A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there was a new trilogy of Star Wars films taking a new generation by storm. While flawed, they entertained and produced some memorable characters, one being Jango Fett, Boba Fett’s father. Star Wars Bounty Hunter was one of the many games spawned by this new trilogy and Aspyr Entertainment, known for bringing the majority of Lucasarts titles across to modern consoles, helms this port from all the way back in 2002. What’s it Like? Fuel up the jet pack, get your list of bounties, and keep your Blasters at the ready as we review Star Wars Bounty Hunter for the Nintendo Switch.
Star Wars Bounty Hunter follows Jango Fett as he aims to take down a huge bounty that will set him up for life by attempting to take down a cartel involved in Death Stick manufacturing. The story introduces a lot of characters that aren’t from the movies, and it was great to see Jango’s story fleshed out a lot more than in the prequel trilogy which had a tendency to introduce interesting and unique characters while not taking any care to dive into their backstory at all.
The gameplay is a mix of 3rd person shooting with a lot of platforming, which works to a certain degree of success thanks to Jangos verticality with his jetpack. Aspyr has brought a more modern control scheme over with this port which is a huge improvement over the original Gamecube release, and while there are some dated elements which I’ll dive into later, the game is fairly fun to play with boss battles and interesting settings. What makes this game different from most 3rd person shooters is the Bounty system, in which you can scan and capture bounties dead or alive for additional rewards. Initially, it’s a bit confusing and frustrating having to select your scanner to find which character has a bounty on them, then switch back to a weapon, a task thankfully made easier by the slowing of time while in this mode. Eventually, it will become second nature to sniff out bounties and capture them for maximum rewards.
Speaking of rewards, scattered throughout the levels are a plethora of hidden items and secrets to collect that unlock some really cool out-of-game bonuses like an interactive comic book which is unlocked via progression, to Wizards of the Coast trading cards. Accomplished bounty hunters can also unlock a Boba Fett skin when they complete the game the first time around… something that used to exist only in rumours on the Gamecube version. There’s concept art as well, and much like Nightdive’s amazing work on the Dark Forces remaster, I really like this approach to making sure things like this are included as it goes a long way toward game preservation.
Star Wars Bounty Hunter has received small graphical touch-ups, most noticeably in the model detail and lighting effects which now see your blasters light up a room in a firefight. I’m assuming that this is also why there is now the inclusion of a flashlight, which never really has to be used at all during gameplay, and admittedly, I forgot it was there until I started writing this review.
I wish I could say that Star Wars Bounty Hunter was from a more sophisticated time, but the game feels dated to play. Having recently played the Jedi Knight and Academy games, I didn’t notice it as much, but with Bounty Hunter, a game that came out in the same year, it feels a bit more rough around the edges. The level design is that old-school style of back-tracking or searching every nook and cranny to try to progress, sometimes being thwarted by missing a small crate to cut through while searching for 10 minutes. Combat feels flimsy with dual blasters not really making an impact, and set pieces in the level design see unending swarms of bad guys flooding your position just waiting to be shot. Some of it feels woefully unfair at times, and after using 4 of my 5 continues in one area, I found it was better to simply rush past everyone and not bother fighting to get through it, only to be annihilated by a boss and have to slog through the level again.
Unfortunately, in addition to the dated elements of the game, Star Wars Bounty Hunter has a fair bit of jank to it. Sometimes you fall through items, drop off ledges, get stuck in the level structures and die, and randomly change position in the level. It’s a bit worse for wear to say the least. Sometimes, my sound went really quiet but only on characters’ voices, so I was unable to hear the exposition delivered, and also sometimes the borders during cutscenes doubled up, cutting out some of the action by adding a 4 or 5-inch black border on the top and bottom. On top of this, there are a few movement-based issues that make traversal feel buggy, and while it wasn’t game-breaking, these issues were common during nearly every level.
For $30 AUD, Star Wars Bounty Hunter is still a fun romp for the fans, and if you enjoyed the game back in the day, there’s plenty of fun to be had in a lower-end priced package. Those looking to 100% the game with the Bounty system will warrant a couple of playthroughs, and even those just looking to experience it will have an 8 or so-hour campaign to get through. For my vision-impaired Bounty Hunters, there are no accessibility options, so further research is recommended to find out if Star Wars Bounty Hunter is for you.
Star Wars Bounty Hunter is a good addition to the Switch library of Star Wars games. Sure, it may be a little dated and not have as much impact as the Knights of the Old Republic series, but it’s a fun platforming adventure game for fans of Jango or Boba Fett. Its quality of life improvements like the slightly reworked graphics engine and control scheme help adapt Star Wars Bounty Hunter to the more modern consoles, and I’m sure in a patch or two, it will be a much more enjoyable adventure for those looking to delve deeper into the (apparently non-canon) lore of the Star Wars Universe’s second favorite bounty hunter.
So What’s It like? Star Wars Bounty Hunter is like Syphone Filer, crossed with Star Wars.
