By Star Wars: Republic Commando is marking its 20-year anniversary today, March 1, 2025. Below, we explore how its emphasis on military fiction was a preview of elements to come in the Star Wars universe.
When you start Star Wars: Republic Commando, the first thing that greets you is the LucasArts logo, crackling like a disrupted radio broadcast. It pulsates with the sounds of whispered commands and droid chatter. This notion is borrowed from the contemporary Clone Wars animated series (which began in 2003), also opening with a distorted transmission—this time featuring the sounds of blaster shots and vibrant lightsabers. Collectively, these charming touches signify a move away from the lofty science fiction mythos of traditional Star Wars, steering toward a harsher, though still stylized, military narrative.
To be fair, these themes weren’t entirely absent from Star Wars initially. Although A New Hope is inspired by the idealistic science fiction age reminiscent of Flash Gordon serials, it presents a grounded future. Our protagonists are aspiring insurrectionists, piloting dilapidated ships. Their fascist adversaries lack any futuristic finesse. The struggle of the rebels is unrefined, often taking place in dense vegetation and on remote planets.
Admittedly, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are not mere soldiers, but heroes (a term used in a Star Wars game contemporary to Republic Commando: Battlefront 2). The recent trilogy, along with a substantial portion of the prequels, adopts a similar epic battleground style as The Lord of the Rings. Grand battles often take center stage, and both franchises are distinctly captivated by combat. However, the heroes are not typical ground troops or even military leaders; they are royalty and wayward youths, shaping the world while rebels and tyrants perish in the dirt.
Republic Commando embodies something more ordinary: the daily existence of a trooper in conflict. The game’s clear inspiration, aside from Star Wars itself, is Halo. Much like that first-person shooter, Republic Commando carefully distinguishes its titular characters as exceptional individuals, rising above the commonplace clones that make up the rest of the Galactic Republic’s forces. Nevertheless, the commandos can’t achieve anything that dramatically alters the overarching narrative, lest it disrupt the films they coincide with. Essentially, the universe of Star Wars would not shift if all the commandos were to perish. The portrayal feels somewhat like propaganda: You are the champions defending the republic, while in reality, you are merely additional bodies contributing to the future Emperor’s financial growth.