Star Wars games take players to many different parts of a galaxy far, far away. Whether you’re flying a starfighter on a mission to save allies in Rogue Squadron, or wielding a lightsaber against groups of troopers in Jedi Survivor, chances are you’re on a unique planet or a nearby one. As a franchise, Star Wars has the ability to bring people to settings that are otherworldly, yet familiar in the best of ways. Paired with a great soundtrack that is reminiscent of John Williams music, the planets of the Star Wars galaxy can be great places to visit in video games. There’s always something going on to pique the interest of players that love the franchise.
I’ve dived into many Star Wars games over the years, and visited tons of planets along the way. I’ve been from one side of the galaxy to the other, and in all my gaming travels it never gets boring running into a new adventure. But which were the best locations that Star Wars video games have shown me? With so many eras, genres, and stories to pick from, it can be challenging picking the best planets that the franchise has rendered in video game form. Here are the five best planets I’ve visited in Star Wars video games.
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5 Endor (EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2)
The lush forest moon
Source: Electronic Arts
The history of the forest moon of Endor in the Star Wars franchise is pretty important. It’s not only the location of the final battle between the Rebel Alliance and the galactic Empire, but is also home to the cuddliest allies in the galaxy, the Ewoks. To many, Endor is a planet that feels like the imagination of a child running wild when roaming through a nearby forest, where good and bad things can be lurking nearby. From tall trees and giant bushes, to tree houses made by the local inhabitants, Endor is an iconic planet that nearly everyone knows and appreciates. You don’t need to hop onto a speeder to take in the wonder of being on Endor.
My favorite rendition of the forest moon of Endor is in Star Wars Battlefront 2 from Electronic Arts. It’s the most detailed and visually stunning version of the location, with so much foliage to it. Imperial structures on the planet make it feel like you’re walking through the final scenes of Return of the Jedi as the climatic battle takes place. Hopping onto a speeder or a nearby AT-ST walker only further enhances this, especially since Star Wars Battlefront 2 has such a high level of accuracy to the original films and attention to detail. But the game has an Ewok Hunt mode that feels reminiscent of horror games, where Stormtroopers must face guerilla-style tactics from Ewok warriors. And no matter what era of Conquest or any game mode I play a match in, Endor always feels lush and colorful.
4 Taris (Knights of the Old Republic)
A bustling city in the Old Republic
Many locations in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic could be included in a list like this, for one reason or another. But Taris is a special location because of how much it echoes the big city tone of iconic Star Wars locations like Coruscant. Taris is one of the first major planets you visit within the game, following some major events at the beginning for Revan and the rest of the cast. But despite the ongoing war between the Sith and the Jedi, Taris retains a far-removed tone to it, as if the major battles are so far away that life in the big city can continue undisturbed. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a seedy underworld to Taris, just like its planetary inspiration, but it’s new and feels familiar enough to stand out among other planets one visits in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Roaming around the streets and visiting the apartments on Taris was always tranquil to me, despite some of the battles and plot-related events that take place. I find the missions at the start of the game really do a lot to make you explore the different areas on the planet, allowing players to take in the sights and marvel at the populated streets of Taris. The planet has appeared in other games outside Knights of the Old Republic, more specifically Star Wars: Empire at War, but it never had the same sense of wonder and intrigue that was present when on the planet in Knights of the Old Republic. Since those appearances, Star Wars games have never returned to the planet for any significant reason. Taris has only been mentioned or included in Star Wars books and comics related to the Old Republic era. It might be due for a comeback in a future game at some point.
3 Nar Shaddaa (Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast)
A smuggler’s moon
A planet that is visited often in Star Wars games is Nar Shaddaa, and not in just one era of the franchise. Nar Shaddaa is a planet that is similar to Coruscant, but feels like a portion of Mos Eisley on the scale of a planet. Tons of smugglers and shady figures go to Nar Shaddaa for various illegal activities, or just to simply get away from the heat they may have garnered on their travels. In the universe, the planet is a core part of the Hutt’s financial and social power within the galaxy, allowing them to interact with nearly every other known criminal organization. The Star Wars Jedi Knight series often brings players back to this planet, usually for some sort of crazy mission or series of events that go awry.
One of my favorite moments on this planet comes from Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. After retrieving his lightsaber from Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Temple, Kyle Katarn visits Nar Shaddaa to get information relevant to his mission, which ends up in a bar fight that has him wielding his lightsaber against crooks for the first time in a while. It’s a great moment that is memorable, as it’s also the first time players get to really use a lightsaber against enemies in Jedi Outcast, rather than training at the Jedi Temple with it. But the planet has also appeared in many other Star Wars games, such as The Force Unleashed and Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords.
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2 Jedha (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor)
A place relevant to the Jedi
Source: (YouTube) Release-Fire
The places you go to in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor are very interesting, both to the story and to the greater Star Wars canon. Cal Kestis, a survivor of Order 66, finds himself traveling to the planet Jedha to reunite with his allies and continue his fight against the newly formed Galactic Empire. The planet itself is a spiritual place for the Jedi, with many often making a pilgrimage to find a stronger connection to The Force. In the game, however, Jedha is a place where so much happens to Cal Kestis and those around him, with some pretty significant changes that take place as the story reaches its climax.
For me, roaming the sandy plains of Jedha was a very interesting experience. This is a planet that Star Wars fans saw prior to the game with the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in theaters, but there’s clearly so much more history and relevance Jedha before then. Climbing onto a creature and riding through the sands as Imperial forces patrol the nearby areas feels like someone akin to Lawrence of Arabia, but done in the Star Wars universe. It might feel like another big planet, but Jedha remains different for its many connections to the Jedi and hidden stories that have yet to be explored in any deep way.
1 Tatooine (Star Wars Outlaws)
A hive of scum and villainy never gets old
Source: (YouTube) Radio Times Gaming
There’s no location within the Star Wars franchise that is more iconic than Tatooine. Although some people might get tired of the planet being brought up or revisited over and over again, there’s a very good reason why that is. Tatooine is one of the first big locations that we see at the beginning of Star Wars, more specifically Episode IV: A New Hope. But for as much as we know and have seen of the planet over the decades, there’s so much more to discover and explore within the desert planet. Most Star Wars games have some location or events that are based on Tatooine, with Star Wars characters often referencing the iconic locations from the films or visiting them. It might be the planet furthest from the brightest center of the universe, but it’s a place the franchise loves to return to.
My favorite iteration of Tatooine comes from Star Wars Outlaws, due to how detailed it is and how much I can explore within it. Everything that we know about Tatooine from the movies, video games, books, and comics has culminated into a rendition of the planet that feels authentic in Outlaws. Everything from the Dune Sea and Mos Eisley, to the location of the Lars Homestead, is recreated highly accurately and made to explore. Hopping onto a speeder and just cruising through the sands of Tatooine from one location to another is something that Star Wars fans have dreamed of for years, and it’s entirely possible within Star Wars Outlaws. It’s a warm feeling to just pull up to Docking Bay 94 one moment, and the next find myself riding over to Jabba’s Palace. To say this is the best video game adaptation of Tatooine would be an understatement, because it’s really that special.
A galaxy we want to visit
There are so many great planets within the Star Wars franchise, most of which appear in video games in a variety of ways. The ones that we get to see in various game releases are interesting, especially when something major takes place. Although there are plenty more that have yet to be included in any Star Wars game, the galaxy far, far away is massive enough to never run out of places to see. Some of the best Star Wars games have the most memorable planets, even if they were never from the movies we know and love. As more Star Wars games get developed and release, they’ll hopefully take us to more new planets that will continue to throw us into galactic adventures we can enjoy playing through.
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