LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a video game released by LucasArts on September 12, 2006, based on the Star Wars-themed toy line by the LEGO Group, and the sequel to the highly successful LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game. The game was released concurrently with the highly-anticipated DVDs of the original, unaltered films of the original trilogy. The game is available on the Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and PC.

The Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance versions are in portable style, as opposed to the original's presence on only the Game Boy Advance.

Description


While the original films were fairly serious, Lego Star Wars II is much more tongue-in-cheek, with large amounts of bizzare physical humor (there is no voice acting, so all jokes involve slapstick comedy). It covers the first three films (episodes IV, V, and VI), unlike Lego Star Wars; the latter covers episodes I, II, and III.

The game was developed by Traveller's Tales, who was also responsible for the original. Publishing duties were taken up by LucasArts (replacing the original's Eidos Interactive). It features a total of 114 playable characters, 56 of them unlockable by having a saved game from LEGO Star Wars on the memory card or hard drive (and the others must be bought in the cantina, or unlocked during gameplay). The game also includes several new features, including vehicles, character-specific abilities, and customizable characters. Much of the game revolves around collecting "studs," small LEGO pieces that are used as an in-game currency.

Mos Eisley Cantina
In Star Wars: Episode IV, the Mos Eisley Cantina appears for the very first time. In LEGO Star Wars II, it appears again. There are some places to go to in the cantina.

Bounty Hunter Missions
Once all six of the bounty hunter characters have been unlocked and bought in the cantina, the bounty hunter room (a singular doorway found between Episodes IV and V, marked with Jabba's face) opens, allowing the player to access 10 special mini-areas. Each of these areas, consisting of part of one of the earlier chapters from the main episodes, has a Star Wars character hidden away somewhere. Using the bounty hunters, the player has to hunt down the hidden character within an allotted time to receive a gold brick and some LEGO studs. The amount of studs attained depends upon how long it took to complete the mission.

Custom Characters
One of the new additions of Lego Star Wars II is that you can create your own characters with various powers. For example, a character with a red lightsaber and Boba Fett's helmet can use the dark side of the Force, throw thermal detonators and open bounty hunter doors. This saves time from switching around trying to find a certain necessary character. Custom characters can be used in free play mode.

Game Boy Advance
For the Game Boy Advance, the game is altered for portability reasons (i.e. graphics, fewer characters etc). The Game Boy version has 36 playable characters, fewer than the console versions, although it does feature characters not available in console versions such as a baby Rancor and R2-Q5. Also, Darth Vader is unlocked at an earlier time, and the Scout Trooper and MSE-6 are now playable without extra toggle. The generic Ewok is gone and Wicket's slingshot is replaced with a spear. The player can not mix and match their own character. There are not any power bricks hidden in the levels, and there are no gold bricks to achieve.

PSP
The PlayStation Portable version of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy contains PlayStation Portable exclusive material including the boss levels from Episodes I, II and III of the first LEGO Star Wars game and a challenge mode for each level in the game, where the player goes through each level to find all 10 blue minikits in a time limit. If completed, the player will achieve a character from the original Lego Star Wars game. These features were presumably added due to the lack of release of the first game for the PSP.

The cantina's area is made a empty place featuring only the player and another character to make sure the game runs lag-free. If you attack your companion he will shoot back. The bounty hunter missions are excluded from the game in place of the Prequel Trilogy's boss levels, which are as follows: Darth Maul from Episode I, Count Dooku from Episode II and Darth Vader from Episode III. Also included are short movies about the prequels. Gold bricks cannot be bought from the cantina, and there are longer loading times.

Otherwise, the PlayStation Portable version contains the same features and gameplay as the console versions, with one reviewer describing it as "having all of the substance, cut-scenes and style of the Xbox 360 version."

Nintendo DS
For the Nintendo DS version, the game is altered for portability reasons (i.e., graphics, fewer characters, etc.). The DS version has 50 characters, though they don't exactly match the ones from the console games. In addition to cooperative multiplayer, the DS version allows up to four people to battle wirelessly, where they can choose to fight over Han Solo (Carbonite) in Jabba's Palace or battle in a Tatooine-themed arena. Character swapping is performed by touching icons on the touch screen.

Critical Reaction
The game was mostly favorably received with fans and critics, who praised the gameplay, which focused mainly on fun and exploring. Many considered it superior to the original, mainly due to the improved gameplay, the many new features, such as the character creating aspect and freeform vehicle sections, and other aspects. However, some gamers considered it childish, too simplistic, and even with the adaptable difficulty, very easy.

Awards
On December 13, 2006 the game received an award for "best video game based on a TV show or movie" at the Spike TV Video Game Awards.

On December 22, 2006, StarWars.com declared LEGO Star Wars II as Number 1 in Star Wars: The Best of 2006.

Complete Saga
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga was announced on May 25, 2007. It will combine the levels from LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars II. The levels from the first game will be updated to include powerbricks, vehicles, and other aspects found in LEGO Star Wars II, and most prequel characters will have the ability to build. New or redesigned levels, new playable characters, new bounty hunter missions, and new bonus missions will also be added.