The Force Unleashed Delivered a Truly Devastating Side-story

Regardless of its canonization issues, Star Wars The Force Unleashed (2008) is an interesting game that’s mostly stuck around in our minds because it was hella fun. Who doesn’t love Force lifting a stormtrooper, impaling him with our lightsaber, electrocuting him, then tossing him off a towering stricture? No one. While the game’s not the best, the story brings us to some interesting places. If you haven’t played, spoilers, or whatever.

You play as “Star Killer,” an insanely powerful Force user kidnapped by Darth Vader as a lad. He sends you on missions to hunt down members of the near-extinct Jedi Order who escaped the Emperor’s Order 66 Purge. If you are a fan of the Prequel Trilogy, or even just grew around the time they were released, you probably identify the characters and figures that are mentioned in the game, as they relate directly to the Prequels (regardless of their obscurity). The Jedi Master Shaak Ti for instance - players battle it out with her in a fairly emotional catharsis. However nothing beats an absurdly depressing encounter with an even more obscure Jedi Master, Kazdan Paratus.

Who is he? For those who care, he is an elderly Jedi, and former member of the Jedi Council. Star Killer’s mission to take down Paratus leads him to the junkyard planet Raxus Prime. Now, why exactly is this encounter so sad? Because Kazdan Paratus suffers from some serious post traumatic stress. After losing his entire order, his friends, his home, and his very way of life Master Paratus tragically lost his mind. As players steer Star Killer through the mess that is the game area of Raxus Prime, we clearly notice that Paratus has kept his troubled mind busy in the years since the Jedi Purge.

Paratus had recreated a scaled model of the Jedi Temple out of trash. This recreation from memory was complete with mannequins of his deceased Jedi colleagues . . . damn. The little guy is a force to be reckoned with, and even Force controls mounds of trash to be the “defenders of the Temple.” Upon confronting him, he speaks to his “fellow Jedi Council members,” exclaiming that he will protect them from this intruder. The poor soul will fight you to any end of this broken planet to defend the memories of his friends, mirroring his own broken mind.

The battle is tough, and those who recall playing this game likely recall how damn powerful this small being is. The fight can get out of control, and any one of your many actions can topple the scale models of the Jedi Council members (including Yoda, Obi Wan, Mace Windu, etc.), and if that does happen, then Paratus cries out in agony and fury. Holy shit, what a heartbreaking situation. Even upon taking the defender down (spoilers), even Star Killer expresses, albeit barely, a touch of remorse, or at the very least sympathy.

Well, that’s my contribution to your day. An analysis of a fun game that includes pointing out that players have to fight an elderly veteran of the Clone Wars, suffering from what is possibly the worst case of PTSD in the history of the galaxy. You may even remember this scenario, but I hope this puts it in a new light, earning the game a bit more of your respect, since tackling this subject and tackling it well is a tough go. Even if it is in a fictitious universe, it doesn't make it any less heartbreaking.

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Ben Stembridge, Editor-in-Chief

Ben leads the reviews and news coverage for Game Chop. He also offers opinions on games and the industry, covering a wide range of genres and platforms. Ben especially enjoys discussions on game narratives, design styles, and independent titles.

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