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
- ăšăżăźăťăŚăŠăźăş ĺ¸ĺ˝ăŽĺ˝ą - Japanese spelling
Groups +
Screenshots
Promos
Videos
Add Trailer or Gameplay Video +1 point
See any errors or missing info for this game?
You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.
Credits (Nintendo 64 version)
139 People (88 developers, 51 thanks) · View all
Game Designer | |
Lead Artist | |
Lead Animator | |
Project Leader | |
Senior Programmer | |
Technical Lead/Programmer | |
Programmer/Lycanthrope | |
Aesthetic Technology/Robin's Dad | |
Level Designers | |
3D Artists | |
3D Animator | |
Texture Artist | |
3D/Background Artist | |
Storyboard Artist | |
Music Editor/Sound Quality Control | |
Sound Designers | |
Composers | |
Lead Tester | |
Production Manager | |
[ 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)
Solid Star Wars action, and the game that spawned Rogue Squadron
The Good
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire starts you off with a kick, flying a Snowspeeder in the battle of Hoth. From there gameplay progresses through several first or third person shooter levels, with a couple of turret shooting missions and a swoop race through Mos Eisley for changes of pace. Each shooter level has a large boss at the end, and provides a wide variety of different weapons. The high points of the game are the Hoth, Mos Eisley, and Skyhook levels, which involve flying a Snowspeeder, Swoop, or YT-2400 in battle. The action and control during these levels is extremely similar to Lucasart's Rogue Squadron series of games. In fact, Shadows is the game that spawned Rogue Squadron, and is certainly worth playing even if only for that fact alone.
The Bad
The worst part of this game is the repetitiveness of the shooting levels. Although the level design is all right, the hybrid design leaves both first and third person shooter fans wishing for slightly better gameplay. Although the third-person view is default, I found the first-person view to be easier to play with, however, the total lack of crosshairs makes aiming more difficult than it should be. In fact, the awkward control and clunky aiming are the primary contributers to the irritating nature of the shooting levels.
The Bottom Line
If you've enjoyed the Rogue Squadron games, this is the game that started it all. It's not perfect, but it is a lot of fun.
Nintendo 64 · by Shadowcaster (252) · 2002
The Force is strong with this oneâŚfor the first level.
The Good
The best thing about Shadows of the Empire (SOTE) is that it is set in the âStar Warsâ universe. Familiar characters and locations, like Han Solo and the ice planet of Hoth, help tie the new Shadows storyline in with the original trilogy. And, of course, SOTE would not be a real Star Wars game if it did not include the famous Star Wars sound effects and musical themes. Both are here, and they are delightful as always.
SOTE reels you in immediately by throwing you right into the midst of the spectacular Hoth battle scene we saw near the beginning of âThe Empire Strikes Back.â As if it werenât cool enough that you get to blast AT-STs and AT-ATs with your snowspeederâs guns, you also get the chance to launch your tow cable and trip up those big bad Imperial Walkers, just like they did in the movie! Itâs one of those things you have to see and do before you can understand how thrilling it really is â for Star Wars fans, anyway.
The Bad
The main problem with SOTE is that the game peaks with the very first level. Once you get past the Hoth battle, the action consists of nothing but average first/third person shooter stuff, with some arcade-like space battle sequences thrown in for good measure. Itâs a classic bait-and-switch, and big disappointment.
While the Nintendo 64 has plenty of good FPS titles, SOTE is sadly not one of them. Our hero, Dash Rendar, plods along slowly and clumsily when you move the analog stick. The stick is a pain to use, too. Itâs too bad they didnât implement the control scheme from Turok, which feels much smoother and more intuitive. Dash doesnât get many different kinds of weapons to play with, either. I love the old Star Wars laser blasters as much as anybody, but surely we deserve something more for our money here.
Itâs bad enough that the post-Hoth sequences arenât that much fun, but Iâll just add that they donât seem all that important, either. Once youâve stopped recreating that big scene from âEmpire,â there just isnât enough to motivate the player to push through it. If you are really interested in the Shadows story, then I recommend you read the book. As for the music, well, you could always buy the soundtrackâŚ
The Bottom Line
Really fun for the first level, and then mediocre the rest of the way, SOTE was more about clever marketing than brilliant game design. Still, itâs probably worth playing once just for the Hoth battle.
Nintendo 64 · by PCGamer77 (3158) · 2013
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)
Analytics
Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!
Related Sites +
-
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.
Identifiers +
Contribute
Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.
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.