20 years ago, 'Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith' hit theaters... but 2 weeks earlier, the tie-in game had already spoiled the ending

The year is 2005. I'm eagerly awaiting Revenge of the Sith, the Star Wars chapter that completes Anakin Skywalker's journey. I don't know that Episode VII will happen ten years later, so for me, this could be the final Star Wars movie I'll get to see in theaters. There's a twist, though; the tie-in video game adaptation arrives roughly two weeks before Episode III hits theaters, and it ruins the whole plot.

What went wrong? Nothing, actually, as George Lucas didn't care about spoilers getting out well in advance of Episode III. The filmmaker thought the long-awaited theatrical experience had special value regardless, and he wasn't wrong. In fact, the excellent official novelization arrived seven weeks before the film's release, too, and yet I remember most casual viewers being shocked by some of the revelations that weren't pre-spoiled by the events of the original Star Wars trilogy.

But if, like me, you were looking to get the 'full' experience at the cinema, you had to stay away from most tie-in products, including Lego Star Wars sets that revealed entire set pieces. Toy stores were the first place to avoid. I myself didn't care, so you can bet I was first in line on May 5 to grab my PS2 copy of Revenge of the Sith, a fascinating Star Wars game I'd still heartily recommend in 2025.

With Revenge of the Sith back in theaters to celebrate its 20th anniversary, we thought it would be a great time to look back on this strange and fascinating tie-in game.

This is where the fun begins

Of course, the main hook of these flick-to-game adaptations back in the day was getting to experience the main events of the films, but the on-screen adventures had to be padded out a bit, so they always had extra characters, locations, and action sequences to stand on their own. For a little gamer who was already obsessed with Star Wars, it just felt great to have two (or more) versions of the same story to enjoy.

Whereas The Phantom Menace went all-out with several spinoff games and two distinct tie-in adaptations (of which Jedi Power Battles remains my absolute favorite), Attack of the Clones didn't get one 'big' video game reconstruction. There was a Game Boy Advance effort, yes, but we'd all like to forget about that. Revenge of the Sith, on the other hand, received a release for the big consoles (PS2 and Xbox) as well as pretty decent GBA/DS alternatives.

Revenge of the Sith was a loaded package too: On top of 17 story levels with over 10 minutes of footage from the film and co-op missions, there was a multiplayer duel mode that remains a fan-favorite. The impressive graphical presentation (the characters really looked like the actors for once) also signaled that a lot of care had gone into this familiar tie-in. LucasArts gets brought up time and again as the publisher, but it was The Collective (Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb) that delivered a notable tie-in game in time for the Skywalker Saga's first conclusion.

Anakin's dark deeds

The most fascinating thing about Revenge of the Sith is how it spoiled the film's events, but not really. You could play through the whole thing and see major plot beats, sure, but the game's focus on Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi meant big chunks of the film were left out. More interestingly, character deaths and other big scenes played out differently, even if the final destination was the same. We were already familiar with this approach after EA's excellent Lord of the Rings tie-ins, but Revenge of the Sith was markedly stranger.

Dooku's death? No decapitation. What about Mace Windu? Killed by Anakin after a big duel and without a big "unlimited power" moment from Palpatine. Right after, Order 66 kicks off with Anakin (now Darth Vader) murdering Jocasta Nu (the mean Jedi library lady) in cold blood.

Related: Star Wars movies in order: Chronological and release

The conversion from movie to video game – plus the padding and surprises that come with that transformation – led to some pretty fun scenes that didn't tarnish the eventual finale. And of course, it also had plenty of game-exclusive clone and droid designs that kept the Jedi Knights on their toes. Clone assassins? Sure, why not?

It all culminates with the duel on Mustafar, which can be played as either Obi-Wan (canon) or Anakin. The sequence plays out roughly the same regardless of who you choose, but an interesting what-if scenario opens up with the ending in-game cutscene: What if Anakin killed Obi-Wan on the volcanic planet... and then proceeded to murder the Emperor as well after feeling too miserable? It's an equal parts silly and raw ending, but it made me a bit sad it didn't go anywhere with bonus levels, unlike the wild DLCs for The Force Unleashed.

A fine addition to any fan's collection

Whether you played this hidden gem on PS2/Xbox or later via PS3's digital 'classics' offerings, you might be wondering about the chances of a remaster or straight port to modern consoles happening. At the time of writing, we haven't heard anything about such a project. That said, it's the sort of surprise I wouldn't rule out, especially with Aspyr now paying attention to more overlooked Star Wars games like Bounty Hunter and Jedi Power Battles. What about giving fans another gift for the 20th anniversary of the film, ey?

Before you scream "NOOOO!" in disappointment, there's still a way to get your fix of Revenge of the Sith legally… if you're on Xbox. The backwards-compatible original Xbox version is available to buy on the digital store. The emulation isn't perfect, but backwards compatibility saves the day once again. PlayStation users aren't as lucky; while other PS2-era classics made the jump to the PS4 store before Aspyr went on a remastering rampage, Revenge of the Sith was left behind. You'll have to embrace your inner General Grievous and find a second-hand boxed copy to add to your collection.

Looking at the game's middling scores on Metacritic, you may think this is all nostalgic talk, but Star Wars or not, mediocre and even deeply flawed games are often just as interesting to play as the critical darlings.

In the case of Revenge of the Sith, maybe nostalgia is clouding my feelings and the force, but even beyond my memories of the plot-spoiling cutscenes and diverging story shenanigans, it's also a perfectly fine action-adventure game with solid beat 'em up mechanics. Hell, it has one of the better lightsaber combat systems in the franchise's gaming history. As far as breezy Jedi (and Sith) power fantasies go, this one is strong with the Force, and you should absolutely check it out.