Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection Review: The Best is Back

There's always pressure and high expectations for a re-release of a beloved classic, and that only gets ramped up to new levels when said classic is in the Star Wars universe. Nearly two decades after they first arrived, the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection is here to revive some of the gratest gameplay in that storied franchise's history.

For those who played these iconic installments on PS2 or the original Xbox, our Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection review will break down whether that same quality has been delivered once again. As for the fans who never got to experience the original Star Wars Battlefront and Star Wars Battlefront II experiences, we'll help you decide if this is a gap in your fandom that needs to be filled.

Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection Review

The moment that the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection began to load, memories of these classics flooded in. The forever recognizable movie score from John Williams washes over cleaned up menus as you decide between launching the single player campaign, online multiplayer, or getting split screen going for local co-op or combat.

For anyone who hasn't played the originals, or played them so many years ago that the details are now fuzzy, you'll be delightfully greeted by an original Star Wars crawl to kickoff the Clone Wars campaign. This transitions seamlessly into actual film footage from The Phantom Menace as the Trade Federation leaders order the activation of the droid army.

This time, that's you. The Clone Wars campaign begins with The Battle of Naboo, and Darth Sidious (voiced by Nick Jameson, who also voiced Palpatine in Genndy Tartakovsky's 2003 Star Wars: The Clone Wars series) will give you orders to wipe out the Gungan Grand Army. From Naboo to Geonosis to Kamino, you'll experience the most memorable battles in Star Wars history with film footage and these snippets of original narration blended together.

Begun, The Clone War has...

When those battles actually begin, the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection delivers a classic FPS feel, though it's easy to swap to a third-person perspective and continue fighting from there. All the different units you can choose from bring their own strengths and weaknesses, and your unit choice constantly feels critical to the scenario you're placed in.

The sound of a droideka beginning to fire is unmistakable, and it'll make you panic if you're not using a unit with a heavy enough weapon to take one down. You can also easily hop into any unoccupied vehicle, and many of them are ideal choices to take down shielded enemies like the droideka.

Just as you'd expect from a galactic war, these battles are about the numbers. You respawn quickly at different command post locations that you seize control of, and at the end of the day you just want a better kill ratio. As long as they run out of soldiers before you do, that's still a victory.

Some re-released titles, like the recent Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, can suffer from old controls that today's players may struggle to master. That's never how the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection feels because these nearly 20-year-old games were already on the cutting edge of what action shooters would become.

Don't Get Cocky, Flyboy

When you graduate from the original Star Wars Battlefront and launch Star Wars Battlefront II, the ground combat gets refined and you soon experience the real difference between the pair. While air vehicles are a part of the original, Star Wars Battlefront II features more elaborate space combat battles and quality tutorials to help new and old players alike adjust to the aerial action.

As you begin the sequel's campaign, the weight of an impending Order 66 weighs heavily as glimpses of film footage are followed by original 501st Journal reports narrated by Temuera Morrison to preface each battle. This is fresh in your mind as you finally get to take control of the Jedi in several of those battles. For any Star Wars fan, these "I know that voice" moments will keep popping up. The first Star Wars Battlefront featured Jameson, Morrison, and even Tom Kane as both Admiral Ackbar and Yoda.

Bob Bergen, who later voiced Lama Su in Clone Wars and Bad Batch, lends his voice to Luke Skywalker in the sequel. Corey Burton, later Dooku and Cad Bane in Clone Wars, voices Count Dooku and Ki Adi Mundi. James Arnold Taylor, later Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone Wars, voices him here as well. Lex Lang eventually became the voice of Major Vonreg in Star Wars Resistance, but he's Han Solo here.

Mat Lucas as Anakin Skywalker, Terrance Carson as Mace Windu, the list goes on and every single one of these performances deliver just like they did all those years ago. The original Star Wars Battlefront pair were two of the greatest Star Wars video games of their age, and this collection never loses sight of keeping what made them great.

The Verdict: A Galactic Triumph

It was no easy task for the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection to port these two iconic installments in a way that fans would love and new players could enjoy, but they've actually hit that one in a million shot. After hours and hours spent in this remastered release, my only complaint is that I don't have time to play it non-stop for the next week.

If you remember enjoying the original Star Wars Battlefront games, add this to your library immediately. If you're a fan who has never gotten to try these, now is the time. Snag the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection on any platform and let them wash over you. If you don't know why people used to rave about these games, it won't take long to find out.

Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection Rating: 10 out of 10