A Thorough Look at Star Wars: Dark Forces / Jedi Knight
Video Statistics and Information
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Channel: Noah Caldwell-Gervais
Views: 262,373
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: Star Wars, Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Kyle Katarn, Legends, Mara Jade, Critique, Review, Retrospective
Id: MMAYCB3b7rY
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 118min 24sec (7104 seconds)
Published: Mon Apr 26 2021
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Noah videos are like finding those 50$ in some forgotten pocket. I learned to not expect it, but every time is happens it's a delight.
The annoying Star Wars nerd in me feels compelled to point out that the "many Bothan's died" line was for the DSII plans, not the original Death Star plans.
Anyway, great video as always!
Still watching all the way through but his opening strikes me because he's more or less giving the Millennial's Star Wars experience.
Star Wars was not a movie theater experience to Millennials, not at first, it was a tapes at home thing. Star Wars to them was basking in the after glow that GenX got to see in theaters as a cultural event. So this expanded universe is most important to them in defining Star Wars as the tapes spoke with only slightly more authority than the videogames and books. This as oppose to the original Star Wars expanded merchandise in the 70s and early 80s which was almost completely irrelevant (No one's going to bat for Caravan of Courage or the Star Wars cross-over comics). So the Star Wars games are considered more than just 'silly toy media'.
And at the end the Millennial grew out of Star Wars and kind of left it but still guarded the idea that 1986-2005 is the way Star Wars is and to break that is to kind of attack their childhood. Probably why to this day I maintain KotOR 2 is so resonating to a Millennial Star Wars fans who have left it since it's a softer version of RLM's cynicism on Star Wars as a tired exhausted franchise that can't go with you.
I feel like Jedi Knight doesn't get enough love. That game was my jam when I was a kid. I still have the cheats memorized
One of my favorite game series, overly cheesy live action cutscenes, obtuse level design, and all.
The latter games also came the closest to 'authentic' lightsaber combat, compared to the glowing bats that game design often is forced to reduce them to.
I think Noah got a few things wrong here or there, notably for me was his discussing the motivations of the villain in Jedi Outcast. Desann. Noah framed it as a schoolyard grudge, but Desann was described as initially feeling at home at the Jedi Temple, welcomed by others. It was in his youth on his home planet that he was shunned and treated as an outcast. Despite the welcome home and people at Luke's academy, Desann never let that past shunning go, and eventually turned.
I also can't help but roll my eyes whenever the "infallible EU Luke" claim pops up, especially in some misguided or cheap attempt to frame TLJ Luke as deep or thoughtful in comparison. Certainly not every EU story involved harrowing failures or deep character introspection for Luke in the EU, he wasn't always the main character and his overall development was drawn out across a much larger variety of stories than three movies. Jedi Outcast doesn't frame him as the main character either, the journey there is Kyle's, not Luke's.
However, there are quite a few notable Luke stories involved him fucking up in some way himself or in how he handled his students.
For just one example, there's a pair of books by Timothy Zahn, the Hand of Thrawn Duology, that focus intensely on Luke not being sure if he's been acting like a true Jedi should be in the years since ROTJ, and that even includes an extended scene where Mara Jade, protagonist of Mysteries of the Sith for this video, calls him out on his shit.
"Infallible Jesus Luke" always seems to arise from a very surface level examination of the character in the EU.
I think he's a bit too hard on some of the level design, but then again I'm one of the crazies who likes Mysteries of the Sith, and I'm sure having played each several times before makes it second nature to me. I agree generally though that some areas were very obtuse solutions to progression in Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith, really showing their age.
One thing I heavily agree with him on is how awkward the transition from mercenary to Jedi is in Dark Forces II. It is slightly hand-wavy if we consider action games at the time as Noah does to some degree, but in a series where becoming a Jedi is so tied to character development, failure, and training, it really stands out. It is good they worked more to focus on his training/struggle later, but it is a weak point for the character.
Games like Kotor I&II and Jedi Fallen Order definitely made the power growth feel more organic, or at least better explained.
Question: How do people feel with this content as a video?
I'm more of a listener to his content, and I rarely watch the video. Im about to go on a bike ride, and I'd love to kill 2 hours listening to this, but Youtube doesn't work that well with it (without doing extra work)
Does anyone else feel that distributing as a podcast would work for Noah, or am I crazy-alone in this feeling?
For those otherwise unaware, Noah has been pushing out these videos lately while completing courses for mechanic's school/license.
This probably doesn't seem like a big deal but long-time viewers of his no doubt understand that Noah's always been something of a gearhead, and has also been struggling with anxiety and depression. Maybe I'm projecting, but I've noticed such an uptick in confidence and drive from him since he started pursuing his mechanic's license. I don't think the quality of his videos ever dipped during his darker periods, but it's delightful to see him coming out the other end somewhat.
One's battle with anxiety/depression never truly ends, and thankfully it doesn't seem like Noah intends to wrap up his channel, but it's nice to see that his "next big thing" seems to have benefitted him so much.
Kudos to you, Mr. Gervais.
Wow, I've literally been binge-rewatching Noah's videos for the last week. My night just got so much more hype.
I strongly agree with the general sentiments in this thread - Noah is the best games essayist out there.