Princess Leia Organa, the estranged child of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, was one of the Rebel Alliance’s greatest leaders. Born and bred into a world of dark politics, this daughter of warrior lineage would face a harrowing destiny from beginning to end. From the death of her mother at birth, to the destruction of her pacifist home planet, and finally her own sacrifice to save her son, Leia lived a life filled with many trials that she managed to overcome with skill and finesse. With the success of the Star Wars franchise, and Carrie Fisher’s iconic portrayal, it’s no surprise that gamers can play her in several Star Wars games that have been released over the years. Just like her character in the movies, Leia has evolved with each new game that gets released.
Although a bona fide princess, Leia has never been a damsel in distress. However, that’s how she appears in the first Super Star Wars video game in 1992, as a NPC. It would later pale in comparison to the bold and brave Princess Leia we see in current games. The playable characters include Luke, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and one would think Leia. However, Leia isn’t playable in the first two of the Super Star Wars games which follow the story of the original trilogy. The last game does add Leia and Wicket the Ewok as player characters. Leia is in the famous metal-leather bikini and carries a whip that is capable of medium and long range attacks. While it doesn’t exactly showcase Leia’s strength of character, it serves as the first entry from which her character is allowed to evolve.
After her appearance in Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, here are all the games where players can take on the role of the incomparable Princess Leia.
Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi
This 3D fighting game for the original PlayStation sees Arden Lyn leading the Galactic Empire’s fiercest champions in an effort to eliminate the Rebel Alliance’s heroes. Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi was a fighting game similar to the Mortal Kombat franchise where gamers would choose from a roster of playable fighters. Princess Leia is the only character to have two separate slots on the roster, with one for the bikini costume and one for green and brown rebel attire. Unfortunately, he game received negative reviews for its slow movement and poor fighting system.
Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005)
Widely revered as one of the greatest Star Wars games to date, the original Star Wars: Battlefront 2 was a team arena shooter that let players take the roles of famous characters throughout their military campaigns as long as they had earned enough points playing as one of the clones or rebels. In the game, Princess Leia has a long-range Sporting Blaster with infinite shots, a 3-count pack of Class A Thermal Detonators, and an invulnerability shield that only activates when two other characters enter it. Some believe the latter to be a nod to the movies where the clones had such a hard time shooting Leia and her comrades for no apparent reason.
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
With the success of the LEGO Creator: Harry Potter video games, LEGO decided to try its hand at licensing other household names. This would turn out to be a huge success with its first action-adventure LEGO Star Wars game. Lego would go on to create the rest of the franchise into Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. LEGO Princess Leia doesn’t speak much, but that trademark attitude is there with a slap for characters who get too close, especially Han Solo. Her LEGO model can be played in the various outfits from the movies, miniaturized in Lego form.
Star Wars: Battlefront (2015)
In this complete remake of the classic Star Wars shooter, fans could once again take on the role of Princess Leia. She serves as a Rebel Alliance hero and acts as a support counter to the Galactic Empire’s Emperor Palpatine. Leia supports her team by spawning soldiers, a squad shield, and power ups that help her fellow soldiers in battle. Just like in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005), she is also equipped with a long range blaster pistol and shield, although this newer one does not make other players invulnerable to blaster fire from the clones. Star Wars: Battlefront (2015) was great at putting players in the Star Wars universe, but the lack of single-player story left some fans wanting.
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Much in the way that Star Wars made a return with its new trilogy, so did the LEGO franchise with the addition of the first movie in the sequel trilogy. LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens played in much the same way that prior entries did, with the ability to switch between famous characters in the universe, with some tasks only available to droids with the right input. Like previous games, The Force Awakens follows the story of its movie counterpart. General Leia returns and has a few outfits, with a few throwbacks to some of the classic movies as well.
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017)
The sequel to the 2015 Star Wars: Battlefront remake, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017), improved on a lot of the things that made the remake fun to begin with. The 2017 version of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 took the already impressive graphics that could be found in the remake and kicked them into the next gear, giving players a uniquely beautiful Star Wars experience. Like previous iterations, Princess Leia carries a modified blaster pistol and automatic blaster rifle. However, this gun has the ability to charge up a shot that gives an area of effect with explosion. Leia also has some support abilities like her flashbang grenade and deployable dome shield that she can use in place or throw to protect teammates.
The upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will also feature a playable Princess Leia, including past versions of Leia as well as the most recent iterations of the character.
