In the long, illustrious history of Star Wars games, most people wouldn't count Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles as one of the franchise's more notable entries. But that's why the game's upcoming remaster is so interesting, as it's going the extra mile to preserve and expand a largely forgotten licensed tie-in. The devs at Aspyr are slowly announcing a host of new playable characters, and with four new reveals today the base roster has nearly doubled.
GamesRadar+ can exclusively reveal those four new characters. We've got the Flame Droid, which "unleashes scorching flames and explosive attacks, blasting enemies with overwhelming firepower." Then there's the Rodian, "a deadly sharpshooter with exceptional agility, picking off foes from afar with pinpoint accuracy." The Gungan Guard is "armed with trusty spears," and "this formidable warrior attacks with deadly precision in melee range." Finally, the Destroyer Droid is a "heavily armored force of destruction, ready to destroy those who attack."
You can get an idea of what they'll all look like in action via the gallery below.
Eight new characters have been announced so far - the Mercenary, Ishi Tib, Rifle Droid, and Staff Tusken Raider were previously revealed by Comic Book - and the devs say more reveals are coming in the future. So far, all of the new playable characters have been drawn from enemies in the base game, and there are quite a few more baddies left that could join the roster.
In the original Jedi Power Battles, the playable roster included Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, and Plo Koon available from the start, with Queen Amidala, Captain Panaka, Darth Maul, and Ki-Adi-Mundi serving as unlockable bonuses. These new announcements bring the roster from 10 characters up to 18, and with more on the way it seems the playable options will be more than doubled by the end.
Jedi Power Battles is also finally giving Mace Windu the right lightsaber.