Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection Review – Just like the simulations!

I remember it like it was yesterday- grabbing my PS2 controller, jumping into Galactic Conquest, hitting those cheat codes (which I still remember), and making sure that the CIS doesn’t spread throughout the Galaxy. Now, thanks to our friends at Aspyr, we get a chance to jump into this nostalgia fueled galactic battleground once again with some fun additions! Let’s fly on in and see what the Star Wars Galaxy has for us this time!

This is where the fun begins: new content! With the re-release of these games came the opportunity to add what we never got in the original release. This includes the map Jabba’s Palace for Battlefront and then a Bantha-Load of goodies in Battlefront II including new characters Kit Fisto and Asajj Ventress both with new abilities as well, the maps Cloud City, Rhen Var: Harbor and Citadel, and Yavin 4: Arena. While I see why they weren’t included in the original release for various reasons, they’re still fun to play through. The biggest issue with these maps are their size versus what you’re playing. Then Var’s ice caves are extremely fun to traverse, but most of the action happens outside of the caves, so you’re mostly in a big open area. Cloud City is fun, but not going to be a map I want showing up in rotations due to the placement of the Command Points. These new maps do not show up in either Galactic Conquest I played which were Republic and Empire.

Speaking of Galactic Conquest, this was my favorite mode when I was younger and remains my favorite mode in the Classic Collection. Building your army, protecting your planets, liberating enemy-controlled planets, getting bonuses, and adding new troops; it’s all there and ready for you to experience again. This is not a game mode that allows for online-multiplayer but can be played on Splitscreen during couch co-op, it’s a great reason to snag this collection by itself.

Multiplayer has so far been extremely fun. While I reviewed this, there weren’t many playing online. I played with a few people on Mustafar and a few other maps and won each time. (Just a side note, cheat codes don’t work online for multiplayer.) During my time online, the connections were stable and I never felt jilted by a death. The biggest concern I’ll have once there are more people online is how the servers hold up. However, the good news is that you can make your own server if you just want to play with specific people or groups. This will make things a lot more streamlined and I can see streamers on Twitch/YouTube/etc enjoying setting up groups with viewers and friends. David Budette and I were able to play on a private server and we had no issues! We’ll see how it goes on launch, but as of now, it’s working well and I had fun.

There are some bugs I hope they work out post-launch. Some of the bridges on Mustafar in the middle-left of the map don’t spawn quite often at the beginning of the match and sometimes disappear randomly throughout the map. I’ve also gotten caught inside of terrain multiple times on maps like Kashyyyk and Endor that feature a little more to the environment. I also had a slight issue with the game crashing. I experienced three different crashes, one during Galactic Conquest, one in Hero Showdown on Instant Action, and one queuing for online play. While none of these stopped me from playing the game fully, I’d love to see these ironed out.

There is a lot more to do with Battlefront II than Battlefront, but Battlefront still has some great maps like the Dune Sea on Tatooine and the new Jabba’s Palace. The mechanics are not nearly as good as Battlefront II, however, so I’d assume most of the player base will be enjoying their time more on the Battlefront II side of things. But the option is there for those wanting to experience where it all started.

Splitscreen also makes a return for those of you looking for couch co-op in both games! You’ll have access to Instant Action, Galactic Conquest, and Rise of the Empire.

The story mode for Battlefront II: Rise of the Empire, while not canon, still holds a place in my heart. Playing through from before Order 66 all the way to the Empire is a lot of fun and shows how the clones felt about the changes from the Republic to the Empire and beyond. While this differs from what we see in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, it’s an awesome story to experience top to bottom.

There are multiple new modes for you to run through with Instant Action: Conquest, Capture the Flag, Hunt (Fighting Ewoks, Wampas, etc), XL (humongous battles only available on certain maps), Space Battles, and Hero Assault which has been added to all ground battle maps! The addition of all of these into Battlefront II specifically makes for a lot of fun and many ways of playing each map. I suggest XL on Hoth for sure; playing as Pilot Luke swinging the Lightsaber through waves of Snowtroopers is extremely satisfying. I would also recommend Hero Assault to be able to play any hero you wish as heroes are still locked to the map for other modes (i.e., Yoda on Kashyyyk, Obi-Wan on Mustafar, Princess Leia on Tantive IV. Playing through these maps were extremely nostalgic but a lot of the maps still hold up when it comes to design such as the Death Star and Mustafar maps.

Battlefront Classic Collection may have a few quirks here and there, but it’s a solid release of both of these classic Star Wars games. Each one has something a little different to offer, and with the additions of the new maps and two new characters, it’ll be something I’d think most Star Wars fans would be excited to get their hands on. May the Force be with you all!

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is available now on Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 5, and PC.

Unless otherwise stated, the product in this article was provided for review purposes.