If there's one thing Star Wars Jedi: Survivor isn't skimping out on, it's enemy variety. In just the first few hours of Jedi: Survivor, players will face off against Stormtroopers, Scout Troopers, Purge Troopers, B1 Battle Droids, B2 Super Battle Droids, BX Commando Droids, and a variety of different Raider types, and it only continues to expand out from there. The same level of variety, unfortunately, isn't present for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor bosses, but the ones that are there are of very high quality.
On the whole, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order didn't have too many bosses. Not counting any stronger variations of wildlife or the randomized bounty hunter encounters, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order really only has three big boss fights, one of which is repeated multiple times during the course of the game. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor follows a similar approach for its own bosses, but thankfully, it makes excellent use of one of Fallen Order's most underrated boss encounters.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Reuses the Ninth Sister Perfectly
One of the more understated boss fights in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is Cal Kestis' encounter with the Ninth Sister atop Kashyyyk's Origin Tree. A Dowutin member of the Inquisitorius, the Ninth Sister is one of the two Sith Inquisitors in Jedi: Fallen Order sent after Cal Kestis. Unlike her partner, Trilla, the Second Sister, the Ninth Sister doesn't hold back with her attacks, acting as a true test of skill for both Cal and the player controlling him. Cal narrowly defeats the Ninth Sister by slicing off her arm, and pushing her off the top of the Origin Tree, though that was never a definitive end to her character.
The Ninth Sister makes a booming return in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's opening hour. After an attempt to steal an Imperial Senator's encrypted files, the Ninth Sister is alerted to Cal Kestis and his crew's whereabouts. Upon arriving on the scene, the Ninth Sister, along with a squad of Purge Troopers, promptly kill three of Cal's new crew members, showing that even without her original arm, the Ninth Sister is still a major threat, but it's been five years since the events of Jedi: Fallen Order, and Cal Kestis is now a fully-experienced Jedi Knight.
At the end of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's tutorial mission on Coruscant, players come face to face with the Ninth Sister. This fight not only acts as a fun bit of fan service for those that played Fallen Order, but it also immediately sets the tone for the rest of the game, and it gives players a good idea of where Cal Kestis is currently at in his Jedi journey, and how far he's come in the last five years. While in Jedi: Fallen Order Cal struggled to even wound the Ninth Sister, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's first boss fight sees him defeat her with ease, unleashing his new dual-wield stance on her to finish the fight quickly and efficiently. Cal wastes absolutely no time trying to escape the Ninth Sister, but instead fights with a clear purpose, and his final attempt to turn her to the light side shows that he's a true Jedi, willing to forgive even his worst enemies.
This opening boss battle with the Ninth Sister also does a great job of teaching players how Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's more refined, rhythmic combat works. While Jedi: Fallen Order's combat could feel a little unresponsive and awkward due to slow attack and block animations, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's combat is a lot more fluid and satisfying, thanks in part to the more Sekiro-inspired rhythm-based gameplay. Jedi: Survivor places a much greater emphasis on parrying and counter-attacking, and that's tutorialized very well during the Ninth Sister boss battle.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S
