After lying dormant for years, the acclaimed Star Wars title--The Force Unleashed--has been re-released. This time, it comes to players on the Nintendo Switch. Given the popularity of the handheld system, this is a chance for rabid fans to check out a Force-fueled adventure they may have missed upon its initial release. A galaxy far, far away gains new followers every day, after all.
Of course, what Star Wars also has an ample supply of is fan service. Every entry in this series, be it a movie, TV show, book, or game, has references to other pieces of the sci-fi fantasy saga. The Force Unleashed is no exception to this. Many nods throughout the adventure will prove familiar to devotees. Oftentimes, finding them all is a game in itself.
7 Vader's Indecision
The first third of the game concludes with a brief callback to Return of the Jedi, and it occurs during an equally pivotal moment. The Emperor discovers that Darth Vader has been training a secret apprentice, so he orders his subject to destroy Starkiller as a test of loyalty. The student pleads with his master, and the masked asthmatic has a moment of indecision where he looks back and forth at both of them. It's a simple yet effective bit of body language which illustrates his inner struggle.
It appropriately mirrors a similar struggle in the aforementioned film. When the Emperor tries to kill Luke, Vader is conflicted and emotes the same way. Viewers once again see his head turn from side to side. The difference is that it leads to a better outcome, namely the Dark Lord turning on the Emperor and saving his son.
6 Familiar Voices
Hindsight is a funny thing. Though not an easter egg at the time, this casting might seem like such after watching the Star Wars TV shows. Starkiller and fallen Jedi Maris Brood, who come to blows, are voiced by Sam Witwer and Adrienne Wilkinson, respectively.
These two later guest-starred on The Clone Warsas physical embodiments of the Force. Witwer represented the Dark Side while Wilkinson stood for the Light. At the time, it was a cheeky nod to The Force Unleashed. With the game's re-release, however, it sounds like vice versa.
5 The Rebel Logo
This is deliberate since the game's story sees the founding of the Rebel Alliance. That said, fans probably didn't think they'd see such a small detail get its time to shine. Eagle-eyed players might see that Starkiller's father has a family crest in his humble abode on Kashyyyk. The surviving heroes dust it off at the end, where audiences get a clear view of it.
They then see that it's the familiar logo of the Rebellion. The movie's X-wing pilots sport it on their helmets, and it further serves as the freedom fighters' symbol in the Expanded Universe. How fitting that it comes from a fugitive and remnant of the Republic, which the heroes desperately seek to restore.
4 Starkiller's Name
When younger fans hear the hero's name, they may think of Starkiller Base, the First Order's Death Star stand-in from The Force Awakens. In actuality, that name goes back much further. Its origins lie in the series' inception.
When George Lucas was creating his universe, he originally envisioned the protagonist as Luke Starkiller. That evolved into Luke Skykiller and, eventually, Luke Skywalker. Rabid fans fascinated by the making of Star Wars likely know this. As such, they're all the more gratified hearing this new adventurer harken back to the series' roots.
3 Organa's Reference To Vader
After Starkiller defeats Maris Brood, he lets her go. Bail Organa believes this to be a mistake, saying that she reminds him of "another young Jedi who turned to the Dark Side." That line has no significance within this game, but it's not hard for film lovers to figure out whom he's talking about.
This refers to Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi who turned to evil and became Darth Vader. It's somewhat perplexing given that Bail only had passing interactions with Anakin, and they mostly came when they were both visiting Padme. Still, Maris is a Jedi who becomes a Sith; she'll obviously draw parallels to Vader within the larger fan base and audiences in general.
2 Mandalorians
During his mission on Bespin, Starkiller encounters a crime lord named Chop'aa. He and his thugs are Mandalorians; the armor, jet packs, and bad attitude give it away. They supposedly sided with the Separatists during the Clone Wars and later joined the Black Sun criminal organization. They were hardly alone in these endeavors.
The Expanded Universe sees many Mandalorians follow the same career path. They clash with Republic forces and subsequently find work in the underworld. Black Sun is often included in their list of employers. Once again, this is more fortuitous given the Clone Wars TV show devoted several episodes to these very dealings. Chop'aa and his cronies even sport red armor, conjuring up images of their peers who fought under Darth Maul.
1 Wookiees As Slaves
The first level features Vader and the Imperial forces battling the Wookiees on their homeworld of Kashyyyk. Starkiller visits years later to find the planet under the Empire's thumb. The walking carpets live in slavery, forced to work on colossal construction projects like the Sky Hook and the Death Star. Such a sad sight should be a familiar one to fans.
Several Expanded Universe stories saw the Wookiees pressed into service. Han Solo even met Chewbacca when he rescued the fuzzball from this ordeal. That origin must have been popular since the filmmakers kept it in Solo: A Star Wars Story. There, a young Han liberates Chewie and his Wookiee brethren. Unfortunately, this also means that Star Wars is still enslaving these hairy mutts.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is currently available on Switch, PC, iOS, and Legacy platforms.