00:01Hello and welcome!
00:03Today I have been requested to review Star Wars The Clone Wars Republic Heroes for the Nintendo DS.
00:11I missed out on The Clone Wars during its heyday, so I also missed out on many of the licensed
00:16games around it.
00:17But after playing the LEGO games based on The Clone Wars, I have a feeling I was probably going to
00:22like this game too.
00:32Starting up Republic Heroes on the DS, it's all very familiar.
00:37Episode arcs from The Clone Wars Season 1 have been turned into specific levels which you can play out.
00:44And from the get-go, it looks and sounds great.
00:49Sure, nowadays this is beyond dated, but these are actual clips from the show that have just been crunched down
00:56to fit on the DS.
00:57With full voice dialogue from the original voice actors.
01:02Aesthetically, this is a very impressive game for the system.
01:06Though its structure is like any other licensed game based on The Clone Wars from around this time.
01:14It's just a shame that the gameplay isn't all so similar.
01:19If I was to describe this game in a word, it would be mindless.
01:23It's a touch first game where you tap on the enemies to attack them and tap on glowing green circles
01:28to platform.
01:29And that's the whole game.
01:31You loop through attacking scenarios and then, to change things up, some platforming challenges.
01:38But it's just mindless and repetitive.
01:41Play through the first three worlds and you will get a gist of what the rest of the game is
01:45like.
01:46The game assumes that you are right handed and if you happen to be a lefty, good luck.
01:56If you are right handed, the controls are fine, but I found the attempt at a combo system to be
02:03hard to activate.
02:05A consequence of using touch controls, the game even has end stage medals and rewards for a performance.
02:13Like in mobile game from the time.
02:17Which I think is an apt description for what The Clone Wars Republic Heroes is.
02:23It's a mobile game which looks like it was forced down onto a Nintendo DS.
02:31Now this isn't the first licensed game that I've played which has these faults.
02:36I've personally played a lot worse.
02:38But I feel that if the gameplay won't hook me, then at the very least the game's story should.
02:45And I personally feel that's where The Republic Heroes on the DS fails the most.
02:50As the stories are butchered or short retellings of the episodes.
02:56It's almost a parody of what the episodes are supposed to be based on.
03:01With characters missing or other characters that weren't in the episode being added in since retexturing them would be too
03:09difficult I guess?
03:11Which is doubly confusing since Lucasfilm Animation Singapore's gaming group was the ones responsible for Republic Heroes on the DS.
03:21And Lucasfilm Animation Singapore was also helping with the production of The Clone Wars itself.
03:31And I feel that this confusion just ruins my experience with the game.
03:37Again, Republic Heroes is aesthetically a very impressive game.
03:40More so than The Force Unleashed on Nintendo DS.
03:44But the simplified gameplay and controls just hamper what was already a very simple game.
03:53And turns it so mindless that I didn't even want to finish it.
03:58It's a fun novelty these days.
04:02But unless you are a collector looking for Clone Wars memorabilia, you are better off skipping it.
04:11Especially since LEGO Star Wars 3 did what this game was trying to do so much better.
04:20But anyways, thank you ever so much for watching.
04:24I hope you have yourself a good day.
04:25And as always, take care.
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