Jewel Case Release
| Genre: One-on-One Fighting |
CDs: 1 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: LucasArts |
Released: November 19, 1997 |
| Developer: LucasArts |
UPC: 0 23272 31335 7 |
| Sony ID: SLUS-00562 |
PSRM: 008880 |
| Players: 1 to 2 Players |
Memory: 1 Block |
| Accessories: None |
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| ESRB: Teen – Animated Violence |
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| Box Copy:
INTENSE 3D FIGHTING IN THAT GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY
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Variants
- There are no known variants.
Misprints
- There are no known misprints.
Review
There’s a disturbance in the Force, and it’s the legacy of one of PlayStation’s most infamous games – Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi. Released in the early days of LucasArts’ PlayStation adventures, the game has spent the last 30 years being either loathed, fondly remembered, or just being mocked by other YouTubers.
While working on it for Project Up1, curiosity got the best of me, and I decided it was high time to figure out what was going on with the fighting game with lightsabers. Released during the 1997 Christmas holiday season, the storyline places our combatants between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
The Emperor, tired of the Rebels’ antics, brings in the mysterious woman named Arden Lyn, a student of the ancient and almost forgotten fighting style known as Teras Kasi. Under Darth Vader’s command, her sole purpose is to hunt down and assassinate specific members of the Rebel Alliance and remove further interventions to the Empire’s dominance.
Like always, the Rebels discover this dastardly plot point and begin preparations for the Empire and Arden Lyn’s arrival. And that’s the entire plot. Now, there are obvious holes to worry about here, like why, once Arden Lyn is defeated in the game, would you need to play any further, or why are the Rebels fighting against each other after the fact?
Paying that no mind, the game’s existence is draped in the classic LucasArts subtle humor they were known for at the time the game was released. The playful on-screen text for unlocking events, the way they bring famous movie moments to scale with the stages, and even Yoda with his boxing gloves on in the Memory Card screen. It’s wonderfully cheeky and helps add to the slightly higher suspension of disbelief one needs for the material at hand.
The main roster is divided evenly between 4 Rebels and 4 Empirial soldiers. On the lighter side of things, we have Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. The darker side of the force features Arden Lyn, Hoar the Sandperson, Hork the Guard, and Boba Fett. Darth Vader acts as the final boss. There are also hidden characters and alternate skins available via unlockable means.
Stages unfold similarly to those in other 3D fighting games, such as Tekken and Dead or Alive. They’re small, square-shaped arenas with ring outs based on the various movie locations. Snowspeeders fly around the Hoth Stage. AT-ATs march around the Endor platform, Boba Fett’s Slave 1 is on the landing pad of Bespin. They even have R2-D2 running around the swamp while Luke’s X-Wing sits in the swamp on Dagobah. You can even stop by Han’s favorite vacation spot in the carbon freezing chamber.
Speaking of humor, Teras Kasi, as a name, is a nod to the Tekken series. Teras Kasi is derived from Finnish and stands for “Steel Hand,” which is literally handy, as that’s what Arden Lyn’s weapon is. It’s a cheeky spin on Tekken, meaning ‘Iron Fist”. At least here in the Star Wars universe, no one is throwing anyone off a cliff. But there are still clearly daddy issues.
The heart of the game lies in its fighting, and it’s here where people’s alignment on the game’s credibility is divided. Teras Kasi is NOT an easy game to drop into control-wise, but we need to take a step back and ask ourselves why. Having completely rewritten LucasArts’ own move list has opened my eyes to how they were approaching the genre, but more importantly, why there is so much hatred towards it. It comes down to equal parts technical issues and, more importantly, the Q-Tip problem.
Let’s start with the latter. If you don’t know the Q-Tip problem, it’s gone by other names, but I prefer this one the best. When I hold this up, was your first reaction, “Oh yeah, that’s a Q-Tip.” The problem is it’s not a Q-Tip, that’s the Brand name. It’s a cotton swab. Humans have this funny tick where we call items by our preferred brand name, rather than their product name. The quiet part said out loud is that this mental hurdle can project the brand name’s features onto the opposing object.
How many times have you not liked a fighting game because it didn’t play like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat? That brand-name projection causes someone to walk into a genre – the fighting game – believing it’s going to be just like their preferred brand name – Street Fighter. When it doesn’t meet those expectations, the game being played is already on the defensive to validate itself. Therein presents the first challenge of Teras Kasi – having to relearn the genre.
If we drill down into the mechanics, the issue becomes much clearer. Street Fighter is known for its incredibly open-ended combo system. You can cancel a move into a second one, creating a seamless multi-hit attack. Mortal Kombat is famous for its ability to chain its attacks together. The first move’s action has enough animation time to tee up the second attack and still have it as a single string of movements.
While it seems that cancelling moves isn’t an option here, there are small windows where you can chain moves. The catch is that trying to connect them comes down to luck and nothing else. The bigger issue at hand is the Force Super Bar at the bottom of the screen.
The Force Bar acts like a Super Meter, adding extra damage count to character moves. These upgraded hits require an extra button press within a move, as well as anywhere from 1 to 4 levels of the Force Super Bar.
That gameplay angle is where we now jump to the technical aspects of the whole package, and it’s where LucasArts lost its way. Fighting games rely on two things: simplicity and control. The easier it is to remember a character’s moves and the easier at which those moves are performed will make or break a game. Sadly, due to the admitted inexperience they had at the development phase, these two concepts were not fine-tuned enough to make the learning aspect easy. I’ll just say it – there are far too many moves in this game, and even the CPU doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing.
6 of the 8 characters have an unarmed moves list, plus another 25% more moves tossed on once their weapons are equipped. Both of these lists have Force-capable moves, but these moves can turn off non-equipped moves. Attach that to the 10-button combo branches, and the human brain just shuts down. As a prime example, Boba Fett has moves that can be compared to M.Bison, Scorpion, Ryu, and Sektor. Just from that description, I can feel your face contort.
As I described in the Skydiving Extreme video, your brain doesn’t respond to something with a button command – it responds with the word associated with it. This then activates the muscle memory in your hands to perform the sequence. This muscle memory isn’t possible with the number of moves, and can lead to a lot of frustration with the game. This is compounded by many characters not having consistent move patterns. There is no such thing as charge or quarter-circle characters in Teras Kasi, just overburdened characters. I rewrote the guide, confirmed every move with every character through practice and arcade mode, and I can’t even remember them.
Underlying this abundance problem are further technical issues. Trying to guess where hitboxes begin and end, as well as correct distances to dodge incoming attacks, can be frustrating.
Lightsaber-equipped characters can have an ungodly reach based on certain moves. Ending up behind an opponent will not always guarantee they’ll turn around. Leaving you in an awkward position, as some moves won’t connect here.
Further play uncovered other oddities. For some reason, if playing the character Thok, the computer-controlled opponent almost always side steps you. Under normal circumstances, this would be a defensive posture, but they continue to maintain it without following up with an attack. Being forced into facing the wrong direction becomes more aggravating than constantly being beaten to death.
The greatest technical hurdle the game faces is that there is just no priority built into any of the move sets. Anything can cancel anything else, making hand-to-hand combat clunky and broken. With this constant break in the combat flow, it stifles the ability to learn anything. This includes learning counterattacks, better offensive moves, and weaknesses to exploit.
When it comes to playing Masters of Teras Kasi, it’s best to play against another human. When the technical issues are combined with a CPU trying to do everything it can to win, it reduces the single-player experience to just playing defense in the hopes of getting a move or combo in. At least in multiplayer, it’s two people who can’t remember the moves and just want to see cool things on screen.
There are fun moments to be had. Hidden characters are found through various modes and include fan favorites Mara Jade, Stormtrooper, Scout Trooper, Darth Vader, Jodo Kast, and Princess Leia in her Slave outfit. Plenty of modes and scoreboards provide content and bragging rights for those willing to listen. The music is wonderful, and there are the usual little LucasArts touches to appreciate.
As a fighting game to review, Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. All it would take is a few fan patch tweaks to correct the hit boxes and move-cancelling issues, and it could be a whole new game. If you watch the demonstration fights, it’s clear LucasArts intended the gameplay to be more cat-and-mouse than the typical offensive/defensive approach. Despite all the calamities, there is just enough to appreciate it and poke around under the hood.
If there were any more wrong with the game, it would have likely been a 4 out of 10, upsetting. But there is still good in it, and it shines through just enough to keep your curiosity appeased. It’s an average 5 out of 10 on the review scale. It’s by no means a Tekken or Soul Blade, but it’s nowhere near a Criticom.
The Good
- Branch combos are fun if you can remember them.
- Decent variety of characters and hidden unlockables.
- Good old Star Wars music.
The Bad
- Way too many moves to remember.
- Input commands require perfection.
- CPU doesn’t know what it’s doing either.
Final Score: 5/10 Average
Teras Kasi is never going to appear on the Top 100 Fighting Games Of All Time lists. With a little curiosity and a 2nd player, it can be an enjoyable evening of fandom.
Screenshots
Videos
Video Review
Trivia
- The new female lead, Arden Lyn, who practices the Teras Kasi art style, was created exclusively for the PlayStation game. With very little of her story being set in stone (even the guidebook is vague), she was eventually adopted into the original Star Wars expanded universe along with the Art Style.
- Besides Arden, the other exclusively created character for the game is Hoar, the Tusken Raider who is more or less trapped in the game’s universe, never to be expanded upon.
- The game’s Character Select screen mimics the chessboard found aboard the Millennium Falcon.
- Obviously, all game endings are non-canonical to any of the universes in the original Star Wars legacy.
- Mara Jade, the final hidden character, acts as the final boss if Darth Vader is the chosen playable character.
- If you choose ‘Slave Leia’, her onscreen name is Princess Leia!, with the exclamation point.
- Takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
- Several stages directly reference moments from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Luke’s X-Wing is still in the Dagobah swamp. Boba Fett’s Slave 1 ship is parked on the Bespin landing pad. Even the Rancor Monster is rattling his cage inside his cave.
- Han Solo has a Branch combo that transitions him from unarmed to armed status.
- Boba Fett’s grapple cord animation causes the opponent to reel backwards in pain. If they’re close enough to the ledge, they’ll fall off before being pulled forward.
- Bad Game Hall of Fame has a great article about the development struggles, which can be read here.
- Hoar’s name is pronounced how you think it is. And yes, it was the butt of many jokes.
- Arden Lyn and Thok are locked in Weapon Equipped mode. They do not have unarmed move sets.
- Possibly an in-joke, Han Solo, who spent most of the series not believing in the Force, has a hilariously large amount of Force-enhanced moves.
- Chewbacca’s height has a hilarious side effect on the fighting. Almost every high-to-mid hit lands directly on his crotch.
- It’s possible to land on the bridge that connects the landing pads to the stage via the ring-out.
- Opponents can be literally thrown out of the ring if you perform your throw command on them while close to the edge.
Secrets
Masters of Teras Kasi has all your character reference needs.
Unlock Characters
- Alternate Uniforms or Characters
Hold L1 to change the character’s outfit (example: Luke’s Empire vs. Retrun of the Jedi outfit) or character (example: Stormtrooper). - Play as Slave Leia
Set the difficulty level to Jedi. Set the ‘Player Change at Continue’ option to No. Pick Princess Leia and complete the game in arcade mode. Once confirmed by the game, she will be off-screen at the character select. Press past Leia or Han to find her. - Play as Stormtrooper
Set the difficulty level to Standard. Set the ‘Player Change at Continue’ option to No. Pick Han Solo and finish the game in arcade mode. The game will confirm. To play as Stormtrooper, scroll off-screen past Han or Leia. - Play As the Forest Biker Scout
Unlock Stormtrooper, and then hold L1 before choosing them. The portrait will change to confirm. - Play as Darth Vader
Set the difficulty level to Standard. Set the ‘Player Change at Continue’ option to No. Pick Luke Skywalker and finish the game in arcade mode. The game will confirm. To play as Vader, scroll off-screen past Han or Leia. - Play as Jodo Kast
Set the ‘Player Change at Continue’ option to No. Play Survival mode and beat at least 7 characters to unlock Jodo Kast. To select them, move the cursor off-screen from Han or Leia. - Play as Mara Jade
Be sure you’re on Player One’s side (the left controller). Set the ‘Player Change at Continue’ option to No, and the Difficulty is set to Jedi. At the mode select, press and hold L1 + L2 + R1, and while holding, choose Team battle. If done correctly, once at the character select screen, the PlayStation will auto-assign Rebels to the left side and Empire characters to the right side. Defeat the entire 4-player team on Player 2’s side to unlock Mara Jade. To select them, move the cursor off-screen from Han or Leia.
Misc Codes and Unlocks
- Manipulate the Credit Sequence
When the End Credits begin to scroll by, hold Up or Down to speed them up in either direction. - Remove Health and Force Bars
While the match loads, hold L1 + R2 + Select - Vs. Screen Level Select
Set ‘Character Change at Continue’ to ‘No’, and difficulty to Standard. Beat arcade mode with Chewbacca, and the game will confirm it’s unlocked. A text prompt will now appear on the Vs. character select screen. - Large Head Mode
Hold Select while picking your character and keep holding till the round starts. - Large Head, Bigger Hands, and Feet
Hold Down + Select, and then press and hold Cross on your desired character. Hold till the round starts. - Large Head, Bigger Hands, Bigger Feet, Slightly Smaller Body
Hold Up + Select and then press and hold Cross on your chosen character until the round starts. - Tiny Players (Vs. Mode Only)
Hold Select + R2 + Down and then press and hold Cross on your selected character till the round starts. It’s essentially the previous code, but scaled way down. - Thok’s Mega Large Head (Vs. Mode Only)
Here’s a fun one. In Versus mode, highlight Thok, and then enter the Tiny Player sequence (Hold Select + R2 + Down and then press and hold Cross on your selected character till the round starts). He’ll be tiny, but his head will still be of normal size. Play until you have the yellow power bar (2nd level) and quickly press Down, Down, Down, Triangle. Thok will now regain his normal body size, but his head will be ginormous. It’s amusing to see.
Move Guide
A comprehensive guide featuring every move and Branch combo for the game was assembled by yours truly. It’s large enough to need its own page, which can be found here.
