The release of Attack of the Clones in 2002 brought a multitude of great Star Wars content to the forefront of the fandom. Video games got perhaps the best treatment, with classics such as Battlefront, Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns and Republic Commando all coming out in the era. But there was one that did not focus on the new clone troopers, but rather their template: Jango Fett. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter was released in November of 2002 by Lucasarts. The game was released for Playstation 2 and GameCube. Penning the story was prolific EU writer Haden Blackman and Jeremy Soule (Knights of the Old Republic) did the score.
The story of the game follows Jango Fett in his heyday as a bounty hunter. Fett is friends with an elderly Toydarian named Rozatta who gives him jobs from time to time. 10 years before AotC, Fett gets a transmission from the mystery Darth Tyrannus about a job that will make him for life. Fett of course accepts, and is tasked with eliminating a Dark Jedi known as Kamari Vosa and the criminal organization known as the Bando Gora. Unbeknown to Fett, Vosa is the former padawan of Tyrannus (Fett also of course does not know Dooku is a Sith Lord). Also contacted for the job is the former True Mandalorian and traitor Montross. Jango and Montross go back a long way, more about that and Jango Fett: Open Seasons later.
Jango tracks down a death sticks dealer on Coruscant which leads him to a corrupt Republic senator who got themselves involved in the death stick craze. Fett tracks down the senator and kills him, leading to Republic authorities forcing Jango to flee. Before he died, the senator told Fett to find the Dug crime lord Sebolto on Malastare. Before traveling to malastare however, Fett learns that Sebolto had put a 50,000 credit bounty on an ex-employee of the Dug. Thinking that Fett can use this bounty to get close to Sebolto, he heads to Oovo IV to track him down.
Fett meets another AotC character on this planet, Zam Wesell, Wesell was on the same trail of Jango, tracking down the ex-employee of the Dug. The two work together after Wesell already found the bounty and have to escape the prison on Oovo IV. Unfortunately for Jango, his ship Jaster’s Legacy is destroyed. Fortunately, they find a new ship, a Firespray-31 patrol craft. Fett steals the ship and names it Slave I.
Fett delivers his bounty to Sebolto on Malastare, but not before the Dug attempts to flee. Sebolto is killed and Montross shows up to briefly fight Jango, before leaving to track down the bando Gora. While on Malastare, Jango notices some Hutt cartel logos on death sticks and deduces that Tatooine must have some influence on Malastare. Fett finds himself at Jabba the Hutt’s palace and learns from him of Gardulla the Hutt’s involvement in the Bando Gora. Jango and Wesell sneak into Gardulla’s palace and Fett locks up Zam, telling her he will return but keeping her with him was too dangerous at the moment. He confronts Gardulla and battles her Krayt Dragon. The dragon is defeated by Fett and Gardulla is killed. After Tatooine, Fett is contacted by Montross, who is with a dying Rozatta. Enraged, Fett races to save his friend but is too late. Montross escapes and his Toydarian friend is killed, but not before giving Jango a tracking device that will help him find the bando Gora’s base of operations.
The base is on the dead moon of Kohlma, one of the moons of Bogden. Waiting for Jango outside the monastery of the Bando Gora is Montross. With a final battle at hand, Jango slays the traitor and completes his revenge for the death of his mentor. Immediately upon entry in the base Jango is captured by Vosa and tortured. Wesell saves Jango by firing her blasters at Vosa and releasing his constraints. Now free from captivity, Fett duels and defeats Vosa. With her at his mercy, her neck is snapped, revealing Lord Tyrannus. The entire escapade was a test for Fett. Dooku offers him an opportunity to be cloned and paid extremely handsomely, to which Jango accepts under one condition:the first clone is unaltered and is kept as his son.
This game is riddled with Expanded Universe references. In fact, the entire game is a sequel to the great comic Jango Fett: Open Seasons, in which we see the Mandalorian Civil War and the death of Jango’s mentor, Jaster Mereel. Montross, the man who betrayed Jasterr and the True Mandalorians, is the secondary antagonist in the game. Other references include:
Jango’s ship,Jaster’s Legacy, is named after Jaster Mereel
Kamari Vosa, the main antagonist, first appeared in Open Seasons. She also appears in Maul: Lockdown and is mentioned in Darth Plagueis (as are the events of the game).
A YT-2400 appears in the game
Gardulla the Hutt is killed, making her another character who first appears in a film killed in the EU
The Bando Gora makes an appearance in Maul: Lockdown, Darth Plagueis and various other EU sources
The species Peripleen first appears here
The species Clantaani first appears here as well
This game is truly a classic, and one of the best Mandalorian stories in general. For those who love Jango Fett, this game, Open Seasons, the Zam Wesell comic and the Jango Fett comic make for all phenomenal stories about the mandalorian-turned bounty hunter.
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