Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo

Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo
North American cover art
DevelopersFactor 5
LucasArts
PublishersNintendo 64
Windows
DirectorBrett Tosti
ProducersDale Geist
Julian Eggebrecht
DesignerDuncan Brown
ProgrammerHolger Schmidt
ArtistsLynne Gura
Chris Doyle
ComposersChris Huelsbeck
Jake Jacobson
SeriesStar Wars
PlatformsNintendo 64, Windows
ReleaseNintendo 64
  • NA: December 14, 2000
  • EU: March 30, 2001
Windows
  • NA: March 12, 2001
  • EU: March 23, 2001
GenresAction, arcade flight
ModeSingle-player

Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. It is a spiritual successor to Star Wars: Rogue Squadron released two years earlier. Despite the similarities between the two games, the development team designed a new game engine for Battle for Naboo and included land- and water-based combat in addition to aerial combat. The player can control various air, land, and water vehicles; each offers a unique armament arrangement, as well as varying degrees of speed and maneuverability. Bonus power-ups that improve these crafts' weapons or durability are hidden in different levels throughout the game. The player's performance is checked against four medal benchmarks after the completion of each level. Acquiring these medals promotes the player's rank and helps unlock hidden content.

Set in the fictional Star Wars galaxy, the game takes place during the events depicted in the film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The player controls Gavyn Sykes, a lieutenant in Naboo's Royal Security Forces. As the game progresses, Sykes and the Royal Security Forces fight the Trade Federation in 15 missions that take place on Naboo or in the space surrounding it. The game concludes after the player completes a mission that recreates the film's climactic assault on the Trade Federation's Droid Control Ship.

Battle for Naboo was published by LucasArts and THQ and released for the Nintendo 64 in December 2000. A Windows port was released three months later in March 2001. The Nintendo 64 version was heavily compared to Rogue Squadron and received generally positive reviews; critics praised the game's tight and responsive controls, but expressed dislike for the game's Episode I setting. The game's PC port was less well-received, with critics citing poor visuals and difficult controls.