Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire — frequently asked questions
- What platforms is Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire on?
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was released on Nintendo 64, PC (Microsoft Windows).
- When did Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire release?
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was first released on December 1, 1996.
About Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
As Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance struggle to defeat Darth Vader and the Empire, a new threat arises. Dark Prince Xizor aspires to take Darth Vader's place at the Emperor's side. As Dash Rendar, it's up to you to protect Luke and help the Alliance. May the Force be with you!
Summary via IGDB.
Game details
- Platforms
- Nintendo 64, PC (Microsoft Windows)
- Developer
- LucasArts
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Game modes
- Single player
- Themes
- Action, Science fiction
- Series
- Star Wars
Details via IGDB.
Reception
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Fake risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo 64 | 1996 | $15 | $50 | $159 | 11 reviews | Low |
Release timeline
- Nintendo 64Dec 1996
- PC (Microsoft Windows)Sep 17, 1997
First release on each platform, from IGDB’s records of this game’s ports and editions. Remakes are separate games with their own pages, so they are not listed here.
We haven’t priced or authenticated the versions without a section on this page yet.
Collector value & authenticity
Nintendo 64 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-22
Other releases and variants
| Release | Loose | Complete | Sealed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player's Choice | $17 | $43 | — |
| PAL release | $12 | $32 | $228 |
| Japanese release | $9 | $30 | $46 |
How often it sells
- Loose: about 2 times a day
- Complete: about once a day
- Sealed: about once a month
Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-22.
Price over time
- Loose
- Complete
A loose copy sold for about $3.51 in Jan 2007, $10.00 five years ago, and $15.00 as of Oct 2026.
Show as table
| Month | Loose | Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2007 | $3.51 | — |
| Jan 2008 | $3.60 | — |
| Jan 2009 | $3.94 | — |
| Jan 2010 | $3.34 | — |
| Jan 2011 | $2.75 | — |
| Jan 2012 | $3.09 | — |
| Jan 2013 | $3.39 | — |
| Jan 2014 | $6.01 | $15.99 |
| Jan 2015 | $5.50 | $22 |
| Jan 2016 | $8.01 | $28 |
| Jan 2017 | $6.99 | $19.74 |
| Jan 2018 | $8.00 | $25 |
| Jan 2019 | $7.34 | $25 |
| Jan 2020 | $8.42 | $36 |
| Jan 2021 | $10.25 | $32 |
| Jan 2022 | $11.81 | $37 |
| Jan 2023 | $13.19 | $50 |
| Jan 2024 | $13.99 | $49 |
| Jan 2025 | $13.06 | $50 |
| Jan 2026 | $17.46 | $59 |
| Oct 2026 | $15.00 | $51 |
Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.
Release record
| Territory | Date | Cartridge serial | Known board |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 3 December 1996 | NUS-NSWE-USA | NUS-01A-02 / NUS-02A-01 |
| Europe / PAL | 1 March 1997 | NUS-NSWP-AUS / NUS-NSWP-EUR | — |
| Japan | 14 June 1997 | NUS-NSWJ-JPN | — |
| Modern cartridgereissue Limited Run Games | 26 July 2019 | — | — |
- Modern cartridge (reissue): A modern licensed cartridge, sold in standard and Collector's Edition sets (Wikipedia). It is not a fake, but it is not a 1996 original either: if a listing doesn't say which it is, ask.
- Region
- NA+EU+JP
- Released
- 1996
- Authenticity
- Low
An early N64 action game with mixed reviews that still sold more than a million copies.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a LucasArts action game published by Nintendo for the N64. It was released in North America on December 3, 1996, in PAL regions in March 1997 and in Japan in June 1997. You play the mercenary Dash Rendar, helping Luke Skywalker rescue Princess Leia from Prince Xizor, in a story set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It mixes third-person shooting with vehicle sequences.
It received mixed reviews but was the third-best-selling N64 game of 1997, with more than a million copies sold. Since the N64 hardware was not finalized when work began, LucasArts prototyped the game on an SGI Onyx workstation for about 18 months, and the team ported it to the console in three days once hardware was available.
How it was made
Developed by LucasArts and published by Nintendo.
What the press said at the time
| Next Generation Issue 26 | February 1997 | 2 out of 5 stars |
| Next Generation Issue 25 | January 1997 | 3 out of 5 stars |
| GameRankings (aggregate) | 74% | |
| AllGame | 3/5 | |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.875/10 | |
| GameFan | 90/100 | |
| GameRevolution | C+ | |
| GameSpot | 7.1/10 | |
| IGN | 6.5/10 | |
| N64 Magazine | 78% | |
| Science Fiction Weekly | B+ |
“Popularity and marketability aside, the gameplay in Shadows can best be described as uninspired.”
“Instead, by being a student of all genres, Shadows of the Empire is ultimately the master of none.”
“I'd say that SOTE is good game (make that a very good game), but not a classic. For Star Wars fans and N64 owners it's definitely a good buy (in my opinion the best after Mario 64 and WaveRace)”
“Basically solid, but lacking the innovation and brilliance of Nintendo's other launch titles. Get Turok before you get this.”
Next Generation rated games from one star ("Bad: crucially flawed in design or application") to five ("Revolutionary"); three stars meant "Good: a solid and competitive example of an established game style." Undated scores are from the review table in the game's Wikipedia article, limited to reviews of the Nintendo 64 version.
Also on other platforms
Windows
How the other versions reviewed
| Windows | GameRankings | 62% |
| Windows | GameSpot | 5.8/10 |
These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.
Before you buy
The US cartridge sits below the library median loose, and the fake risk is low. A Player's Choice release also exists. PAL and Japanese copies cost less than US ones. A modern licensed cartridge from Limited Run Games also exists, so a buyer of an original should check which they are getting.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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