A Narrative Critique of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor 

Hey everyone! I decided against premiering this one, as I didn't like the prospect of somebody potentially thoughtlessly clicking on the video to be greeted by a fat spoiler as the premiere ran, instead I decided to straight up drop it. Please enjoy, this one took some time to bang together so hopefully it's not complete arse.

It's stories like these that remind me of how much i love Star Wars and why i love it.

I think Bode genuinely cared for Cal. After the story you can find echoes about Bodes betrayal where he expresses genuine concern for Cal's safety. I think Bode attempts to bring Cal away from the Jedi code was to get him to go to Tanalore with him. And when they kill Dagan Bode tries to convince Cal to keep the compass to themselves. Bode's betrayal seems more like a last resort than his main intention throughout the game.

Bode being a traitor I did not see coming. Mainly bc I came from Rdr2 n I trust Charles with my life and I was too scared of bode dying to notice him being silly suspicious.

Cal: handles 9th Sister like a champ, bests every major multi-phased bosses also Cal: gets one shot by a charging chicken (Rawka) left and right

This game made Cal go from a “eh, he’s fun” jedi to arguably my favourite. Also, bit of a crackfic, but I REALLY wanna see him either fight or team up with Starkiller from TFU. That would be pretty epic.

Meeting Cordova was my favorite unexpected story moment of the year so far. My only real gripe with the story was how underutilized most characters are after their introductions, but that's a problem with many open world/environment games.

I can't hear Bode's voice without hearing Charles Smith from RDR2, so the betrayal hurt even more. lol

I swear I die laughing every time I hear Star Wars Continuity Enforcer

An over 2 hour video automatically deserves a thumbs up

I think a lot of people find the story disappointing because they want a story that has implications on the galaxy at large, or even a significant piece of history between revenge of the sith and a new hope, but the story isn’t about the galaxy, it’s about Cal. Dagan Garan’s motivations aren’t clear, and the game would certainly have been helped with a more evil intent, or at least a more antagonistic intent, but Dagan isn’t there to threaten the galaxy, he’s no threat to the Empire, he wouldn’t be a threat to the galaxy for a thousand years, but he is a threat to Cal, specifically Cal’s sense of purpose. He represents what obsession can do to a Jedi, something Cal recognizes in Dagan but not in himself. Bode also represents Cals obsession, but an obsession Cal doesn’t notice until it’s too late. He gets blindsided by it and starts to fall to the dark side with his own obsession of Bodes betrayal but he finally recognizes his obsession with trying to make Bode pay, he almost falls right to the point where the 9th Sister was at the beginning. Idk, I’m no great intellectual, and maybe people who felt dissatisfied with the story understood that it wasn’t about the galaxy but about Cal, but that’s kind of what I got out of the story.

I can't help feeling like Jedi Survivor feels like a sequel that the writers went in with respect and decided to call back to Fallen order and actually try to build off of it as well as tell a story with new morals to it. It doesn't feel like it is what was in the plan for a trilogy, but it is still an example of what can be done with a Star Wars story, even if the whole trilogy isn't planned from the start. Sad that Disney didn't have any of the writers for these games because thy may have made a good sequel trilogy.

Just started my new landscape job and 3 hours of Star Wars is exactly what I need

On the planet coruscant there is a store with a sign in Aurebesh when translated says “ponchos” they stuck a poncho shop easter egg in the game!! That felt like a cameron Monaghan note lol!!

No one blew up Jedha. It merely suffered a tragic mining accident.

In my experience: I was having a blast almost the entire time Just when I thought the story was stating to get boring they slapped me in the face with the climax. However, the ending felt weak, while seeing cal fight with the dark side was fun, the whole “chase down bode” thing, felt unfinished/rushed Overall I’d give the game a solid 9/10

Again it seems Bode's character has been misunderstood. It's true, Bode was initially an ISB agent and played the fool well... up until a certain point. When Tanalorr becomes a possibility, Bode changes and genuinely becomes close with Cal. It may've been an act starting out but Cal endeared himself to the ex-Jedi, allowing a brotherly bond to form between the two. That was genuine and nobody can convince me otherwise. The only reason Bode turned was because Cal wanted to turn Tanalorr into a target, not a home and thus his daughter would've become at risk. I don't blame him - I do hate his choices, but I can understand it. But Bode went down the path Anakin did - too afraid to lose what little he had. There was no saving him from that. Who knows? Perhaps this outcome would've happened anyways in some way or another.

Okay, Bode's character post-twist has really impressed me. One of the common misreadings I see from people regarding the OT is that Darth Vader is redeemed because he goes back to being Anakin Skywalker to save his son. Bode is making a point about what that version of Anakin Skywalker would be like - a monstrous person who'd sacrifice thousands or millions of people for their child. Darth Vader's redemption comes from finally doing what is right rather than what is best for him, inspired by Luke doing the same thing just moments before.

I think my only big issue was that the final act felt a little anticlimatic. The end of the second act was absolutely phenomenal, it felt like the conclusion didn't really live up to it. The game sort of just... ended.

if you didn’t read Battle Scars you aren’t missing much, the author of the book basically made herself a main character and did a fan fiction horn dog story of merrin and the character that is described to look just like the author

A detail I didn’t notice the first time around that was really awesome when I did finally notice was when the thing with Bode happens, Cal stops chasing him to dodge the grenade but BD jumps off his shoulder to keep going after Bode. I thought that really solidified BD as a real character with motives and not just a tool for the player to use.

Cal with the long hair and beard is a vibe

This video was a masterpiece sir. I enjoyed this game a lot, I think movies on these games would be amazing - far better than whatever 7-9 were.

Cal may have gone through a horrible tragedy, but at least he can Use a lightsaber with his ass now lol

Ethan woodgates im not sure if you remember me im will spinks but we gave each other shout outs and a few of my mates did aswell when you had literally like 100 subscribers. I just found your channel again looking at my old comments and congratulations bro 400k subs and decent views aswell im happy for you turned dreams to reality

To be fair, from what we can see at least, the only picture of Cal Kestis the empire has is when he was still only a scrapper on Bracca. And since then Cal’s face has definitely aged a ton and he does canonically have a dope ass beard, so it’s not TOTALLY impossible for the imperial base to not recognise him as the fugitive from Bracca (Plus you have to factor in the observer bias, you can’t exactly spot someone you aren’t looking for in the first place). But yeah, Cal is definitely using the wrong uniform to be undercover

Such a good deep dive. Had it on while I was working. Loved it.

I felt that Cal getting out Dagan out of the bacta tank is the right desicion at the time as throught his visions of Dagans memories he knows Gera can take him to Tanaalore and as of that moment there was no clue that he would turn to the Darkside, seeing how few Jedi are left and still with a strong resolve to keep fighting the Empire is in Cal character to free him, of course this being Star Wars things are never as straight forward as it seems. You can tell Bode never planned to betrayed Cal and the crew after they defeat Dagan Gera and Cal expresses to him his desire to create an army in Tanaalore to fight the empire, but once Bode understood where Cal plans satyed he decide to sell them to Vader, fufilling his mission for the ISB and leading Cal to them so he can escape with his daughter to Tanaalore

I love long form content. Movie length shit or longer so I am here for this.

Bode being a male counterpart to Scarlet Witch plot-wise and the audacity to use Starkiller's signature reverse grip *on top of being entirely predictable* makes for a hammy villain. Not to discredit the voice actor but I'm kinda over the Spider-Man henchman being a one note villain outside his role as Charles in RDR2. "I'm a dad, so i'm going to sacrifice billions... including my own child... to keep my child safe." was a huge lapse in judgement on the writer's part.

Man I really gotta play this game when it's fixed so I can watch this

Genuinely love these long form kinds of videos. If you do more that would be appreciated

I actually started suspecting Bode from the first moment he appearred on Koboh right after Cal. Amd soon after, the Empire came by. I think this story needed way more Red Herrings for who could beyray the party, something like one of those original team members from the Coruscant mission, two or three of them, with Bode. If they could shuffle the suspicion arround, that would actually be perfect.

It was pretty cool going from like a dragon ishin's sword and gun stance and then playing jedi survivor with the saber/blaster stance

I i really liked this story. The plot itself isn't great and to contrieved for my liking, but most of the characters are pretty strong. Dagan is definetly the weakest of the main bunch. Also, I wish there was more of Rayvis. D.C. Douglas voice acting was orgasmicly awesome.

I assume the betrayal was as obviously projected as it was during the game to make the twist of him being (in my mind) the Jedi Survivor in the title (not Cal) more shocking. And I also think Bode served as a tool to introduce a child figure, Cal and Merrin have to take care of, which will most likely be a big plot device of the next game without them having to give birth to and raise a child of their own to a certain age first. (Btw: What are you saying? Cal has a glorious beard, how would they recognize him?!) I liked Cere a lot already but her giving Vader such a hard time as she did, manifested my massive respect for her and her abilities. I agree with your pacing commentary but Jedi Survivor is not a self contained story, it's just (as you briefly mentioned) the middle part of a trilogy. That doesn't excuse the pacing issues but it comes down the most to how it integrates as a whole with the finale game in the future. I think at least. In the end I think Cal's story will be one that emphasizes the misconceptions about the force and what's dark and light and right and wrong by the Jedi Order and that it ultimately doesn't come down to light sight and dark side but the people who utilize it instead and in what ways. As well as how important emotional balance is, not restrictions, not the denial of attachments but clear (but not inflexible and not stuck up) morals as well as healthy relationships with the people around one and their support.

Now i noticed something that many people do not talk about, and that is merrin. I am a sucker for romance, and this is such a good love story, even in fallen order it was teased somewhat, and from what i heard in that novel i didn't yet read. But she is a constant in his heart, to some degree she always liked her more than a friend, and the kiss scenes, and the eventual line about the order being gone are also important to the story. She is the reason cal did not succumb to the dark side, he loves are and when he sees the pain in her eyes or nova gerra(dont shoot me for butchering the name) is what calms him. On the joruney to heal and accept the past and move on she is what he needs. She left to come sure of herself and now she can actually help him on this journey. It also plays a nice role and i think it has to be important that in the end despite losing so many people he has a family. The mom dad daughter and the comic uncle. They are a perfect crew nonetheless, even after the tragic deaths lf so many people. It is a story about Cal's growth and is it a good one. But in the story and some scenes marrin and her actions change cal, they shift something in him, and the influence she has is imense. Despite the shackles of the order he knows what he has is real, love, something that not many people experince and to such compatibility. Another thing to notice is that she is written amazing, her growth and self discovery not only in the way she talks and how she dresses, but also in the way she carries herself. Hurt and alone but at peace with the past, a wound that will never fully heal but is manageable. She was shy, talked less and was a cold person while cal was the outgoing one, sun and rhe moon type of thing. But 5 years later the roles are reversed but some what balanced. She still is pretty cold to newcomers and retains the way she was around people she doesn't know, but the journey she took helped her recover and find herself so she is more like cal was in the first game. He is darker, more cruel and prone to snapping, while trying to be at least half the way he was in the first game. The contrast is excellent and the relationships between these two is very important and integral to the plot. Remove her and you definitely get a dark side cal which would have been an interesting route but not one I'd ever want to see executed

I like the ending of the game and it makes me want to see more for sure, im assuming cal and merrin will raise Kata as like a foster child which is pretty cool, or merrin will at least cus Kata seems to like her. Amazing video as always

I don’t comment very often and it took me several sittings. But thank you for this Fizhy! A superb video, with several points to consider. Thank you for your hard work and effort

* talking about how dumb it was that obiwan dismissing a blaster just cause it’s not elegant enough for Jedi.* *then immediately proceeds to dismiss the cross guard stance because it’s not elegant enough for a Jedi*

I'm at 27:45 and I like what you said about the plot points. There's no huge plot to fight the empire or create a new Jedi Order. They're just surviving. I felt that when I started playing this and I liked that. It was refreshing.

When asked how he got his hands on an Imperial Starpath unit Cassian Andor explained that he simply walked into the base and took it. The Imperials are so arrogant and believe they are so in control they can't conceive of an person just walking in the front door and taking whatever they want. They have grown too complacent.

Final plot twist: it was Turgle in a Bode-suit.

_The Jedi Games have been the best Star Wars Films to be released as of late._ Sidenote: Not Embracing the Darkside just leads to death. As it was the first option I 'chose'.

Charles Smith left Beechers Hope and went to a galaxy far far away

I am going to call Rayvis "Gigachad Squidward" from now on.

So cool Cordova is in this game I loved his actor in Stargate

Itd be dope if in the 3rd game we get an infamous morality type system, with the light and dark side. Having skill trees for both. OOF

Great video man loved it

Almost hours, I think I must find the time for it!

great review!

You have a voice I like listening to, but at the same time it doesn't take my attention away from what I need to do if I play your videos in the background

I loved BD’s reaction to seeing Cordova again.

2:36:40 if you pause here it kind of looks like the bad ending in red dead redemption 2 when Micah said damn you and Arthur said damn us all.

I’ll watch this video tomorrow I promise

I commented on Lazzers video about the plot that I believe Bode's inevitable betrayal was deliberately and clearly foreshadowed by the devs in order to lure the players away from a separate plot twist and reveal, that is Bode being a former Jedi himself. Just about every video and comment I've seen states that they saw Bode's betrayal coming and that it was obvious, but nobody predicted he was once a member of the Jedi Order. So when Cal is first confronting Bode on that mountain top, the player is thinking "I knew it" and like Cal, wonders why Bode did it. But the moment Bode force pushed Cal away, it caught everyone off guard. It also makes Bode's betrayal hurt more, not just to Cal but to his whole crew, even Merrin, who used to despise all Jedi, now has a newfound respect and admiration for them because of her love and respect for Cal, so when Greez mentions Bode being a Jedi and an Imperial spy, Merrin is disgusted by this and declares with venom that Bode is no Jedi, implying he's not respectable enough to be labeled as such. I think this twist is absolutely BRILLIANT. A lot of people talk about how the betrayal was just way too obvious like it's a bad thing, but I disagree. The reveal that Bode was a Jedi would not have landed so hard if we hadn't accurately predicted his betrayal, his force abilities hit harder because we never saw it coming, we were too focused on what he would do that we were blind to what he truly COULD do, and that is why that reveal is literally so chilling. We thought we had it all figured out only to realize it was so much deeper than we could have imagined.

Don't bother with Battle Scars, it has almost nothing to do with this game, and if you had read the book before playing the game as I had, Merrin's character in this makes no sense and does not line up, at all.

So glad you chose the green lightsaber 🟢🟢

Ive seen a lot of people talk about how the final chunk of the story is unfinished, and while I agree, i think thats the point. JFO was a story of its own. Survivor works on its own, but it can only truly shine with a sequel. Because, as we see by the end of the game, that is where Cal truly embraces his darkness. As a result, i believe itll be him either controlling or moving past his darkness in the third game

"It's almost a masterpiece? So you hate it then!! 😡 " - people on the Internet

Absolutely outstanding video Fizhy. The effort, time, love and care put into it is fantastic. I love Jedi Survivor, I love the story of Cal Kestis. This was a fantastic watch!

You probably already knew this but the voice actor for bode is the same guy who voiced Charles in red dead 2

Honestly you talk of Bode being suspicious and the twist coming up being obvious but I didn’t see it coming at all. I don’t find uncertainty suspicious really and it just felt like a victory lap before the twist came, I got really invested in the win

I absolutely knew Bode was going to betray you, I felt it through the whole game. What I didn't see coming was him being a damn jedi lol. That initial force push made me literally yell WTF! Also Kata is obviously a future antagonist.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor('s guilt)

54:06 keeping fingies > elegance of a glowing tube

This seriously needs more views

Damn a *J U I C Y* video

I enjoyed your critique and playthrough! I think when you consider both games, Cal and the Mantis crew and their story is one for the ages. The heart of Star Wars has always come from the characters, and for Jedi Survivor I think they outdid themselves. It's not easy to write a self-contained prequel in this universe - one with real, meaningful stakes, but they pulled it off nicely. The question remains - how to finish off this trilogy?

I would have switched the final boss between Bode, and Dagan. Bode is a very personal kind of character and I think he's complicated in a way that his emotions aren't two dimensional and perfectly parallels Cal's own set of choices and character as both are being honed as gray in morals. Think about how like with Vaas and Jason Brody from Far Cry 3. Sure, Vaas isn't the main villain, but he is the face you remember all the way until you see Vaas in Jason. I see a similar dynamic with Bode and Cal, but Cal does know the steps he had taken and what it means for himself even after the journey's end. In a way, I think Cal's story is not that of being a Jedi, but an interesting way of taking what was lost back. And in Survivor, it fulfills the title's meaning that Cal did what he must in order to survive. In a way, it feels realistic, because it feels incomplete yet, at the same time one feels alive. It's a very personal journey overall.

There were always jedi spies--they were called jedi sentinels. Bode isnt contributing anything, just reinforcing what existed pre-disney

I personally think that bode has known cal at least a month before the beginning of the game as he would need to be trust bode to be the one with cals lightsaber and to have him learn the plan for corucant

I agree with what you said about Bode. It was really obvious playing through again haha.

I don't think that Bode was being annoying here. He's trying to allow Cal to have the happiness he found with his wife. Perhaps it's partially to see this happiness second hand to honor his wife. 1:16:13

Is it just me... or does Cal look like Peter Dinklage if he were average hight?

Honestly, I never picked up on the Cere section being Cal using his Psychometry. I thought it was just a straight-up perspective switch, and I saw it as a cheap, forced Vader cameo. Knowing it's something Cal's actually seeing, as small a detail as it is, has definitely changed my only big gripe with the game for the better.

Where do you get that brown trench coat? I've seen a lot of people wearing it, I've collected every single collectible in the game and can't find it. It's it a mod on pc? I like it bc it's the closest thing to actual jedi robes like we saw in the prequel trilogy.

50:16 can someone refresh my memory on how much cal actually talked to bode about Cere before this point? "It's so nice to _finally_ meet you" sounds really ominous in hindsight if i'm not forgetting any certain interactions

I don't believe Vader is a "continuity enforcer bogeyman." He did the Emperors dirty work and would step in when the normal rank and file couldn't handle it. It makes total sense for Vader to step in at times like this since no one else was apparently able to. The fact there was 2 jedi masters there also gives purpose to the encounter, why wouldn't they send the man who can actually kill jedi to go deal with a pair or more. This is the base of the hidden path afterall. Viewing it as purely a gameplay setpiece is kind of shallow and shows misunderstanding of what Vader actually is. Looking at it from a lore standpoint he's not correcting continuity errors, those things don't happen because he stopped them. There's no doubt many more situations where Vader stepped in and put a stop to it before anything came from it so telling a story that ends in such isn't strange at all. I mean he didn't just sit around for years on end doing nothing, Vader was a busy man.

A cool detail of the escape from Coruscant is that the shrapnel from Bravo’s ship, when it explodes, is embedded into the mantis. The idea is that all of these deaths, all this violence, are taking a toll on Cal.

I endorse all 164 minutes of this critique

the main reason we got that empty ending feeling this is the jedi's games empire strikes back so we will probs have a better ending for the next

@2:12:40 I had the same feeling about the imperial disguise in my first playthrough, but the second time through its really like 2 hallways you go down straight to Bodes apartment and the jig is up right after that. Plus with the alert having just been called off moments before, I think the Imperials were just not paying attention anymore. Unless you choose to stop and talk to the different officers, stormtroopers and the purge trooper who talks some mad shit, there's only a handful of people you actually have to interact with and Cal uses mind tricks on them to get through the gate. Kind of like in the Hitman series, normal passerby won't know you're dressed in someone else's clothes, but as soon as they're alerted to you they see through the disguise immediately.

“The empire is donkeyfucking the entire universe” Things that I thought I’d never hear in my life

For me Jedi: Survivor is the best Star Wars game I have ever played. I identify with Cal and Bode so much. I see both sides of their conflict. You get to see their bond forming. The tragedy of it being shattered. You understand Bode's fear. You understand Cal's resolve. You understand why they are in conflict and it's heartbreaking.

Can you make a video about the sunken fairy in red dead rdr1 near blackwater Its called serendipity

i feel like the bode betrayal was kinda meant to be expected, the real twist was supposed to be the fact that he was a jedi. it also allows for really good character development within cal. a good comparison is micah bell from rdr2, he was expected to be a traitor from the very beginning, but that doesnt diminish the good writing involved.

Oh shit im early for once and its a long one. Lets fucking go.

do you have any predictions for jedi 3?

The map isnt a map of imperial worlds. Its imperial fleets. Entire armies and star destroyers and stuff like that. Its a pretty terrifying prospect considering not every imperial planet has a star destroyer hovering in the atmosphere but even those planets have troops stationed there.

8:52 had me dying bro 😂

also i disagree with the final shot on bode. it was already a shot of death, he only spared him further pain.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor is so good, loved Fallen Order, Survivor is even better, absolutely stunning on PS5 😊

Vader's gonna kill Cal in the third game. Bet.

2:35:00 I tried not Embracing the Darkness, you just die.

After this I can’t wait for the finale as at the end of fallen order it felt like it could have been the ending but now I am anticipating his complete story

15:32 The information Cal accessed could have been Imperial troop movements recorded in a Starpath unit on the Senators' ship. The Starpath units are used by Imperial military and intelligence officers to understand the position and strength of military assets throughout the galaxy so that operations can be planned with up to date information. Cassian Andor was trying to sell one of these to the Rebellion when he was recruited.

I wish we saw more of Dagan Gera he felt a little wasted for me. Also they wasted Tanalor. Whole time you try to get there and when you do it’s the smallest planet in the game where you spend 20 mins beating bode and then leave and never come back. I hoped to see tanalor as they described at least an hour or 2 of content after the ending exploring tanalor the jedi temples and all that. But good game imo (except the performance issues)

Ngl I enjoyed the fuck out of this game

"BEACH TREES" The first thing that showed up. Would you like to tell us something Fizhy 😂