, and finding all of them will unlock a cheat dependent on which difficulty setting the save file is on.
Spellings
- スター・ウォーズ 帝国の影 - Japanese spelling
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Credits (Nintendo 64 version)
139 People (88 developers, 51 thanks) · View all
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[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 76% (based on 51 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 76 ratings with 11 reviews)
The Good
Ok I got this game after seeing people play it at a store in some demo thing that had been made. The demo was playing the very good battle of Hoth level at the start. I later ate my words but we will gat back to this later. Firstly the good things about this game was, the Battle of Hoth level, The final level and the speeder bike level. Why? Apart from all of the other levels that were either on rails or boring TPS levels the game had little else that was fun. The shooting parts of the game were fun, once. The levels were ok in design but a little too blocky in my tastes. The lasers were also rectangles. The bad guys were ok in modeling but were pretty dumb. The weapons were ok as well but you often over hoarded all the guns untill you got to a big boss at the end.
The Bad
The game play was only fun once. The character had this lightweight feel about him when you jumped and it just did not feel right. Other problems was that the bosses were almost too hard to beat and some parts were too boring.
The Bottom Line
The first and last levels were good, the rest of the game can wait till you are either on drugs or drunk.
Nintendo 64 · by Sam Hardy (80) · 2001
Great game that follows the novel
The Good
I remember the first time I played this game and I was reading the novel at the same time. I'd play for a while and then I'd read and try to stop at the point I was at in the video game. This video game takes place at the beginning of Star Wars Episode 5: The Emperor Strikes Back and in between episode 5 and episode 6. You play as Dash Rendar, a Han Solo smuggler type of guy, and battle through 10 levels of increasing difficulty. You get to use different kinds of guns, sometimes you get to use a jetpack, and you get to pilot a Snowspeeder, a Swoop Bike and Dash's ship, the Outrider. There are bosses at the end of each level, except the ones where you're in a vehicle. The bosses are tough and the levels can be challenging and tricky. The music is good, some of it's straight from the movie.
The Bad
Compared to the other games from 1996 - Super Mario 64, Mario Kart, ect. this game has fairly poor graphic's, but I can live with that. Also, after you beat it it's not that much fun anymore - sure you can go back and collect all the Challenge Point's, but that's not that fun.
The Bottom Line
A good game than any gamer should get.
Nintendo 64 · by darthsith19 (62) · 2006
Enjoyable but flawed gaming experience
The Good
It's Star Wars!
* Well-drawn cutscenes
* Variety
* Decent boss battles
* Nostalgia
* Fun stages...
The Bad
...And bland, boring stages
* Poor ground-level stage controls that requires getting used to each play
* Minimum camera control
* Occasionally frustrating
* Seeker camera... enough said.
The Bottom Line
'Shadows of the Empire' is a fun action game, but, as always, it's not without its flaws. The poor controls make certain segments more trouble than they're worth; certain jumps can seem real easy some times. At other times, they're hell. Still, I would call it one of the N64's finest titles -- which I guess isn't saying much, given the lack of games. It's certainly not up there with Ocarina of Time or Super Mario 64. That would be a blatant lie. But I would say it does quite well as simple action game, and it's a mostly fun experience that's only held back by minor flaws. It could have to do with the fact that I only had around 4 N64 games growing up, but I haven't gotten tired of this title yet, despite having had it since around the time it came out.
Some might not be as forgiving about the flaws as I am, but I would say the game is well worth giving a shot in spite of them.
Nintendo 64 · by Simoneer (29) · 2010
Trivia
Dash Rendar
Dash Rendar is the only character developed from the Star Wars franchise that actually made it "back" to the movies. You can see his modified starship, the Outrider YT-2400 lifting up and taking off from Mos Eisley as Luke and his gang enter the city in the new revised sequence featured on the Star Wars: Special Edition. Also, Dash Rendar in the Nintendo 64 cutscenes looked more like a brown-haired, younger and rougher George Lucas with a rough shave instead of a beard. In the PC edition, he looks more like the original concept art for the character.
Rogue Squadron inspiration
In the first level of the game, where you fly a snowspeeder in the Battle of Hoth, was the inspiration for Rogue Squadron.
Version differences
The PC version is a revised edition of the N64 version (the major difference between the two versions being 3D cutscenes for the PC).
Awards
- Electronic Gaming Monthly
- March 1997 (Issue 92) - N64 Game of the Year runner-up + Best Music runner-up + Action Game of the Year (Readers' Choice) + Best Music (Readers' Choice)
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Related Sites +
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Lucas Arts: Shadows of the Empire
Official site. -
Video review of Star Wars games (WARNING: Language)
The Angry Video Game Nerd, James Rolfe, reviews various Stars Wars-based games, including Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire on Nintendo 64.
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Kartanym.
Additional contributors: Apogee IV, chirinea, Joshua J. Slone, Alaka, LepricahnsGold, vedder.
Game added January 21, 2001. Last modified March 9, 2024.