The fusion of Dark Souls and Star Wars in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order made lightsaber combat more exciting, but Jedi Academy and other classic Star Wars games demonstrate the variety of LucasArts' early 2000s titles, as the publisher developed games in multiple different genres. Developed by Vicarious Visions and Raven Software, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy improved upon the system created for Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast along with providing players with their own character to customize.
The customization system in Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy included a lightsaber creator, allowing players to pick their colors, hilts, and fighting styles. Jedi Academy's campaign revolved around a Padawan that would go through Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy, becoming either a Jedi Master or a Sith Lord by the very end. Various Star Wars planets could be visited, including more miniature stages on those planets for duels against AI and other Players. The game's source code was eventually released by Raven Software, allowing players to return to the game with several mods that further improved it. With these tools, players have recreated iconic duels from the Star Wars saga, including the iconic Duel of the Fates sequence from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
Lightsaber duels were a hugely important element of Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. Whether the player faced an AI opponent or another person in multiplayer, there was a rush of adrenaline when both opponents were swinging lightsabers and slinging Force powers. JForce powers, and threat of Star Wars' lightsabers made the duels of Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy deadly encounters.
Jedi Academy's Lightsaber Duels Were Star Wars Games' Best
When faced with multiple opponents, the battles would become intense fights that required the lone fighter to be on the move constantly, attempting to stay a step ahead of the small group trying to slay them. However, this system wasn't without its errors, as most dodge mechanics were animation locked and did not give a any invincibility. The system's combat was also quite basic even for its intensity, the blocking system being automatic rather than manual. However, despite Jedi Academy being released in 2003, the game still provides exhilarating combat with a lightsaber. A developer like Respawn could look back at this title for its depiction of Cal Kestis' lightsaber combat in Jedi: Survivor, or a later entry in the series. In any case, it's high time a new Star Wars game had a lightsaber combat system that was as elegant and thoughtful as Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy's.
