Is March 2005 and before Sith revengeThe launch of cinemas and several other Star Wars video games, Republic Command has just reached the shelves. He sees and plays unlike any other Star Wars first -person shooter before him, and although the initial reception is not brilliant, he is intended to impact countless future stories.
Two complete decades* later, it is difficult to argue that Lucasarts’s tactical FP are one of the most unique and The best Star Wars games ever done. From the immersive action to its darkest boots in the ground, it is the rare type of Star Wars history that led to the fans of the George Lucas galaxy, very close to the nameless grunts who died in the front lines. They can only have leg pawns in the chess fight of the centuries between the light and dark sides of the force, but far from the Jedi and the SithEach shooting can be the last one, and even the best clone soldiers of the Republic were only human at the end of the day.
After its explosive introduction in Clone attack As replicas without personality of the Mandalorian rewards hunter Jango Fett, the Animated 2D Clone Wars Series He did not present a case about why clone troopers imported more than droids. Of course, that squad with Arc soldiers It was rad, but why should we worry about them beyond their fresh armor? The Dave Filoni and George Lucas 3D show, much more ambitious in their reach and depth, would “solve” that problem years later, but we forgot that Republic Command was the first piece of Star Wars Media that treated with respect.
Started, the clone war
The game begins during the battle of the Geonosis, but not before witnessing a montage that details Delta squadCreation, early life and training in Kamino. We could have been thrown directly into the heat of the battle, but director Tim Longo (which would walk Halo 5 A decade later), the team of writers, and the powers that are in Lucasartes decided to hit the floor walking instead of running.
It is a short but shocking sequence that juxtaposes very well against the rest of the game, which is noisy and completely implacable; A few moments of tranquility before a war throughout the galaxy that the thesis soldiers were not destined to survive to help establish the tone.
For all his video game traps of the era of the 2000s, the debut of the Clone’s commands was sandy and leaving. Without the Jedi saving the day at the last minute or the exciting musical themes of John Williams add classical wonder to action, the confrontations between the Republic and the CIS – Especially those who move away from the front lines – suddenly felt more and more dangerous.
Composer Jesse Harlin was very aware The Republic command needed to sound different: “The whole goal was to present a very dark and military version of the Star Wars universe,” he explained to Musicon Film in 2006. “These are types that knew something about galactic political or political strength. These were soldiers with a verber.” “Needless to say, both developers and Harlin managed to give their own identity to the game, with the track”Vode a‘Be hugged by Star Wars fans and Subsequent official works As an essential part of the screen Mandalorian culture.
The lost sequel
Even without entering the ‘meat and potatoes’ of the first -person manufacturing shooter who successful fuses Star Wars with Rainbow Six Elements, fans were soon obsessed with the tradition that surrounded the clones commands and their role in the broader war that culminated in the birth of the galactic empire. The fact that the end was also open encouraged a greater talk. Later in 2005, a Order sequel to 66 centers Or Sut launched for mobile phones, but … well, it has very little similar to the console and the PC shooter that preceded it.
With plans for a follow -up entitled Imperial Command Binned in Lucasarts even before the first game was launched, the only continuation of the story left for fans was the five notable novels of Karen Traviss: Hard Contact, Triple Zero, True Colors, Order 66 and Imperial Command: 501st. It is safe to say that there was a audience for more protagonists of clones of thesis starring, however, Lucasart was re -enforcing his strategy (and then) of the moment of the liberation of commands of the Republic. The regular soldiers were separated (this also included Battlefront 3S cancellation), While the characters of ‘power fantasy’ like Starkiller They were taken again.
With the saga of the six -episodes film by George Lucas in 2005 and the animated program that was announced shortly after, after the characters Clonos Jedi and New, the fans had to accept that the adventures on the screen of the Delta Squadron were. Well, as we all know, Disney took over the Empire of Lucas at the end of 2012, and one of the first creative changes that the ‘New Lucasfilm’ took under his umbrella was explicitly declare the vast majority of the novels, comics, shows and non -quantum video games, giving them a clean blackboard outside the six original films. But as a great man said once: “No one has really left.”
Remodeling the canon
The Delta squad seemed ready for the restart of the canon, but the approach in the clones had returned. It was the clone wars that kept a large part of their living soul with several clone soldiers, such as Rex, Fives, 99, and echo (among many others) obtaining as much screen time as the Jedi generals that led them to battle.
Only the first unequal season, the approach was of the victories and losses that these soldiers created, to sacrifice their lives for the good of the Republic in the process. Through his career, the program covered serious issues around loyalty, freedom and even his humanity of clones, adding a surprising amount of maturity to a series that all, fans, had first registered as a lighter matter.
The four iconic clone commands – BOSS, Scorch, Fixer and Sev – were recovered for the episode of season 3 ‘Fog Witch‘(2011) with a letter appearance. This allowed them to join the fee of the film/television before the aforementioned restart, that only the six original films and clone wars in the new Star Wars Fresh Star Wars timeline. Later, other legends characters incorporated (and remain) in the current canon, but their ‘early’ presence in the program highlighted how much they meant both for fans and creatives. ‘Missing action’ (season 5) would also introduce Captain GregorA former command that suffers from amnesia.
Battlefront 2 (EA/says) of 2017 wants Oraly to receive a content update that presents clone commands (not the Delta squad) following fans requests, with Lucasfilm and developers admitting that they would do so for the great draft. More importantly, the seventh and last season of Clone Wars (2020) presented a squad of genetically improved clones nicknamed ‘The Bad Batch’, which would later get his own beloved show. They were certainly more colorful characters than Delta’s team, but the influences were clear for those who were close in 2005. Be careful with the many appearances of Scorch and other commands as the program also advances.
In a certain sense, The bad lot It became the culmination of everything that had a leg built around the seemingly simple concept of the elite clones. Far from the constructions of the Skywalker saga, but progressing right next to it, Lucasarts and Lucasfilm managed to really worry about the forage of Canyon of the Republic as well as the fall of the Jedi and the reign of the empire. Today, non -players will attribute all this narrative to the main creatives of Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm Animation, but Republic Command was the genesis of this fascinating branch of Star Wars Storytelling in the same way Dark forces It is key to understanding much of the current chronology after Empire.
Star Wars: Republic Commando and his remaster developed by ASPYR Are currently available to buy in personal computer” PlayStation” Xboxand Nintendo Switch.
