For the most part, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga tells an abridged version of the iconic movies, but the game actually offers a more thorough, compelling view to Attack of the Clones' final act. The prequel films, especially The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, have had their fair share of criticisms, and LEGO Skywalker Saga typically does little more than inject some humor into their narratives. In the last few missions of LEGO Skywalker Saga's Episode II, though, the game more convincingly portrays the magnitude of the circumstances, giving the player new perspectives on the first conflict of the Clone Wars.
While Geonosis suffers from LEGO Skywalker Saga's overabundance of collectibles, by the time Episode 2 is coming to a close, players have likely explored it prior to getting control of Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, and Ki-Adi-Mundi. They leave the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in order to thwart the execution of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and senator Pe Amidala. This journey and fight through the arena on Geonosis is left off-screen in Attack of the Clones, but is a useful sequence of world building. Anakin is clearly the center of the prequel movies (the entire saga is named for his family, after all), but the downfall of the Jedi Order is almost as important, and such a notable operation by of the Jedi Council is glossed over in the movie.
Star Wars games made the prequel Jedi famous, and LEGO Skywalker Saga continues that tradition by lending more screen time to the nearly unparalleled role they play in galactic politics. Attack of the Clones positions Mace Windu's arrival in Count Dooku's arena balcony as nothing more than a surprising convenience, whereas LEGO Skywalker Saga gives the situation the attention it deserves. Although the entire conflict is being orchestrated by Darth Sidious, the Republic's invasion of Geonosis with a task force of Force-wielding religious extremists as the vanguard is an event with galactic consequences largely left to be inferred by the viewer in Attack of the Clones.
LEGO Star Wars Gives The Jedi Order & Jango Fett Deserved Attention
Granted, Count Dooku's attempted execution of two Jedi and a Republic senator is equally deserving of screen time in the movie, but LEGO Skywalker Saga shows that there was obviously more to the Jedi infiltrating the arena than simply showing up and interrupting. LEGO Star Wars misunderstands certain plot points in Revenge of the Sith and skips important narrative beats in The Last Jedi, but elevates the haphazard, deus-ex-machina-filled third act of Attack of the Clones by giving many characters the attention they deserve. The Jedi Order gets a chance to show how effectively militant it is, and even Jango Fett is depicted as a genuine participant in the arena battle.
Much like the Jedi, the capabilities of Jango Fett are espoused through dia Attack of the Clones, but he has an embarrassingly quick death at the hands of Windu. In the movie, while serving as a personal guard to Dooku, Jango only has the chance to kill a single Jedi before he jetpacks down into the arena, falls over trying to grab Windu's lightsaber, fights off one of the gladiatorial beasts, and gets beheaded by the Jedi Master. LEGO Star Wars' Jango Fett conversely has a drawn-out, satisfying boss battle that makes it clear why he was selected as the basis of a clone army.
Similarly to the Jedi's infiltration of the arena, Obi-Wan and Anakin aren't dropped off on the doorstep of Dooku's hangar conveniently seconds before their transport ship is blown up. Instead, they crash land at the base of the cliff, and need to find a way in before chasing Dooku through the facility. It's clearly a way to inject more gameplay into the narrative, but the two Jedi facing some form of resistance on the way to confront Dooku adds even more believability to a conflict that is unfortunately expedited in the movie. This long sequence of an expanded battle on Geonosis is capped off with LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga improving Star Wars' worst lightsaber duel, a worthy finale to a more thorough exploration of the battle which began the years-long Clone Wars.
