As someone who doesn't hate Jar Jar or the Gungans as a whole, I always liked the sheer ingenuity they showed during battle. Don't let their funny way of talking fool you, this amphibians are true warriors.
True, but they only got to shine for like five minutes before they were routed and captured. I guess that goes to show how great a leader Riff Tampson was and how effective the combined armies of the Droids and Quaren were, since the Republic had Jjedi leading three different armies, Clones, Mon Cala, and Gungan, and they still couldn't win until the Quaren defected.
The Gungans were playing decoy to lure the majority of the Trade Federation's army out of Theed so the strike team could capture Gunray and take out the control ship. It was a necessary sacrifice.
@@AFlyingEwok true, but if you look at the battle itself, they could have used much better tactics. Mainly, they could have taken up positions on the high ground since they arrived first. By fighting the droids on the flat plains they were easy targets once the droids got through their shields.They also could have used more unit maneuvers like ancient armies where the unit moved as a whole instead of each soldier doing their own thing.
the Living Star Wars (the D20 RPG open campaign) had a Gungan security chief who didn't have that method of speaking, and only had the slightest accent in Basic--and was entirely competent in all ways.
You forgot to mention that the Gungans also had an air force of sorts. Some Gungan warriors flew on the backs of Aiwha, where they would be used for reconnaissance or ridden into battle where they would launch boombas from slings or by dropping larger payloads of them like bombs on the backs of their Aiwhas. Aiwhas are also the same creatures found on Kamino, which the Kaminoans also use as transportation on their aquatic planet. Even more bizarrely was how they used floating whales for aerial transportation and as heavy assault ships. The developers for the Galactic Battlegrounds games must have really had some fun when coming up with some interesting ways to put the Gungans on equal footing militarily as the other civilizations.
I loved that George Lucas included Naboo and other planets for the special edition of Return of the Jedi. It was a beautiful way to re-establish Episode VI as the end of a great Saga
I've always been disappointed no-one in the wider galaxy ever adopted gungan shields in combo with blasters or even a lightsaber. Feel they're really missing a trick, especially when their are instances where heavy metal blast shields are used by the 501st
When i was a kid Jar Jar was actually my favourite character in the movie. I even had a plush doll of him. I always liked the gungans, i don't really understand the hate for them. I appreciated this video giving them the credit they deserve
"What about the Droid attack on the Wookies?" He's right, the grand army of the Wookies deserves their own video, especially since we were denied seeing part of their culture in that unfinished Clone Wars episode where the Bad Batch went to their planet.
*Fun fact:* Naboo was not attacked during the Yuuzhan Vong invasions. The extra-galactic warriors have no idea about what they avoided by not facing the Gungan. 😅
I wonder if they would have truly hated the Gungans compared to the rest of the galaxy seeing that they weren´t as technology dependent but still great warriors
I wonder how that would have looked like. Sure, the Vong would have had superiority in space, but maybe on ground (not to mention in water) the Gungans would have shown great resistance.
5:30 The technology they used was organic and plasma based. I believe their original motive to invade was the disgust with their dependence on inorganic technology by the wider galaxy Good motive to Not invade gungans also
@@riildiilcomments891 didn't the Yuuzhan Vong use terraforming technology as part of their invasion strategy? I kinda feel like they would have made great use of the organic weapons cultivated by the Gungans
I love too with their capture of General Grievous, they knew that in order to restrain him, a few would have to get close to immobilize him and would die for it and still did it anyway. Tarpals getting stabbed and still having the strength to throw some wisdom at Grievous and then stabbing him as well.
I mean.. let’s be real.. people might talk shit about Jar Jar.. but the fact that this Gungan is the only one of his kind to even be able to fight alongside the likes of Mace Windu is pretty awesome.
I always liked the Gungans. Jar Jar was funny (back then I was a kid and did'nt know any better), but when learning more about his species I find them to be one of the most resiliant and brave people in Star Wars.
Curiously, the Gungan were discovered by the Republic the same year that Darth Nihilus's devastating Sith wars took place. Without a doubt the worst year in history to be alive 😅
I feel like fans are much nicer to Jar Jar these days. Or maybe they're just afraid of him being a Sith Lord, now that the truth is out. Gungans are awesome overall, and a full alien army on display in ep1.
As somebody who grew up playing and mains the gungans in Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds it was a bit jarring to see designs, names and events I had only known from that game fully illustrated. For the longest time I thought they were game exclusive, made up as they went along!
I recall there is a gungan miny Boss in the ps2 version of the force unleashed. While I think that the two droids where the main problem he was still a pain to deal with. If we saw more of that it would have changed how we saw them.
6:30 I find it weird why the Gungans don't seem to acquire blasters especially when they made peace with the people of Naboo as close friends and also keep up with the current trend of armies using blasters.
Likely because blasters don't mesh well with Gungan design philosophy and traditional combat training/tactics. They are warriors who take too much pride in their history and self-sufficiency to adopt blasters on a large scale. Especially since they would have to import the blasters or industrialize in areas beyond plasma technology which would be unacceptable to most Gungans.
In the pre-Disney age, they did get out to the wider galaxy after the Phantom Menace. Many gungans were merchants, salesmen, auctioneers, bodyguards, and even Bounty Hunters. There was one Gungan who was Force Sensitive and kidnapped by Cad Bane in the Clone Wars. Unfortunately, kid never became a Jedi.
It’s kinda wild to consider due to their appearance in TPM, Lore wise, The Gungans actually have one of the most fleshed military doctrines and tactics as far as individual alien species are concerned lol. Like, the only comparable ones (in the films) are Wookiees and Ewoks
Their tactics and weaponry do seem primitive considering galactic standard but it apparently gets the job done. (Especially since star wars is full of primitives punching well above their weight.) Side note, they could probably do really well in a historical or fantasy based military setting and could probably pick up how to engage in combat and warfare really quickly.
Gungans are underrated and by the way for those who don't know the scarred gungan in the thumbnail is kleef from the force unleashed ps2 version, he was a veteran of the battle of naboo and he served briefly as part of the security detail for jar jar on coruscant.Before turning to a live of crime and during the imperial era he worked for the mandalorian kingpin chop'aa notimo and became his second in command. When they attacked cloud city and kidnapped senator garm bel Iblis but kleef and his boss were killed by starkiller and the senator was saved.
So to add to what you've compiled here (great video btw), I wanted to highlight the variety of tactics and tech available to the gungan grand army, as well as their likely impact on the wider galaxy. This is a bit of a ramble, but hopefully someone appreciates this: Okay, so before Queen Amidala and her entourage arrived to try and retake Naboo, the Gungan Grand Army was considering a guerilla campaign against the Federation, using the swamps and waterways for cover essentially. As such, it does seem that they are capable of more than just using defensive shields and waiting for the enemy to attack. On top of that, the apparent battle plan was to have the catapults sit at the top of the hilly ridge (the one that the Federation appears from in the film) with the shields and army in front and cavalry as flanking and reserve forces. The hilltop would likely give the catapults added range and force, making them more deadly against the AATs and MTTs, rather than just the battle droids like we see in the film. I only bring that up because it reveals that gungans likely had a wider array of military strategies and tactics than just "lure enemy into shield and drop every single booma on them". Obviously, the very concepts of portable plasma shield generators as well as the fortress city of "Spearhead" as this "fortress that has never fallen" until Boss Rogoe united the gungan tribes, implies that traditional Gungan doctrine centered heavily around defense. This would in turn, have developed into strong offensive technologies and tactics, hence why they have catapults, trebuchets, and cerrabores (beasts that act as battering rams). And depending on how literal you want to take a game like Galactic Battlegrounds: gungan flamethrowers likely made of plasma Oh and in legends, they also had aiwhas for a rudimentary air force, and then post-TPM they had expanded space faring capabilities with at least G-1 starfighters (literally just green N-1s, modified for long range recon and escort missions), space faring bongos, and mantaris transports. Most of that isn't explicitly canon anymore, but thought it worth mentioning as gungan civilization would likely evolve and morph due to the Naboo alliance essentially bringing them into the wider galaxy. Also one last thing, it seems like the Baktoid companies and some parts of the CIS took lessons from the Gungans that were reflected in tech and tactics. Commando droids carried both melee and ranged weapons, along with personal shields to use as a way to charge enemies, much like gungan soldiers do. General Whorm Loathsom from the clone wars movie hid his army behind a ray shield that slowly advanced on the republic position; this is very similar to how gungans would be used in the video game Galactic Battlegrounds, where players would often have their army march in formation with their fambaa shield generators right up to the enemy to wreak havoc. And finally, while they weren't shown on screen, Gungans also ride zalaaca (think panther+horse+gator) into battle, often to devastating effect since they have sharp claws and tusks, as well as speed and ferocity. One of the Baktoid companies (same ones that made most of the CIS droid army and ordnance) made a heavily armored but very agile scout walker based on the Zalaaca, that was mainly used by the Rebel Alliance. Basically, the gungan army definitely was a strong fighting force in both continuities and they seemed to have had a significant impact on the wider galaxy in terms of military and technology. How significant and effective they are is up to you of course, but in-universe they were likely high tier as far as planetary forces go. Just sucks we rarely get to see them fight, so the fact we can get this long and detailed of a video on them is wild in and of itself. Oh and if you somehow made it to the end of this comment for whatever reason, thanks for your time! :D
I think the Gungan's greatest strategic move was to convince the galaxy that they were a laughing stock. That way when your army is marching along and is suddenly ambushed by a thousand ninjas superman-diving you with electrospears and shutting down your tech with those blue ball thingies, you really have no idea what to do. Seriously though, I always loved Gungans in general. I'd love stories about them serving the Old Republic as a military force, being one of the few truly martial-species that is also, y'know... not evil. The idea of them fighting a stand-up battle against Mandalorians, or being called in to protect a besieged city with their shield generators. Played right, I think Gungans are amazing. Their appearance in the battle of mon cala was wonderful to see.
8:10 problem with their war philosophy is that one can only do so much on Defense. Without being good at Offense or being clever on their attack... Cuz honestly while it was a huge Diversion vs the Trade Fed Battle Force it WAS one they honestly LOST. Displaying little or no attack abilities
The Hapan military would be a cool one for you to do! For instance. The Hapan Battle dragon is a freakin epic Battleship, could match a Star destroyer pretty decently!
The Gungan army really is one of the best armies in all of Star Wars. They were just misused in an open battle in Episode 1. But in The Clone Wars on Mon Calamari they showed their true strength fighting in an environment they excel in fighting alongside the Clones. The Gungan Grand Army is really amazing, has unique and interesting weapons and technology, and effective tactics they employ in combat.
The shield generators create an interesting possibility in that they created a barrier that the trade federation had to go through. Deploy ground troops at the edge in whatever the naboo equivalent of a testudo formation and use electrolances to dispatch droids as they pass through the barrier. Tanks and droidekas are the obvious counter to this, boomas offer limited response, the issue is collateral damage, so it basically boils down to how effective your shield wall is. Threat could be mitigated by improved artillery. Deploying artillery in a flanking ambush, with catapults outside the defenses in concealed positions also has the potential to be effective, particularly if protected by cavalry. The risk is this leaves the flanking element exposed, would require a more effective means of exfiltration, possible assistance from Naboo resistance?
I actually really like the tactic of using those big animals to carry their shield generators. Imagine how much more effective the Imperial Army would be if they got AT-ATs to do something similar.
Their weaponry is the definition of rugged and reliable. For comparison each little blue ball is the equivalent of 40k plasma gun shot. Their tactics might be outdated but are nothing to scoff at, the Gungan endure. Also they look like the Rakata so extra points?
I would say their design is a lot more aesthetically pleasing than rakata. Rakata are like reptilian hammerhead sharks. While gungans are more like amphibious dragons. But just my opinion
@@personalgoogleaccount9694 If they were hamerhead gray hide, that would be aesthetically pleasing, giving them alien and threatening vibe, i'm sorry but they the Rakata in some art look like claw hammer covered with scr0tum skin, like some of the comic art and even the Swtor models are bad with those wrinkles.
For being an entire civilization on one of the core Republic planets built completely around EMP technology in a time period when the main ops were droids, gungans were severely underestimated and underutilized imo. I ain't saying they should've just sent frogmen out to battle the Separatists, but their engineering and weaponry could've easily be built into the Grand Army's arsenal. Imagine a destructive bomb with like a city-wide radius that only damages droids and can safely be employed with clones on the field.
I still like the Darth Jar Jar being Darth Plagueis theory. Would make his slapstick make cooler sense. Disney could`ve done right by them by making Snoke a Jar Jar Play
Makes you wonder if any Force Sensitive Gungans really came into the Jedi (or sith) Fold, since they were a rather reclusive species before the events of TPM. Yet in Legends (i belive) there were named Gungan Jedi and Sith. Imagine if the Gungan Grand Army had Jedi Generals, years before Jedi Generals were a thing in The Clone Wars. "Bombad Jedi General" just sounds badass in a way. Get to have Republic and Gungan Grand Army tones to it.
This is what bothers me about people sayin "cW gRiEvOuS wAs bEaTeN bY gUnGaNs" like something pejorative He lost to them because he, just like that breed of people, didn't take them seriously. Let's see YOU take on an army of amphibian warriors armed with EMPs
In defense of the Gungans, pretty much everyone in the Prequel Era fight pretty badly when it come to land engagements, and it‘s way less rational for the clones and droids than it is for the Gungans.
Because the Gungans and Naboo had to save each other in order to demonstrate the theme of symbiosis present throughout the Phantom Menace. Yeah, I think a LITTLE too much thought went into prequels. Lucas: Yes, what is it? Little boy: Can I just watch the movie? Lucas: No, you cannot "just watch the movie". You won't enjoy it on as many levels as I do.
36 hours? That might be viable for Otoh Gunga and its environs, but I hardly think that's believable for the entire Gungan civilisation. Further, there are 3.24 billion Gungans (72% of the total of 4.5 billion inhabitants of Naboo), so their whole army should rank in the _millions_ I mean, even assuming the military accounts for no more 0.1% of the eligible male population (assuming 'eligible' accounts for ~1/4 of males, excluding children and adolescents at the low end, and those no longer fit enough at the high end), you're looking at a total in the _hundreds of thousands_ .
I liked playing the gungans campaign in galactic battlegrounds or whatever the age of empires version of Star Wars was called for pc. I still hate jar jar binks.
The amount of hate Jar Jar got would have been basically non-existant if he didn't get any commanding position in the battle in my opinion. I got annoyed with him on that part but otherwise I like Jar Jar
This an example of on paper one army looks pitiful in nature. Yet is probably the one the most robust and effective militaries by any race of society by making the best use of it its resources and defeated enemies that seemed more technologically advanced. But the thing about Organic soliders is yes they can break and even desert their lines if the stress of battle can get too great for them. However equally such dire situations in battle can rally some troops to fight on because they know the alternative is much worse. Battledroids at least in the battle of naboo for the most part were simple and programed they really lacked the personalities to they developed later. Thus made them less adaptable and more inflexible if shit hit the fan. Sure the Gungans could have made better use of the terrain but do to due the abilities and even blunders of some individuals like Jar Jar actually stalled the trade federation army long enough for the naboo strike team to captured Vicroy Nut Gunray which in tern probably cut off communication with the trade federation fleet with various other factors that led to the trade federations downfall at the battle of Naboo with its leadership disorganized it meant a lone start fighter could fly inside the droid control ship destroying it cause the army to shut down. The Vicroy was too afrogant and greed for his own good that he fell for the bait that was Gungan Grand Army. It was never meant to out right defeat the trade federation simply stall for time for the real fight else where."