LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga features all nine mainline episodes of Star Wars‘ Skywalker Saga films, and while all nine are fun to play, some do a better job of representing their respective films than others. In addition to the excellent hub worlds that players can free-roam at their leisure, LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker Saga‘s long 20-hour story mode covers Star Wars Episodes I-IX with a series of missions that summarize (and occasionally expand upon) the plot of each film, featuring many fan-favorite moments that players can relive in tiny brick form. Players are able to choose which trilogy they wish to start with, selecting between The Phantom Menace, A New Hope, and The Force Awakens, unlocking the other episodes in the trilogy by completing its predecessor.
When developer TT Games announced it was planning a new LEGO Star Wars game that covered all nine films in the saga, it seemed a daunting task. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, which retold the stories of Episodes I-VI, was actually two different games put together (LEGO: Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy). Luckily, the endeavor paid off, with LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker Saga receiving good reviews upon release. This success was due, in part, to the fact that instead of reusing or remastering the levels from the previous LEGO Star Wars games, TT Games created brand new missions from the ground up, often covering scenes that were not playable in the previous games. In addition, the game uses pre-levels, which are story quests that take place in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga‘s hub worlds, to fill in story gaps in the missions, giving a more complete story than ever before.
Unfortunately, while the story mode overall does a great job of covering the Star Wars films, there are some Episodes that feel more rushed than others. This may in part be due to LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga‘s developer crunch, which saw many of TT Games’ employees working long overtime hours to finish the highly ambitious game. While the finished game is still impressive, this has led to a myriad of bugs, in addition to certain missions being short and uninspired, leaving some aspects of the game underwhelming.
#9 LEGO Skywalker Saga’s Worst Episode – The Phantom Menace
The Phantom Menace inspired many incredible games throughout the years, including Star Wars Episode I: Racer, Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles, Star Wars: Starfighter, and many more. In many ways, its characters, locations, and plot beats are tailored perfectly for video game adaptations. As such, it’s strange that LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga got it so wrong. In addition to minor issues, such as LEGO Skywalker Saga‘s hub worlds breaking canon, the Episode I story makes odd decisions that don’t represent the film all too well. Three of the five missions are vehicle levels, pushing aside The Phantom Menace‘s awesome Jedi battles for moments like the Naboo Planet Core, and the climactic fight with Darth Maul is the episode’s third level, situating the climax of the movie (and most memorable scene) right in the middle.
#8 LEGO Skywalker Saga’s Force Awakens Episode Is Weak
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga‘s provides a solid retelling of the The Force Awakens, but it has the misfortune of having had LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens come before it. Not only was the 2015 game solely dedicated to the film of the same name, allowing it to dive deep into every moment of the story, it also featured the return of the entire voice cast from the film, making LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ characters feel plucked straight from the movie. Being a newer LEGO Star Wars game, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens had free roam worlds similar to those in The Skywalker Saga, only since there were only three worlds, each one was far bigger and more accurate to the film. Still, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga‘s version of The Force Awakens features some great missions, including its first mission, which sees Poe and Finn sneaking out of the Finalizer, providing multiple excellent options for players to use in their escape.
#7 LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker – The Last Jedi Is Missing Story
The Last Jedi is one of only two of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga‘s episodes not to have appeared in a previous LEGO game. As the longest Star Wars movie to date, the story mode for The Last Jedi in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga feels rushed. While this is a problem that occurs in many of The Skywalker Saga‘s retellings of the films, The Last Jedi in particular feels as though a lot of pivotal story moments are missing. Since this is the first time players are experiencing The Last Jedi‘s narrative in LEGO form, it’s unfortunate that they don’t get to experience iconic moments such as the battle on the salt flats of Crait – where Resistance fighters utilized V-4X-D Ski Speeders against the First Order’s Heavy Assault Walkers – or Finn and Rose’s escape from Canto Bight while riding liberated Fathiers.
Luckily, The Last Jedi‘s campaign makes up for these absences with several excellent missions for players to partake in. LEGO Skywalker Saga‘s Captain Phasma boss fight in Chrome Dome Down expands heavily upon her duel with Finn and Rose, giving players an epic fight that expands upon the one from the film. The mission No Snoke Without Fire, where Kylo Ren has to escort Rey to Supreme Leader Snoke’s chambers (and eventually fight his Pretorian Guards) is chock-full of fantastic dialogue between the pair. Also, much like the film that the campaign was based on, the colors and visual design in each mission and pre-level are beautiful and unique.
#6 LEGO Skywalker Saga – Attack Of The Clones Has Strong Levels
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga‘s Attack of the Clones episode is a significant step up from The Phantom Menace in terms of how well it represents the film’s story. Not only does LEGO Skywalker Saga make Star Wars‘ lamest lightsaber duel really cool, it overall does an excellent job of highlighting many of the film’s most excellent sequences while cutting much of (and occasionally making fun of) the more frustrating scenes that have drawn criticism and mockery over the years. The refined lightsaber combat really comes into play in this campaign, with players getting to see the full power of the Jedi in the Geonosian Arena. Additionally, The Skywalker Saga took the Droid Factory, which was one of the original LEGO Star Wars‘ worst levels, and made it into one of the best levels in the game. The pre-levels are standouts here too, with Obi-Wan’s investigation into Jango Fett and the clone army adding some fun detective work for players to take part in.
#5 LEGO Skywalker Saga’s Best Episodes – A New Hope
Of the three episodes that players can start with in LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker Saga, A New Hope is far and away the best one. While many Star Wars fans might argue that the source material is stronger than The Phantom Menace or The Force Awakens, this episode succeeds because it is such an on-point retelling of the story. It manages to hit on many of the film’s biggest moments (though it does skip over some darker elements, such as the murder of Luke’s aunt and uncle, as well as the presence of Peter Cushing’s Tarkin) and wraps with an excellent recreation of the iconic Death Star trench run.
#4 LEGO Star Wars Makes The Rise Of Skywalker Fun
The Rise of Skywalker was an extremely divisive film upon release, with many fans expressing disappointment in what was supposed to be the finale of all nine Skywalker Saga films. But much in the same way that LEGO’s Skywalker Saga shows liking Jar Jar is cooler, it also makes The Rise of Skywalker into a story that is fun to relive, even for those who may not have liked it initially. Many of its excellent missions heavily expand upon moments that felt rushed through in the film, such as an interesting level where Poe, Finn, and Rey have to sneak through the First Order occupied Kijimi in order to get C-3P0 to Babu Frik. It also expands on Rey’s duel with Kylo Ren, and gives Rey and Ben Solo the chance to fight together on Exegol with the addition of fighting Emperor’s Sovereign Protectors.
The story mode for The Rise of Skywalker also does a good job of expanding on many of the sequel trilogy’s characters’ relationships, including LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker Saga‘s Finn and Poe. Some of these moments actually work to expand upon these characters’ complexities, and while LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is non-canon, its portrayal still helps to make these characters feel more rounded. While The Rise of Skywalker‘s missions are fantastic, unfortunately, the same cannot be said for its free-roam planets. For some reason, Kijimi is the only major planet from the nine films that cannot be played in free roam, which is disappointing as it’s one of the sequel trilogy’s most interesting locations.
#3 LEGO Skywalker Saga’s Revenge Of The Sith Has Great Bosses
While the story mode for Revenge of the Sith may have had one too many boss fights, it’s an excellent representation of the film, as well as the perfect showcase for the game’s new lightsaber and melee combat mechanics. While the LEGO Skywalker Saga doesn’t always understand ROTS and some of its nuances, it faithfully recreates many of the biggest moments from the end of the Clone Wars. Yoda’s escape from Kashyyyk is one of the game’s best levels, with multiple paths to explore, and the Grand Master’s Senate dual with Darth Sidious feels as epic as one would imagine a lightsaber duel atop floating senate platforms should.
#2 Empire Strikes Back Is One Of LEGO Skywalker Saga’s Best Episodes
Many consider The Empire Strikes Back to be the best Star Wars film, and its episode in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga does not disappoint. The five-story missions tackle some different points in the story than the previous LEGO Star Wars games, including Han Solo’s search (this time accompanied by General Rieekan) for Luke Skywalker on Hoth after he is taken by the Wampa, a mission where Skywalker Saga hides a Shadows of the Empire Easter egg. Many of the missions in The Empire Strikes Back are lengthy, giving players a reason to return to find the many hidden secrets, and Assault on Echo Base – which features the iconic Hoth battle between the Snowspeeders and the AT-AT Walkers – is the best vehicle level in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. The only mission that is a bit of a letdown in Never Tell Me the Odds, which could’ve been replaced with a level featuring Han, Leia, and crew escaping Echo Base, or Luke training on Dagobah.
#1 The Best LEGO Skywalker Saga Episode – Return Of The Jedi
Return of the Jedi may not be the best film in the original trilogy, but LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga makes it into a masterpiece with some of the best missions in the game. While many of Skywalker Saga‘s boss fights are worse in co-op, Return of the Jedi makes the climactic battle with the Emperor even better with another player, initially pitting players against each other as Luke and Darth Vader before having them come together to defeat Palpatine. The story mode also opens with one of the game’s most interesting levels, where players take on the role of a disguised Leia trying to infiltrate Jabba’s Palace without causing too much commotion in order to save Han before switching to Luke in order to fight the dreaded Rancor, and the Speeder Bike chase in Endor the Line is a huge adrenaline rush.
The story mode for Return of the Jedi really helps to highlight why LEGO Skywalker Saga is the best LEGO game yet. Not only does it help show the immense diversity of mission types, coupled with the incredible scenery from the Star Wars films, but it shows how LEGO can expand upon the films, making some small moments way better. Arguably the best mission in the game is The Chewbacca Defense, where Chewbacca and Wicket have to team up to rescue Han and Leia, who are trapped at the bunker, giving players an exciting romp through the forest floor of Endor in a scene only briefly touched in the film, making it LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga‘s best episode.
