Jade Empire (2005)

Jade Empire is BioWare through and through. It’s a glimpse of a time where the company was starting to take its first steps into not only the aRPG genre but also the devising of their own original, from-scratch narratives after having dazzled everyone with their take on the Star Wars IP. It is somewhat incredible how obviously prominent the Mass Effect bones are in this game, which boasts a completely different setting, heavily inspired by Chinese mythology, but also ME’s storytelling chops, follower framework and worldbuilding panache.

Jade Empire has some issues. It undoubtedly shows its age and limits on occasion, it showcases a couple of pretty underdeveloped systems (such as its economy), and its control scheme is stuck in the past. Yet through it all, it’s still a really enjoyable game to play, almost 20 years after its release. In fact, mechanically, this game has aged better than I had expected. Combat still feels good for the most part with decent movement, even if a bit stiff and repetitive. Engagements are clearly lacking by today’s standards, but the whole system is still more than serviceable and far from a chore. From an RPG viewpoint, there is a solid variety of weapons, skills, melee techniques and upgrades that you can experiment with as you level up. In fact, there is a lot more to the game’s RPG systems that may initially meet the eye, and the seemingly simple quickly turns into a wide range of available options to best suit your playstyle. Because of that, the sense of progression feels great, even though it takes some time for that to become apparent. The followers deserve a shoutout as well: the companion system is very streamlined, and every one of them brings something different and useful to the table. Apart from this, the Raptor-like air combat mini-game you get to engage in - similar to the one in Nier: Automata - is pretty cool.

Worldbuilding and story, however, are Jade Empire’s notorious highlights. I just love how the BioWare of old crafted their playgrounds: regardless of the underlying motif, every aspect of their world is believable and serviced by an awesome mix of written, verbal, and visual exposition. Jade Empire is no exception here, and even through the limitations of the time, there is a joy in discovery and a will to explore the world that not many games are able to invoke even to this day. Alongside this there's another thing that remains a rare breed in 2023, which is a very accomplished sense of build up. That aren't a lot of titles able to inspire a true sense of anticipation when you're about to enter a new area of the map. Actually, off the top of my head, I can only think of 7,8 games that were able to instil this in me so far. Jade Empire comes really close to that, and I have zero doubt it would've fully reached that pantheon had I played it when it came out.

The narrative is also quite engaging, especially after the game's initial moments. Jade Empire's journey has a touch of epic to it, with grandiose undertones, a couple of interesting twists, some pretty brutal moments, different endings, and most surprising of all, effectively humorous segments, especially once you reach Tien's Landing. This is backed up by an incredibly well-written follower group that seamlessly blends into the story, solid exotic-sounding music, and some phenomenal voice acting. Though a few of the characters also sound hilariously bad, and it's a bit jarring listening to such widespread English in this type of setting, especially because some of it seems too modernly written for its backdrop.

If you like the old BioWare for its main strengths, Jade Empire is probably a must play. It almost feels like a roadmap for what came after it in tone, style, and design. There’s no doubt in my mind this would’ve become one of my absolute favourites if I had had the fortune of playing it on release - there’s certainly something to be said about being too patient a gamer sometimes. But despite its hurdles, clearly more visible in 2023, chances are you'll still get something pretty rewarding out of it. 8/10