Star Wars Bounty Hunter gets a remastered version twenty-two years after its release. Here’s everything you should know about it.
Originally released in 2002 for Gamecube, Star Wars Bounty Hunter was the first (and only) game to feature Jango Fett as the main character. Over twenty years later Aspyr has released a remastered version with a few improvements and additional features.
Here are my impressions after playing it for a couple dozen hours.
This article does not include any major spoilers related to the game’s story.
UI, Graphics improvement, and PC Performance
The UI is extremely simple, as you’d expect for a game of this type and age. On the left side of the screen, you get your HP bar which is filled with multiple bars. It will change colors going from green to yellow, to red depending on how low your health is.
On the right side, you can see the current selected weapon or tool whether it’s Jango’s Wayfinder, his double Westar-34 pistols, a cable, poison darts, grenades, or any weapon that you took from a fallen enemy.
The game will tell when a new action can be performed, which will appear at the center of the screen when said occasions occur.
Star Wars Bounty Hunter looks decent, keep in mind that it was released in 2002, and despite it being improved with visual enhancements, upgraded textures, and lighting that doesn’t mean that it’s going to look remotely closer to a game from this decade.
Aspyr also added Haptic Feedback features for any players who are using a PS5 DualSense controller.
It’s important to point out that I can play it without any issue on my 45″ Ultrawide monitor. I do not get the two black bars on the sides which is more of what can say about more recent games.
The performance was very good. My PC is fairly powerful but sometimes that doesn’t have anything to do with how well or bad a game runs.
The best example of this is the Battlefront Classic collection which was released not too long ago and thousands of people (including myself) had many troubles during the first days of its release. Personally, I didn’t have a single issue when playing the game.
Story
Despite his almost legendary status as a bounty hunter, Jango Fett is still just a simple man making his way through the galaxy.
The game begins with Count Dooku and Darth Sidious talking about needing a host for the clones, as well as a powerful criminal group called the Bando Gora that could pose a threat to Sidious’ plans if they’re not dealt with.
Count Dooku is a very cautious and picky man, he only wants the best of the best and to do so he calls some of the top hunters in the galaxy but only one will get the job that pays five million credits.
The game is divided into chapters which are subsequently divided into levels, there are six chapters with three different levels each. There’s also a small cinematic at the beginning and end of each chapter.
As you progress, the story gets more interesting, missions are harder to complete and the stakes are obviously higher. If you have played the bounty hunter class in Star Wars The Old Republic then you get a good idea of how the story evolves.
You’ll get to see some familiar faces from Attack of the Clones, the Clone Wars and some new and interesting ones. The two main antagonists are by far the most interesting ones, it’s a shame that they only appear in this game.
The story is interesting but don’t expect it to be something deep and intricate like Jedi Survivor. Nonetheless, it’s still a fun and pleasing experience for anyone who is a fan of Boba Fett, Din Djarin, or bounty hunters in general.
Overall experience
For me, the most important thing about any game is the gameplay. It doesn’t matter if it’s visually stunning and the story is compelling, the gameplay is what defines whether I enjoy a game or not.
As soon as you enter a playable instance the game will show the controls and mechanics of the game. They’re fairly basic but it’s still useful to know, particularly if this is your first game playing the game.
With that said, I have to admit that the weakest aspect of this game is its gameplay. The combat gets tedious after the first three or four hours. While fighting Rodians, Gamorreans, Quarrens, and Nikto is fun by itself, that’s not enough to compensate for the lackluster combat mechanics.
Aiming feels very clunky, especially with a controller. Thankfully, the auto-lock option allows you to forget about having to worry about landing every single “shot manually”.
Getting too confident can result in dying at the hands of even the weakest enemies. This game can be quite punishing, which, for me is a good thing. I like it when every shot counts, it really makes it feel like you’re fighting for your life.
Sometimes, rockets went right through the target without exploding. This was frustrating because of how few you can use and losing one for free can make the difference when fighting one of the strongest enemies.
Speaking of which, the main boss fights are the instances where I had the most fun. Even though I only had to kite them it was a lot more fun than beating a bunch of NPCs. Kiting is a skill in itself, one that will come in extremely handy during the final level.
The last two bosses in particular can’t be defeated that easily with brute force so it would have been nice for the game to facilitate an interaction with an external element to make things more interesting.
The saving grace is definitely Jango’s jetpack. The mobility it provides really makes everything a lot more interesting and enjoyable. Not only in combat but also when exploring the different locations of the game.
Funnily enough, I died a lot more from taking a misstep than from fighting enemies. Which normally wouldn’t be an issue but since you have limited lives it can be frustrating. Once all lives have been depleted, you must restart the entire level.
Moving around feels very awkward and imprecise, at least when you are not using the jetpack. I understand that it’s a very old game, but in this instance, it feels like a game from N64 and not Gamecube. Actually, the entire game feels like something from the previous generation.
The overall gameplay feels very similar to the iconic Shadows of the Empire game. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but considering that Bounty Hunter was released six years after Shadows of the Empire it’s certainly not on the positive side.
The voice acting is superb, Temuera Morrison himself plays Jango while Corey Burton voices Count Dooku. Burton also voiced Dooku in the Clone Wars animated show and the more recent Tales of the Jedi miniseries.
Music plays a huge role in the immersion of any Star Wars game and this is no exception. The selection of music is great but my only complaint is that if you stay in an area for a prolonged period of time the music will start looping. Not an entire piece, just the same 5-10 seconds. It’s not a game-breaker by any means, but it can be annoying.
The levels have a good design. Everything looks according to the environment, from the buildings to the people wandering around. Considering the limitations of the time, they really did a good job at capturing the essence of all the different locations.
The game is mostly linear but there’s room for a little exploration which is rewarded by finding one of the game’s secrets.
Capturing bounties should be fun but it’s one of the most boring things of the game. It’s really disappointing that all you have to do is scan an enemy and then just kill it or shoot the cable. On the bright side, there are some cool things that you can unlock with the credits earned from said bounties.
Extras
The most important thing about this game that’s not gameplay-related is the fact that it includes the Jango Fett: Open Seasons comic miniseries. This is the story of how Jango became a Mandalorian and was eventually hired by Count Dooku. As you might imagine, it serves as a tie-in with this game.
To unlock the entirety of this comic you must earn credits by collecting the extra bounties inside your missions. It took me a few hours to realize the purpose of these bounties but as someone who loves diving into the lore, it’s definitely worth the extra grind.
Earning credits also unlock up to 110 concept art pictures. Certainly something good for fans who love to learn about the pre-production work involved in these types of games.
Finding the secrets unlocks the virtual cards of the TCG from Wizards of the Coast. Probably irrelevant after twenty-two years but it’s still cool to see them.
This remastered version also includes a Boba Fett skin that is unlocked as soon as you complete the game.
Should you buy it
This is never a yes or no question. As I’ve expressed in the previous segments, there are some very good things about the game and others that are all but good. Star Wars Bounty Hunter is a decent game aimed at fans of Jango Fett and bounty hunters.
To be perfectly honest, I enjoyed this game but after completing the main story and earning all the credits to read the comic it’s probably going to gather dust in my Steam library along with other dozen games. Maybe I’m being too harsh with the game but I guess that’s because there’s no nostalgia attached to it.
The story is great and even if the gameplay is lacking compared to other Star Wars’ Gamecube games like The Clone Wars or Rebel Strike, you are probably going to enjoy some aspects of it.
If like me, you didn’t get the chance to play it on the Gamecube then you should really consider giving it a try. It costs less than twenty dollars so it’s not going to hurt your wallet. If you are taking a break from SWTOR or waiting for Star Wars Outlaws to come out, this is a good way to spend that time.
This was one of the few games from that generation of consoles that I never got the chance to play as a kid so I was really happy to finally be able to experience it.
