Mandalorian armor is much more than pieces of beskar scattered around the body and a cube-shaped helmet: it is one of the greatest symbols of a powerful creed . A responsibility for the wearer and also an emblem that instills deterrence and respect throughout the Star Wars galaxy far, far away. Something that is very evident in The Mandalorian and, almost two decades before, on PS2 and GameCube through Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.
Although LucasArts had already covered the premiere of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace a lot and well with a whole array of playable proposals on PCs and consoles, the truth is that it was much less ambitious for Attack of the Clones. In fact, in addition to the vehicular fighting game simply called Clone Wars , only two Game Boy Advance adaptations of Episode II were released by THQ. And, to be honest, none of them managed to be the least bit memorable.
All in all, LucasFilm’s video game division was completely focused on the Star Wars license, producing all kinds of experiences that not only allowed fans to interact with their universe, but also expand it with completely canonical stories.
Which includes Star Wars: Bounty Hunter , the game we can consider, along with the Jango Fett comics: Dark Horse Hunting Season, the prelude to the movie itself. And what a prelude!
Let’s start from the essentials: a year after The Phantom Menace was released in theaters, LucasFilm decided to give some consistency to the entire existing Star Wars canon through a database that recorded the continuity of the galactic saga, to which it was called the Holocron. In this way, and except for minor nuances, there were no contradictions in all the material produced under the George Lucas seal, whether they were novels, comics, video games or movies.
In other words, if Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were on a mission for the Jedi order, in all subsequent events that would have happened. In addition, during the course of that adventure, the two characters could not be in parallel in another point of the galaxy doing something else in any other work, be it on paper, film or the instructions of a toy.
Which, on the other hand, also implied on the part of Lucasfilm to adapt to all the material previously produced so as not to create conflicts. Something that, logically, also applied to LucasArts video games.
In this context, and under that responsibility, LucasArts and Dark Horse offered us to take part in 2002 in one of the most important events of Star Wars: the story of how Jango Fett, the best bounty hunter in the galaxy , became the Genetic template of an army of clones, the linchpin of Darth Sidius’s plan, and in turn the reasons for the condition he imposed to accept the deal (plus 20 million republic credits): an unaltered clone who will inherit the will of the Mandalorian Jaster Mereel.
The rise and fall of the last of the true Mandalorians
Several decades before the planet Kamino began to produce an unbeatable army of clone troopers for the Galactic Republic, and long before the rise of the Empire, there was a rift in the feared mercenary clan of the Mandalorians : led by Tor Vizsla , known as the Death Watch provoked an internal war driven by their own desire for conquest.
That Mandalorian civil war led the conflict to a humble farm on the planet Concord Dawn , collaterally involving the Fett clan, who, despite coming from a reputed lineage among the Mandalorians, were engaged in agricultural work.
Fate would have it that a very young Jango Fett and his family were threatened by the very Vizla and his men, who were looking for Jaster Mereel, the leader of the authentic Mandalorians. Luck, and the entrance on the scene of Jaster, wanted Jango not only to be saved from sharing the fatal fate of his parents, but also to end up being sponsored by the legendary Mandalorians.
With the passing of the years and the instruction of Jaster himself, Jango Fett quickly stood out among his fellow mercenaries , who not only dealt with their own threats in the face of the Death Watch , but also accepted delicate assignments as a way of life preceded by his own reputation.
Yet despite Jango’s near-innate skills and leadership, not everyone welcomed Jaster’s success as leader of the feared mercenaries: the Mandalorian Montross had his own plans and ambitions, and Jaster’s young sponsored boy now stood in the way. in them.
The rescue mission of the planet Korda Six would be a blow to the table for Jaster and Jango: what seemed like a simple task that would serve as Jango’s debut as a squad leader would mean an ambush by Tor Vizsla and the Death Watch.
An opportunity Montross seized to expose Jaster, ultimately killing the leader of the Mandalorians.
Not without difficulties, Jango managed to save the group. And although Montross claimed the leadership of the Mandalorians, they recognized as their guide the young man who was once a humble farmer. That provoked the ire of Montross and the start of his own solo career as a bounty hunter. Paradoxically, that prevented him from sharing the terrible fate of most of his former colleagues.
An elaborate plan by Tor Vizsla led to the brutal confrontation of the true Mandalorians against a squad of Jedi, the mighty defenders of the Republic, led by Count Dooku . That trap ended in a complete massacre that reduced the Mandalorians to a single survivor: Jango Fett himself.
Of course, before being defeated, Jango took ahead – already desperately – an unusual number of Jedi with little more than his bare hands. Something that Dooku himself will remember for years.
Jango escaped death, but was badly injured. The Mandalorian spent years confined as a slave on a spice freighter until the space ship was attacked by space pirates. The first thing he did when he escaped was to retrieve his armor , which had been enhanced and clad in durasteel. The second thing he did was go after Tor Vizsla for revenge. And finally got it.
Alone in the galaxy, and after avenging his fellow Mandalorians, Jango Fett decided to seek work the only thing he knew how to do : he would offer his services as a mercenary accepting all kinds of assignments throughout the galaxy. And it is precisely at that point where Star Wars: Bounty Hunter begins.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter: the much-needed prelude to Episode II: Attack of the Clones
The one who was known decades ago as the honorable Count Dooku now finds himself in the service of Darth Sidiu s, a fearsome Sith Lord determined to destroy the Jedi order.
After the failure of their plans on the planet Naboo, Dooku and Darth Sidius are preparing their next move: the creation of a powerful army of clones , for which they will need a subject to serve as a genetic template. And that’s when Dooku remembers that Mandalorian capable of defeating dozens of Jedi. However, you will need to test it first.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a superb third-person shooter and action game in which we’ll take on the role of Jango Fett, who has already built a reputation as the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. Of course, as we will discover, Jango is not the only living Mandalorian willing to sell his talent to the highest bidder.
The LucasArts game is a luxurious opportunity to put Jango’s skills to use, make the most of his armor and his particular arsenal and, incidentally, get a few credits from the Republic by trapping criminals on exotic planets and well-known places by Star Wars fans like Coruscant or Tatooine.
In Star Wars: Bounty Hunter our main mission will be to hunt down the former Padawan of Count Dooku, who now runs his own criminal syndicate. However, Jango is not the only one who has been commissioned by the Sith: his ruthless ex-partner Montross will reappear on his way willing to take the substantial reward and, incidentally, take revenge on Fett at any cost.
Ahead, six long chapters divided into four main acts each, in which we will have to go through enormous vertical maps (perfect to use our jet-pack), fight a duel against waves of thugs and, in the process, hunt down some of the galactic scum getting a good pinch for its catches.
Although Star Wars: Bounty Hunter hit shelves nearly half a year after Attack of the Clones premiered, production began in mid-2000, nearly a year after The Phantom Menace hit theaters. , with a well-defined goal: to offer fans an action game that revolves around the character of Jango Fett.
Logically, and as we saw above, that meant establishing an ambitious universe and context given the relevance that Jango and the clone troopers will have in George Lucas’ film prequels and, by extension, the enormous popularity that Boba Fett already had in the classic Star Wars trilogy.
Of course, at Lucasfilm and LucasArts they knew how to make the most of that opportunity.
Best Bounty Hunter by LucasArts
In many respects, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter manages to take the player through the darkest corners of the Star Wars universe that they almost tiptoed past in the first three episodes of the Skywalker Saga . Ripping out of a murky Battle Pit and taking us into carbonite freezing chambers and even forcing them to make deals with Jabba the Hutt himself.
Taking up in the process the concept of a galaxy halfway between the legends and codes of honor of the Samurais, the harshness of Westerns in which the slow ones die with their boots on and the best of space science fiction.
Perhaps the control system might seem outdated today, but Jango’s abilities were masterfully adapted to the gameplay of Star Wars: Bounty Hunter:
- Its own system of automatic aiming at two pistols calibrates the difficulty of the game very well, putting us in front of lots of enemies that we will beat in two or more directions and, at the same time, guaranteeing intense duels without being frustrating.
- On the other hand, Jango is very versatile in terms of mobility with dodges, taxiing and a very ingenious use of its jet-pack that allows the creation and design of huge and vertical platform phases.
- In addition, we have a viewer with which to scan all the characters that we will find in the game, so that we can find out if there were any rewards for them and catch them before striking them with the blasters.
Each of the phases has a particularly successful duration and perfectly adapted to the needs of the plot and the intermediate kinematics. With the added bonus that, as with the Star Wars games of the time, it had the soundtrack of John Williams. Something that is always an added claim.
Although the camera system is terrible if we compare it with that of Super Mario 64 or other current standards, the truth is that it was not bad at the time, offering a kind of guide that we could adapt to the right stick of the controller, despite that when we took off the flight it was something unpredictable at first and not entirely fine afterwards.
All in all, LucasArts was right by offering to adjust the camera controls from the game’s menus, taking the opportunity to show off by creating versions adapted to the individual capabilities of the PS2 and GameCube hardware. Something rare, all be said.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter was a total success in playability, in duration and in setting and plot. A bet as successful as it was inspired by the action by a LucasArts that showed that they had taken note of their successes and mistakes with titles such as Shadows of The Empire or the Obi-Wan game for Xbox.
But above all, he was crowned by giving an unbeatable background and a much-needed prominence to such a transcendental character as Jango Fett . Taking us little by little to the moment in which he would close his deal with the Sith for the creation of the Clone army. Remembering at all times the legacy of Jaster Mereel.
The legacy of Jango Fett and the Mandalorians
Boba Fett is a recurring character in Star Wars games. At least, in those in which the cinematographic heroes make an appearance. Sometimes with a lighthearted tone like in the LEGO Star Wars titles, and others positioning itself as a fan favorite, including the Battlefront installments. He was even seen taking one-on-one battles with the best and worst of the galaxy far, far away at Masters of Tëras Käsi.
After all, Boba Fett is nothing less than the unaltered clone that Jango Fett demanded to carry on the will of his mentor and his fallen comrades.
Paradoxically, and despite the infinite possibilities and the enormous appeal of putting yourself in the shoes of the most feared bounty hunter of the era of the Galactic Empire in video games, it was necessary to wait for the launch of Star Wars Bounty Hunter for Lucasfilm and LucasArts to take advantage of the capabilities and talents that have made the Mandalorians into legends on an interplanetary level. And in fairness, they did a great job.
Lucasfilm wrapped the character of Jango Fett with their own stories beyond his participation in Attack of the Clones with novels, toys, merchandising and, of course, his own comics. It was precisely through these that he finished giving context to the video game, introducing pages from the Jango Fett comics: First Hunt as unlockables distributed between the chapters of Star Wars Bounty Hunter.
Logically, that expansion of the Star Wars canon fired the fan’s imagination and Lucasfilm knew how to channel it well. Introducing new Mandalorians through new productions such as the Star Wars: Clone Wars series from Cartoon Network and Disney +, or the most recent Star Wars Rebels.
Expanding his legend with remarkable success and, more recently, gifting Star Wars fans with a production capable of rivaling (and surpassing) the trilogy of sequels to the Skywalker Saga: The Mandalorian series.
Produced for Disney +, the series centered on an enigmatic bounty hunter channels the essence of the classic trilogy and rescues many of the most celebrated aspects of the Expanded Universe (currently relegated to the Legends label and out of canon). Part of his success is the way in which he proudly inherits the passion and initiative that went into giving a background and an identity to the Mandalore mercenaries in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter.
It is undeniable that The Mandalorian lends itself wonderfully to having its own video game, but for now we are content with it serving as a bridge for the new stage that opens in front of the Star Wars legacy and its fans.
Because Din Djarin , the protagonist of The Mandalorian , has to fight in each chapter with the fame and legends that precede those of his creed. And the most curious of all is that many of those legends were born around the superb prologue to Star Wars: Attack of the Clones that we ourselves live on consoles. Seen like this, it is even poetic.
