Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a 2006 Lego-themed action-adventure game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts and TT Games Publishing. It was released on 11 September 2006. Part of the Lego Star Wars series, it is based on the Star Wars science fiction media franchise and Lego Group's Lego Star Wars construction toy line. It follows the events of the Star Wars films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The game allows players to assume the roles of over 50 Lego versions of characters from the film series; customized characters can also be created. Camera movement was improved from its predecessor Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and the concept of "vehicle levels" was explored more thoroughly. The game was revealed at American International Toy Fair. Promotions for the game were set up at chain stores across the United States.
Lego Star Wars II was critically and commercially successful; it has sold over 8.2 million copies worldwide as of May 2009. Critics praised the game for its comedic and "adorable" portrayal of the film series and due to preference for the original trilogy over the prequel trilogy. However, the game's low difficulty, and its Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions in general, were received more poorly. The game received awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Spike TV, among others. A mobile phone adaptation, Lego Star Wars II Mobile, was later developed by Universomo, published by THQ, and released on 5 January 2007. Lego Star Wars II and its predecessor were compiled in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, released a year later.
Gameplay
Lego Star Wars IIs gameplay is from a third-person perspective, and takes place in a 3D game world that contains objects, environments, and characters designed to resemble Lego pieces. Its gameplaya combination of the action-adventure, platform, and sometimes puzzle genresshares elements with that of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (2005). While Lego Star Wars followed the events of the Prequel Trilogy: The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005), Lego Star Wars II is based on the Original Trilogy: A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983). The game comically retells the trilogy's events using cutscenes without dialogue. The player assumes the roles of the films' characters, each of whom possesses specific weapons and abilities. At any time, a second player can join the game, by activating a second controller. During gameplay, players can collect Lego studs – small, disk-shaped objects, which serve as the game's currency. The player has a health meter, which is displayed on the game's heads-up display. The player's health is represented by four hearts; when these hearts are depleted, the player dies, and a small amount of their studs bounce away. However, they instantly respawn and can often re-collect the lost studs.
The game's central location is the Mos Eisley cantina, a spaceport bar on the planet Tatooine. At the counter, the player may use their Lego studs to purchase characters, vehicles, gameplay hints and extras, or activate cheat codes. In a small area outside the cantina, players may view collected vehicles. The game is broken into levels, which are accessed from the cantina; each film is represented by six levels, representing key locations and scenes in that film. The locations include Hoth, Bespin, Dagobah, Tatooine, the Death Star, and Endor. The game also features bonus levels. During play, the player defeats enemies, builds objects out of Lego bricks, and drives vehicles. Certain levels are played entirely while piloting vehicles, including a TIE fighter, a Snowspeeder, and the Millennium Falcon. Levels must first be played in Story Mode. This unlocks the next level as well as a Free Play mode for the recently completed level. Gameplay is identical in the two modes. However, Story Mode restricts playable characters to those followed in the film scenes the levels are based on, while Free Play-offers all those unlocked. Levels can be replayed in either mode to collect studs and secret items.