During Nintendo’s recent Direct livestream, plenty of games returned for a new trailer, and others were announced. Some of these ranged from Nintendo Online getting emulators for old RareWare games to Xbox releasing their exclusives like Grounded, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves on the Switch. These weren’t even the most exciting announcements either! Disney Epic Mickey, originally released for the Wii, will be getting a full remaster later this year. Lucky for Star Wars fans, we managed to get a huge announcement that Pandemic Studios’ original Battlefront games will be ported to all major platforms next month!
For those unaware, Star Wars: Battlefront has been a popular game franchise throughout the year, with Pandemic Studios creating the first game in 2004 and its sequel a year later. These were first and third-person shooter games similar to Battlefield, and they are still regarded as some of the best Star Wars games of all time, even decades later. After DICE and EA gained exclusive game-making rights for Star Wars, they rebooted the franchise, publishing Star Wars: Battlefront in 2015. As EA is notorious for microtransactions, the game was criticized for its Season Pass but otherwise enjoyed. The two companies also made a sequel in 2017, which unfortunately became one of the most notorious game releases of all time: sparing many details, the microtransactions and loot crate system were horrific at launch, and while DICE massively improved the game through 2020, the damage was already done.
Battlefront (2015) and Battlefront II (2017) were ultimately great games and some of my personal favorites, but they didn’t live up to what gamers experienced in 2004 and 2005 with the originals, even ignoring the catastrophe that was Battlefront II’s launch. That’s why when fans of the franchise saw the announcement trailer, they were all beyond excited. While the original games are still playable on Steam, fans haven’t been able to play online on a console since 2014. With this announcement, soon, an entirely new generation will be able to experience these classics.
The Classic Collection will be released on March 14th for all major platforms and previous generations, including Steam, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, PS4 and PS5, and Nintendo Switch for $35. It will include 4K (albeit AI-upscaled) ports for both of the original Battlefront games with all DLC, including Kit Fisto and Asajj Ventress (originally exclusive to the first Xbox). The game will also feature up to 64-player multiplayer, which will allow for bigger fights than ever before. If you already own the original Battlefront games, don’t worry—the games won’t be shutting down when the Classic Collection releases and you can even save some money if you own the game on Steam.
While I’ll still continue to occasionally play EA and DICE’s Battlefront games, they are incomparable to the originals. The classics have a lot not present in the modern Battlefronts and are widely considered the superior video games. Needless to say, I can’t wait to purchase a copy of the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection this March, and if you’re in the mood for nostalgia or a shooter not bloated with microtransactions and game-breaking glitches, I’d recommend buying it.
