I have been thinking about creating such post for some time now, but only now I am sure which game is better. Most reviews on the net claim that “the Jedi Outcast has better story and characters, but the Jedi Academy has better lightsaber combat”. Well, it is NOT true. The sheer fact that something looks more spectacular doesn’t make it automatically better overall.
After finishing the Jedi Academy twice (once with a lightsaber staff and once with a single lightsaber) I have to say that the PURE lightsaber combat in the Jedi Academy is definitely WORSE than in the Jedi Outcast. Actually there are only a few game aspects in the Jedi Academy that are better than in the Jedi Outcast.
I will compare both games starting with the PURE lightsaber combat to show you why it is so BAD in the Jedi Academy. Whichever game is better it gets a point. To show you how some things work I recorded some gameplay movies. I recorded them in a very low resolution, because they are all about gameplay mechanics, NOT graphics.
1. Spectacular lightsaber battles.
In the Jedi Outcast there is only single lightsaber and the number of combat moves is much lower. In the Jedi Academy there are two new styles (that can be obtained later in the game): Dual Sabers (two lightsabers – one in each hand) or Saber Staff (a double lightsaber that was used by Darth Maul). The sheer sight of a person wielding two lightsabers or a lightsaber staff is cool. Taking part in a fight against such enemies is ever cooler!
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Academy
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (0) vs. Jedi Academy (1)
2. Overpowered attacks.
This is a game-breaking aspect to me. In both games most of the “normal” attacks are blocked automatically, but you can can still lose a little health. However there are some attacks that are NOT blocked at all OR they break through the automatic blocking. What's worse these attacks are at the same time overpowered, which makes such attacks almost “instant death” attacks. They deal much more damage than normal “clean” attacks (attacks that avoid automatic blocking thanks to good movement and/or good timing). In the Jedi Outcast there are hardly any overpowered attacks, but in the Jedi Academy there are many of them.
I went through the later parts of the Jedi Academy (the difficult parts) performing the “running” lightsaber-staff twirl over and over again (to start the twirl you have to crouch, but once it is started you can stand up and close to your enemy much faster). During one-on-one encounters there was no finesse at all – hardly any movement was needed, except for the twirl. Please look how ridiculous such a fight looks (this is the very first fight after obtaining the lightsaber staff):
Twirl, and twirl, and twirl again. It felt so pathetic that after finishing the game I loaded an earlier save and chose a single lightsaber and used it with the medium style, just because it didn't have any useful “instant death” attacks. Unfortunately it meant that I was at a constant disadvantage because many enemies tried to use “instant death” attacks against me. This is the same fight with a single lightsaber:
Using a single lightsaber is definitely much more fun, but as you can see I had to wait at one moment because some defensive moves are also overpowered. I experienced many instant deaths because my opponent started such a move when I was very close by. As I wrote: this is a game-breaking aspect to me.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (1) vs. Jedi Academy (1)
3. The Force power Lightsaber Throw.
In both games the Force power Lightsaber Throw makes the game much easier. In the Jedi Outcast many reborns throw their lightsaber against you, but sometimes you can avoid it and kill them with your own Lightsaber Throw. I stopped using this Force power because it was game-breaking to me. HOWEVER in the Jedi Outcast it was at least logical – when an enemy has thrown his lightsaber at you then he can't defend against your lightsaber, right?
In the Jedi Academy when an enemy with two lightsabers throws one of them at you he is as helpless as in the Jedi Outcast – he does NOT defend with his second lightsaber! Ridiculous! The same is true for you – here's an example (I got too close to my enemy on purpose):
As you can see my character didn't even attempt to use the second lightsaber to block incoming attacks. For this very reason I've never used dual lightsabers in the Jedi Academy. What's the point of having two lightsabers when you don't defend with the second one? Pathetic.
What's worse, much worse, in the Jedi Academy the Lightsaber Throw is overpowered against other overpowered moves! For example when an enemy with a lightsaber staff starts a twirl you can simply throw your lightsaber at his legs and it usually kills him. RIDICULOUS! Here's an example:
And here's an example when to use it against an enemy with two lightsabers:
In the Jedi Outcast reborns were MUCH better at defending against your thrown lightsaber. Here's is an example from the very first lightsaber fight:
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (2) vs. Jedi Academy (1)
4. Lightsaber locks.
In the Jedi Outcast you could disengage safely from ANY lightsaber lock thanks to the Force power Push and/or sidesteping at the end of the lock, but in the Jedi Academy these methods sometimes doesn't work. Moreover some players claim that some lightsaber locks can't be won because they start in a “wrong” position for you. I have never attempted to win any lightsaber lock (in either game), so I can't confirm it. Either way, in the Jedi Academy many lightsaber locks end in an instant death, which is VERY annoying.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (3) vs. Jedi Academy (1)
5. Impossible to break moves.
In the Jedi Academy once you started a particular move you can't break it, which sometimes is VERY annoying. Basically it feels like you don't have full control over you character, which is a major game-design flaw. The most annoying such move is “attack fallen enemy” because the enemies usually roll sideways to avoid this attack, but you can't adjust your movements, so you miss them. In the Jedi Outcast when you want to attack a fallen enemy you have to use a normal attack, which is still very powerful because it is a clean attack (your opponent can't block it). The difference is that in the Jedi Outcast you control your attack till the very end.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (4) vs. Jedi Academy (1)
6. Overpowered enemies.
Please, remember that I describe this aspect from the point of view of difficulty setting Jedi Knight (second hardest one).
In both games some enemies who use the dark side Force power Lightning seem to have much more Force “mana” than you. At the same time they are very good at the pure lightsaber combat, which makes the fights against them insanely hard. In the Jedi Outcast it is the fight against Tavion (when your Force powers are still weak) and in the Jedi Academy it is two fights against Reborn Masters (when your chosen Force powers are already strong).
By the way: in the Jedi Outcast during the final fight against Desann you can use the “light beam” (activated by the stone buttons on the top floor) to gain some kind of invulnerability for a short time, which makes this fight much easier.
Winner at this aspect: none
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (4) vs. Jedi Academy (1)
7. Non-overpowered enemies with lightsabers
In the Jedi Academy many of the enemies with lightsabers are Cultists who are pushovers, even without using the Force powers Push and Lightsaber Throw. It makes much of the lightsaber combat in the Jedi Academy simply too easy, especially when compared to the overpowered bosses.
Moreover in the Jedi Academy in a particular place there is exactly the same kind of enemy on every difficulty setting (only with a different amount of health and Force mana).
In the Jedi Outcast different difficulty settings in some places feature different kinds of reborns, which makes the lightsaber combat significantly more difficult and satisfying/fun on the higher difficulty settings. As you can see in the last movie in the point 3 the very first lightsaber fight in the Jedi Outcast on the difficulty setting Jedi Knight (second hardest one) is against a “reborn force user” (red one), not against a “basic reborn” (orange one).
In the Jedi Outcast there are 6 different types of non-overpowered enemies with lightsabers: “basic reborn” (orange one), “reborn acrobat” (blue one), “reborn force user” (red one), “reborn fencer” (green one), “reborn boss” (red and dark gray one) and shadow trooper (black one with a cloaking device).
This is the main reason why I prefer the Jedi Outcast – the gap between overpowered and non-overpowered enemies with lightsabers is not that big and every lightsaber fight is challenging and satisfying/fun. Every single one!
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (1)
8. Focus on the lightsaber combat.
In the first part of the Jedi Outcast you actually play without lightsaber – it's just a normal FPS. You can use codes/cheats to obtain lightsaber right at the start of the game, but there still won't be any enemies with lightsabers for some time. Even later in the game the number of enemies with lightsabers (reborns) is relatively low when compared to the overall number of enemies.
The Jedi Academy is much more focused on lightsaber combat, which is much more to my liking. Moreover you have a lightsaber right from the beginning, which is actually a little controversial from the point of view of the story, but it is not what I care about.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Academy
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
As far as the PURE lightsaber combat is concerned this is it. It's clear that the Jedi Outcast is a FAR better game in this regard. The Jedi Academy got points only for the spectacular lightsaber combat and the focus on the lightsaber combat, so from the point of view of the lightsaber combat mechanics (the points 2, 3, 4 and 5) it is a total win for the Jedi Outcast (4 vs. 0).
The next points are about Force powers and acrobatics, but they are used mostly by enemies without lightsabers!
9. Vulnerability to the Force power Push.
This Force power is VERY enjoyable in both games (hence I assigned it to the right mouse button), however in the Jedi Outcast it is hardly ever used against you. In the Jedi Academy I got knocked down much more often, which felt good! In this regard the fights against Cultists who use mainly the Force power Grip are fantastic because they defend often by pushing you off. There is a fight that I saved as “the best fight”:
The crucial question is this: Why the Force power Push is used to such a big extent ONLY by enemies who have no lightsaber? What a shame. But the Jedi Academy still gains a point for this aspect.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Academy
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (3)
10. Cool acrobatic moves.
New acrobatic moves make some lightsaber fights even more spectacular, but such moves are more often seen during fights against enemies without lightsabers (especially Cultists who use mainly the Force power Grip). They move in a cool way to avoid your lightsaber and they actually quite difficult to hit. I myself love rolling sideways when I get knocked down. Cool.
The crucial question is this: Why such cool acrobatic moves are used to such a big extent ONLY by enemies who have no lightsaber? What a shame. But the Jedi Academy still gains a point for this aspect.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Academy
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (4)
11. New Force powers.
In the Jedi Academy there are more Force powers, but most of the new ones are annoying an/or illogical and/or don't fit Jedi at all. For example some enemies use the Force power Drain while holding you instead of slicing you up with their lightsaber.
More importantly sometimes the Force power Drain can't be countered by the Force power Push under some circumstances that are not clear – sometimes while I'm held by the enemy I can't use the Force power Push at all and I don't know why. It is quite annoying because, again, it feels like I don't have full control over my character.
On the other hand there is a very cool new Force power Sense that makes you “see through walls”. Cool.
Overall I don't care about the new Force powers, but I still give the Jedi Academy a point for this aspect for their sheer existence.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Academy
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (5)
12. Other enemies using Force powers.
In the Jedi Outcast there are no such enemies, so should the Jedi Academy get a point for this aspect by default? I don't think so. First of all, the Jedi Academy already got points for the vulnerability to the Force power Push (in the point 9) and overall for the new Force powers (in the point 11). Second of all, fights against such enemies can end up very quickly, which is VERY anticlimactic. Here's an example from the “the best fight”:
The sheer existence of enemies focusing on Force powers who don't have a lightsaber is actually annoying. They would be much more difficult/fun with a lightsaber. Why don't they have even a single lightsaber? Why, oh why?!
Winner at this aspect: none
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (5)
As far as acrobatics and the Force powers are concerned the Jedi Academy is a better game (0 vs. 3), BUT it's more like a wasted potential rather than a part of good lightsaber combat, because they are used mostly by enemies without a lightsaber! What a shame!
The remaining points concern neither lightsaber combat nor Force powers, but are very important anyway.
13. Story and characters.
The story in the Jedi Outcast is very good and there are some very interesting plot twists. In the Jedi Academy there are many separate missions combined into one story in a rather awkward way. Actually some missions in the Jedi Academy are outright annoying and/or illogical. I won't delve into that because almost everybody on the net agrees that the Jedi Outcast has a better story.
The good characters in the Jedi Outcast are MUCH better especially Kyle Katarn (your own character). His wise-cracking lines are simply unbeatable! The same Kyle Katarn (but as an NPC character) in the Jedi Academy is clearly weaker.
Reborns in the Jedi Outcast taunt you in a very cool way. In comparison the Cultist in the Jedi Academy taunt you with such a sleepy voice that it is almost laughable.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (6) vs. Jedi Academy (5)
14. Settings.
The settings in the Jedi Outcast are better too, because some places in the Jedi Academy don't feel like Star Wars at all. Moreover the settings in the Jedi Outcast are based on the best movie in the Star Wars series – the Empire Strikes Back, while the “Star Wars settings” in the Jedi Academy are based on A New Hope or Return of the Jedi. In the Jedi Outcast the lightsaber duel at this iconic place is simply AWESOME!
Please notice that although this is only the second lightsaber fight in the game it's already against a reborn boss on the Jedi Knight difficulty setting (on lower difficulty settings it's against a reborn acrobat).
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (7) vs. Jedi Academy (5)
15. Stupid enemies.
In the Jedi Academy many enemies fall down to their deaths without being pushed by me. You can see that at the end of the gameplay movie in the point 12. It happens more often than you can imagine. Well, in that case I put at least some pressure at my enemy, but in many cases my enemies just ran over the edge without ANY “help” from me. In the Jedi Outcast there are hardly any cases like these.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (8) vs. Jedi Academy (5)
16. Length of game.
The Jedi Outcast is longer and there are more enemies overall. Most importantly there are more fights against AT-ST and in some of them there are no mounted guns for you to use. There are also more fights against enemies who throw grenades at you. The enemies in the Jedi Academy were much less to my liking. To such an extant that I even missed the fights against snipers from the Jedi Outcast.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall so far: Jedi Outcast (9) vs. Jedi Academy (5)
17. Puzzles incorporated into level design.
While I was playing the Jedi Outcast for the first time I got really irritated several times, but from the time perspective I think that it is actually good. The Jedi Academy is much more straight-forward as far as level design is concerned, but at the same time it's more boring, especially when compared to the Jedi Outcast.
Winner at this aspect: Jedi Outcast
Pure lightsaber combat: Jedi Outcast (5) vs. Jedi Academy (2)
Overall - FINAL: Jedi Outcast (10) vs. Jedi Academy (5)
Overall the Jedi Outcast is definitely better. More importantly the pure lightsaber combat is also better in the Jedi Outcast, unless you like unfair overpowered lightsaber attacks like in the Jedi Academy. I myself hate them. Yes, it was still worth to play the Jedi Academy, but I've come back to playing the Jedi Outcast for good.
Below there are two more gameplay movies from the Jedi Outcast, showing fights against two enemies. Please notice that I use the Force power Push to get some breathing room, but I never attack fallen enemies because I myself never get knocked down.
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