Play Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Online

Summary

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire drops you into the under‑belly of the saga with five distinct modes that let you pilot everything from the armored Outrider to a snowspeeder, hovertrain, jet pack or speeder bike. The stages jump between classic Star Wars sites like Mos Eisley and the ice planet Hoth and fresh locales such as Imperial City’s sewers, Xizor’s palace and the junkyards of Ord Mantell. Each segment is built around fast, high‑risk combat.

As the smuggler‑pilot Dash Rendar, you’re tasked with protecting Luke and thwarting Prince Xizor’s schemes. The game’s third‑person shooting is punctuated by a rechargeable blaster, health packs scattered through the levels and a limited‑life system that adds tension. Most stages are timed and award challenge points for tricks and hidden tokens that unlock extra rewards. The jet pack even works underwater in the sewer chase.

The N64 version stands out for its digitized orchestral score, a rarity on a cartridge platform that only became possible when Nintendo bumped the memory from 8 MB to 12 MB. LucasArts built the environments with the Jedi engine from Dark Forces, and motion capture was done at ILM before being redone by hand. Over a million copies sold, making it the third‑best‑selling N64 title of 1997. Its blend of vehicular set‑pieces and shooter action still feels like a lost piece of the Star Wars saga.

Storyline

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, where a new menace, Dark Prince Xizor of the Black Sun syndicate, plots to replace Darth Vader by killing Luke Skywalker. You play as mercenary Dash Rendar, tasked with protecting Luke and the Rebel Alliance.

Part I – Escape from Echo Base begins just before the Battle of Hoth. Dash and his droid co‑pilot Leebo deliver supplies, pilot a snowspeeder into the fight, and flee a Star Destroyer through an asteroid field with the Outrider.

In Part II, Dash hunts Boba Fett and battles IG‑88 on Ord Mantell, only to learn that Xizor has hired Jabba the Hutt to eliminate Luke.

Part III sees Dash racing swoop‑bikers sent by Jabba to Obi‑Wan Kenobi’s home, stealing a secret Imperial supercomputer from the freighter Suprosa, and battling a cargo droid.

The final chapter, Lair of the Dark Prince, has Dash infiltrating Xizor’s palace on Coruscant, defeating a massive dianoga and a combat droid, then destroying the Skyhook space station’s core. The game ends with Dash’s apparent sacrifice, followed by an optional post‑credits scene where he and Leebo escape the blast, leaving his fate ambiguous.