This is INCREDIBLE. I was the studio assistant for Greg and Tim Hildebrandt during Shadows and have VERY fond memories of this program. Thank you so much for this!!
Loved the choice of being Rendar. The 1st opening scene where he flies to Hoth with Leebo really gave me the feeling of being an unknown pirate wrking for the rebels. Its an awesome game and story
You are a legend for making this sir. Shadows of the Empire was the first audiobook I ever bought as a kid in the 90s. Listened to those cassette tapes every night while falling asleep(still have them in the original cases in fact). To this day I still listen to it at least a couple of nights a month on my phone. Needless to say my nonstarwars wife hates me.
That game was my childhood. fighting IG88 and Boba, the flying, everything ... it was so awesome. Still gives me instant chills hearing the music. This is how star wars should be.
This is really good, I sort of can't believe you haven't blown up more covering so much Star Wars in depth with a good sense of humor and a passionate fan's perspective.
Yea dude I love the breakdowns from concept to production, would love to see something for Dark Empire or Thrawn Trilogy. Fuck even the Clone Wars covering the tartakovsky versions to Filoni.
@@neonkenomi320 main star wars community doesnt care about in depth analysis. They want short flashy entertainment. Basically what TRoS or the mandalorian were. I dont even know why TRoS was not liked that much, by the same people.
He's a pretty cool guy. I asked him a couple questions via Instagram and he actually showed me the page in his notebook where he came up with the SotE name
He co-wrote Rogue One script, this is what the franchise needs right now, more passionate creatives like him. The Lucasfilm of today is a pale imitation of what it used to be.
Shadows of the Empire had one of the best spinoff stories in a video game. There is tons of ideas from the books and video games that Disney could develop to expand the EU that, it is really great to see what would happen? It was a really good game and very interesting to see a side story in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi timeline.
Good news marvel comic's make new big crossover a little bit like they did in comics in timeline between A new Hope and The Empire strikes back and the new big crossover is called War Of The Bounty Hunters. I'm very interested to see what they going to do with that story Arc.
@@vernusred4757 This Nintendo 64 game is really one of the best Star Wars EU games in the history of Star Wars video games. Because you get to see a side story in between the timeline of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
@@vernusred4757 There is tons of ideas Disney can work with from the books and EU material to expand the Star Wars Universe. Well we will see what happens as they developed new projects. I think they can do a lot to develop something amazing in the future, perhaps a more well developed 4th trilogy which takes place in the future with better directors and story tellers.
With you all the way. I'm amazed at how reckless Disney botched their opportunity to continue the Star Wars saga with nonsensical plot, terrible writing and this weird idea of mirroring the originals in a bad way. This is possibly the most valuable franchise in the world, and they handed it over to incompetent uninspired people that think Star Wars is about blowing up Death Stars. I hated the prequels because of JarJar, stupid things like Anakin building C3PO and fucking Midichlorians, but at least the overall plot made sense and they told an original story. I never expected it could get even worse after that. Rogue One gives me a glimmer of hope that we might see some good Star Wars movie's yet, but overall, my interest in anything Star Wars that is not in scope of the original Episodes is practically dead.
This was an awesome time to be a Star Wars fan. We knew the prequels were coming. Also, we could identify our own by seeing anyone else brave enough to be wearing a Star Wars shirt (and they were hard to find). People don't really know what that's like now. Even admitting you were a Star Wars fan meant opening yourself up to ridicule. It's really weird how much I miss that.
I remember getting teased for reading the Essential Guide Books (the original ones) in school. I had an Empire Strikes Back T-shirt. I loved TIE-Fighter for the PC, still think it’s the best SW game to have been made. You’re 100% correct this was the best time to have been a SW fan. God do you remember when Waru was the most god awful thing ever to have been made for the franchise? I miss Waru. I’d gladly take back Waru to get rid of the ‘canon’ setting. He’s the devil I know at least.
Hmm. I don't remember Waru, but I wasn't well-versed in the expanded universe stuff at the time. Regardless, I'd take the worst to come from "Star Wars" under Lucas, to what Star Wars has become.
my head canon for shadows of the empire, the game version of the story is just the version of the story Dash Rendar tells at the cantina trying to pick up girls "I'm a war hero after all, I saved Luke Skywalker and am super important"
I was expecting a kinda rambley retrospective mostly focusing on the game, but then I got and in depth documentary about the whole dang thang with an interview with the guy who designed it seated in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon! This was awesome, Saint Milly! I honestly think this is your most impressive video to date!
Most things you covered my friend is what we are missing from Star Wars currently (besides the side projects they are doing). It’s not just nostalgia, it’s love, creativity, and paying tribute to a franchise so many love. The way they treated the characters and the story was amazing in the EU.
There was also new stuff that was never seen before. Most Star Wars stuff these days is just endless repetition of older stuff with no creativity whatsoever.
I thought so too! Not that he's incapable but its a lot of time for what could be not exactly a huge payoff. I appreciate the drive and vision to make this happen. Really cool.
I would love to see something similar to this video style for the jedi knight game series. Seeing all the history behind these old games that were a huge part of a lot of our gaming experiences is extremely cool and this video was insanely well done. Bravo.
@@saintmillion The original Jedi Knight is one of my favourite games, I'm so hyped for you to do a video about that series. It always makes my day when I see a new video of yours
It's so crazy to learn the inner-workings of something like this. As a kid or even just as an average consumer, you assume that things are the way they are for very good reason and that everything is 100% planned out... and then you learn that it's actually just a perfect storm of opportunities, talent, and luck that anything comes to fruition.
@@Bollibompa Average consumer as in the everyday person who might enjoy whatever they ‘consume’ but don’t necessarily care to find out how it was made...
Was anyone else as terrified of the sewer monsters in Shadows of the Empire as I was as a kid? I would give the controller to my dad and he would play past those parts and would then give me the controller back.
Holy crap! I'm sure to the devs it seemed harmless, but the limitations of the N64 made the murky water so terrifying. I thought about it every time I swam in a lake!
I've been a Star Wars fan since a little boy in '77 and I have to say that the best time to be a fan was in the Nineties. There was this energy. All the new products, toys, collectibles, comics, novels, the re-release of the original trilogy and the promise of new films on the horizon. And all of it made by people who clearly loved the property, some being the first generation who grew up with Star Wars like myself.(I've done some Illustrations for Lucasfilm.) Great documentary on Shadows of the Empire.
@@Rschr101 I remember when Dark Forces came out as a kid. I REALLY wanted to play it but never did. Just saw it on a friend's PC, briefly, a time or two. Same with Jedi Knight.
Thank you for this. At some point my gf caught me crying because truly this was MY Star Wars, more than the originals, prequels, or heck even the Special Editions that came out around the same time. I have such fond memories playing the game, reading the book, playing with the toys... Even though I was a pretty lonely kid growing up, this doc made me realize how special this project was to me and I'm so grateful.
@@scorpionwins6378I think that was the intended method, given the amount of weapons and health hidden within the crates in every corner of the room, but it is so much easier to just stay behind it and look up 😂
I watched this with my mom, she bought me a N64 when i was like 8 and we played this and many other games together, a lot of good information to go with the great memories, thank you.
Somehow found this in recommendations and I’m glad I did. Shadows of the Empire is one of my all time favorite Star Wars games ever. It was very interesting to see the making of the game and watch that interview with that developer. Great stuff!
You wanna know how I know this video is amazing? I showed it to my mom, who loves Star Wars but knows next to nothing of the expanded lore or anything about videogames, and she loved every second of this presentation. Excellent work, man.
Yes, it seems INSANE that this story, one that George Lucas actually liked (and felt would have made a good movie), was thrown in to the heap that is, LEGENDS. I have a strong, sneaking suspicion that Favreau and Filoni will be (continually) mining (and even re-canonizing) this novel, and the multimedia project, for The Mandalorian, The Filoni-verse, and anything else that's on the horizon. Dash Rendar needs to be seen in both Live Action and Animation. Prince Xizor needs to play a bigger role in the universe, as well...maybe even making an appearance in the Kenobi miniseries, and The Mandaloarian.
@@THEODSTKING117 I think, at best, it will become a period that will officially (unofficially) be marginalized and ignored for the most part, within the major canon timeline. It will be seen as the trilogy that shall not be spoken of.
One of the best games made, i still remember it vividly. The 1st level, the snow and flying around using the tow cable. The on foot fighting the AT AT, then chasing Bobo fett. So many memories. Getting chased by the Yetti thing too. Omg the soundtrack to this game is beautiful
Having never read them and being 20+ years old collecting dust on my bookshelf, I was just about to get rid of my Thrawn Trilogy and Shadows of the Empire hard cover books until seeing this. You've inspired me to read them all now! I even still have the action figures with the comic books and the soundtrack on CD. I never realized what I big deal this all was back then.
Played the game many times, read/own the novel and comics, have the soundtrack on CD and digitally, and have some of the action figures. This was a project I went all in on when at its peak. Good times!
I'm blown away. I really appreciate you taking the time to dig into this lore and explain the full story -- including an interview with a developer!! This game was a huge part of my childhood as I discovered Star Wars and I've always wanted to know more about its production. Thanks again for the trip down memory lane and all the hard work you put into this!
As someone who grew up playing this on the N64, thank you for making this video. This game holds a special place in my heart. The way you created the unique menu with Wampa Stompa as the name is well done! Brought back a lot of memories.
Phenomenal video, Saint. Information heavy while remaining easily digestible and entertaining. I knew nothing going in and this was so all encompassing I feel as if I read the comics and played the game myself. You are the damn Ken Burns of Star Wars lore.
This is an incredible video, I saw some old Lucas arts staff sharing this. You should be very proud! I would love to see a similar video for The Force Unleashed
great video, thanks for taking me back, i played the game and read the book and enjoyed them both back in the 90s, but it was so long ago i mostly forgot it, the music is still awesome
He advertised to do narration for new star wars toys vehicles and playsets in the 90s yes. But he wasn't in any new film at all. You see all the prequel stuff George Lucas put in after the originals were all things that was being done individually as doing it to edit the canon timeline. So say for ex. Shadows of the Empire is an edited story installment between both Empire and Jedi. In between both of the originals. The prequels were edited story installments to expand the canon universe of the storyline; the sequels were broke after the books were released. Everything that has *NOT* been edited is everything George started from way in the beginning of the originals. Prequels, side stories, sequels, spin-offs, origins, chronicles, games, Wikipedia about other topics, yada yada yada ect. The edited stuff is all the above of what I had stated. The things that are not edited are the original films themselves alongside the vintage toy branding and merchandising for the original stories itself. The sequels are later installments which are edited to expand, the prequels are earlier mid installments to expand what happened in the past before the originals, and the side stories and origins or chronicles to fill in the missing gaps that were missing that brought confusion among the database of the fans itself. Then you all know the rest.
I still sometimes play the theme of beggars canyon and try to visualize how that scene would have played in an actual movie, always pumps me up how immersive the soundtrack feels.
I would never expected a documentary of this videogame, but I'm glad I found it. Thank you so much for this. I'm very grateful to have a catridge of this game and my N64 in my room.
I appreciate how much effort you put into your video essays. Your editing, comedic and informative commentary, and content overall are my favorite. Keep up your great work!
Actually in the story Xizor didn't find out that Luke was Vader's son, he learned that Luke was Anakin's son, remember that the emperor and Vader were keeping Vader's true identity a secret from the rest of the galaxy
No, Xizor knew (presumably through his spies) that "Skywalker" was Vader's former name so he puts two and two together and knows from pretty much the very beginning Luke is Vader's son..
It's kinda weird when you remember that Coruscant is inhabited by like a trillion people so Yoda ended up killiing maybe billions JUST to kill the emperor. Still pretty great.
@@probablyyourgreatestally8992 The infinity comics are weird and sometimes tonally off-kilter, but luckily, they're What If's and therefore for all their faults are at their worst interesting to read.
Tell this man he is forever a part of my most favorite childhood memories ever. He should never doubt how epic and impactful all of his work was to many of us.
Loved reading the books back when I was in my mid-teens. Timothy Zahn was a creative genius! This should definitely be a movie spinoff. Even animated if they go with that option. Heck, even a reboot of the game with original dialogue would be very awesome!
Great interview dude. My first memory of this game is when my parents were out of town as a kid and my older brother had a house party. He kept me quiet by putting me in my room with a tv, n64, and this game and it was the best night ever lol.
I remember having my first PC and finally being able to play all these Star Trek and Star Wars PC games I had heard about after being "stuck" with the PSone. I think this was my first Star Wars game and I was so hooked on Hoth and played that first level probably more than the rest of the game. Later got caught up with the Jedi Knight games and KOTOR, which was just coming out, but by then my PC was old and couldn't handle KOTOR properly without crashing constantly, or lagging.
Shadows of the Empire is one of the finest pieces of Star Wars lore. The book was absolutely brilliant. The game was jaw-dropping for me as a kid. Dash Rendar to this day is one of my favorite characters in all of Star Wars. Thank you for making this awesome tribute to Shadows.
dang, i was born in 91, so to me it felt like star wars was always there. I can't imagine how excited it must have been to hear the original trilogy coming back to theaters via "special edition" (whatever that meant at the time), a whole different chapter that expanded upon books, toys, comics and a game for the next console generation that took place between empire and jedi, AND a whole new prequel saga being planned which was a whole lot of hype in and of itself. must have been a good time to be an older star wars fan back then.
Top notch Doc, Saintmillion! I love how you presented the plot points at 9:05 - I think this should be a standard for teaching film/screen writing as it was much easier to see how a story is crafted in the industry. Also, the title card motion graphics for each chapter with the Shadow of the empire menu screen replaced with a topic was brilliant and kept the information organized and on brand! You made a fan out of me from this doc! I'm looking forward to watching your other content! Thank you for making this!
What an in-depth look at one of Star Wars' most interesting projects. A lot of time and love went into making this. McNeely is one of the best non-John Williams Star Wars composers. Shadows' OST is such an awesome and masterful demonstration of retaining that Star Wars feel (without feeling like ripping off Williams) and also expanding on that sound by adding a personal touch. And the fact McNeely wrote it in 2 weeks?! Genius. Disney not asking Mcneely to come back to score Star Wars projects is a crime. "Battle of Gall" is a track I go back to time and time again.
Loved this. I have very fond memories of the reading the comics as a kid and catching a glimpse of the video game at an amusement park. I remember being absolutely wowed by the game and I remember it being that end level space battle. I also own the bounty hunter Chewie toy. Great stuff!
You're honestly one of the most underrated youtubers. Also I'm trying to break into Concept Art and I've followed Doug Chiang's work for quite a bit bit damn I didn't know he designed my favorite Star Wars star-fighter so thanks for dropping that knowledge on me.
I love this soundtrack, and I am absolutely mind blown that McNeely wrote it in only two weeks. This is an incredible achievement as a composer. Do you know if he both composed and orchestrated in two weeks? If he did, I'll be both mindblowned and floored haha
yo someone remembers this game other than me! i swear i loved this game so much when played a n64 before getting my xbox original. it felt so grand and the combat was very good. I wish we got more starwars games with this kind of vision
Shadows of the Empire took me to another place as a kid.. it was more than just a game.. I felt like it was real. Amazing experience and memories with my best friend playing this growing up.
This was really, really, really good! Back then I managed to read, listen, read and play everything Shadows of the Empire related, so it's awesome to see it all again, in this new light.
Amazing content! I would LOVE a documentary on the making of Episode 1 Racer. That game always fascinated me and I’ve always wanted to know what their development process was.
thank you for posting this one of my favorite games of all time and what got me into star wars and i think it might be the first game i ever played been looking for a video like this but could never find it!
Dash was actually in all of the media.. the book, comic, trading card and the game. They have even written him into other EU his own book where he teams up with Solo. And one where he teams up with Curi after ROTJ
There is something I feel like only me ever noticed about dash rendar, he just really looks like Michael Biehn, same hair, same badly shaved beard, on the artworks, you can see he's basically got the same lips and jaw.
I always thought it depended on the artwork you were looking at, but I can see Biehn in this! Personally I always thought it was more Dennis Quaid, but all these actors had that same basic Dash Rendar look at one time or another.
Man, this was really, really enjoyable to watch. I loved Shadows of the Empire on Nintendo 64, and short of seeing the Outrider pop up here and there over the years, I had no idea of the other versions and parts of this story. Well done!
I was absolutely obsessed with this game on the N64 back in the day. Remember writing my own adaptation for the game at the age of 11 when I was at school back in 1998. Would love to see a remake of this game! No matter how old this game gets, it will always hold a special place in my childhood. God nostalgia is a powerful drug!
It's such a missed opportunity that Disney didn't do this with the High Republic. The first novel was so well received but imagine how successful it would've been if they'd released it alongside Jedi: Survivor with its own soundtrack and line of merch!
nostalgia overload...N64 and this game. Oh man..The rugged, heavy atmosphere when playing this as a kid was very special. It always felt like playing a movie. The OST was badass too.
Hey man! Congrats on this amazing documentary! It was super insightful and really detailed, the interview with Jon Knoles was great! I hope you can make one about Rogue Squadron (witch is my favorite game) I just recently purchase a cartridge of SOTE and am really enjoying it, once again, great work and research! Cheers from Argentina.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
This is INCREDIBLE. I was the studio assistant for Greg and Tim Hildebrandt during Shadows and have VERY fond memories of this program. Thank you so much for this!!
❤
Loved the choice of being Rendar. The 1st opening scene where he flies to Hoth with Leebo really gave me the feeling of being an unknown pirate wrking for the rebels. Its an awesome game and story
You are a legend for making this sir. Shadows of the Empire was the first audiobook I ever bought as a kid in the 90s. Listened to those cassette tapes every night while falling asleep(still have them in the original cases in fact). To this day I still listen to it at least a couple of nights a month on my phone. Needless to say my nonstarwars wife hates me.
Do you also have a Star Wars wife?
Joseph si diesvyounwife thrstenntondvorce you over star wars that would be dum thingntondivorce over
That game was my childhood. fighting IG88 and Boba, the flying, everything ... it was so awesome. Still gives me instant chills hearing the music. This is how star wars should be.
This is really good, I sort of can't believe you haven't blown up more covering so much Star Wars in depth with a good sense of humor and a passionate fan's perspective.
Yea dude I love the breakdowns from concept to production, would love to see something for Dark Empire or Thrawn Trilogy. Fuck even the Clone Wars covering the tartakovsky versions to Filoni.
Well, he only posts like twice a year, so..
and bird person perspective
Try getting this around to the big Star Wars community channels like Star Wars Explained and such.
@@neonkenomi320 main star wars community doesnt care about in depth analysis. They want short flashy entertainment.
Basically what TRoS or the mandalorian were. I dont even know why TRoS was not liked that much, by the same people.
This is an absolute masterpiece,
I love when explaining the story you went from documentary esque narration to making jokes and memes , genius
That interview with Jon Knoles was really cool.
He's a pretty cool guy. I asked him a couple questions via Instagram and he actually showed me the page in his notebook where he came up with the SotE name
He co-wrote Rogue One script, this is what the franchise needs right now, more passionate creatives like him. The Lucasfilm of today is a pale imitation of what it used to be.
@@RaikenXion that wasn't him, you are talking about John KNOLL
@@NilsnLewinski oh yeh it is
@@NilsnLewinski John Lol
Shadows of the Empire had one of the best spinoff stories in a video game. There is tons of ideas from the books and video games that Disney could develop to expand the EU that, it is really great to see what would happen? It was a really good game and very interesting to see a side story in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi timeline.
Good news marvel comic's make new big crossover a little bit like they did in comics in timeline between A new Hope and The Empire strikes back and the new big crossover is called War Of The Bounty Hunters. I'm very interested to see what they going to do with that story Arc.
@@vernusred4757 This Nintendo 64 game is really one of the best Star Wars EU games in the history of Star Wars video games. Because you get to see a side story in between the timeline of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
@@vernusred4757 There is tons of ideas Disney can work with from the books and EU material to expand the Star Wars Universe. Well we will see what happens as they developed new projects. I think they can do a lot to develop something amazing in the future, perhaps a more well developed 4th trilogy which takes place in the future with better directors and story tellers.
Watching this superb video kind of breaks my heart, remembering when Star wars was made by people who knew their stuff and loved it.
Indeed.
With you all the way. I'm amazed at how reckless Disney botched their opportunity to continue the Star Wars saga with nonsensical plot, terrible writing and this weird idea of mirroring the originals in a bad way. This is possibly the most valuable franchise in the world, and they handed it over to incompetent uninspired people that think Star Wars is about blowing up Death Stars.
I hated the prequels because of JarJar, stupid things like Anakin building C3PO and fucking Midichlorians, but at least the overall plot made sense and they told an original story. I never expected it could get even worse after that.
Rogue One gives me a glimmer of hope that we might see some good Star Wars movie's yet, but overall, my interest in anything Star Wars that is not in scope of the original Episodes is practically dead.
Wow you are so right!
I was 21 when this was happening. It really was a exciting time. I'd give near anything to go back to that time.
GL sure crafted such a wonderful epic. Even though the people can screw things around there are still gems out there.
This was an awesome time to be a Star Wars fan. We knew the prequels were coming. Also, we could identify our own by seeing anyone else brave enough to be wearing a Star Wars shirt (and they were hard to find). People don't really know what that's like now. Even admitting you were a Star Wars fan meant opening yourself up to ridicule. It's really weird how much I miss that.
Here nobody really knew it..
I remember getting teased for reading the Essential Guide Books (the original ones) in school. I had an Empire Strikes Back T-shirt. I loved TIE-Fighter for the PC, still think it’s the best SW game to have been made. You’re 100% correct this was the best time to have been a SW fan. God do you remember when Waru was the most god awful thing ever to have been made for the franchise? I miss Waru. I’d gladly take back Waru to get rid of the ‘canon’ setting. He’s the devil I know at least.
Hmm. I don't remember Waru, but I wasn't well-versed in the expanded universe stuff at the time. Regardless, I'd take the worst to come from "Star Wars" under Lucas, to what Star Wars has become.
Don't worry, admitting to be a SW fan nowadays is bound to get you ridiculed just as much, though probably for different reasons.
I miss it too
my head canon for shadows of the empire, the game version of the story is just the version of the story Dash Rendar tells at the cantina trying to pick up girls "I'm a war hero after all, I saved Luke Skywalker and am super important"
Lol that makes sense tho
Dash Rander: Discount Han Solo
@@gbonkers666
Fans: "We want Han Solo"
Moms: "We have Han Solo at home"
Han Solo at home: Dash Rendar
By the Force I thought the exact same thing!
That is honestly how I saw it too. Makes me sort of wish for more multimedia things to try that angle.
The best thing about the internet is people making documentaries like this. This is fantastic.
I've recently started going back into the EU and loved Shadows of the Empire. This was a great video. Fun and informative.
"Hello, what have we here?" - Lando discovering this gem of a video
I was expecting a kinda rambley retrospective mostly focusing on the game, but then I got and in depth documentary about the whole dang thang with an interview with the guy who designed it seated in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon! This was awesome, Saint Milly! I honestly think this is your most impressive video to date!
He was in dashes ship not the falcons
Most things you covered my friend is what we are missing from Star Wars currently (besides the side projects they are doing). It’s not just nostalgia, it’s love, creativity, and paying tribute to a franchise so many love. The way they treated the characters and the story was amazing in the EU.
There was also new stuff that was never seen before. Most Star Wars stuff these days is just endless repetition of older stuff with no creativity whatsoever.
Christ, you're telling me YOU actually made this behemoth? I thought you had just reuploaded a preexisting documentary...
Lol
I thought so too! Not that he's incapable but its a lot of time for what could be not exactly a huge payoff. I appreciate the drive and vision to make this happen. Really cool.
Bros a legend
* laughs in Nick930 *
This was one of my favorite games on N64. I absolutely loved it. It really setup my love for the extended novels and stories in general.
I would love to see something similar to this video style for the jedi knight game series. Seeing all the history behind these old games that were a huge part of a lot of our gaming experiences is extremely cool and this video was insanely well done. Bravo.
Stay tuned
@@saintmillion The original Jedi Knight is one of my favourite games, I'm so hyped for you to do a video about that series. It always makes my day when I see a new video of yours
It's so crazy to learn the inner-workings of something like this. As a kid or even just as an average consumer, you assume that things are the way they are for very good reason and that everything is 100% planned out... and then you learn that it's actually just a perfect storm of opportunities, talent, and luck that anything comes to fruition.
Sounds like you're talking about stupid people. I'm not certain what an "average consumer" is but are you sure they have such a simplistic worldview?
@@Bollibompa Average consumer as in the everyday person who might enjoy whatever they ‘consume’ but don’t necessarily care to find out how it was made...
Was anyone else as terrified of the sewer monsters in Shadows of the Empire as I was as a kid?
I would give the controller to my dad and he would play past those parts and would then give me the controller back.
Same that sewer level was fucking horrifying
hah. not me, but the sewer monsters in Dark Forces scared the crap out of my brother...
Same! IG-88 and the Gladiator droid always scared me too.
Holy crap! I'm sure to the devs it seemed harmless, but the limitations of the N64 made the murky water so terrifying. I thought about it every time I swam in a lake!
That and ig 88 where both to dam much
I've been a Star Wars fan since a little boy in '77 and I have to say that the best time to be a fan was in the Nineties. There was this energy. All the new products, toys, collectibles, comics, novels, the re-release of the original trilogy and the promise of new films on the horizon. And all of it made by people who clearly loved the property, some being the first generation who grew up with Star Wars like myself.(I've done some Illustrations for Lucasfilm.) Great documentary on Shadows of the Empire.
Oh look! Its the most underrated channel on youtube!
Not everybody has the time to watch an hour long video. But, other that i agree
what about me?
clearly a better channel than mine, no question. though personally, i dont go out of my way to draw any attention.
@@eng3d
Lol, many documentary-style channels with the same video lengths have millions of subscribers.
This was excellent! Thoroughly enjoyed this!
Shadows of the Empire was a great book and game. I have a Dash Rendar's action figure.
If he shows up on the Mandalorian I'm going to laugh my ass off.
The production values on this documentary are incredible. This is the best coverage I’ve seen on Shadows.
Looking back, Shadows of the Empire was the peak of Star Wars.
Check out Dark Forces 2 if you get a chance. Definitely up there with the best of star wars.
@@Rschr101 I remember when Dark Forces came out as a kid. I REALLY wanted to play it but never did. Just saw it on a friend's PC, briefly, a time or two. Same with Jedi Knight.
So much more could have been made besides the Sequel
KOTOR 1-2 and The Force Unleashed were up there with SOTE. Same with the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series.
@@MalabarTheGreat KOTOR maybe...Force Unleashed? No.
This game was absolutely ground breaking at the time. It blew my mind back in 1996, I love it!
Thank you for this. At some point my gf caught me crying because truly this was MY Star Wars, more than the originals, prequels, or heck even the Special Editions that came out around the same time. I have such fond memories playing the game, reading the book, playing with the toys... Even though I was a pretty lonely kid growing up, this doc made me realize how special this project was to me and I'm so grateful.
I'll never forget taking forever killing the ATST boss by shooting his feet because I didn't know you could look up yet. LOVED this game!
Same. I was stunned when I tried the game years later and discovered that with a single button, one can defeat AT-ST under 1 minute, instead of 10 :D
😆😆😆
I found it best to climb up on the catwalk and shoot at it with seeker missiles.
@@scorpionwins6378I think that was the intended method, given the amount of weapons and health hidden within the crates in every corner of the room, but it is so much easier to just stay behind it and look up 😂
I watched this with my mom, she bought me a N64 when i was like 8 and we played this and many other games together, a lot of good information to go with the great memories, thank you.
Cool mom
Somehow found this in recommendations and I’m glad I did. Shadows of the Empire is one of my all time favorite Star Wars games ever. It was very interesting to see the making of the game and watch that interview with that developer. Great stuff!
Shadows of the Empire might not have the best storytelling, but goddangit it was the hottest shit when it was released.
Its better than the sequels by along shot. IMO
@@Quigon-93 Dare I say prequels…
@@fernie-fernandez as bad as they were, their charm expanded the universe. Disney has sure made it feel tiny.
@@ShaunBonJovi amen
You wanna know how I know this video is amazing? I showed it to my mom, who loves Star Wars but knows next to nothing of the expanded lore or anything about videogames, and she loved every second of this presentation. Excellent work, man.
Damn shame this story was De-canonised, I know some stuff from Legends was really questionable, but a ton of the stories were excellent!
Yes, it seems INSANE that this story, one that George Lucas actually liked (and felt would have made a good movie), was thrown in to the heap that is, LEGENDS. I have a strong, sneaking suspicion that Favreau and Filoni will be (continually) mining (and even re-canonizing) this novel, and the multimedia project, for The Mandalorian, The Filoni-verse, and anything else that's on the horizon. Dash Rendar needs to be seen in both Live Action and Animation. Prince Xizor needs to play a bigger role in the universe, as well...maybe even making an appearance in the Kenobi miniseries, and The Mandaloarian.
It was never canon
@@iplaydodgeball Actually, Lucas considered this the closest thing to his trilogy, in The EU. I'll bet he considers this more canon than The ST.
I hope at some point we reach a time where Disney’s trilogy gets de-canonized the same way they de-canonized so many stories
@@THEODSTKING117 I think, at best, it will become a period that will officially (unofficially) be marginalized and ignored for the most part, within the major canon timeline. It will be seen as the trilogy that shall not be spoken of.
One of the best games made, i still remember it vividly. The 1st level, the snow and flying around using the tow cable. The on foot fighting the AT AT, then chasing Bobo fett. So many memories. Getting chased by the Yetti thing too.
Omg the soundtrack to this game is beautiful
Having never read them and being 20+ years old collecting dust on my bookshelf, I was just about to get rid of my Thrawn Trilogy and Shadows of the Empire hard cover books until seeing this. You've inspired me to read them all now! I even still have the action figures with the comic books and the soundtrack on CD. I never realized what I big deal this all was back then.
Played the game many times, read/own the novel and comics, have the soundtrack on CD and digitally, and have some of the action figures. This was a project I went all in on when at its peak. Good times!
I'm blown away. I really appreciate you taking the time to dig into this lore and explain the full story -- including an interview with a developer!! This game was a huge part of my childhood as I discovered Star Wars and I've always wanted to know more about its production. Thanks again for the trip down memory lane and all the hard work you put into this!
As someone who grew up playing this on the N64, thank you for making this video. This game holds a special place in my heart. The way you created the unique menu with Wampa Stompa as the name is well done! Brought back a lot of memories.
Phenomenal video, Saint. Information heavy while remaining easily digestible and entertaining. I knew nothing going in and this was so all encompassing I feel as if I read the comics and played the game myself. You are the damn Ken Burns of Star Wars lore.
Shadows of the Empire gave us a game, ost, book, comic, toys... and now we got the awesome documentary!! You're seriously the best Saintmillion!!
This is an incredible video, I saw some old Lucas arts staff sharing this. You should be very proud! I would love to see a similar video for The Force Unleashed
Thank you. One of my favorite books and video games of all time. I wish these got more appreciation.
great video, thanks for taking me back, i played the game and read the book and enjoyed them both back in the 90s, but it was so long ago i mostly forgot it, the music is still awesome
The interview with John Knoles was amazing. This is the best SOE making of video on the internet!
46:33
Holy shit, did Mark Hamill narrate the Star Wars toy commercials of the 90s?!
I was thinking the same around the 20.30 mark, when the advertisement for the game was shown.
He advertised to do narration for new star wars toys vehicles and playsets in the 90s yes. But he wasn't in any new film at all. You see all the prequel stuff George Lucas put in after the originals were all things that was being done individually as doing it to edit the canon timeline. So say for ex. Shadows of the Empire is an edited story installment between both Empire and Jedi. In between both of the originals. The prequels were edited story installments to expand the canon universe of the storyline; the sequels were broke after the books were released. Everything that has *NOT* been edited is everything George started from way in the beginning of the originals. Prequels, side stories, sequels, spin-offs, origins, chronicles, games, Wikipedia about other topics, yada yada yada ect. The edited stuff is all the above of what I had stated.
The things that are not edited are the original films themselves alongside the vintage toy branding and merchandising for the original stories itself.
The sequels are later installments which are edited to expand, the prequels are earlier mid installments to expand what happened in the past before the originals, and the side stories and origins or chronicles to fill in the missing gaps that were missing that brought confusion among the database of the fans itself.
Then you all know the rest.
Yep 46:33. I Noticed that too.
I still sometimes play the theme of beggars canyon and try to visualize how that scene would have played in an actual movie, always pumps me up how immersive the soundtrack feels.
I loved this game growing up. It's one of the first games I beat as a child without any help. Dash Rendar needs to come back already.
Yes please, and come back right.
I would never expected a documentary of this videogame, but I'm glad I found it.
Thank you so much for this. I'm very grateful to have a catridge of this game and my N64 in my room.
I appreciate how much effort you put into your video essays. Your editing, comedic and informative commentary, and content overall are my favorite. Keep up your great work!
This is an amazing video. Well done! I'm an oldf** and it really brought some painful - but happy - nostalgia to my heart.
Thank for you finally blessing us with more long-form star wars content
Actually in the story Xizor didn't find out that Luke was Vader's son, he learned that Luke was Anakin's son, remember that the emperor and Vader were keeping Vader's true identity a secret from the rest of the galaxy
No, Xizor knew (presumably through his spies) that "Skywalker" was Vader's former name so he puts two and two together and knows from pretty much the very beginning Luke is Vader's son..
@@frankiejaeger4937 even so, the point is it wasn't public knowledge that Vader use to be Anakin
"Yoda kamikazis into Courusant."
Why didnt I hear about this sooner?
I wasted my life.
The Infinities comics are great. Loved them as a kid and still have them now. They were reissued as a single graphic novel a few years back.
@@theutilitymonster2615 oh? Good to know. I will look them up.
It's kinda weird when you remember that Coruscant is inhabited by like a trillion people so Yoda ended up killiing maybe billions JUST to kill the emperor. Still pretty great.
@@probablyyourgreatestally8992 The infinity comics are weird and sometimes tonally off-kilter, but luckily, they're What If's and therefore for all their faults are at their worst interesting to read.
His crippling ketamine addiction drove him to it
This feels like an official documentary. Thank you for all the hard work you poured into this!
This is one of the best Star Wars related TH-cam videos I have seen.
Tell this man he is forever a part of my most favorite childhood memories ever. He should never doubt how epic and impactful all of his work was to many of us.
Holy shit, perfect timing as I'm just about to read the novel!
Im about to watch the motion comic! One of the best sw stories ever!
Hope you enjoyed!
How was your novel?
Loved reading the books back when I was in my mid-teens. Timothy Zahn was a creative genius! This should definitely be a movie spinoff. Even animated if they go with that option. Heck, even a reboot of the game with original dialogue would be very awesome!
Great interview dude. My first memory of this game is when my parents were out of town as a kid and my older brother had a house party. He kept me quiet by putting me in my room with a tv, n64, and this game and it was the best night ever lol.
I remember having my first PC and finally being able to play all these Star Trek and Star Wars PC games I had heard about after being "stuck" with the PSone. I think this was my first Star Wars game and I was so hooked on Hoth and played that first level probably more than the rest of the game. Later got caught up with the Jedi Knight games and KOTOR, which was just coming out, but by then my PC was old and couldn't handle KOTOR properly without crashing constantly, or lagging.
Shadows of the Empire is one of the finest pieces of Star Wars lore. The book was absolutely brilliant. The game was jaw-dropping for me as a kid. Dash Rendar to this day is one of my favorite characters in all of Star Wars. Thank you for making this awesome tribute to Shadows.
❤❤❤🫡🫡💪💪💪💪💪💪
Amazing video! It is awesome to see this part of Star Wars history showcased, especially since it gets easily overlooked. Your videos are top-notch!
dang, i was born in 91, so to me it felt like star wars was always there. I can't imagine how excited it must have been to hear the original trilogy coming back to theaters via "special edition" (whatever that meant at the time), a whole different chapter that expanded upon books, toys, comics and a game for the next console generation that took place between empire and jedi, AND a whole new prequel saga being planned which was a whole lot of hype in and of itself. must have been a good time to be an older star wars fan back then.
The original Star Wars canon is infinitely greater than new Disney canon.
SW died when Disney bought it. For me, there is no more SW.
@rockberto y los demás? no infinitely better even with Mando.
This game was my first videogame and thanks to it im a huge star wars fan! Ill forever love it and its on my top 3 favorite videogames of all time
Top notch Doc, Saintmillion! I love how you presented the plot points at 9:05 - I think this should be a standard for teaching film/screen writing as it was much easier to see how a story is crafted in the industry. Also, the title card motion graphics for each chapter with the Shadow of the empire menu screen replaced with a topic was brilliant and kept the information organized and on brand! You made a fan out of me from this doc! I'm looking forward to watching your other content! Thank you for making this!
What an in-depth look at one of Star Wars' most interesting projects. A lot of time and love went into making this.
McNeely is one of the best non-John Williams Star Wars composers. Shadows' OST is such an awesome and masterful demonstration of retaining that Star Wars feel (without feeling like ripping off Williams) and also expanding on that sound by adding a personal touch. And the fact McNeely wrote it in 2 weeks?! Genius.
Disney not asking Mcneely to come back to score Star Wars projects is a crime. "Battle of Gall" is a track I go back to time and time again.
Loved this. I have very fond memories of the reading the comics as a kid and catching a glimpse of the video game at an amusement park. I remember being absolutely wowed by the game and I remember it being that end level space battle. I also own the bounty hunter Chewie toy. Great stuff!
Loved playing Shadows of The Empire on the N64! Great video!
You're honestly one of the most underrated youtubers. Also I'm trying to break into Concept Art and I've followed Doug Chiang's work for quite a bit bit damn I didn't know he designed my favorite Star Wars star-fighter so thanks for dropping that knowledge on me.
I cannot believe how good this video is! It’s a full-length documentary! Thank you so much for creating this and sharing it with us!
I love this soundtrack, and I am absolutely mind blown that McNeely wrote it in only two weeks. This is an incredible achievement as a composer. Do you know if he both composed and orchestrated in two weeks? If he did, I'll be both mindblowned and floored haha
yo someone remembers this game other than me! i swear i loved this game so much when played a n64 before getting my xbox original. it felt so grand and the combat was very good. I wish we got more starwars games with this kind of vision
I've watched behind the scenes stuff on basically every childhood game, but for some reason never for SotE. This was great.
Awesome video. I remember playing this at my grandmas on my uncles n64. This and goldeneye was LIFE.
Shadows of the Empire took me to another place as a kid.. it was more than just a game.. I felt like it was real. Amazing experience and memories with my best friend playing this growing up.
One of the best books I’ve ever read and possibly my favourite game. I LOOOOOOOOOVE Shadows Of The Empire!
This was really, really, really good! Back then I managed to read, listen, read and play everything Shadows of the Empire related, so it's awesome to see it all again, in this new light.
Oh wow hearing that shadows menu from the game brings back memories!
Amazing content! I would LOVE a documentary on the making of Episode 1 Racer. That game always fascinated me and I’ve always wanted to know what their development process was.
Dude, this game was great for me growing up! Thanks for developing it!
thank you for posting this one of my favorite games of all time and what got me into star wars and i think it might be the first game i ever played been looking for a video like this but could never find it!
Dash was actually in all of the media.. the book, comic, trading card and the game. They have even written him into other EU his own book where he teams up with Solo. And one where he teams up with Curi after ROTJ
There is something I feel like only me ever noticed about dash rendar, he just really looks like Michael Biehn, same hair, same badly shaved beard, on the artworks, you can see he's basically got the same lips and jaw.
I always thought it depended on the artwork you were looking at, but I can see Biehn in this! Personally I always thought it was more Dennis Quaid, but all these actors had that same basic Dash Rendar look at one time or another.
Imo Michael Biehn or Bruce Campbell would have been awesome to use as a basis for Dash's look.
I actually always thought he looked like Kevin costner...a lot like Kevin Costner
Funny, I always thought he looked like my Dad's friend "Ty"
Chris Pratt
OMG!!!! An in depth look at my still favourite game!!!! Thank you!!!
Man, this was really, really enjoyable to watch. I loved Shadows of the Empire on Nintendo 64, and short of seeing the Outrider pop up here and there over the years, I had no idea of the other versions and parts of this story. Well done!
At the time I was hugely indifferent to Shadows of the Empire. Now I would give anything to go back to those days.
I was absolutely obsessed with this game on the N64 back in the day. Remember writing my own adaptation for the game at the age of 11 when I was at school back in 1998. Would love to see a remake of this game! No matter how old this game gets, it will always hold a special place in my childhood. God nostalgia is a powerful drug!
It's such a missed opportunity that Disney didn't do this with the High Republic. The first novel was so well received but imagine how successful it would've been if they'd released it alongside Jedi: Survivor with its own soundtrack and line of merch!
1:05:15 In the SOTE video game this is very different, Vader hates sand because it's corse, and rough, and it gets everywhere.
Gosh man! What an amazing video! Thanks so much. A reminder of the Star Wars I used to love and a flashback to my childhood. Made my day.
Fun fact, there was also a scale model kit made of Xizor's Virago fighter.
nostalgia overload...N64 and this game. Oh man..The rugged, heavy atmosphere when playing this as a kid was very special. It always felt like playing a movie. The OST was badass too.
Hey man! Congrats on this amazing documentary! It was super insightful and really detailed, the interview with Jon Knoles was great! I hope you can make one about Rogue Squadron (witch is my favorite game) I just recently purchase a cartridge of SOTE and am really enjoying it, once again, great work and research! Cheers from Argentina.
My introduction to starwars was Shadows of the empire on N64, around age 3 or 4. That game has stuck with me for my entire life
Wait a minute. Saintmillion uploaded! can’t wait to see you again in 4 months.
Imagine the pranks you could pull with the “secret controller box” (around 29:20)
"It was I who allowed the Alliance to learn the location of the Shield Generator." LoL through Xizor.
He used Xizor to play out Vader to see where he stood in all of it.
I love finding top tier content from undersubscribed creators. It’s almost like finding a Monet at Goodwill