Customer Reviews

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Last year I bought a GameBoy Advance SP (GBA) and Lego Star Wars (LSW) for the GBA based on the strength of the original LSW after playing a friend's kid's copy for just a few minutes. The game was that good, that intriguing and that interesting, that after just a few minutes of play I, a 36 year old man, wanted to buy a GBA. I hadn't played any computer games for 5+ years and this game pulled me back in.

After I finished the original LSW, I free-played it until I'd figured out every secret, unlocked every character and tried all sorts of tactics. I set my gameboy down and pretty much walked away for the summer.

With that history in mind, I was greatly looking forward to the sequel, hoping to rediscover the fun & joy I had with the original LSW.

Unfortunately, I was to be disappointed.

This sequel has little of the charm, almost none of the challenge, many less puzzles and hardly any of the re-playability of the original. The ability to continue from the same exact spot each time you die makes the story line go by too quickly and removes much of the work required to get through each level. The levels are too quick, broken up into too many segments, too predictable and lacking in "hidden" areas to explore. There are few opportunities or requirements to use special abilities, and seemingly little variation in the types of bad guys you face.

The vehicle segments are mostly a joke, treating only the SnowSpeeder vs AT-AT battle with any kind of uniqueness.

I wonder, did EIDOS become Tt, or is this game made by a different software company than the original LSW? I thought game sequels were supposed to be more refined and more challenging than their predecessors.

Maybe there's a message here -- Lego Star Wars II is to the original LSW as the second trilogy is to the original trilogy.

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The one big plus to this version over the original LSW is the cut scenes. They are enjoyable & capture in animated bricks some of the fun of the original 3 SW's movies.

FWIW - Han shoots first in the cantina cut scene.

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One techinical note, these features are NOT available on the GBA version. I'm pretty sure they are listed since they are available on bigger gaming platforms, but they aren't part of the GBA.

* All levels feature vehicles and creatures that players can ride or exit at will
* Customize 50 new playable characters by mixing and matching body parts, to build their own LEGO Star Wars heroes

Since Lego Star Wars II is on eight different systems, there's no reason you can't experience it. Sadly, the handheld versions get the short end of the stick. The DS version had several bugs and glitches, and the GBA version just doesn't get enough of the game to go around. The PSP version is the lone exception, being very identical to the console versions in almost everyway. The GBA version is certainly better than many people give it credit for, but it's unfair to compare it to the console versions or even the DS version. The GBA can hold its own quite well, though.

You'll play through all three episodes of the original Star Wars trilogy. All of them made up entirely of Legos. You'll see some classic moments, and some of them just look really good. Even though the GBA version plays on an isometric, it still works out rather well as a whole. The game looks good, and runs pretty smoothly on the GBA. There aren't a whole lot of things to interact with in the environment, but it does look good, none the less.

As you progress through the levels, you'll find yourself in control of several members of your party. You can only control one at a time but you can switch between them with no worries. Each type of character has their own unique abilities. Your blaster toting characters such as Han and Leia, can build things, jedi can use the force and droids can open up different doors and switches. Some doors and such can only be activated by certain characters.

Mostly you'll play on foot, and you'll engage in fire fights and melee fights (if you're a jedi). These fights are rather simple and fun, but there's not nearly as much variety to them on the GBA. Still, for the most part, the game is fun, and that's what really counts.

The game has several levels on foot, but also focuses on vehicles and such as well. You'll find yourself in the X-Wing and Snowspeeder, for example, to destroy the Death Star and do battle on the ice world of Hoth. Almost a third of these levels are in vehicles. As you progress through the game you'll also be able to unlock more characters. The purpose of unlocking more characters is to go back into an already completed level and engage in freeplay mode. Some of your unlocked characters can access things in freeplay mode that you otherwise couldn't in story mode.

The GBA suffers from a couple of small problems. One, the game is really short. It'll take you less than three hours to complete story mode. Second, you just can't help but admit that it'd be nice if the GBA version got some of what the console versions had. Such as being able to create a custom character, or being able to unlock more characters. There's also no co-op play. There's a lot to do in the GBA version, but you just wish it could be bigger, and more expansive. The fun doesn't last as long as it's console counterparts, but for the most part, the GBA version of Lego Star Wars II is a pretty good game. It's certainly not a bad game, it's just not big enough to sastisfy the most hardcore of gamers.

The music isn't so bad. John Williams score coming out of your GBA speaker actually sounds good. It sounds better when it comes from your Nintendo DS than it does the GBA, though (since the Nintendo DS plays GBA games in surround sound), but for the most part, it sounds pretty good for what the GBA can handle. The sound effects such as light sabers and blasters actually sound perfect.

The GBA version of Lego Star Wars II is grand and good for on the go, but as I mentioned, the handheld version gets the short end of the stick. You might want to grab this on one of the consoles instead simply because the GBA doesn't hold as many extras as the console versions. It's a great game for the GBA, but it's not nearly as expansive as it could've been.

The Good
+It looks pretty good on the GBA
+Fun gameplay
+Some of the best moments of the Star Wars trilogy on your GBA
+It sounds pretty good
+Loads of replay value

The Bad
-There's no co-op play
-Story mode is short
-It's just not as expansive as it could be

Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy marks the beloved original trilogy's debut in Lego form. On home consoles, the game proves to be plenty fun, and it's no different on the aging GBA. Despite the GBA's limited capabilities, Lego Star Wars 2 manages to provide a heaping amount of fun in a small cartridge as you trek through the three films in Lego form. Like the first Lego Star Wars for the GBA, the game uses an isometric point of view, and for a GBA game, the game looks pretty good. There's plenty of sound effects and voices from the films as well implemented into the game, along with a horde of secrets to unlock, enemies to take down, and some very nicely done action to boot. The only real negatives about Lego Star Wars 2 for the GBA are the same problems that were featured in the console versions. The gameplay may get tedious, and the game itself is short, very short. This GBA version in particular will take you less time to finish the story mode than it does to watch Empire Strikes Back in one sitting, but with the bevy of unlockable content, this isn't that big a deal. And thankfully, unlike the DS version of Lego Star Wars 2, the GBA version isn't full of bugs and glitches. All in all, Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy is a smashing but of fun that GBA owners will definitely want to pick up, and while it may be a short ride, it's a very fun one while it lasts.

We have Lego Star wars 1 on the Gamecube and now this game on the Gameboy Advance Micro. I'm really surprised how well done this is. I actually prefer it to the first one on the Gamecube, mainly I guess because it's portable. I'm sure the console version is more full-featured but this little game is quite impressive with tons of detail, great gameplay, excellent music and sound effects. It's definitely one of the best Gameboy games out there. My 6 year old and I both love it.

My 7 year old son plays this quite a bit but not as much has his "Backyard" games. He gives it a thumbs up for fun though.

I bought this for my 5 year old Son and he LOVES it! I've even caught my Husband playing a few times. There are alot of characters and many levels. Lots of fun!

i thought this game was pretty good, and the fights wer good. the only thing i don't like about this game, is because it's to short! that is all

I really enjoyed this game. There were times where the camera angle was a bit funny, but for the most part I liked the game. However, my biggest problem was with my seller. I tried selling the game at a shop to get a different one, but had my name put on a list for trying to sell bootlegged games. I bought this used here on Amazon like 2 years ago, and the seller mailed me a bootlegged copy. I didn't know this at the time, but BE CAREFUL! Some buyers are selling illegal copies!

I started playing this game for my 4 year old son. You have to start at the first level and beat all of them before you can go to them whenever you want. I save the game after beating the first few levels and when i went to play again the data was gone. I tried saving numerous times and the data was always lost when the power was shut off. I beat the whole game in about an hour and a half. I gave it to my little boy and he could go to any level he wanted but later on he brought it to me with the power off and the data of course was gone again starting the game over. I went online and many others have experienced the same problem with this game. It was also very short and not really any challenge. This game was a waste of my time and money would not recommend this game at all. I heard the first one was better anyway.

I have not played it myself, but my son loves it and has played it for hours