in 1997 I was 12, our family had just got our first home computer, a pentium 133 with a 3DFX card. The Special Editions were out that summer so Star Wars was very much back in the zeitgeist for many kids including me. I remember seeing a review for this game in PC format magazine and begged for it for Christmas. Man...what a Christmas Day that was... Seeing the live action cut scenes was unlike anything I'd ever seen before in a game. Running around Nar Shaddaa and just soaking in being in that universe, being Kyle Katarn... Dark Forces 2 is a very special game to me. I sunk hours in this, and Mysteries Of The Sith. I loved playing with the cheats that allowed you to jump and fly, simple things like finding a grate you could slash open, cantina's playing the cantina music, it made it feel like a part of the universe. Characters such as Jerek and 8T88 have stuck with me a long time since. This game was a masterpiece
@@DeicideBlues I tried so hard to get into the soulslike gameplay of the Jedi series, but it's just not my cup of tea... Which is a shame, what I saw from Jedi Fallen Order was story-wise was quite good
Back when it came out, the Dark Forces 2 multiplayer servers were totally lit, and completely loaded with modders. We had lightning lightsabers my man.
Maaaan, I wish I got that experience, by the time when I was old enough to play the game in '02-'03, I don't think the servers were that active anymore and my internet wasn't good, so I used to just roam the multiplayer maps using different characters and making a narrative out of the empty maps lmfao Jedi Knight is one of the goats for sure
Wait I own this on PC… it had multiplayer? I don’t remember this? How did I miss out on something that would’ve been amazing. I remember outcast having multiplayer but that was something I miss out on
@@JediWarrior2007 everyone stopped playing jedi knight and moved to jedi knight 2. the mods were awesome back then, rainbow light sabers, different colors, it was fun... especially for 11 year old me.
This is one of my favourite games of all time. I got it for Christmas 1997 and was so enveloped by the feel of the world, it was the first time I really felt I was in the Star Wars universe. Getting to wield a lightsaber in first person for the first time was amazing, I loved the live action cutscenes, everything about it was awesome.
My grandparents brought it home for me to Toronto from a trip down south to the US. It was one of the most epic games I have ever played to this day! It was also the very first game I played using a "3D Accelerator", when games first went from software driven graphics to hardware driven. It was a mind blowing moment in my PC Gaming life that I will never forget. That it occurred while deeply entrenched in this Golden Age Epic made for a most profound memory to this day! This Review is tremendous and beautiful! Greatly appreciate the deep dive and reliving the game once more!
This game was what first introduced me to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. To this day it holds a dear place in my heart. Jerec and the Seven Dark Jedi remain my favorite antagonists from the strong impression they left on me as a kid.
I would love a HD remaster or even a remake of this game I know they’re updating dark forces but Jedi knight is even more nostalgic for me. I remember it had a massively thick manual and it was one of the first PC games I ever owned that came on multiple discs. Plus I just love that box art
I also found it funny as just at the end of your video you mentioned you played the first three levels of mysteries of the Sith on a demo disk which is the most i did aswell haha that first level was lasered into my brain. Also Jedi outcast is an absolute must play if you haven’t already, It’s sort of similar to Jedi Knight gameplay progression wise, but once you do get the force and lightsaber its all you want to use the rest of the game.
I somehow lost the manual the day I got the game, so my very young self *struggled*. But it became such a core memory that I had to buy it again as an adult and actually beat the game. I must have seen the intro a thousand times from all my restarts lol They can hd it up all they want, BUT IF THEY TOUCH MY LIVE ACTION CUTSCENES LUCAS ARTS BURNS
While I was a huge fan of the Star Wars movies as a kid, Jedi Knight was my first step into the EU and it conpletely blew my mind. It managed to touch all the same bases as the OG trilogy while presenting them as something completely different.
“Morgan Katarn” - Dark Jedi Jerec. Repeating the clip moment every time there’s a mention of him. The factional break up of the Empire wasn’t something I understood all those years ago. It wasn’t until I got deeper into what was then the Star Wars EU that I saw this was a much larger universe.
Kind of reminds me when George Lucas was asked about Darth Maul getting cut in half in TPM, he said he knew there would be fans that would want him back, so he wanted to let everyone know he was dead and gone for sure...I kept thinking, "but Maw from DF2 came back..." Well, so did Maul :)
I spent so many hours watching my older brother play this when my kid self couldn't understand the controls much less be brave enough to play it. Since then, I spent countless hours playing this game. I still have the cheat codes memorized from when I was terrible at games. Jedi Knight is still the nostalgic rubric which my mind compares all other fps games to. Great retrospective for such a memorable game.
This game was an absolute banger back in the day. It had a very active community on the MSN gaming zone. At least I think that’s what it was called. It also had a ton of mods and modded levels. There was some that had their own quests. I remember one level was just a casino. I have a lot of nostalgia for this game. A part of my childhood I remember fondly.
Also, it's fascinating that Jerec's master is that librarian from the prequels. I find this incredibly interesting as she seems very shrewd and stoic, which matches his personality even as a dark-jedi.
@@WTFisTingispingis Well, yeah. You kinda answered your own question. Though he's a dark jedi, not a sith... for some reason. Though, as an inquisitor, even I can't say I know the reason for that.
Kyle's story arc in this game and JKII makes one of the best complete duology stories imo. The trauma of him losing his father, struggling with the dark side, losing his emotional crutches, and living with the guilt of killing people makes the game so good. I can compare those games to others like Ocarina of Time/Twilight Princess, Breath if the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom, NieR Replicant/Automata, Devil May Cry 3/5, and Kingdom Hearts COM/II because they're that good to me.
My favorite line from 8T-88 in the book and audio drama versions is "However I am not without a heart. Well actually I am without a heart. but still, I might allow you to live if you answer my questions." The character is so much more sassy in the book and the audio drama versions.
I watch a lot of retro RU-vidrs who play games I loved growing up, and the thing that Makes you special and better than all the rest, is that you don’t punch down. You’re enthusiastic and positive about the games. I know my nostalgia makes them *seem* perfect. And obviously these games have flaws. But so many people just make fun of these and eventually say something like “worth playing tho!” I really appreciate how you respect these game’s legacy
I didn’t have it as a kid, but my friend at school did. He’d play it at night and then fill me in on the lore the next day. So I experienced it vicariously and for ages didn’t even know what the characters even looked like!
I honestly want to maintain that Yun's lightsaber is yellow. Compare it to the ones used by Gorc and Pic and you can see the difference. Also, it is a yellow as yellow can be in the cutscenes.
When this game came out I bought my first 3D accelerator for my computer just to play this game. Seeing 3D accelerated graphics for the first time on this amazing game blew me away. I spent countless hours into it and I downloaded add-on levels that modders made. I had the same great experience in 2002 when Jedi Outcast came out.
I played the multiplayer extensively as a youngster. There was a thriving online community mainly built around lightsaber dueling without force powers. The crashed ship valley where you face off against one of the two human dark jedi depending on your choices was the multiplayer map of choice back then. Good times. I was so good at it back in the day.
The multiplayer for the game was the most fun I ever had playing online and was SO much fun. It wasn’t just a small community, there were tons of players and the mod community was massive. You could download levels people made and there were level editor programs available that you could easily learn how to make your own levels. This video was amazing and in depth, but this game is even deeper than the video gets into because the multiplayer was so massive that it really deserves a video unto itself. One of the best StarWars games of all time but somehow doesn’t get much attention these days. I play through this game every so often and always love it. There is still a small community who plays some online games occasionally also which is really cool too. Thanks for giving this game some love.
The mod community for this game was incredible and very active multiplayer community after its release all the way up to the Jedi Outcast release. There were complete roleplaying maps where you would take a role and make money and buy weapons and crazy stuff like "Caesars Palace" casino and "Purgatory". Highly underrated. Along with a very competitive saber dueling and clan scene on the MSN gaming zone.
I remember playing this game's multiplayer on MSN Zone for years. There were clans and a lot of creative multiplayer maps and modes people came up with. I also remember "builders" or something that was kind of like Fortnite.
The crazy part about the MSN gaming zone was that the rooms only allowed 4 concurrent players which is crazy because JK itself could have up to 16 players per session, so that's where I heard about alt-tab for the first time where people would join in through the zone to connect to the mp game, then once they were in they would alt tab (basically had to do this to get back to the browser since the game was running fullscreen) and leave the zone room. Even though the zone room might only show as having 1-2 people there could actually be a lot more once you actually joined the game. Other unspoken rules like "fist = peace" were in place because before outcast there wasn't a way to holster weapons or actually turn the lightsaber off while still equipped but there was fists as it's own weapon so that always meant you shouldn't be attacked as your were busy RP'ing, chatting, or AFK. Some mods for outcast and academy actually put back the fists as a weapon since it did still exist for use with some NPCs.
Back when I was 8 or 9, before we had the internet and the capability of walkthroughs, I got stuck on that fuel depot mission for like 8 months! Finally one day I realized that you had to shut the huge round "door" behind you before it would let you open the one in front of you. Then I never got past mission 13 until a friend of mine bought the guide book and taught me the wonders of cheat codes. I played through the whole game many many times after that; I had a save for every level and would constantly go back and replay my favorites. It never really bothered me, until watching this video, how so many of the force powers (especially in the cutscenes) are not something seen in any other SW media. And the live action cutscenes were so epic! I can't imagine why no other video games have emulated that. Really made it feel like this story was part of the greater SW universe. Anyway, thanks for this trip down memory lane. I hope it can somehow be made available on a Mac someday so I can replay all this myself.
Yun’s lightsaber has always been yellow, that’s how it’s depicted in art from the time as well. It appeared maybe more printer in Mysteries of the Sith, but it’s definitely yellow here, and according to wookiepedia
This video is amazing. The fact that you went to the trouble of changing the music in the cutscenes to put them in the video shows how much you care. Honestly, I really like your editing, narration, and overall video quality. And I also love Star Wars so it's the perfect combination. Although no matter how much of a fan I am of the saga, I have never played this particular game; for no specific reason, it just didn't happen. But I'm going to play it one of these days. It is part of Kyle Katarn's journey and I love the character; and also I love FPS games so it's another perfect combination.
Actually taking the original star wars music out of the video which is intended for the game experience really sucks. Copyright strikes are in no way negative to a channel but I get people just want to monetize and make money off their stuff. But you can't play a star wars game without John Williams it's almost a sin.
I was 12 years old in 1997 when this game came out. Such great memories! Played multiplayer alot on the internet gaming zone, I'm sure you all remember playing on battleground Jedi and canyon oasis... Plus all the countless custom maps and mods like manowars, bfp skin pack, too much to list!
I've been with this game ever since the beginning. Started with the demo disc, and then shortly after my friend gave me the full copy! Ever since JK:DF2 has been my favorite Star Wars game of all time, and I am extremely loyal to this masterpiece as I have been an avid member of the JK community since the Zone was closed in the early 2000s. I ran an IRC channel for years after that keeping the multiplayer community alive and well, and I have even gone as far as creating a large multiplayer level series called the Dralloc Series which were insanely popular amongst the community. This game has a special place in my heart, and I will always consider it one of the greatest games of all time!
Played Dark Forces and loved it (on PlayStation). When we got a new computer my mom got me this for christmas. Was blown away by the live action cut scenes
I played Mysteries of the Sith and Jedi Outcast the most. I love Mara Jade. So MotS is excellent in my opinion. Plus I love the voice acting of Rino Romano, and he voices Kyle, so I love that too. Jedi Outcast gave me more Luke, so I automatically loved that game. The bad guy in that game is cool too. And I love the original Dark Forces. I never cared about Jedi Academy. Except for seeing more Luke.
The scale you keep referencing is very under appreciated. I started modding games like Quake 2 and Half-Life about a year after this game came out. Making a simple map with spaces that were as large as was in DF2 would take days to compile and result in levels that were unplayable due to low performance. It's amazing that they pulled this off in 97.
I loved Dark Forces so much but Jedi Knight came out when I was 17 and it just blew me away. It was an amazing experience. Level 5 - upon emerging from that dark hallway into the massive courtyard with a giant tower I was stunned. I mean I had never played a game that had something like this and gave me such a spine tingling feeling. It was unbelievable. I start rambling like a little kid when I reminisce about my experiences playing these old Star Wars games for the first time. The excitement was off the charts lol. Then we had an actual light sabre with a 3rd person camera which made for epic sabre battles. And don't get me going on having Force Powers. Force Pull is a personal favorite. "Stand at your post!" ha! I just finished playing through this with the remaster mod. I strongly recommend it as well. Thanks for this video! 👍👍 1:02:41 Jason Court's acting was just epic here. Even I got wrapped up in it and felt his rage whenever I watched it.
Man, I remember being like 11 or 12 and playing this game. Took me forever to figure out some of the levels, but it was fantastic! This was the game that introduced me to Kyle Katarn and EU as a whole.
As someone who didn't have a PC growing up and missed out on so many games like these, it's sooo nice to get to experience them in your videos when i may not ever have a chance to play them. Thank you for all the hard work you put in creating this 🙌 you a real one, my guy 💯
43:58 this shot right here of 88 in the shadowy hangar always looked SO ahead of its time visually when compared to the rest of the game. They did an amazing job with the shading on that particular CGI shot.
Today it is hard to believe but when the first previews for this game appeared in gaming magazins it has been so huge for me as a Star Wars Fan. Not only was there a new Jedi but you could also become one! And Jerec was so god damn cool. I played this game at least 30 times over the years and it still is amazing. Finding Max for the first time :D ... it made my day back then
Soooo many late nights playing MP over gamespy arcade. The modding scene was lit as well. Saber Battle X, JKrpg - Barons Hed , GoldenEye the list goes on. Heck the biggest modding site for the game is still operational.
Awesome retrospective! This was one of the games that sparked my love for video games in general and it elevated my love for Star Wars to a whole new level. Your video really brought back some great memories. Thank you so much!
I actually got both Star Wars Dark Forces and Star Wars Dark Forces II back to back. Dark Forces copy I got came with a demo version of Dark Forces II. The demo version of Dark Forces II consisted of the Nar Shaddaa levels if I remember right. It piqued my interest enough at age 11 to install the full game. I wasn’t very well read on Star Wars lore at the time but the live action cutscenes were amazing to me. Also being fresh off finishing Dark Forces I was eager to continue the adventures of Kyle Katarn. The Dark Troopers also reminded me of the Terminator albeit the machine look. As to the vertical city and the aliens of the same well that was exciting to my younger self. Kyle’s journey towards becoming a Jedi Knight had some interesting points. It was first game I experienced with a morality system and different endings resulting from actions taken as Kyle. Admittedly Jerec’s actor certainly made his screen time engaging especially the way he spoke and later I swore I saw the actor in other shows like Babylon 5. The on screen dynamics between the actors was well written. I also found books on tape that were adaptations of Dark Forces and Dark Forces 2. I later picked up Mysteries of the Sith and Jedi Outcast. So I became more invested in Star Wars Expanded Universe which was later rebranded as Legends. Kyle and Jan continued in the EU content so I was happy that authors writing for the EU kept finding more adventures for them.
Great analysis. It’s hard to get across how groundbreaking this game was when so many future games refined and improved upon the formula. But as you said, nobody was doing these things back then. This video took me way back to hours spent in my basement as a teen trying to find hidden rooms. Also, I totally forgot how much inspiration the prequels took from this game. Thanks for posting.
I used to play this game at least once a week when I was younger. I would start on Sunday morning and finish in the evening. I always played the same way, light side, but once, after like 10 runs, I decided to choose the dark side powers. I had no idea there were 2 endings. I was SHOCKED when Kyle killed Jan. Great job with this video, man!
A huge huge deal in 1997. Mind-blowing. Even if my 7 year old self had to use level select cheats eventually in most levels after a while getting lost in the labyrinths! Damn seeing some of these areas is making memories flood back. Thanks for an excellent video!
When I was little, my pc was utter shit and we didnt have many games. One of my first games was the Star Wars Episode 1 game, which your reviewed but the rest were all demos. This game was one of my most played demos, it started you in a rebel base while the imperials attacked, blasting "Imperial Troops have entered the base" and you had to escape. It even made you fight an AT-ST before the demo ended. A few years later I managed to get Jedi Outcast and I didnt understand the story at all! Because I only had the demo back then! Such great memories. I hope you keep reviewing the games! Good luck!
You are making crazy detailed videos about the best Star Wars games ever made. I was hoping to see Star Wars Theory doing something similar but man it's a real pleasure to follow your work. It's like documentaries mixing passion for gaming, pre disney Star Wars and Lore. Thank you
My childhood was this game and FFVII. Countless hours spent that I still remember the levels and most exploits. It's mindblowing you have almost 10k subs. With your content should be more. Thank you for this nostalgia packed video!
I used to play Dark Forces 2 demo as a kid, bought it on steam and finished the full game in 2021 as an adult, the nostalgia made me do it and i'm glad i played it. My only issue was the level design, it's easy to get lost, some of the more confusing levels took hours to complete. I found dark forces 1 to be a lot easier. ps. loving the swtor soundtrack in the background of this video
Jedi Knight was one of the best Star Wars games and really got me into Star Wars when I was growing up. Was also the very first game I ever played online with a friend. I even downloaded a mod and played as Darth Maul in the multiplayer. Was a wonderful experience and still one of the better lightsaber combat games.
Some of the multiplayer fan-made maps for JK are insane in scope. I remember a Death Star themed map that blew my mind, level after level, huge bottomless pits, hanger bays, the works.
My sister brought DF1 and I loved it if only to be scared silly by the dark troopers. I brought df2 by selling my school locker. For a long time it was one of the very few games I had on my pc. I loved the swim ability (and fly ability if you used cheat codes-especially around the palace with all those at-st walkers) and the split ending. Didn't get to use the multiplayer much sadly.
You nailed my excuse at the end there - I never played this simply due to lack of access to a competent Win 95 system at the time. Instead I loved and played Dark Forces, but leaped completely over the following generation, playing the hell out of Jedi Outcast, and entirely missing out on Jedi Knight. Thanks for putting this together, it really wraps it up in a nice package, and gives me a good sense of what I missed out on. The 90s were very exciting for Star Wars games. It was a time when I think a lot of us just assumed they'd never make another movie, and so while it was the dark ages for Star Wars movies and TV, the games were booming. And it's amazing the work they put into the lore here, it doesn't just rest on good gameplay. I may have to go back and play this (and mysteries of the sith) some day.
If you've got a good enough PC, you might be able to setup a win95 or 98 system with the 86Box emulator and play them on there. I play a lot of classic retro games with that that won't run on modern systems.
Alright! Nice to see this one. I tell you what, Evan, I honestly think it was Lucasarts that could really be the only ones to make these full motion videos work right.
Great game. Im started series with Outcast, and then stumbled across a copy of this game WITHOUT cut scenes, and still, it became my favorite. It has unique atmosphere, charm. Im seriously miss life action cut scenes in games of late 90s early 00s.
I played this for the first time back in like 2005, on a laptop. I was on vacation with my family and I spent a lot of downtime so I ended playing this game on that vacation. It's still one of my favorite games of all time, along with the rest of the Jedi Knight trilogy.
This was my definitive game when I was a kid, I would play this game day after day. I wish this game would be remastered, no other FPS can scratch the same itch as this game for me.
May God have you, Gentleman. This game is my reason for childhood. At 7,I was playing X-Wing, then stunned when witnessing Rebel Assault, but this... *chef's kiss
Thank you for making this video. I was around 12-13 when it came out and mom wouldn't let me own shooters because they were "too violent". I saw JK at a game store and convinced my dad to let me buy it. Mom wasn't happy with Dad, but I was happy haha. Game was mind blowing and revolutionary. I had forgotten that HL hadn't come out yet when this was released. Crazy. One thing not mentioned was how you can launch objects at enemies with force throw. I hadn't seen something done like that before (tossing around objects at enemies) much, if at all. Also, PLEASE do Mysteries of the Sith. I put SO many hours into that game, mostly the multiplayer. The community support for MotS was crazy.
1:15:09 I think that these Kell Dragons may be intended to be Nashtah Which are darkside attuned monsters, from a different world, but ones that could possibly be in a place like Ruusan or even the Kells could be leftover warbeasts from the campaign of Lord Hoth vs the Brotherhood of Darkness
Worth noting with the multiplayer: in the 2000's there was a LARGE multiplayer community (for the time) with custom maps (Caesars Palace anyone?), maps designed for RP (modded vendors and professions and classes), and just general fight clubbing. I remember spending every night after school loading up one of the maps, and just hanging out until someone popped in and wanted to duel. Which were especially epic with Spork and Saber Battle X type mods. I especially remember a Theed Palace map which was huge and expansive and just spending weeks being a Jedi Guard to the Queen (actual player) and defending the palace against dark jedi and droids trying to take her out. Shit was so good and organic. Anyways, point is that the multiplayer mods and additional modes were a large part of why Jedi Knight stayed on my PC until it eventually stopped working. Good stuff. Remembering that feels good.
I like that you're saying this is the best jedi knight game and the definitive kyle katarn story and then say you've never played Jedi Outcast Nah but really, amazing video. I recently played through all the jedi knight games and yeah, this one is incredible for sure, and you've really captured why in this video
1:10:56 Imperials build Prefabs very very quickly. And in the novela/audiodrama Jerec's people had been excavating around the area trying to find the fore for weeks or months by the time Kyle catches up.
"Use it for good!" "Father have you seen her? She looks like a Battle Sister from Warhammer! Dude what has the light side to offer? Sorry" Emperor Katarn ftw. Father should be proud!
I have long been a Star Wars fan first, gamer second. And the late 90s through mid 2000s to me were a perfect blend of great Star and hard but memorable and amazing games. I was able to get into this game’s online multiplayer around 2010 & it was a blast back then - although, you’re gonna get smacked around by folks who are dedicated to it. I’m hoping with the Jedi series and more now coming we get a quasi second golden age of Star Wars gaming.
Fantastic review and analysis! The only thing I feel I disagree with you on is the amount of locations in Dark Forces II vs Dark Forces I. Granted, it's less, but I feel it made the storyline more coherent and (barring the fully legitimate point about the refueling ship) consistent. This is the first video of your channel I found, so I'll be checking out some others. Dark Forces II was a personal favorite from my childhood and it's great to see someone did a deep dive (even including some of the newer lore - since I never looked into things after the Disney buyout and understand the inquisitors to be one of their additions - in the video) into the backstories, share the mod given a visual update, and an in depth analysis of the game. You gave it all the love (and the small bit of hate) it deserves. Thank you!
What an ERA that was, when all these marvelouse games came out! All of Katarn's journey, from Dark Forces to Jedi Academy is literally the best of stories and best of gameplays in the SWEU! And Mysteries of the Sith! A great story in itself, and with Mara Jade (I don't know why George Lucas hates her so much)
I am glad that I have discovered your channel. You do justice to the SW saga and their respective legacy in terms of old games. It's refreshing to see commentary that doesn't focus to much on all of the new stuff and takes the games as they were released. You entertaining and have a good pace. The videos fly by and are really satisfying to watch. The editing is also great. Hope you continue with some other SW games. Have you ever heard of Force Commander? It is an odd RTS game that got released way back where you also play as the Empire and it seems somewhat lost to time and overshadowed by Empire at War. I'd love to see someone comment on that game.
