Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace joins PS Plus Premium next week on Tuesday 16th January! Sony has confirmed it, which means it’s time to start destroying droids once again!
The action/adventure game, based on the movie of the same name, originally released on PlayStation and PC back in 1999 to coincide with the launch of George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel.
Sony revealed that Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace will join the top tier of their subscription service earlier today in a post on the PlayStation Blog.
The game closely follows the events of the film and allows players to take control of Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, Queen Amidala and Captain Panaka. Unfortunately Jar Jar Binks isn’t playable.
The game received mixed reviews upon release with critics citing dull hack n’ slash gameplay and basic puzzles as substantial issues with Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace.
Other retro games launching on the service next week include Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection, Rally Cross, Legend of Mana and Secret of Mana.
Now This Is Podracing!
Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace wasn’t the only tie-in game for the biggest movie of 1999 with Star Wars Episode 1: Racer releasing on PC, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Colour and Dreamcast and Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles arriving on PlayStation and Dreamcast the following year.
The former allowed players to experience the speed and excitement of podracing. Podracing was arguably the highlight of the film and saw Anakin Skywalker racing across the deserts of Tatooine.
Jedi Power Battles on the other hand, wasn’t particularly fun or exciting but gave gamers their first opportunity to play as Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu in game. Somehow, the team at LucasArts managed to omit Mace Windu’s iconic purple lightsabre from the box art as you can see above.
I was the perfect age for Star War when Episode 1 was released in ’99 and while nothing can hold a candle to the original trilogy, and especially Empire, I have fond memories of playing Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace on the PS1 and am thrilled to see it join PlayStation Plus Premium next week.
Since the late nineties we’ve played and enjoyed plenty of Star Wars games and the future is looking bright for the franchise with several other big budget Star Wars games set to release in 2024 and beyond.
