Growing up, this game was always just as much Star Wars as the films to me. Introduced me to the EU and helped expand my creativity and imagination along with it. Good times!
Same! this game and Rebel Assault 2 (and even Dark Empire that my uncle had) were among my first introductions into the Expanded Universe when I was a kid.
To me the first Rogue Squadron game on N64 plus Dark Forces and TIE/X-Wing fighter series on PC broke that mentality/paradigm real quick...realized we were in for a new era of graphical and technical greatness!!
The Ewoks movies and cartoon did that for me (introduced me to the EU that is). Games like X-wing, TIE Fighter, Dark Forces, Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight (or if you prefer Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II), Rebellion, and Yoda Stories just let me immerse myself as a teen to early 20s. Can't remember exactly when Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy came out, but I think they were like Republic Commando, mid to late 20s to early 30s.
I also liked how there was so many different lightsabers colors, I believe yellow color was introduced for the first time. Two years later in Phantom Menace fans would get a double-bladed weapon of Darth Maul. Also bad guys could use other colors than red.
@Nebula I'm guessing he's referring to the white centre in every blade beneath the outer colour (except for the darksaber which has a black centre with a white outer light).
+oktyone We had seen Coruscant allready in TIE Fighter AND in Return of the Jedi special edition.. wich came out in march 1997 when this game came in late september that year
funny enough nar shadda and coruscant each are symbols, nar shadda is the dark city planet full of gangs and crimelords, and coruscant is the opposite.
Second fun fact, the souls trapped within the Valley of the Jedi mentioned by Rahn and the source of the power Jerec is hunting down is the result of the detonation of the Thought Bomb by the Brotherhood of Darkness in the last Jedi vs Sith galactic war, when Darth Bane tricked the Brotherhood into believing they could survive the technique and which killed not only every Brotherhood member but also the 100 Jedi sent to stop them and arrived too late. They'd been trapped in limbo for a thousand years until Kyle freed them.
@kevinsupple5382 Actually, just looked it up since I was curious, and it was the first Death Star. Andors style and personality is also a lot similar to Katarn, not to mention the fact that they both favor the Briar Pistol(Blaster), so it's very clear they just saw his character and made him in their vision. The only difference is Andor isn't force sensitive, but that doesn't really matter since the parts they stole from Katarn and gave to Andor was before he was a Jedi.
@@_anton_khoury_5936 and maybe return, the jedi took decades to return and the sith a millenium and still returned, legends can return, certainly has never left the fans, only disney abandoned it we didn't
i really love 8T88's voice, beside that, this game had the feeling that every enemy had its own personality, not just "some" boss, These older games are more worth then modern ones
@@kenpoarniceguy1 Honestly, I don't recall. I worked primarily on the cutscenes & cinematics for the game rather than on the gameplay itself. But I believe he was.
8t88's voice was acted by a voice actor named Denny Delk, and if you heard his normal speaking voice, you would never guess it was him. 8t88 is definitely my favorite character in this, i don't normally care for backstories to fictional characters, but i would love to see more of 8t88.
I think I once read the actress playing Jan was a Chinese fashion model (I can believe it). The actor playing Kyle didn't act much in anything after this and eventually quit to pursue other activities. Thankfully he was interviewed by a few websites around 2010 about his experience working on the game.
@@Diecast.51it's pretty awesome for us old EU fans that we still actually have a live action Kyle katarn. This may be dated as hell, campy etc but man...I appreciate this so much because Disney will never give us legendary characters like Kyle Katarn. I cant wait to delve into these stories as well. This game is older then I am and my current EU collection is just post episode 3. I basically have every single novel and young reader novel except clone wars secret missions and a lot of the comics. But then in turn I have almost all comics set in the original trilogy. But I'm just pumped to get into post endor as well.
Oh man, nostalgia, the first ever game I played online on the Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone... Had a crush on Jan since 97 and seeing her again, still do haha.
Man I really miss some of the early EU stuff that occurred before the prequel movies. This game was released before it was established that Dark Jedi use red lightsabers, so the variety in sabers was neat. This was also the first piece of Star Wars media to feature a character using two lightsabers (before Anakin demonstrated it in Attack of the Clones).
Old EU always held to the fact that dark jedi and even Sith don't need to wield red lightsabers. In the old EU you just had a lot of different types of lightsaber Crystals. That bleeding shit of canon basically made sure that there Is no lightsaber variety in the dark side. Exar kun and Ulic cel droma simply held to their old lightsabers for example.
+Nicolas DOMEGE-BERENGER Yes this game had really one unique way to immerce you right into the universe, the view of jedi and sith, the fights, just everything! They represented the universe like no one else did
You know, I´m Impressed at how good the acting (And writing for that matter.) is, It´s not spectacular but compared to almost every late 90´s video game (I´m looking at you Resident Evil.) its actually really good.
+ArmaBiologica35 yeah, i think what those FMV cutscenes lacked was some real directing, other than that most actors seemed well suited for their roles, even if sometimes it came out a bit corny. what i think is the real flaw here is that the blue/greenscreen effects were obviously not polished enough. and besides, there were just too many of them. like for instance when Kyle looks over his father's home: did it all have to be CGI? couldn't they just find a proper spot, shoot the scene and only later digitally add the shuttle and the house?
yarpen26 that would have required building a set. Having a pre-rendered background was just cheaper on these type of budgets. Not to mention, since the video was going to be a bit on the grainy side due to data limitations, it wouldn't matter too much with the Polish. All this considered, it was far better than what it deserved to be.
+Z09801 If that book were converted into a film with these style of cutscenes, I'd agree. However, to my knowledge, besides the films, this was the only other piece of official Star Wars media to be shot in live action. This was the only thing, before The Force Awakens, to truly be considered an Episode VII movie.
+Nicolás Riveros (Sigh) I've always treated "Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II" as a true live action sequel to "Return of the Jedi". Too bad Kyle Katarn and his video game adventures got erased from the Disney continuity. I would rather re-watch Kyle steal the Death Star plans than watch "Rogue One: A Star Wars story".
+Stormtrooper Sverige excatly! i mean, is like Disney was like "oh, do you like some of the most badass characters be in an official cannon? well fuck you"
As someone who enjoys the Star Wars films as a whole, I've found that one of my biggest regrets (alongside Pellaeon and Mara Jade) is that Kyle Katarn and his exploits had to be lost. That being said, this type of character would be perfect to place in the timeline between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. I think it would be cool to see an Anti-Hero Jedi who does what is morally right, but is also willing to accept the darkness within the world and leave the ultimate choice (and consequences) of good/evil to his enemies. Giving someone Jerec a Lightsaber and basically challenging Jerec to make a choice that could lead to his death is morally grey, but also badass.
+Rudy Schmidt Star Wars 7 deliberately repeats Episode 4 because the movie saga is like a poem with rhyming stanzas, or a symphony with repeating themes. For example, in both Episode I and Episode 4, a Skywalker from Tatooine blows up the enemy battleship. In Episodes 3 and 6, a Skywalker fights his nemesis while Palpatine watches from a swivel chair, with a space battle raging behind him. Star Wars is all about history repeating itself.
+Dobbys Boggart Or this is just a lack of imagination. They are afraid to take risks because they care more about the money than the universe they have stolen. In every Star wars they were some emblematic scenes, or some awesome new planet or spaceship. In EpVII there is...nothing new, even the plot is the same. Stop searching for an excuse, they are just cowards. I'm starting to think that even Rogue One will have a better plot than the Sequel. Even Ep I did a better job in your " repeating the story" stuff. BTW, I enjoyed EpVII ( 3 times ), it was cool, really. But it was empty. It was maybe a good film, but not a good star wars film. (sorry for my english, I tried my best ^^ )
+Picard Gaël To be honest, A New Hope itself had taken a lot of plot elements from different media. And in the end, even a bare bone plot can be effective if used as a vehicle for good characters.
+Picard Gaël Your English is excellent. Better than that of a lot of native speakers of the language. Episode 7 takes a lot from Episode 4... I hope that this isn't going to be a consistency throughout the new trilogy... I really do like Episode 7, but I also really see how it is a reboot of Episode 4. I do not want to see Episode 8 as just a mirror of Episode 5, even if "The Empire Strikes Back" is largely considered to be the best "Star Wars" film. I want to see something fresh.
These late 90s cutscenes are better than all of Disney's Star Wars combined. I used to play this game so much. It's still worth playing every now and then.
Bar none my most favorite Star Wars game. It was mindblowing all the way back in the late 90s to zappy-zap enemies in a first person shooter like Papa Palpatine.
Lol I love how all the dark side choices in the old games have your character go from naive but still wanting to do good and all to I want to murder innocent people without any remorse. They break character so hard it’s hillarious. Kyle goes from being angry but is like on the verge of crying after killing that guy and having the choice to kill Jan or not, and in the dark side option he’s suddenly all like “Not only am I gonna kill my friend, but I’m going to become even more evil then you, Jerec!”
Star Wars morality (or rather, Jedi/Force morality) has always been very simplistic and black and white. It's like the "slippery slope" notion not only isn't a fallacy, it's a code of conduct. "Hey, I killed this guy because it was more convenient. Might as well become a brutal totalitarian dictator!"
@@richardkoeln True but remember why we have systems to divide the power in a state. Most humans cannot handle the power that goes along with high positions, it should be different for Jedi maybe but only for really well trained ones.
The Dark Side in Star Wars is inherently corruptive, and it's repeatedly stated (and shown) that giving into it will rapidly rearrange the way the Force user interprets the reality around them.
@@richardkoeln the Slippery Slope being called a fallacy is itself a fallacy. It's basic psychological conditioning that one change will have knock down effects later in time, and that one change in philosophy (and indeed, the cultural zeitgeist) inevitably leads to others. The fallacy part is that most of the time, where it leads isn't obvious until post-factum, and a lot of predictions end up being bullshit.
Really wished they went back and remastered this stuff. It looks like a great storyline that faded into the past. I've never even heard of this game :( It would be cool if they went back and updated the graphics and other things!
It's cheesy, it's overly dated, and the characters and plot are overly barebones, but I would LOVE to see this game be either remade, or reimagined into a movie. This kind of adventure story would be a very welcome, very unique story to see be further fleshed out, and while Jerec and his band of Dark Jedi are all especially barebones archetypes, I see a lot of potential for them. Plus, a droid villain like 8T-88 would be pretty badass. I would love to see an Indiana Jones style adventure story with space travel and lightsabers!
Even back when I was at LucasArts working on this game and Dark Forces I felt it would make a great TV series. Now with the dawn of the Disney+ streaming service I am even more convinced of it.
@@bryansteele832 Considering that Star Wars is a Space Opera, over acting is only part of the charm. The guy who did Jerac really emphasized this, lol.
I remember playing this game over and over again back in the late 90s when I was younger. Has it really been 20 years? Haven't seen this for so long. So what happened to me? Well, I got married and now I have 2 teenage children!! All the star Wars games available these days are multiplayer games and I much prefer single player games like this one was!!
Congrats on having kids... I highly recommend Jedi: Fallen Order. It feels like the succesor to the Jedi Knight series IMO -- more than The Force Unleashed, anyway (not that I dislike TFU, on the contrary). I only wish they would make a Dark Forces 3.
@Clanner Bob good point; Kyle Katarn deserved a fucking break. The guy who defended the Valley of the Jedi and defeated Jerec and Desaan is a fucking legend himself and deserves a woman in his life
Thank you for posting this. I had a six-pack of Star Wars video games on CD back in the 90s, which included the Kyle Katarn trilogy. Not sure if the the full games were loaded or just the first few levels each, but it doesn't matter, considering I could never beat them. Anyway, the sound/video capabilities of our home computer never let me view any of these cut scenes properly. Really means a lot to see these for the first time.
+XwingRed4 You and other fans will always respect them in your minds. That's great. It's all made up, so you can decide what's canon for you. Disney just wants the flexibility to create an awesome alternate story.
They are TOOOOO woke and PC to even make a single game like this....They'd prefer unrealistic CGI and absolutely opposite characters of this game.....They don't care for the viewers, fans, and even new fans of the OT....they care for profit and pandering to their political agenda....This game is basically so much higher quality, better acting, and far better story than the sequel trilogy combined....Kyle wasn't practically a god in throughout the game....he gained it through experience and hard work and dedication.....absolutely a masterpiece!
I was 5 years old.. My dad used to be so proud that I could complete this game so young.. One of my favourite games of all time, outcast and academy were also excellent sequels!! Remake this for us, you must!
Good retro game if anyone remembers Here's some thoughts about the game itself: About him killing Maw- Shows the purity of indecisiveness. And for a brief moment him allowing his deepest emotions to affect his reality. Honestly its situations like that which make us human. Which is why Jerec uses this opportunity of weakness to have him make the ultimate sacrifice. Although in my opinion it's a very, very out of character scenario for Kyle to take the dark-side choice. But this is just a video game not a movie, so I'll excuse the lack of character development. Light or Dark Ending- Light because the Dark ending shows it's not what he even wants when he sobs up looking at that tape of his father for the last time. I mean symbolically it shows him trying to shed the last of his emotions and becoming a full killer. It doesn't actually prove in anyway he's over it. His demeanor still shows weakness as opposed to his light side ending. It's quite a great dichotomy though. Showing the shallowness of owning the entire world but still being uncomfortable in your own skin. Or better put; transforming from a bringer of life to a bringer of death, hence the personality change. It's the comparison of owning the world or owning your soul, you can't have both. When you own "the world" you don't just go do what you want as the leader of the empire. When you own "your self" you actually give up owning the world and, in all honesty, the concept of owning in the first place. The dark side is actually the ultimate bondage because the empire follows you everywhere. You in a sense become "The Empire", which is just a God/Energy of Control and Destruction. As opposed to being "The Self", which is a God/Energy of Freedom and Life. So yeah Light side ending in this game and in real life for me thank you. Freedom>Control. In terms of cinematography- The good ending is cheesy and rushed. Nothing is really presented in terms of ideas or relativity. Just a simple, thanks dad. Where-as the dark side ending flows very smoothly. In terms of cinematography and direction... The dark ending is superior
Jay Cee Productions Frankly as far as the whole arc goes, IMO the dark ending is canon. Katarn isn’t Jedi selected and rigorously trained in the goody two shoes cult, he’s a human with human vulnerabilities, he’s lived a life where he’s already seen the darkness, he’s not prepared for it and thus the dark ending is where he naturally belongs. Besides, we all know saris wanted that d the whole time.
This was the first fps I ever really played. It was also the first thing that really got me into Star War. Was a great game and told a decent story. I agree with most of the old school fans here that this game and the series Heir to the Empire are part of what made Star Wars last h as long as it has and deserves more respect that it gets.
Also, 17:28 - my favourite cutscene... The musical was just EPIC. Can't remember this music being used at any other point in the trilogy, except for the Death Star intercept. Such a fantastic piece...
I remember watching my older Brother playing this in 1998. I was 11 years old and been a Star Wars Fan since i could remember. That Game felt like a complete new Movie to me.
Keep in mind when watching these cut-scenes that they were filmed before Episode 1 was in theaters, and with a much lower budget. Also, before just anyone had software to film themselves wielding a lightsaber. "Old folks" were blown away by this game's "FMV" scenes. It was like "an entirely new Star Wars film", even before new Star Wars films were made.
If they made Delta Squad from Republic Commando canon with a little cameo in that crappy Clone Wars show, then they should definitely make Kyle Katarn canon by giving him a cameo of some sort. He is *THE* best EU character ever made for Star Wars; a sort of Han Solo (mercenary, charismatic) and Luke Skywalker (father murdered and a force user/Jedi) in one.
Jin Zor Not only Kyle Katarn saga, Shadows of the Empire and both KOTOR games should be canon. KOTOR 1 and 2 has plenty of material to allow the creation of a TV series or set of movies.
Nicely done. I still believe Dark Forces II to be one of the best games set in Star Wars. And we have real actors, as well as the whole style of the game is very close to Star Wars of old. The music is based upon the original music by John Williams, but the game uses the remix versions, made by Peter McConnell, who brought the best of music and sound editing to such projects as Rebel Assault, Force Commander and Battlefront!
Thanks for this! Can't get the cutscenes to work in my game, so this helps me figure out what the hell I'm actually doing "recovering your father's data disk from the clutches of 8t88's severed arm"
This game was everything to me in the 90s. Playing against other people on The Zone, joining the DJA clan, I was DJA_WARRIOR. Good times. Nar Shaddaa was my favorite map
The first game was Kyle investigating an imperial shipping and production project. The second game is a completely different genre: Indiana Jones in the Star Wars galaxy.
Loved these games. Chosing between light and dark side, cool characters, great villains, nice character arc - nothing we saw in the Rey Kylo mess. Even Dark Forces 1 was better than JarJar Abram's stuff, though without lightsabers.
Grateful that this got made. Got a glimpse to what Star Wars could have been. Too bad the talented story-makers couldn't find a way to work on the movie canon. 90's were a magical time. We could've had the future we deserved - Star Wars and everything else
Some People just CAN'T leave well enough a [former] established continuity and old [but respectable] fan base alone. Clearly they have not heard of the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". FUCK YOU Disney! You killed Star Wars [and TRON]! FUCK YOU!!! #Betrayal #TheRealEpisodeVII #KyleKatarn #DarkJedi #Jerec #JanOrs #DarkForces2
The mashups and transitions of the different scores from John Williams are perfect, if i didnt watxh Star Wars i woulda thought some cutscenes were just one song
Growing up, this game was always just as much Star Wars as the films to me.
Introduced me to the EU and helped expand my creativity and imagination along with it. Good times!
Same here
Same! this game and Rebel Assault 2 (and even Dark Empire that my uncle had) were among my first introductions into the Expanded Universe when I was a kid.
To me the first Rogue Squadron game on N64 plus Dark Forces and TIE/X-Wing fighter series on PC broke that mentality/paradigm real quick...realized we were in for a new era of graphical and technical greatness!!
The Ewoks movies and cartoon did that for me (introduced me to the EU that is). Games like X-wing, TIE Fighter, Dark Forces, Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight (or if you prefer Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II), Rebellion, and Yoda Stories just let me immerse myself as a teen to early 20s. Can't remember exactly when Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy came out, but I think they were like Republic Commando, mid to late 20s to early 30s.
Yes the eu is real Star Wars . Not Disney .
First time we ever saw a lightsaber on a screen since the end of Return of the Jedi.
First time I saw a variety of lightsaber colors beyond green blue white and red. Yuns yellow lightsaber was really cool.
I also liked how there was so many different lightsabers colors, I believe yellow color was introduced for the first time. Two years later in Phantom Menace fans would get a double-bladed weapon of Darth Maul. Also bad guys could use other colors than red.
@Nebula I'm guessing he's referring to the white centre in every blade beneath the outer colour (except for the darksaber which has a black centre with a white outer light).
H
Nar Shaddda looks badass in this, still looking great! back in the days when no one had ever seen Coruscant.
+oktyone We had seen Coruscant allready in TIE Fighter AND in Return of the Jedi special edition.. wich came out in march 1997 when this game came in late september that year
+oktyone Dark Forces I and II gave me the impression that Nar Shadaa was a city in space. How cool would THAT have been!
+Kevin Hagen also a Jedi Knight named "Aayla Secura"(The Blue Twi'lek Jedi Gir)l WAS an EU Born Creation.
funny enough nar shadda and coruscant each are symbols, nar shadda is the dark city planet full of gangs and crimelords, and coruscant is the opposite.
@@Mikemic2218 To be fair Coruscant has all that, it's all just buried beneath the gilded surface.
Fun fact, the librarian lady from the prequels is Jerec's former master when he was young Jedi.
Second fun fact, the souls trapped within the Valley of the Jedi mentioned by Rahn and the source of the power Jerec is hunting down is the result of the detonation of the Thought Bomb by the Brotherhood of Darkness in the last Jedi vs Sith galactic war, when Darth Bane tricked the Brotherhood into believing they could survive the technique and which killed not only every Brotherhood member but also the 100 Jedi sent to stop them and arrived too late. They'd been trapped in limbo for a thousand years until Kyle freed them.
I LOVED this game growing up. I remember bringing it home and even my dad was kind of surprised by the cutscenes.
Kyle Katarn is so bad ass
To bad Disney pretty much de-canonized him since Rogue One stole one of his most defining character arch. Still enjoyed that movie though
How do you call stealing the death star plans?
Kyle katarn: my first mission of my game
@@rinzler8272I thought he stole the plans for the second Death Star?
@kevinsupple5382 Yah probably was. Sorry, my Star Wars knowledge has been getting worse and worse the more Disney destroys Star Wars 😆
@kevinsupple5382 Actually, just looked it up since I was curious, and it was the first Death Star. Andors style and personality is also a lot similar to Katarn, not to mention the fact that they both favor the Briar Pistol(Blaster), so it's very clear they just saw his character and made him in their vision. The only difference is Andor isn't force sensitive, but that doesn't really matter since the parts they stole from Katarn and gave to Andor was before he was a Jedi.
Back in the day that video games had talent through and through. LucasArts will always be missed.
Legends will always be remembered
The only true canon.
@@_anton_khoury_5936 and maybe return, the jedi took decades to return and the sith a millenium and still returned, legends can return, certainly has never left the fans, only disney abandoned it we didn't
The actors for Kyle and Jan are so god damn good, I just.....argh too good
for the fact they there is literally nothing but there words they are saying there awssome no props
nothing nothing but their clothing.
Are U for real?
@@DocNintendo They are indeed awesome dude
@@NeverSaySandwich1 agreed
i really love 8T88's voice, beside that, this game had the feeling that every enemy had its own personality, not just "some" boss, These older games are more worth then modern ones
We worked very hard to make sure each villian/enemy had their own distinct and unique character.
Was he a boss to fight?
@@kenpoarniceguy1 Honestly, I don't recall. I worked primarily on the cutscenes & cinematics for the game rather than on the gameplay itself. But I believe he was.
8t88's voice was acted by a voice actor named Denny Delk, and if you heard his normal speaking voice, you would never guess it was him. 8t88 is definitely my favorite character in this, i don't normally care for backstories to fictional characters, but i would love to see more of 8t88.
@@CAndrewNelson Then you are an unknown hero in my teens. Thank you for making such an amazing game back then!
omg I played it when I was a child... looked stunning by then
+Mr. Lupa Plays Yea, it def doesn't hold up lol
+Daniel Ireland Visually no, but the game is still hell a lot of fun.
Não esperava encontrar vc aqui :P
It's still stunning. It actually captures the tech and field of the original films.
I think I once read the actress playing Jan was a Chinese fashion model (I can believe it). The actor playing Kyle didn't act much in anything after this and eventually quit to pursue other activities. Thankfully he was interviewed by a few websites around 2010 about his experience working on the game.
I actually got to chat for a bit with Jason Court (guy who played Kyle) about 10 years ago. Really, really nice and humble guy.
@@Diecast.51it's pretty awesome for us old EU fans that we still actually have a live action Kyle katarn. This may be dated as hell, campy etc but man...I appreciate this so much because Disney will never give us legendary characters like Kyle Katarn. I cant wait to delve into these stories as well. This game is older then I am and my current EU collection is just post episode 3. I basically have every single novel and young reader novel except clone wars secret missions and a lot of the comics. But then in turn I have almost all comics set in the original trilogy.
But I'm just pumped to get into post endor as well.
the dark forces series games were INCOMPARABLY better than the games of today :P
I genuinely believe this game has a better story than The Force Awakens, feels like a more true seventh episode into the saga.
You are not alone
I don't think so. I like this, but it doesnt fit with the rest of the star wars lore.
@@jonathancharron7360 Who cares ?
Amen
@@jonathancharron7360how does it not fit into the lore
Oh man, nostalgia, the first ever game I played online on the Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone... Had a crush on Jan since 97 and seeing her again, still do haha.
Chris T hell yah remember all the mods this game had too
yes good times.........
Same!
Man I really miss some of the early EU stuff that occurred before the prequel movies. This game was released before it was established that Dark Jedi use red lightsabers, so the variety in sabers was neat. This was also the first piece of Star Wars media to feature a character using two lightsabers (before Anakin demonstrated it in Attack of the Clones).
Right. Star Wars was my shared universe back then before the MCU.
I liked the gritty dark atmosphere of the pre-prequel EU.
@@DrewPicklesTheDark Same. It had a certain noticable aesthetic.
Old EU always held to the fact that dark jedi and even Sith don't need to wield red lightsabers. In the old EU you just had a lot of different types of lightsaber Crystals.
That bleeding shit of canon basically made sure that there Is no lightsaber variety in the dark side.
Exar kun and Ulic cel droma simply held to their old lightsabers for example.
"Use it well. Use it... for good...!" at 12:35
I really love the speech of Morgan Katarn, but this part is my favourite.
+Nicolas DOMEGE-BERENGER Yes this game had really one unique way to immerce you right into the universe, the view of jedi and sith, the fights, just everything! They represented the universe like no one else did
Morgan Katarn is the Ben Parker of Star Wars
couldn't agree more...this is my favorite type of storytelling. Essence of Conan the Barbarian.
You know, I´m Impressed at how good the acting (And writing for that matter.) is, It´s not spectacular but compared to almost every late 90´s video game (I´m looking at you Resident Evil.) its actually really good.
+ArmaBiologica35 Incredible acting
+ArmaBiologica35 it's on par with Red Alert cutscenes.
+ArmaBiologica35
Yeah I thought the acting would be way worse... but it wasn't.
+ArmaBiologica35 yeah, i think what those FMV cutscenes lacked was some real directing, other than that most actors seemed well suited for their roles, even if sometimes it came out a bit corny. what i think is the real flaw here is that the blue/greenscreen effects were obviously not polished enough. and besides, there were just too many of them. like for instance when Kyle looks over his father's home: did it all have to be CGI? couldn't they just find a proper spot, shoot the scene and only later digitally add the shuttle and the house?
yarpen26 that would have required building a set. Having a pre-rendered background was just cheaper on these type of budgets. Not to mention, since the video was going to be a bit on the grainy side due to data limitations, it wouldn't matter too much with the Polish. All this considered, it was far better than what it deserved to be.
The "Real" Episode VII , just for the oldest fans...
+Nicolás Riveros The real episode VII would be "Heir to the Empire" the first book in the Thrawn Trilogy.
+Z09801 If that book were converted into a film with these style of cutscenes, I'd agree. However, to my knowledge, besides the films, this was the only other piece of official Star Wars media to be shot in live action. This was the only thing, before The Force Awakens, to truly be considered an Episode VII movie.
Don't forget Rebel Assault 2. It too had live action elements.
+Nicolás Riveros (Sigh) I've always treated "Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II" as a true live action sequel to "Return of the Jedi". Too bad Kyle Katarn and his video game adventures got erased from the Disney continuity.
I would rather re-watch Kyle steal the Death Star plans than watch "Rogue One: A Star Wars story".
+Stormtrooper Sverige excatly! i mean, is like Disney was like "oh, do you like some of the most badass characters be in an official cannon? well fuck you"
As someone who enjoys the Star Wars films as a whole, I've found that one of my biggest regrets (alongside Pellaeon and Mara Jade) is that Kyle Katarn and his exploits had to be lost. That being said, this type of character would be perfect to place in the timeline between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
I think it would be cool to see an Anti-Hero Jedi who does what is morally right, but is also willing to accept the darkness within the world and leave the ultimate choice (and consequences) of good/evil to his enemies.
Giving someone Jerec a Lightsaber and basically challenging Jerec to make a choice that could lead to his death is morally grey, but also badass.
I feel like I saw more originality and effort in thirty minutes of this than in two hours of Episode 7.
Especially Originality... F*ck Star wars episode II was more original than Star wars episode VII
+Rudy Schmidt Star Wars 7 deliberately repeats Episode 4 because the movie saga is like a poem with rhyming stanzas, or a symphony with repeating themes. For example, in both Episode I and Episode 4, a Skywalker from Tatooine blows up the enemy battleship. In Episodes 3 and 6, a Skywalker fights his nemesis while Palpatine watches from a swivel chair, with a space battle raging behind him. Star Wars is all about history repeating itself.
+Dobbys Boggart
Or this is just a lack of imagination.
They are afraid to take risks because they care more about the money than the universe they have stolen.
In every Star wars they were some emblematic scenes, or some awesome new planet or spaceship.
In EpVII there is...nothing new, even the plot is the same.
Stop searching for an excuse, they are just cowards. I'm starting to think that even Rogue One will have a better plot than the Sequel.
Even Ep I did a better job in your " repeating the story" stuff.
BTW, I enjoyed EpVII ( 3 times ), it was cool, really. But it was empty. It was maybe a good film, but not a good star wars film.
(sorry for my english, I tried my best ^^ )
+Picard Gaël
To be honest, A New Hope itself had taken a lot of plot elements from different media. And in the end, even a bare bone plot can be effective if used as a vehicle for good characters.
+Picard Gaël Your English is excellent. Better than that of a lot of native speakers of the language.
Episode 7 takes a lot from Episode 4... I hope that this isn't going to be a consistency throughout the new trilogy... I really do like Episode 7, but I also really see how it is a reboot of Episode 4. I do not want to see Episode 8 as just a mirror of Episode 5, even if "The Empire Strikes Back" is largely considered to be the best "Star Wars" film. I want to see something fresh.
These late 90s cutscenes are better than all of Disney's Star Wars combined. I used to play this game so much. It's still worth playing every now and then.
Bar none my most favorite Star Wars game. It was mindblowing all the way back in the late 90s to zappy-zap enemies in a first person shooter like Papa Palpatine.
I was obsessed with it when I was a kid I must have played it for several years straight when it came out. Still my favorite Star Wars game by far.
Disney's Jedi Knight 2024: "Somehow Jerec returned..."
'Jedi...?'
'"Dark" Jedi.'
Honestly, these two lines and their delivery is what prompted me to find this video...
The magic of childhood...
Got a timestamp by any chance? :o
@@ABAlphaBeta 5:11
Nostalgia overload!
Thank you for this!
Lol I love how all the dark side choices in the old games have your character go from naive but still wanting to do good and all to I want to murder innocent people without any remorse. They break character so hard it’s hillarious. Kyle goes from being angry but is like on the verge of crying after killing that guy and having the choice to kill Jan or not, and in the dark side option he’s suddenly all like “Not only am I gonna kill my friend, but I’m going to become even more evil then you, Jerec!”
Star Wars morality (or rather, Jedi/Force morality) has always been very simplistic and black and white. It's like the "slippery slope" notion not only isn't a fallacy, it's a code of conduct. "Hey, I killed this guy because it was more convenient. Might as well become a brutal totalitarian dictator!"
@@richardkoeln True but remember why we have systems to divide the power in a state. Most humans cannot handle the power that goes along with high positions, it should be different for Jedi maybe but only for really well trained ones.
The Dark Side in Star Wars is inherently corruptive, and it's repeatedly stated (and shown) that giving into it will rapidly rearrange the way the Force user interprets the reality around them.
@@richardkoeln the Slippery Slope being called a fallacy is itself a fallacy. It's basic psychological conditioning that one change will have knock down effects later in time, and that one change in philosophy (and indeed, the cultural zeitgeist) inevitably leads to others.
The fallacy part is that most of the time, where it leads isn't obvious until post-factum, and a lot of predictions end up being bullshit.
3:15 lmao I just realized that's why this dude is hovering when you fight him cause he literally got cut in half by Ron lmao
Really wished they went back and remastered this stuff. It looks like a great storyline that faded into the past. I've never even heard of this game :( It would be cool if they went back and updated the graphics and other things!
There are some graphical updates made, check out Jedi Knight Enhanced!
It's free!! it's up on the jkhub.net website, I'm sure a google search for jedi knight enhanced will bring it up too.
You can buy it on Steam, or I could send you some links/files for it.
Yes it is multiplayer capable, go ahead and buy it on steam!!! There is still a decent community on steam and on IRC.
Leaving so soon ?!
fuck man this was so epic for me at the time
one of the best games ive ever played
It's cheesy, it's overly dated, and the characters and plot are overly barebones, but I would LOVE to see this game be either remade, or reimagined into a movie. This kind of adventure story would be a very welcome, very unique story to see be further fleshed out, and while Jerec and his band of Dark Jedi are all especially barebones archetypes, I see a lot of potential for them. Plus, a droid villain like 8T-88 would be pretty badass. I would love to see an Indiana Jones style adventure story with space travel and lightsabers!
Oh yeah, there's definitely a lot of room to flesh things things out.
Even back when I was at LucasArts working on this game and Dark Forces I felt it would make a great TV series. Now with the dawn of the Disney+ streaming service I am even more convinced of it.
Why not create it?
overly
@@CAndrewNelson This game made my childhood. I must have played it for 10 years straight when I was a kid, by far my favorite game. Thank you!
This game was one of the best Christmas presents I ever got. Played the fuck out of it, loving every second.
Jerec = Jack Nicholson doing his Heath Ledger's Joker impression
Felt more like Jeremy Irons in Dungeons and Dragons to me
Loved the acting in here and the duel between Jerec and Kyle is amazing :D
There is some major over acting and under acting
@@bryansteele832 Considering that Star Wars is a Space Opera, over acting is only part of the charm. The guy who did Jerac really emphasized this, lol.
I wish I could unsee the Disney films and just live in this time of Star Wars forever
Disney SW is Star Wars as much as Vichy France was a legitimate French country.
People in cutscenes of 1997 look more realistic than in today's games
Tristan Turner the 90's were the best times
For damn real
Coz they're live action
+ella jarvis no shit sherlock
+ella jarvis hahahahahaha!!! :D
I remember playing this game over and over again back in the late 90s when I was younger. Has it really been 20 years? Haven't seen this for so long. So what happened to me? Well, I got married and now I have 2 teenage children!! All the star Wars games available these days are multiplayer games and I much prefer single player games like this one was!!
Single Games are much better than Multiplayer
Congrats on having kids... I highly recommend Jedi: Fallen Order. It feels like the succesor to the Jedi Knight series IMO -- more than The Force Unleashed, anyway (not that I dislike TFU, on the contrary). I only wish they would make a Dark Forces 3.
yes, Force Unleashed and Fallen Order are what we 90s teens desire. But who has the time to play?
@@MalabarTheGreat Fallen Order feels nothing like the Jedi Knight series, what? lol, Jedi Knight was actually good, unlike Fallen Order.
@@jakelee5096 of course you'd say that about Fallen Order, anyone that doesn't know when or how to parry would say that 😅.
Looking at Jan and Kyle's relationship now hurts, since Jan rejected Kyle's marriage proposal after the Yuuzhan Vong War
I blame the idiot who wrote the comic
@Clanner Bob good point; Kyle Katarn deserved a fucking break. The guy who defended the Valley of the Jedi and defeated Jerec and Desaan is a fucking legend himself and deserves a woman in his life
Thanks for posting this! Brings back memories! My first time seeing the alternate Dark Side scenes after Kyle chooses the Dark side.
30 minutes of this is so much better than the 9 hour dumpster fire Di$ney tries to call the new Star Wars.
'When someone desires information they come to me.'
My Dad loved that line.
I played this on my dads windows 98 when I was 10 years old.... still so epic!! Also, even this is much better than the Disney trilogy.
Thank you for posting this. I had a six-pack of Star Wars video games on CD back in the 90s, which included the Kyle Katarn trilogy. Not sure if the the full games were loaded or just the first few levels each, but it doesn't matter, considering I could never beat them. Anyway, the sound/video capabilities of our home computer never let me view any of these cut scenes properly. Really means a lot to see these for the first time.
I had that pack too.
The first Star Wars game I ever played. The story of how I fell in love with Star Wars.
it's so wierd seeing orange and yellow lightsabers in official live action star wars
Due to this game it saddened me that Disney canon made dark side users only able to use red lightsabers.
@@route77productionsTbf they started doing that wayyyy before Disney.
@@jamariojackson4289 yes and no
@@maleexile9053 Yeah true.
@@jamariojackson4289 Darth bane and revan had purple and red lightsabers
Holy shit! This brings back some childhood memories ! Can still remember this game and it`s almost 15 years since I played it last
Pressure should be applied to Disney to respect Shadows of the Empire, Kyle Katarn Saga and the Old Repulic as canon.
+XwingRed4 You and other fans will always respect them in your minds. That's great. It's all made up, so you can decide what's canon for you. Disney just wants the flexibility to create an awesome alternate story.
+XwingRed4 Ironically, they just made the Outrider canon. So, they're taking elements from those two and making bits of it canon.
Shadows of the Empire is considered canon.
Knights of the Old Republic is rumored to be adapted.
They are TOOOOO woke and PC to even make a single game like this....They'd prefer unrealistic CGI and absolutely opposite characters of this game.....They don't care for the viewers, fans, and even new fans of the OT....they care for profit and pandering to their political agenda....This game is basically so much higher quality, better acting, and far better story than the sequel trilogy combined....Kyle wasn't practically a god in throughout the game....he gained it through experience and hard work and dedication.....absolutely a masterpiece!
"The Dark Side? I've been there. Do your worst." Man, this game was epic as a kid. The new movies should have been about Kyle Katarn.
I was 5 years old.. My dad used to be so proud that I could complete this game so young.. One of my favourite games of all time, outcast and academy were also excellent sequels!! Remake this for us, you must!
Good retro game if anyone remembers
Here's some thoughts about the game itself:
About him killing Maw-
Shows the purity of indecisiveness. And for a brief moment him allowing his deepest emotions to affect his reality. Honestly its situations like that which make us human. Which is why Jerec uses this opportunity of weakness to have him make the ultimate sacrifice. Although in my opinion it's a very, very out of character scenario for Kyle to take the dark-side choice. But this is just a video game not a movie, so I'll excuse the lack of character development.
Light or Dark Ending-
Light because the Dark ending shows it's not what he even wants when he sobs up looking at that tape of his father for the last time. I mean symbolically it shows him trying to shed the last of his emotions and becoming a full killer. It doesn't actually prove in anyway he's over it. His demeanor still shows weakness as opposed to his light side ending. It's quite a great dichotomy though. Showing the shallowness of owning the entire world but still being uncomfortable in your own skin. Or better put; transforming from a bringer of life to a bringer of death, hence the personality change. It's the comparison of owning the world or owning your soul, you can't have both. When you own "the world" you don't just go do what you want as the leader of the empire. When you own "your self" you actually give up owning the world and, in all honesty, the concept of owning in the first place. The dark side is actually the ultimate bondage because the empire follows you everywhere. You in a sense become "The Empire", which is just a God/Energy of Control and Destruction. As opposed to being "The Self", which is a God/Energy of Freedom and Life. So yeah Light side ending in this game and in real life for me thank you. Freedom>Control.
In terms of cinematography-
The good ending is cheesy and rushed. Nothing is really presented in terms of ideas or relativity. Just a simple, thanks dad. Where-as the dark side ending flows very smoothly. In terms of cinematography and direction... The dark ending is superior
Jay Cee Productions
Frankly as far as the whole arc goes, IMO the dark ending is canon.
Katarn isn’t Jedi selected and rigorously trained in the goody two shoes cult, he’s a human with human vulnerabilities, he’s lived a life where he’s already seen the darkness, he’s not prepared for it and thus the dark ending is where he naturally belongs.
Besides, we all know saris wanted that d the whole time.
@@mysteriousfleas *bleep* off.
@@mysteriousfleasjfc that comment goes off the rails at the end
Jerec is the fusion between Jack Nicholson’s Jack Napier (pre Joker) and Michael Ironside’s General Katana (from Highlander 2).
Uh no. He was the original of those two
The true sequels trilogy
Thats exactly what i was thinking
Story is better than the sequel films
No it isn't. And the acting is terrible.
@@crixxxxxxxxxYes, it's better than the sequels, cry
@@doomslayer9138 You have no concept of quality. You think the acting in this is good? Please. 🤣🤣🤣
@@crixxxxxxxxx Any piece of shit is better than this abomination of a trilogy
@@crixxxxxxxxx Still, it has a better story than this abomination that Disney calls a sequel trilogy
That Jerec death, pulling from the old school Japanese samurai influences on Star Wars, neat
Yep, that was intentional. That is exactly what game designer Justin Chin was thinking of when we made this game.
@@CAndrewNelson didnt western movies influence the game to
Thanks! Much better than Star Wars episodes 7 and 8. This is true SW.
This was the first fps I ever really played. It was also the first thing that really got me into Star War. Was a great game and told a decent story. I agree with most of the old school fans here that this game and the series Heir to the Empire are part of what made Star Wars last h as long as it has and deserves more respect that it gets.
Also, 17:28 - my favourite cutscene... The musical was just EPIC. Can't remember this music being used at any other point in the trilogy, except for the Death Star intercept.
Such a fantastic piece...
Kyle Katarn stole the Death Star plans. I don't care what anyone else says.
Simply beautiful! So beautiful! I played this when I was 12 years of age and this is how cutscenes should be done!
ugh I was stuck in those ventilation shafts for so long
I remember watching my older Brother playing this in 1998. I was 11 years old and been a Star Wars Fan since i could remember. That Game felt like a complete new Movie to me.
I. Love. This. Game.
Thank you for uploading this.
Keep in mind when watching these cut-scenes that they were filmed before Episode 1 was in theaters, and with a much lower budget. Also, before just anyone had software to film themselves wielding a lightsaber. "Old folks" were blown away by this game's "FMV" scenes. It was like "an entirely new Star Wars film", even before new Star Wars films were made.
Back when Star Wars was Star Wars.
The sequel trilogy should throw in little nods to the expanded universe, like Kyle Katarn as one of the Jedi Masters.
They won't. They decided to Death Star the EU because...well, they never really gave a reason beyond "We're doing it; screw you if you don't like it."
If they made Delta Squad from Republic Commando canon with a little cameo in that crappy Clone Wars show, then they should definitely make Kyle Katarn canon by giving him a cameo of some sort. He is *THE* best EU character ever made for Star Wars; a sort of Han Solo (mercenary, charismatic) and Luke Skywalker (father murdered and a force user/Jedi) in one.
and hire Jason Court to play him again
kobi005 Unfortunately he's retired from acting and is managing his wine company, he'd probably decline.
Jin Zor Not only Kyle Katarn saga, Shadows of the Empire and both KOTOR games should be canon. KOTOR 1 and 2 has plenty of material to allow the creation of a TV series or set of movies.
Jerec Nicholson...
Kyle, ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?
HEEEERE'S JEREC!!
More like Kurtwood Jerec
Just think about how much better the writing and characters are in this than anything Disney has done.
It's amazing that even after 25 years I still remember all these character names.
Nicely done. I still believe Dark Forces II to be one of the best games set in Star Wars. And we have real actors, as well as the whole style of the game is very close to Star Wars of old. The music is based upon the original music by John Williams, but the game uses the remix versions, made by Peter McConnell, who brought the best of music and sound editing to such projects as Rebel Assault, Force Commander and Battlefront!
Thanks for this! Can't get the cutscenes to work in my game, so this helps me figure out what the hell I'm actually doing "recovering your father's data disk from the clutches of 8t88's severed arm"
Disney can shove it, material like this will always be the TRUE Star Wars EU.
"And a knight shall come, a battle will be fought, and the prisoners shall go free."
―A prophecy of the poem
Nostalgia is the sweetest taste. I liked "Rogue One" because a lot of it reminded me of cutscenes from these Lucas Arts Star Wars games from the 90's.
I really hope they include Kyle in the new movies since he was an essential member to reforming the jedi academy with luke :|
Rip
Get fucked lol
Lol we wish
I wish more games were like this, with live action cutscenes
i was going to come here and laugh at how poorly this aged, but it's really not so bad
I was just thinking the exact same thing.
The production is fantastic for its medium at that time
is this the leaked footage of rouge one? How come Disney hasn't taken this down yet.
“A supernova of stars-“
Actual astronomers: “okay?”
Kyle Katarn is basically like combination Ahsoka and Finn but somehow better than both of them :P
This game was everything to me in the 90s. Playing against other people on The Zone, joining the DJA clan, I was DJA_WARRIOR. Good times. Nar Shaddaa was my favorite map
AUGH!! THE NOSTALGIA!!! IT BURNSSS
Always loved the Martin Scorcese style long shot intro sequence through Nar Shadaa when Kyle first meets 8T-88.
"Use it well. Use it for good."Anyone else here think it's ironic that you only keep that lightsaber if you choose the dark path?
Every time I think of the unspeakable monstrosity called the Acolyte, I go back and watch these cutscenes and imagine what Star Wars could have been.
The first game was Kyle investigating an imperial shipping and production project. The second game is a completely different genre: Indiana Jones in the Star Wars galaxy.
This brings back memories. I loved this game :)
I find this more enjoyable than watching The Last Jedi!
The twileck was just having fun with his role
Loved these games. Chosing between light and dark side, cool characters, great villains, nice character arc - nothing we saw in the Rey Kylo mess.
Even Dark Forces 1 was better than JarJar Abram's stuff, though without lightsabers.
Praise something from Legends without shitting on Disney challenge (Impossible)
@@CABRALFAN27because it literally is impossible
@@codfish0640because Star Wars fans are weak.
Grateful that this got made. Got a glimpse to what Star Wars could have been. Too bad the talented story-makers couldn't find a way to work on the movie canon. 90's were a magical time. We could've had the future we deserved - Star Wars and everything else
I knew it! At 11:51, a disc just like it is also in the Star Wars Rebels, episode 7. :) Nice!
Ahhh. Another satisfying rewatch.
16:05 Best kyle Katarn move❤
"He is a Jedi, he deserves a Battle" -Yun 5 ABY
This game was so hard 😩 I’m seeing most of this for the first time I never made it past the first level 😂😂
Awesome story and amazing cutscene I wish this game would be more talked about!
Some People just CAN'T leave well enough a [former] established continuity and old [but respectable] fan base alone. Clearly they have not heard of the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". FUCK YOU Disney! You killed Star Wars [and TRON]! FUCK YOU!!!
#Betrayal #TheRealEpisodeVII #KyleKatarn #DarkJedi #Jerec #JanOrs #DarkForces2
What a blast from the past!
The good old times of gaming during the late 90s.
Those cutscenes
The mashups and transitions of the different scores from John Williams are perfect, if i didnt watxh Star Wars i woulda thought some cutscenes were just one song