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Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire for Nintendo 64
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire for Nintendo 64 follows mercenary Dash Rendar on an adventure involving the struggle against the Empire. You begin on Hoth, where you help defend the Rebel evacuation in a snowspeeder. Gunfights on foot then alternate with chases and battles aboard the Outrider. This variety makes the action game broader than flying alone: you must also search corridors, make jumps and locate enemies at different heights.
Dash uses a blaster with recharging energy and finds heavier weapons whose ammunition you need to conserve. Aimed shots, jumping and, later, a jetpack each demand a different approach to a space. During the flying stages, the viewpoint and controls change with the vehicle. You encounter stormtroopers, battle droids and bounty hunters, among others, while Prince Xizor's plans connect the missions. The story continues between assignments.
The single-player campaign contains ten stages with four difficulty levels. Hidden Challenge Points give you a reason to examine previously played areas more closely; not every reward lies on the shortest route. You save your progress in one of four files on the cartridge, without a separate Controller Pak. This is the original Nintendo 64 adventure: a second player does not take control of Dash or the Outrider alongside you.
Region and language
Our Nintendo 64 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire for Nintendo 64 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
LucasArts developed Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire for Nintendo 64. The American release appeared in 1996; Nintendo released the game in Europe on 1 March 1997. It belonged to a larger Lucasfilm project of the same name that also included a novel, comics, music and toys. Together, those releases expanded the period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, without an accompanying new cinema film.
Dash Rendar became the game's central playable character. His ship, the Outrider, and his work as a mercenary provided room for assignments alongside the familiar film heroes. The opening at the Battle of Hoth immediately connected that new perspective with a recognisable moment. The campaign could then use its own locations and opponents. The result combined different kinds of action, from flying and chasing to shooting and jumping from Dash's perspective.
That combination belongs to the early three-dimensional Nintendo 64 games, when a single campaign sometimes brought several control styles together. You notice this in the separate controls for vehicles and on-foot missions, as well as the different camera viewpoints. The cartridge described here is that original console version. Its on-foot missions give you a different view of the environment from the large battles in the air. It remains a complete single-player campaign, with Dash as the connecting character.
Similar games for Nintendo 64
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron shares battles in recognisable Star Wars vehicles and assignments for the Rebels. However, its campaign stays with flying. Shadows of the Empire also lets you walk, jump and shoot as Dash. A mission therefore sometimes demands reading corridors and platforms rather than choosing an approach path through the air. The Outrider forms only one part of Dash's larger adventure.
Like Shadows of the Empire, Lylat Wars alternates vehicle action with large opponents. It builds many flying stages around a forward-moving route, with formations and obstacles approaching you quickly. Shadows adds longer on-foot missions in which you search spaces yourself and prepare jumps. The similarity lies in alternating spectacle and aimed shooting; for Dash, the route through a building also determines your progress.
GoldenEye 007 also asks you to eliminate enemies and learn a location during missions. It remains a shooter seen through Bond's eyes, with objectives that can change according to difficulty. Shadows of the Empire mixes its gunfights with visible platform jumping and vehicle stages. You also complete Dash's campaign alone, whereas GoldenEye additionally offers separate local multiplayer battles. The comparison here therefore mainly concerns the solo missions.
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter also links shooting with platforms, hidden items and exploring three-dimensional areas. There, you search for keys to progress through a world of dinosaurs and armed enemies. Shadows of the Empire makes its ten stages function more as successive chapters in Dash's story. Hidden Challenge Points supplement that route, while vehicle missions provide breaks that Turok's on-foot adventure does not offer in the same way.
Jet Force Gemini shares the combination of shooting, jumping and a space setting. It distributes exploration among different heroes whose abilities later open new passages. Shadows of the Empire stays with Dash as its main character and progresses through successive assignments. Here, variety comes mainly from different vehicles, weapons and locations. Searching again for Challenge Points is therefore different from using a new hero to unlock more of an earlier area.
