Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy (Game)

Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy

GAME » on September 17, 2003

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A standalone expansion to Star Wars: Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast, putting players in the role of a customizable student of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy.

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Overview

Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy is a sci-fi fantasy multi-perspective shooter developed by Raven and published by LucasArts (in conjunction with Activision (Company) for the PC version and Aspyr for the Mac version) for the PC (Platform) and Mac (Platform) on September 17, 2003.

A standalone expansion to the 2002 game Star Wars: Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy puts players in the role of customizable protagonist Jaden Korr (Character), an up-and-coming student of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy on Yavin IV (Location) two years after the events of Jedi Outcast. Under the apprenticeship of Jedi Master Kyle Katarn (Character) (the main protagonist of the Dark Forces and Jedi Knight sub-series), Jaden is dispatched on various missions throughout the galaxy while a Sith (Concept) cult called the Disciples of Ragnos begins draining the Force from places deeply connected to Luke.

Along with a customizable protagonist, the game's single-player features a non-linear design (where players can progress through each mission in a five-mission set in any order, and can carry a starting weapon loadout). The Multiplayer mode from Jedi Outcast is revamped, with a new assortment of levels, game modes, character models, and lightsaber types.

It was ported by Vicarious Visions to the Xbox (Platform) on November 18, 2003. This version features online multiplayer via Xbox Live (Concept) (which wasn't available in Jedi Outcast) and was released in Japan on September 2, 2004 as part of the Xbox World Collection brand. It also received a port by Aspyr for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch (with both versions digitally released by Aspyr on March 26, 2020).

Multiplayer

Force Mastery

With the exception of Siege mode, server operators (or lobby hosts) can choose the Force Mastery of all players in the server, determining how many Force Points they have while playing. Players choose how to accommodate their points when they connect, and can change this accommodation at any time (provided they have to respawn for it to go into effect).

Disabled (no points, free Force Jump is disabled)
Initiate (5 points)
Padawan (10 points)
Jedi (20 points)
Jedi Adept (30 points)
Jedi Guardian (50 points)
Jedi Knight (75 points)
Jedi Master (100 points)

Not all points need to be configured, and players can choose to leave themselves Force-handicapped. Unlike the protagonist in the main campaign, multiplayer characters cannot share Light and Dark Force powers, and must choose between Light Side and Dark Side while choosing their Force Power options.

Game Modes

By default, the game includes 6 game modes, 4 of which are team-based (with two teams: Red and Blue). Only 4 of the 7 modes from Jedi Outcase return, with Holocron FFA, Jedi Master, and Capture the Ysalamiri not brought over. The game includes two new game modes: Siege and Power Duel.

In addition to time and score limits, server operators can change a variety of options by game mode (including restricting weapons to lightsabers, restricting or disabling use of the Force, allowing players to have private lightsaber duels, and restricting Force alignment by team).

Free-For-All - Standard deathmatch. Unless otherwise specified by the server, all players start with a blaster pistol, a lightsaber, and the maximum amount of Force Powers available. Earn points by eliminating enemies and lose points by suicide. Can be played in teams with the Team FFA variant.
Capture the Flag - Team-based objective mode where players earn points for their team by taking the enemy flag and returning to their pedestal (capturing it only if their flag remains at the pedestal). Players can retrieve their flags by eliminating the enemy flag carrier and touching the dropped flag (or waiting until it resets).
Siege - Round-based objective mode with two teams taking turns as Offensive and Defensive. The Offensive team gains points for completing an objective within the time limit, while the Defensive team only gains a point if they manage to prevent all objectives from being completed within the time limit. This mode cannot be played with bots and players choose from multiple map-specific classes.
Duel - Round-based one-life one-on-one deathmatch. The last player standing wins the round and gains a point, with the losing player switched out for the next spectator in line and the game state resets. An alternate two-on-one variant, called Power Duel, is also available. Loosely based on the concluding lightsaber duel in the film Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Power Duel has players queued in either a "single" Red team (which have increased strength and vitality, both of which decrease after consecutive wins) or a "dual" Blue team (which must rely on outnumbering the enemy).

Maps

The game includes 23 arenas by default, each split into one of four game mode compatibilities:

Free For All / Team FFA

Korriban Tombs
Rift Sanctuary
Taspir
Tatooine City
Vjun Sentinel

Capture the Flag

Coruscant Streets
Factory
Hoth Wasteland
Imperial Drop Zone
Yavin Hilltops

Siege

Desert Rescue
Hoth Attack
Korriban Valley

Duel / Power Duel

Abandoned City
Bespin Courtyard
Generator Room
Hoth Canyon
Imperial Control Room
Imperial Shaft
Rancor Pit
Taspir Landing
Vjun Fuel Processing
Yavin Training Area

Bots and Character Models

Along with the 28 character models from Jedi Outcast, the game includes 16 new character models for players to use (including the customizable Jaden model, for a total of 45), each of them having both a "default" version and two color-coded versions (Red and Blue) that are also used in team-based game modes.

Most of them have one or more accompanying bots, each with their own lightsaber preference.

New Additions

alora - Alora (dual-wielded)
alora2
boba_fett - Boba Fett (two-handed)
chewbacca - Chewbacca (two-handed)
cultist - Cultist (single)
human_merc - Lannik Racto (dual-wield), Mercenary (single)
noghri - Noghri (dual-wielded)
rax_joris - Rax Joris (dual-wielded)
rebel_pilot - Rebel Pilot (dual-wielded)
reborn_new - New Reborn (two-handed)
reborn_twin - Reborn Master (dual-wielded), Reborn Twin (two-handed)
rosh_penin - Rosh Penin (single)
saboteur - Imperial Saboteur (single)
snowtrooper - Snowtrooper (single)
tavion_new - Tavion (single)
tusken - Tusken Raider (single)

From Jedi Outcast

bespin_cop - Bespin Cop (single)
chiss - Chiss (dual-wielded)
desann - Desann (single)
galak - Galak Fyarr (two-handed)
gran - Gran (single)
imperial - Imperial Officer (single)
imperial_worker - Imperial Worker (single)
jan - Jan Ors (two-handed)
jedi - Jedi (dual-wielded)
jeditrainer - Jedi Trainer (two-handed)
kyle - Kyle Katarn (single)
lando
luke - Luke Skywalker (single)
monmothma - Mon Mothma (single)
morgan - Morgan Katarn (two-handed)
prisoner - Prisoner (single)
rebel - Rebel (single)
reborn - Reborn (single)
reelo - Reelo (single)
rodian - Rodian (single)
shadowtrooper - Shadowtrooper (dual-wielded)
stormpilot - TIE Pilot (single)
stormtrooper - Stormtrooper (single)
swamptrooper - Swamptrooper (two-handed)
tavion
trandoshan - Trandoshan (single)
ugnaught - Ugnaught (single)
weequay - Weequay (single)

Story

The story of Jedi Academy deals with the Disciples of Ragnos, led by returning series character Tavion Axmis (Character). The game starts out with Tavion's apprentice, Alora, infiltrating the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 and stealing a list of areas infused with force energies. New Jedi Jaden Korr sees Alora with some sort of scepter channeling force energy, but is immediately knocked out, and the Dark Jedi flee. Shortly after, Luke Skywalker addresses the new students, assigning them masters, but noting that because there are so few Jedi, multiple padawans will be assigned to each master.

Jaden is assigned to Kyle Katarn (Character), along with another student, Rosh Penin. Jaden and Rosh both go through some basic training at the academy, where Rosh sets a training droid on Jaden so that Rosh can finish the course first. Jaden defeats it however, and arrives at about the same time as Rosh. After they complete their basic training, both Jedi begin taking on missions with Kyle, although they never work together. After the Jedi have undertaken 4 or 5 missions, Luke Skywalker calls the Jedi back to the academy. He has concluded that the Disciples of Ragnos are somehow funneling the force energy from the places he mentioned in his stolen records. However, he believes there are a few places that may not have been found yet, and dispatches the Jedi to protect them. Jaden is sent to Hoth alone to investigate, while the other Jedi head off to investigate other areas.

Jaden lands on Hoth in his Z-95 Headhunter, and initially thinks nothing is out of place, until he spots a path marker through the snow. He hops on a Tauntaun and heads off, following the markers. Shortly, he encounters a picket force of Stormtroopers from the Imperial Remnant, which leads him to believe that the Disciples of Ragnos are on Hoth as well. After fighting his way through the ice plains, and a cave containing a wampa, Jaden reaches the outer fortifications of Echo base, which he infiltrates, successfully avoiding an AT-ST walker.

Inside Echo base, Jaden encounters both Stormtroopers and cultists, all of whom attempt to stop him. However, after fighting his way through to the command center, Jaden finds a Dark Jedi attempting to slice into the records. Jaden kills him, but seeks out the other cultist in the base who was communicating with the one he just killed. Entering the Echo base hangar, Jaden encounters Alora, a red Twilek, and the Dark Jedi Jaden saw at the Academy. The two engage in a furious lightsaber duel, and when Jaden starts to gain the advantage, Alora uses the force to flee through a hole in the ceiling, telling Jaden that they'll meet again.

Jaden returns to the academy and passes this information onto Kyle Katarn and Luke Skywalker, who inform Jaden that Rosh never returned from his mission to the planet of Byss. Kyle says he is going to investigate, while Luke leaves the academy to investigate the Disciples of Ragnos further, leaving Jaden to complete his missions on his own. Jaden takes on four or five missions in the meantime, these all much more difficult, as the Disciples of Ragnos are growing more aggressive, and the Jedi are being mobilized to stop them.

Shortly after this, Master Skywalker called all the Jedi back to the academy, and sent them on missions to investigate places strong in the force that hadn't been mentioned in the stolen records. Due to the loss of Rosh, the Jedi were to work in pairs on these missions. Jaden and Kyle were selected to investigate Vader's Bast Castle on the planet Vjun.

Upon arriving on Vjun, the pair encountered a hostile environment, with acid rain falling from the sky and heavy, suited environment troopers armed with Concussion Rifles. The two Jedi fought their way through the canyons surrounding the perimeter of Bast Castle, facing Imperial troops along the way. However, they were stopped from entering the actual castle by a pair of TIE Bombers carpet-bombing the entrance, keeping them from entering. Jaden and Kyle entered a nearby structure, where Jaden fought a Reborn, before entering a mounted turret which he used to shoot down the TIE Bombers. With the pathway clear, the duo made their way to the entrance of Bast Castle, and infiltrated the lower levels by jumping into a garbage chute.

Jaden and Kyle split up in order to infiltrate the castle, working their way from the lower levels occupied only by weak Imperial forces, to the upper echelons where the Disciples of Ragnos are. When Jaden overloaded a machine by feeding the energy it was producing back into it, part of the ceiling collapsed, knocking Kyle down a long pit. He managed to survive the fall, but Jaden was forced to go on alone while Kyle worked his way back up again.

Fighting through the upper levels of Bast Castle, Jaden encountered many Reborn and Dark Jedi. After fighting through to the top level of the Castle, Jaden encountered old friend Rosh Penin, who had succumbed to the lure of the Dark Side and was working alongside Tavion to siphon the force energies of the castle. Jaden battles with Rosh and the Kothos Twins, eventually dispatching the Twins and disarming Rosh. Shortly after, Kyle arrived on the scene. However, Tavion disabled Jaden and Kyle with Force Lightning, used the Scepter of Ragnos along with Jaden's lightsaber to bring down the entire room around them and escaped with Rosh in tow. Thanks to Kyle's quick reaction, Jaden and Kyle were able to escape safely as well.

Upon returning to the Jedi Academy, Jaden was promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight in light of his actions on Vjun. After building a new lightsaber to replace the one that was lost on Vjun, Jaden then set out to accomplish more missions.

Jaden was then called back to the Academy and informed by Luke that he was to be part of a Jedi Strike team to prevent the Disciples of Ragnos from resurrecting Marka Ragnos on Korriban. Before Jaden could set out however, Kyle informed him that he had received a transmission from Rosh stating that he wished to return to the Jedi Order. Thus the two of them went to Taspir III in order to rescue Rosh from the cult.

After fighting through the cult members that were in the base, Jaden finally reached Rosh and discovered him to be unharmed and walking freely. Jaden immediately assumed that it was a trap and his anger flared, readying his lightsaber for combat. Before he struck Rosh, Kyle sensed Jaden's situation and mentally warned him not to let his anger get the better of him.

(At this point the story diverges according to the player's choice of action. Star Wars canon states that Jaden let Rosh live)

Jaden eventually let go of his anger and forgave Rosh, deactivating his lightsaber. Upon seeing this, Alora, who had been observing from above, leaped down and struck Rosh, dismembering his left arm. Jaden then proceeded to engage Alora in combat and emerged victorious after a grueling battle. After Kyle arrived on the scene to tend to Rosh's safety, Jaden went on ahead to Korriban to join with the other Jedi.

He fought his way through the legions of Disciples alongside his fellow Jedi and finally reached the tomb of Marka Ragnos where he confronted Tavion before she had revived Ragnos. Tavion fought with all the power of the Dark Side, even using the Scepter of Ragnos to feed off of its energies. Eventually however she was bested by Jaden, at which point she attempted to resurrect the spirit of Marka Ragnos who then possessed Tavion's body. After another prolonged duel, Jaden managed to destroy the Scepter, thus forcing Ragnos to leave Tavion's body. Tavion died shortly after due to her body not being able to withstand the corruption caused my Ragnos. Jaden then left the tomb and sealed it, meeting Luke and Kyle on the steps to the tomb, where Luke proclaimed Jaden to be a true Jedi Knight.

System Requirements

PC System Requirements

OS: Windows 2000, XP or Vista
Processor: Pentium II or Athlon 450 MHz
Memory: 128 MB
Graphics: 32 MB OpenGL compatible
DirectX®: 9.0a
Hard Drive: 1.3 GB
Sound: 16 bit Direct x 9.0a
Multiplayer Requirements: Pentium II or Athlon 450MHz

Mac System Requirements

OS: 10.7.5 (Lion), 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-Core), 2.2 GHz
Memory: 4 GB
Graphics: 256 MB, (NVidia): Geforce 8800, (ATI): Radeon HD 2600
Hard Drive: 2 GB

Supported Video cards

* NVIDIA GeForce® 8800, 9400, 9600, GT 120, 320M, 330M, 640M, 650M, 660MX, 675MX, 680MXATI Radeon HD 2600, HD 3870, HD 4670, HD 4850, HD 5670, HD 5750, HD 5770, HD 5870, HD 6490, HD 6630, HD 6750, HD 6770, HD 6970Intel HD Graphics 3000,4000

Unsupported Video cards

Intel Integrated GMA 950
Intel Integrated x3100
ATI RADEON HD 2400

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