
The DOS version, being the original, kept the fights on the chess board where other pieces could often obscure your view. The fighting scenes may be fun for a few views, but once the novelty's worn off, they just interrupt the already glacial pace.īelieve it or not, there are several versions of this game. Moving is slow, even when you turn off the snail-paced walking animations. How does this ancient board game compare to other titles on the market? Well, despite using the infamous and award-winning Chessmaster 3000 as its base code, not very good.

So what we're left with is plain old Chess. Much like Battle Chess, trying to find all of the different combinations is the most rewarding part of this game, but when you've seen them once, you do tire of them. Ever wanted to see Chewbacca get blown up by the mechanical beauty of an AT-ST? Fancy seeing Princess Leia fight her father instead of Luke? Have you ever speculated how boss a fighter Yoda is (Episode II doesn't exist so it doesn't count)? Now you can in some surprisingly violent animations. I say witness because what you see will perhaps blow your geeky mind. The biggest reason to remember just how a knight (aka Chewbacca or a Tuscan Raider) moves is what you witness when a piece is taken. She may be the most formidable piece on the board, but it does make you wonder what the exact relationship is between the Emperor and his apprentice. What is interesting - and rather emasculating - is that Darth Vader is the dark side's Queen. Luke and the Emperor play the role of the Kings so players must protect them at all costs.

For example, the light side has built an army of Artoo units as your dispensable pawns while the dark side has an intimidating row of stormtroopers. Instead, this is just a regular chess game with all of your favourite Star Wars characters except Han ('cos you know he'll just shoot first).Įach side represents the light or dark side of the force with the icons of sci-fi cinema taking the spots of rooks, knights and the like. It's called Dejarik in case you didn't know. You know the one - the one where you let the Wookie win. When I first booted this up many years ago, I was hoping for a unique take on that virtual board game first seen in the Millennium Falcon.

Even back in 1993 when this game was released, digital chess was not a new idea, but adding Star Wars to anything makes it automatically cool.ĭeveloped by The Software Toolworks, Star Wars Chess is perhaps something of a disappointment to fans of the movies. Even in the gaming world, characters from a galaxy far far away were slapped on to every genre out there. If you thought The Force Awakens has engulfed the world, licensed products based on the original trilogy kept coming for 30 years.
