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[SCB3]

So due to personal circumstances I’m not at my home right now, but I have my switch and thought it’d be a good time to dive into my backlog a bit

In said backlog one game I’ve not touched since the GameCube version, SW Jedi Knight 2 - I played the hell out of its sequel but I don’t remember too much about this one

Now I am a huge SW fan and Dark Forces is an amazing game, I plan on picking up the remaster soon as well, but for now let’s see how good this holds up


After 3 hours, I’ve still not beat the first damned level, this game is damned hard and though dated, kinda feels fair? There is a lack of health and ammo is a limited resource and the maze like levels are giving me the good feeling DOOM does

 

[Hudo]

So due to personal circumstances I’m not at my home right now, but I have my switch and thought it’d be a good time to dive into my backlog a bit

In said backlog one game I’ve not touched since the GameCube version, SW Jedi Knight 2 - I played the hell out of its sequel but I don’t remember too much about this one

Now I am a huge SW fan and Dark Forces is an amazing game, I plan on picking up the remaster soon as well, but for now let’s see how good this holds up


After 3 hours, I’ve still not beat the first damned level, this game is damned hard and though dated, kinda feels fair? There is a lack of health and ammo is a limited resource and the maze like levels are giving me the good feeling DOOM does

Yeah, Jedi Knight 2 is on the harder side. But that's part of the charm. It's also the best Jedi Knight game, imho. Jedi Knight 3 is a good game as well but I think Jedi Knight 2 is the perfect evolution of Jedi Knight 1. Jedi Knight 3 tried some things, which is fair, considering that they've perfected their formula with Jedi Knight 2. Some things were great others were a bit of a letdown. But again, I want to emphasize that Jedi Knight 3 is still a really good game. I am essentially nitpicking.

That being said: Fuck Rosh.

 

[Punished Miku]

After 3 hours, I’ve still not beat the first damned level

I think that was my experience with the game as well.

 

[Rubim]

I've finished on VR. Fun game.

But if you dont know what you're doing, you wil 100% be lost.

 

[The Cockatrice]

jk2 and jka are the best star wars games followed by the first kotor.

 

[SCB3]

Yeah, Jedi Knight 2 is on the harder side. But that's part of the charm. It's also the best Jedi Knight game, imho. Jedi Knight 3 is a good game as well but I think Jedi Knight 2 is the perfect evolution of Jedi Knight 1. Jedi Knight 3 tried some things, which is fair, considering that they've perfected their formula with Jedi Knight 2. Some things were great others were a bit of a letdown. But again, I want to emphasize that Jedi Knight 3 is still a really good game. I am essentially nitpicking.

That being said: Fuck Rosh.

3 went too far with having your own character but not far enough, like that was a cool idea but there was no point in being anything other than a male human as the VO was the same and it’s Jennifer Hales worst performance in a game, it was made in a year though so it explains it

2 is fun though, I do like the challenge and it doesn’t give you a Lightsaber for a long time either

 

[Hudo]

3 went too far with having your own character but not far enough, like that was a cool idea but there was no point in being anything other than a male human as the VO was the same and it’s Jennifer Hales worst performance in a game, it was made in a year though so it explains it

That's actually a good point. I think you're right. I never could exactly pinpoint why Jedi Knight 3 didn't feel as good as Jedi Knight 2 to me.

Hot take: I also think that dual light sabers and dual-wielding light sabers were detrimental to the multiplayer. Everyone just having one light saber ended up being far more fun, which is why I never really got into Jedi Knight 3 multiplayer like I did with Jedi Knight 2.

 

[The Cockatrice]

never really got into Jedi Knight 3 multiplayer like I did with Jedi Knight 2.

You missed out. JKA MP was huge. We even had ESL matches and competitions. It was genuinely a skill based game. Staff and dual wield were just as good.

I made fragmovies for skilled players, tho others made better ones than me. Heres one of mine below. Almost 20 years ago, jesus, time flies.

 

[SCB3]

You missed out. JKA MP was huge. We even had ESL matches and competitions. It was genuinely a skill based game. Staff and dual wield were just as good.

I made fragmovies for skilled players, tho others made better ones than me. Heres one of mine below. Almost 20 years ago, jesus, time flies.

It still has an active scene which alone to me is amazing and that was before these remasters came out

 

[The Cockatrice]

It still has an active scene which alone to me is amazing and that was before these remasters came out

Indeed it does, I still have a few people asking me to play. Maybe I should when Im done with all my singleplayer stuff, if that ever happens.

 

[Nankatsu]

Man JKA... Those were the days.

Fucking loved that game.

 

[ReBurn]

You really have to explore everywhere to find your way through some of the levels in that game. One of my favorites.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Loved it back in the day, one of Raven's greatests.

That pub level right after you get your lightsaber made you felt like a god, and the lightsaber fights that come up later were super cool and tense too.

I didn't find JKA's single-player to be near as fun or polished, but still a cool game for sure.

 

[TheSHEEEP]

The community is still very much active, but not really using the original game anymore.
Instead, most use a more modern "remake" of the engine:

GitHub - JACoders/OpenJK: Community effort to maintain and improve Jedi Academy (SP & MP) + Jedi Outcast (SP only) released by Raven Software

Community effort to maintain and improve Jedi Academy (SP & MP) + Jedi Outcast (SP only) released by Raven Software - JACoders/OpenJK

github.com

And then some overhauls/mods on top, like:

Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Mods and Files

Mods and other content for the game Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.

jkhub.org

(Cross-platform, too, played it on Linux about a year ago or so)

 

[RagnarokIV]

Went blind playing these games.

You really should be playing on PC though, they're made for keyboard and mouse, using number keys to rapidly bounce between force powers, tight control over movement and lightsaber attacks etc... Either way, shit proper kicks off when you get the lightsaber and go to Nar Shaddaa.

 

[EverydayBeast]

I think Star Wars is the biggest movie to game franchise depending on the genre (flight and rogue squadron, multiplayer and battlefront etc.) they’ve demonstrated to make quality games.

 

[SCB3]

Went blind playing these games.

You really should be playing on PC though, they're made for keyboard and mouse, using number keys to rapidly bounce between force powers, tight control over movement and lightsaber attacks etc... Either way, shit proper kicks off when you get the lightsaber and go to Nar Shaddaa.

Oh I know, I’m not at my house atm so limited to just switch for the time being, considering grabbing that Heritage collection and Bounty Hunter soon

 

[Ristifer]

JK2 is one of my favourite games of all time. Getting that lightsaber was like a revelation in gaming at the time. SW games to this day have absolutely nothing on that combat. JKA is also really good, but I prefer JK2.

 

[Hudo]

You missed out. JKA MP was huge. We even had ESL matches and competitions. It was genuinely a skill based game. Staff and dual wield were just as good.

I made fragmovies for skilled players, tho others made better ones than me. Heres one of mine below. Almost 20 years ago, jesus, time flies.

That's pretty cool.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Dark Forces is always my favorite by a mile, replaying it now in fact (halfway through). It's brutal and strange in a wonderful way.

I did enjoy the first Jedi Knight entries but something felt lost compared to DF, when I originally played... maybe after this DF run I'll start them again and see if I my view has shifted.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Kyle katarn is GOAT

 

[SCB3]

Dark Forces is always my favorite by a mile, replaying it now in fact (halfway through). It's brutal and strange in a wonderful way.

I did enjoy the first Jedi Knight entries but something felt lost compared to DF, when I originally played... maybe after this DF run I'll start them again and see if I my view has shifted.

I kinda want the sequel and Mysteries of the Sith remastered as well, I missed those completely, hell up until a few months ago I have thought Jedi outcast was the direct sequel despite owning the others on steam

 

[Romulus]

This is the way.



Actually made it feel completely new and fresh. Forgot how absolutely massive game worlds were in the 2000s. In VR, the level design feels incredibly expansive.

 

[FeralEcho]

You missed out. JKA MP was huge. We even had ESL matches and competitions. It was genuinely a skill based game. Staff and dual wield were just as good.

I made fragmovies for skilled players, tho others made better ones than me. Heres one of mine below. Almost 20 years ago, jesus, time flies.

90% of that montage :

Cool montage though

 

[SCB3]

Damn took me long enough but finally past the first level, I didn’t realize how to find the 3 codes I needed to get through and man the health pickups in this level are close to non existent, I did manage to realize there is an alt fire mode which helped with the E11 Blasters hip fire though

 

[A2una1]

I liked it back then when it released. But playing it today on PS5 is annoying control wise. It just feels sluggish to me. I myself enjoy the modern approaches like Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor much more, although I like Kyle Kataarn a little bit better then Cal Kestus.

 

[mrcroket]

I liked it back then when it released. But playing it today on PS5 is annoying control wise. It just feels sluggish to me. I myself enjoy the modern approaches like Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor much more, although I like Kyle Kataarn a little bit better then Cal Kestus.

It's a game designed for keyboard and mouse, something similar happened to me when I recently tried the "remaster" of PS5 and the controls with controller seemed horrible.

Especially the aiming and the (lack of) precision of the weapons are designed for mouse precision, the game was made at a time when console shooters had not yet proliferated.

 

[rodrigolfp]

You missed out. JKA MP was huge. We even had ESL matches and competitions. It was genuinely a skill based game. Staff and dual wield were just as good.

I made fragmovies for skilled players, tho others made better ones than me. Heres one of mine below. Almost 20 years ago, jesus, time flies.

Bot killing?

 

[The Cockatrice]

Bot killing?

No

 

[rodrigolfp]

No

Strange. Every enemy moving like the bots move.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Strange. Every enemy moving like the bots move.

Have you played the game?

 

[rodrigolfp]

Still installed since ever.

 

[SCB3]

It's a game designed for keyboard and mouse, something similar happened to me when I recently tried the "remaster" of PS5 and the controls with controller seemed horrible.

Especially the aiming and the (lack of) precision of the weapons are designed for mouse precision, the game was made at a time when console shooters had not yet proliferated.

Not exactly, I mean Dark Forces, Alien Trilogy and DOOM were around before this and controlled fine on consoles, remember this was PS2/GC/Xbox/DC era, a few years earlier I'd agree but console shooters were on the rise about this time, hell it came out a few months after Halo for example, by that point there were plenty of Console shooters around, especially Third Person ones

 

[Trunx81]

Wait till you get to Nar Shaddaa, OP. THEN you will hate the game.
I played it on PC back in the days and bought it later for Game Cube. On PC, I cheated the hell out of it (I was still young), but on GC, I played it how it´s supposed to be played. And had a hell of a time! One of those all time classics. And the multiplayer was GOAT.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I don't recall it being a particularly hard game, I liked it okay. I was really hyped for it when it came out because I was a masssssive fan of Jedi Knight.

I still prefer the original Jedi Knight for a few reasons, mostly visual though. Jedi Knight has an iconic look (of that time) and I love 3D games that have that aesthetic, especially first person titles. To me Jedi Outcast looks soulless in comparison. It also, laughably, runs worse on modern PCs than Jedi Knight does.

Still a solid game.

 

[mrcroket]

Not exactly, I mean Dark Forces, Alien Trilogy and DOOM were around before this and controlled fine on consoles, remember this was PS2/GC/Xbox/DC era, a few years earlier I'd agree but console shooters were on the rise about this time, hell it came out a few months after Halo for example, by that point there were plenty of Console shooters around, especially Third Person ones

I mean the "modern" dual-stick control simulating keyboard and mouse, it wasn't until halo that this form of console controls was defined, before each game had its own scheme and used to rely on auto-aiming or copied the goldeneye control system.

But besides that, the keyboard and mouse shooters of the 90s and early 2000s required a precision that is difficult with a controller even today, since the weapons, the aiming and the difficulty were adapted to the precision and speed of the mouse.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

I mean the "modern" dual-stick control simulating keyboard and mouse, it wasn't until halo that this form of console controls was defined, before each game had its own scheme and used to rely on auto-aiming or copied the goldeneye control system.

But besides that, the keyboard and mouse shooters of the 90s and early 2000s required a precision that is difficult with a controller even today, since the weapons, the aiming and the difficulty were adapted to the precision and speed of the mouse.

regarding control schemes.... I can play classics like Dark Forces great on a keyboard if I'm given the classic "strafe lock" key. I miss that control scheme; it even works well for single-stick.

I probably both enjoy it more and play better on single-stick FPS games with a strafe-lock button than I do on the annoyingly standardized dual-stick setup that everyone uses today. Plus, having my right thumb free to use face buttons means I can map all the secondary item / weapon / duck / jump misc buttons so nicely and comfortably, instead of trying to shoehorn those kinds of things onto triggers etc where they don't belong. Dual-stick should have never become an obligatory standard for controllers.

 

[mrcroket]

regarding control schemes.... I can play classics like Dark Forces great on a keyboard if I'm given the classic "strafe lock" key. I miss that control scheme; it even works well for single-stick.

I probably both enjoy it more and play better on single-stick FPS games with a strafe-lock button than I do on the annoyingly standardized dual-stick setup that everyone uses today. Plus, having my right thumb free to use face buttons means I can map all the secondary item / weapon / duck / jump misc buttons so nicely and comfortably, instead of trying to shoehorn those kinds of things onto triggers etc where they don't belong. Dual-stick should have never become an obligatory standard for controllers.

Yep, I miss it too, besides feeling "more natural" it made every game play differently, the standardization of game controls and mechanics have made all modern games play almost the same.

(Old-man mode on)

 

[Big Baller]

Its my favorite SW game

 

[SCB3]

Back to this, I played the Dark Forces remaster and saw this on sale for like £7 with Academy for PS4 and though hey why not before I get into outlaws

Damn I forgot how hard and unforgiving this is on normal, enemies don’t miss and the lack of health packs is really surprising, Nar Shadaa is kicking my ass

I have beaten this on The GameCube though, I really should check out the PC version

I will say though, this is MY SW post OT and prequels, even Luke here is fantastic

 

[xVodevil]

Great game along with JKA. Why can't we have games like these today

 

[SCB3]

Great game along with JKA. Why can't we have games like these today

It really is, a tight level design which challenges you both in combat and puzzle design is kinda missing in games these days or makes it its sole focus

Don’t get me wrong I like games like that, but we could do with more like these at times

 

[xVodevil]

It really is, a tight level design which challenges you both in combat and puzzle design is kinda missing in games these days or makes it its sole focus

Don’t get me wrong I like games like that, but we could do with more like these at times

Yeah, I guess just trying to point out that we have these games I've played multiple times back in the day, and now there is Outlaws that I'm not in the slightest hurry to try... different times.

Probably gonna have to replay both of these next year, wonder if there are actually workable mods for current widescreen/4K res standards on PC.

 

[freemandos]

The whole Dark Forces/Jedi Knight tetralogy is great, very ahead of its time and its main character is the Chuck Norris of Star Wars. Also most of this saga is the closest to see the old expanded universe post-RotJ on screen, even the first Jedi Knight has live action cutscenes.

 

[FeastYoEyes]

Any fixes to the PC port that makes it more playable?

 

[{insert code here}]

I played it on PS4 and it's tough in the beginning but after you start getting force powers you can cheese it. Great game and I wish the steam versions had those cheevos.

 

[SCB3]

Any fixes to the PC port that makes it more playable?

Yea there is a few mods out there for it

It’s not really a controller game either, I’m limited to PS5 and switch atm due to personal reasons but it’s playable, but my god it’s hard

Nar Shadaar is done now, apparently the worst level in the game

 

[SCB3]

The whole Dark Forces/Jedi Knight tetralogy is great, very ahead of its time and its main character is the Chuck Norris of Star Wars. Also most of this saga is the closest to see the old expanded universe post-RotJ on screen, even the first Jedi Knight has live action cutscenes.

We really need night dive to port and remaster Dark Forces 2 and its expansion, they are such good games even now

 

[SCB3]

Ok I legit have no idea how the fuck I finished this as a kid

Got to Tavalon, and that fight straight up took me an hour, I’ve had easier times in Souls games!

 

[MMaRsu]

I really gotta replay this too, one of my favorites ever as a kid