Rogue One was a pleasant surprise to me as a former hardcore fan of the Star Wars canon. I didn't quite like that many of the comics and novels I'd poured over as a kid were being negated by the new Star Wars status quo, but installments to the lore like this one have restored my confidence. I thought it was a solid flick, a better-than-average Dirty Dozen-type story that revealed some things about A New Hope and the construction of the Death Star in particular. I also liked that it was a self-contained affair, a done-in-one feature film that can either stand on its own or lead directly into Episode IV if one desires.
The word "Rogue" is kind of a buzzword in Star Wars lore. For me, it brings to mind the Rogue Squadron novels from years ago, little spin-off stories that would weave in and out of the main saga and give some sense of scope to what was supposed to be a galactic conflict. They also highlighted the horror and tragedy of war in a way the main films never got around to. The Rogue Squadron concept became a valuable little piece of IP within an IP, and soon enough, other media formats would get a taste of all that sweet X-Wing/TIE Fighter dogfighting action.
The N64 saw the release of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, a flight combat game in the same mold as StarFox or Playstation's Ace Combat series. This was an impressive game for its time, taking full advantage of the added power of the little red-topped expansion pack that gave the N64 a little more "oomph". I spent hours mastering control of the various X-Wings and Y-Wings one could pilot, eventually becoming a competent enough pilot to secure gold medals for nearly every mission. It's a great game and no N64 collection is complete without it.
What was already great was made even better by the time of the Gamecube's launch, when the sequel, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader came out. Still visually impressive, even to this day, the game truly captured the sound and spectacle of the films' space battles while retaining the quality gameplay and control of the N64 game. It improved upon its predecessor in every function, right down to the quality voice acting and samples, creating an immersive pilot simulator experience.
The first mission is based on the Death Star trench run and is simply gorgeous, even in a 4:3 pre-HD format. It's easy to miss a stray TIE Fighter when you're just zipping around trying to take it all in. Later missions would take place during the Battle of Hoth, Bespin, and the second Death Star. The Hoth level in particular became a staple in the Rogue Squadron series and a video game staple since Shadows of the Empire brought the idea of tripping AT-ATs with a Snowspeeder to life.
Later on in the Gamecube's life cycle, a third installment, Rebel Strike, was released. While the in-air missions retained their trademark quality, the on-the-ground third person action missions were clunky and broke up the core action of the game with a much less exciting way to play. It was the same problem that plagued Shadows of the Empire: the on-foot stuff was unpolished and, in some cases, downright ugly, but the flight sim stuff was top notch. I can appreciate LucasArts wanting to branch out and not just make "another sequel", but their efforts didn't really pay off. It was a massive disappointment after the religious experience that was Rogue Squadron II.
Twitter: @ChrisBComics
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