The early 2000s were an incredible time to be a Star Wars fan. Though the prequels were far from critically acclaimed, they did bring Star Wars fever back with a vengeance. Star Wars toys, novels, comic books, and video games all flooded their respective markets, producing some of the best Star Wars projects of all time. 2004's Star Wars: Battlefront is one such project.

Released on September 21 2004, the Pandemic Studios and LucasArts-developed Star Wars: Battlefront is still widely considered to be one of the most important Star Wars games ever made. Though it may not be quite as shiny as its modern EA counterparts, and it may not be as widely beloved as its direct sequel, Star Wars: Battlefront was an incredibly influential game, and it set a blueprint for what would become the definitive Star Wars video game experience.

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20 Years Ago, Star Wars: Battlefront Set a New Standard For The Franchise

Star Wars: Battlefront Came Close to Offering The Ultimate Star Wars Gaming Experience

While Star Wars video games had been releasing for almost two decades at that point, the vast majority of those titles were fairly small-scale adventures, movie tie-in games, or games that focused on one very specific part of the universe. Of course, there were outliers like 2003's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the sprawling MMO Star Wars Galaxies, but generally speaking, Star Wars: Battlefront offered a scope that was rarely seen in the realm of Star Wars games.

Star Wars: Battlefront offered 17 large maps, each based on an iconic location from either the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace, or Attack of the Clones. These larger maps combined with the game's ability to host up to 32 players in an online match led to Star Wars: Battlefront feeling like a truly epic experience, on a scale that no other Star Wars game had managed to achieve before.

This feeling was compounded by the game's vehicles, which let players take control of iconic ships like X-Wings and TIE-Fighters, along with speeder bikes and AT-STs. Battlefront's presentation was also top-of-the-line, with each blaster bolt, Thermal Detonator explosion, and Tauntaun grumble sounding exactly how it should.

The cherry on the cake was Star Wars: Battlefront's little moments of fan-service, like the Sarlacc Pit appearing on the Dune Sea map, or the ability to tow-cable an AT-AT. But while Star Wars: Battlefront delivered a Star Wars gaming experience like nothing that had come before it, it wasn't the definitive experience just yet. For that, fans would need to wait just two more years.

Star Wars: Battlefront's Groundwork Was Used to Create the Definitive Experience

In 2005, Pandemic and LucasArts took the groundwork laid by Star Wars: Battlefront and built upon it, forging what many fans still consider to be the ultimate Star Wars video game experience. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 delivered exactly what fans wanted from a sequel. From even more maps based on iconic planets ¨C including those from the recently released Revenge of the Sith ¨C to space battles to the ability to play as beloved heroes and villains from both the original and prequel trilogies, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 gave fans everything they could want from a Star Wars game, but that wouldn't have happened without 2004's Star Wars: Battlefront.