Top Five Star Wars Games

May the Fourth be with you! It's Star Wars Day, a holiday that celebrates all things Star Wars. (May the 4th, "May the force be with you." Hardy-har-har.) With this relevant day, it makes some sense to think back on some of the best Star Wars video games ever created. After all, this is a gaming enthusiast site of all things. This top five list puts my favorite games set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away under the microscope and details why I love them so much. After you've read my choices, try to use a Jedi mind trick to make me understand why you agree or disagree with my picks.

5) Super Star Wars trilogy (SNES)

We start with the earliest Star Wars game on this list, Super Star Wars. Sure, the trilogy took liberties with the story, as many lucid fans won't be able to recall the times where Luke Skywalker took on a Sarlacc in its own pit with nothing more than a lightsaber or Chewbacca platformed and shot his way through Bespin's Cloud City, but these said liberties opened up the way for some exciting action-platforming moments. The games were quite difficult too, especially Super Star Wars, offering limited lives and even more limited continues. The followups, Super Empire Strikes Back and Super Return of the Jedi gave players a more lenient adventure when it came to difficulty, such as bestowing helpful passwords instead of requiring players to restart from the beginning of the games. This trio of 2D platformers with some cool Mode 7 vehicle sections are my favorite early Star Wars games.

4) Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PS2, GCN, XBX, PC)

If the idea of playing through a Star Wars game and mastering the powers of a Jedi gets your midichlorian count rising, then Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast should be the game that you run, not walk, to. If there was a Force power that you saw in the original trilogy, then you could most likely do it in Jedi Outcast. For all the times that past Star Wars games attempted to make you feel like a bad ass Jedi yet failed to varying degrees, Jedi Knight II gets it totally right. Slash off Storm Trooper extremities, Force push enemies off of high-up platforms to the bottomless abyss below, and reflect enemy lasers with your lightsaber. Not only did the single player campaign continuously ramp up the action, but the multiplayer component included kicked some serious Bantha butt too. Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast was the real deal when it came to becoming a Jedi from the luxury of your couch, all without the need for all that tedious training with Yoda.

3) Star Wars: Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II (GCN)

Nintendo's GameCube had a stellar launch lineup and one of its strongest games out of the gate was a Star Wars title, Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II. The followup to the Nintendo 64 Rogue Squadron was bigger, better, and more beautiful than ever before, still looking dynamite to this day. But its the gameplay that truly shines, putting players in the cockpits of all sorts of vehicles like X-Wings, Y-Wings, Speeders, and even the Millennium Falcon. Both familiar levels from the Star Wars films like the Battle of Hoth, the trench run at the Death Star, and the Battle of Endor, complete with a massive fleet of TIE Fighters to blast out of the stars, and brand-new locales made for a space fighter that was pure action and pure awesome.

2) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC, XBX, iOS)

Giving players one of the most interesting stories set in the galaxy far, far away, BioWare really took no prisoners with its first RPG offering featuring the world of Star Wars, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It takes place an even longer time ago, way before what happens in the original trilogy. The game pulls no punches, delivering characters to love and cherish with compelling backstories, an intriguing narrative demands players engage with it through multiple play-throughs, and the game is so good that you'll want to do so, especially with the game's final plot twist, one that will stick with you for a very long time. Like Jedi Outcast, Knights of the Old Republic delivered a delightful feeling of being an all-powerful Jedi, and the RPG elements made you constantly feel like you were making progress in being a stronger believer and user of the Force. The game is by far one of BioWare's greatest and one of the greatest Star Wars games around to this day.

1) Star Wars Battlefront II (PS2, XBX, PC)

While DICE delivered a gorgeous first-person take on the Star Wars Battlefront series and is set to have a new entry that seems even better later this year, one that looks to be absolutely worthy of the Battlefront moniker this time around, it's Pandemic's second going with the original Star Wars Battlefront series that shines the brightest for me. This third-person shooter allowed players to switch between different classes depending on what play style they wanted. Maps were expansive and granted the ability to enter various vehicles for some high-powered offense. When enough time had passed, players could take on the roles of one of the Star Wars series' most memorable characters, such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, and even Chewbacca. DICE did well with its iteration of Star Wars Battlefront, but it hadn't beaten Pandemic's sophomore effort, Star Wars Battlefront II, my personal favorite Star Wars game of all time.

Top Five Star Wars Game Series

It was announced yesterday that Electronic Arts has a multiyear deal giving them the ability to exclusively develop and publish Star Wars games. While some think this is a really bad thing (those who don't like yearly releases, microtransactions, those who only own a Wii U, etc.), there is some good that can come from it.

Fresh off yesterday's announcement, it seems like a perfect time to take note of the greatest Star Wars game series that the franchise has seen. There were A LOT to sift through, but we at SuperPhillip Central have come up with the top five Star Wars game franchises that made us become in love with George Lucas's galaxy far, far away even more than we were already.

5) Super Star Wars

This Super Nintendo-exclusive trilogy consisted of 2D platforming, running and gunning gameplay, and the occasional 3D section, where Luke Skywalker or another playable character piloted a landspeeder or even an X-Wing to mix things up. For instance, the final level of Super Star Wars featured young Skywalker speeding through the Death Star's trench to blow that baby to kingdom come. The actual trilogy (Super Star Wars, Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi) followed the plots of each of the original movie trilogy rather well. The games got a second life when they were released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii. If you have the money, you should definitely check these excellent games out.

4) Jedi Knight

A first-person shooter Star Wars series, Jedi Knight is one of those Star Wars franchises that has been consistently terrific. It originated in 1995, and featured characters from the expanded Star Wars universe of characters and settings. Levels are primarily made up of multiple missions and objectives that need to be completed before the player can head to the next. Dark Forces II incorporated an optional third-person shooter camera view to spice things up. If you ask us, though, Jedi Knight didn't need any spicing up, because the games always kicked serious Sith ass. The addition of being able to use a lightsaber in combat only made the games even more fantastic than they already were. Case in point, we at SuperPhillip Central would absolutely love to see the franchise's return into relevance once more.

3) Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, or as it's more fondly known as KotOR, is a role-playing video game that was developed by BioWare, the same studio that is now owned by Electronic Arts. Small world, no? Taking the Star Wars universe and basing a game of off Wizards of the Coast's own Star Wars Roleplaying Game (which itself is based off of Dungeons & Dragons), Knights of the Old Republic started off with giving players three simple classes of characters to choose from. These classes could later in the game be upgraded to one of three Jedi classes. The game offered round-based combat where levels could be gained to expand the player character's attributes and ability range. The tale BioWare told is one of the best in a Star Wars video game. Amazing how BioWare could go from Knights of the Old Republic's fantastic story to Mass Effect 3's ending. Bah. We're just beating a dead horse here.

2) Rogue Squadron

A third-person flight-based Star Wars series, Rogue Squadron first debuted on the PC before making its own home console debut on the Nintendo 64. The original Rogue Squadron took place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, sending players right into the cockpit of an X-Wing. The subsequent sequels were released exclusively on the Nintendo GameCube, one of which being a launch title for the system. Not only were the games technological marvels (like the original Rogue Squadron was), but they allow players to relive and participate in their favorite moments of the original Star Wars trilogy. Not only that, but there were completely original missions to take on in the games as well. It is a darn shame that Factor 5 is no longer with us, as they could not only provide awesome graphical feats, but generally their games were of the utmost quality.

1) Battlefront

The Star Wars series that SuperPhillip Central selects as our favorite franchise of the galaxy far, far away, Star Wars: Battlefront puts players right into some incredibly epic confrontations. Players are placed within action-packed battlefields set in familiar locations such as Endor, Hoth, Naboo, and Coruscant. One can man vehicles and sentry guns, or opt to take the battle on foot to lead their side to victory. Star Wars: Battlefront II introduced the option to play as Jedi characters, participate in space combat, and contained Revenge of the Sith content. What followed the console and PC releases of Battlefront II was one PSP-exclusive entry in the series and one for both the PSP and Nintendo DS, marking the first and only time the series hit a Nintendo platform. Sadly, Battlefront III was canned mid-development, disappointing aspiring Jedi and Sith across the globe. Who knows, perhaps EA could bring this favorite Star Wars franchise of ours back from the grave. They certainly have the power and money to.

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Did we overlook your favorite Star Wars franchise? We probably did, young Padawan, but no worries. You can make the case for your favorite franchises in the comments section below (perhaps by using a Jedi mind trick). Just remember to use the force, of course.