Hello everyone, happy Monkey Monday! Two things I would like to address today that go hand in hand: 1, I am solo dolo for today’s issue, and 2, it was Valentine’s day this weekend. THEREFORE, as the sole writer and dictator for this weeks issue, I have decided to write all about my first love…

STAR WARS

Monkey Monday 3 #5, flirting in…

Alright, lets get this thing started. We’ve got a super-quickly-put-together-late-at-night tier list of every main level from LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. I haven’t gone through this whole game in a couple years, so my memory of all the details of every level is a little rusty, BUT I have played through this whole game many many times, so that helps. Also, I have to admit, I spent way more time playing the prequel levels when I was younger, so you might see some bias there.

Behold, the tiers:

Eh… Forgettable

Starting at the bottom we have the more forgettable levels. Granted, every level has some amount of nostalgia for me, so I just put the ones I cared about and remembered LEAST in comparison to all the others. These levels aren’t all bad, but they feel way more like filler while you’re antsy to get to the good stuff.

Rescue The Princess

Retake Theed Palace

Falcon Flight

Escape From Echo Base

Nostalgic but tedious

These levels are much more memorable and nostalgic for me, but maybe a bit more tedious than some of the better levels to come. Mostly vehicle levels here, plus a great, but way too long Through the Jundland Wastes

Hoth Battle

Bounty Hunter Pursuit

Gunship Calvary

Ruin of the Jedi

Through the Jundland Wastes

Nostalgic

Alright now we are getting to the good stuff. These levels all bring me BACK. Lots of heavy hitters on here, but do to my vague memory of all of them, I don’t wish to put them too high.

The Battle of Endor

Betrayal over Bespin

Mos Eisley Spaceport

Defense of Kashyyyk

Discovery on Kamino

Rebel Attack

Invasion of Naboo

SOLID

These are all heavy hitters in their own way, but I can’t in good conscience put them in the same tier as the one’s above it. Special shout out to Negotiations, the first TT Games LEGO level, and the first level I play whenever I replay The Complete Saga.

Jedi Battle

Speeder Showdown

Jabba’s Palace

Death Star Escape

General Grievous

Escape from Naboo

Cloud City Trap

Negotiations

AMAZING

These levels are a super-blend of nostalgic and enjoyable. These are some of the best levels in the game, but yet just missing that extra spice that the top 5 have. Secret Plans is the first LEGO level I (and probably many others) ever played, Chancellor in Peril is a hood classic with many thrilling parts, and Droid Factory is just an amazing level.

Secret Plans

Jedi Destiny

Count Dooku

Chancellor in Peril

Droid Factory

TRUE JEDI

Finally, my top 5. I’m pretty confident about these. Each of these levels are pretty special, so I'll talk about each one.

Battle Over Coruscant - One of the best uses of vehicles, this level is short and sweet. Super satisfying to just BLAST things and watch all the studs fly to your stud total. Plus, playing this level feels just like the first scene of the movie.

Mos Espa Pod Race - Possibly the most replayable level in the game, it’s literally just a race. And dude the ORIGINAL version of this level is wicked hard. I remember playing this a bunch with my sister, and we would cheer each other on as we try to beat Sebulba by the end of lap 3.

The Great Pit of Carkoon - I have no idea what it is about this level, and maybe nostalgia is skewing my memory, but I remember LOVING this level for some reason. Running around Jabba’s sail barge is always so fun, and the minikits in this level were sick. The level design is just pure and wonderful, no real gimmicks. Plus you get to fight Boba at the end.

Darth Maul - You just run around the Theed power generator (I had to look up what that location was called) in the Naboo palace and platform around, fighting Darth Maul intermittently. It’s just so cool man. Second best level for the second best duel in star wars.

Darth Vader - Look, if you’ve played this game before, you knew this was going to be number one. A faithful, epic, fun, and VERY CHALLENGING level for 7 year old me and 9 year old Miranda. I will say, she held me back like CRAZY when we were younger. That first part of the level, when you have to run towards the camera, that DESTROYED my poor big sister. But yeah, perfect level, perfect movie scene, doesn’t get much better than this.

Our final list:

-Nate

Truly truly, one of the most beautiful scores ever. I’ve had this on repeat this past week.

Driving? Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Reading articles for school? Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Working out? Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

I’m not sure why some people don’t like John Williams. This score is some of the most beautiful, epic music to ever grace my earholes.

Highlights include: Battle of the Heroes, Anakin vs. Obi-Wan, Anakin’s Dark Deeds, General Grievous, The Immolation Scene

-Nate

For Valentine’s day, the fair maiden and I decided to build a LEGO set while watching one of the greatest movies ever… you guessed it…. Revenge Of The Sith.

I’m not sure if I’ve discussed STAR WARS on here yet, but it has played a significant role in the nerdy, fantastical, and creative development of yours truly. Star Wars was my favorite fictional thing as a kid. I fell in love with the movies as a kid, played The Complete Saga endlessly, read all the star wars encyclopedia books in the library, named my cat Padmé, choreographed lightsaber duels with my friend Jonah, and on and on and on. If I didn’t grow up a Star Wars nerd, I may have never grown nerdy enough to write a newsletter!

What’s even better, is that not only am I a huge star wars nerd, but so is Lucia (huge green flag). And up until this weekend, we had yet to actually watch any star wars together, since when it came to movies, we had been so busy showing each other essentials that the other had never seen, meaning we never got around to star wars.

Onto the movie itself. I could probably write an essay on how epic this movie is, but I’ll save y’all the brainpower, and NOT recap the whole movie. If you didn’t get to grow up on all 6 star wars movies, then you may not be able to comprehend why this movie, full of corny line delivery and head scratching moments, is so great.

STAR WARS EPISODE III: Revenge Of The Sith, is the 6th and final movie in the saga. This movie is the core to all of star wars. It provides critical context for the original trilogy, while simultaneously drawing the prequels to a close in dramatic, climactic fashion. This movie is why the prequels were even made, and it blows episodes I and II out of the water.

Although it is a prequel, it still functions as the grand finally to the saga. Heading into this movie, you know what’s going to happen, but you have no idea how. And MAN is the ride devastating.

Aside from the grand role of this movie in the saga, the film is so exciting and full of constant iconic moments. The battle with Dooku, Obi-Wan versus Grievous, that scene, Yoda and Sidious, and Mustafar. Oh glorious Mustafar. Quite possibly the most built up battle ever, and it is executed PERFECTLY. The music, the cinematography, the effects, and the CHOREOGRAPHY oh my word Haydn Christiensen and Ewan McGregor went CRAZY AHHHHHHH. This movie is a SPECTACLE.

Decent movie. Top 3 Nate movie of all time (maybe I should make a full list?).

Also here’s the lego set:

-Nate