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DF Retro: Star Wars Shadows of the Empire Revisited on N64 and PC!

Digital Foundry

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Released at the tail-end of 1996 during Nintendo 64's launch window, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire gained massive attention owing to some phenomenal graphics - but there was a PC version too that was arguably even prettier... if you had the right hardware. Join John Linneman for a retrospective on Shadows of the Empire on N64, along with detailed analysis of the PC version, running on contemporary hardware!

The action figure shots were provided by Kent Sorlie who has other cool photographs over at Instagram: kentendoworld

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20 Comments

@RichMcLaughlin 6 years ago

The amount of effort that goes in to gathering all this footage with different hardware and options is nuts. Excellent work.

@CinemaStix 6 years ago

Ah, man. I wish they would do DF Retros just a bit more often.

@kidi84 6 years ago (edited)

Early 1995, Dark Forces.

What I remember of this game : "Dad ! We need to add more RAM to the computer, the game is just so slooooooow."

@Reluctant_Hero 6 years ago

Man, this really makes me want to see John produce an episode of DF Retro dedicated to Stars Wars Rogue Squadron!

@Dark.Shingo 6 years ago

Oh, I remember back in those days: you bought a video card and you ended up feeling you always chose the wrong one.

@GamingMyWholeLife 6 years ago

Worlds did feel massive on the N64 and there was this extra smoothness that really stood out. Nice to know countless years later I'd learn it's texture filtering and AA

@blurontree 6 years ago

“With the DARTH of software available...” was intentional right?

@NeoVejiita 6 years ago

When this game became a “players choice” title my grandpa bought it for me :) I had played it via rental but never got passed the train level, so being able to play as much as I wanted was amazing!

@MoZamboni 6 years ago

Joel McNeely's score is so damned good - I feel he will never get his due credit!

@MB20978 6 years ago

When this first came out it blew my young mind flying around Hoth, taking down AT-AT’s in a snow speeder.
It felt like truly next level s**t at the time.
Thanks for the memories!

@plebpilot8935 8 months ago (edited)

Me and my brother played this game so much. The book, the game and the Special Editions entering the theatres really grew my love for Star Wars as a pre-teen. The X-Wing and Tie Fighter games weren't accessible like console games.

@mrnicktoyou 6 years ago

The 3dfx era of PC gaming was extremely exciting. 3D games made a huge graphical leap.

@arbiter- 6 years ago

DF Retro is my favorite series on this channel, however I also really like Alex's explanations of PC settings and the tech behind them. Looking forward to whatever you guys are cooking up next.

@SkySkywalker485 6 years ago

Man, you know it's the 90s when there's a list of like 6 GPUs you have to test.

@KryptKicker5 6 years ago

It was the third game I ever got for my N64, and I loved it! Especially messing with the Wompas! Let them out, fight one another and the survivor does my dirty work for me. Great times!

@matthewfamulski7705 6 years ago

I love this game, I wanna see it remade.

@ldisc66 6 years ago

I worked at a computer shop when this game was released on PC and I was tasked to setup a demo PC to run this game. I don't remember the spec but I did install a 3dfx card in there with Microsoft's first foray into force feedback joysticks and it was a hit at the shop. We sold tons of those joysticks. 😂

@ModernVintageGamer 6 years ago

so glad to see DF Retro back. brilliant stuff as always John

@casedistorted 6 years ago

I remember when this game first came out on the N64 as a kid, it was a big deal. One of the best Star Wars games out there

@detonator620 6 years ago

A proper DF Retro episode for a long time. You almost make me cry it's like a time machine. I'm from that time and everything YOU said about that game and technology of that era is just squeezing a drop from my eyes! Thank you John for your tremendous work!!!