When it comes to notable games from the original Xbox/PS2 era, one that I never played was Jade Empire. It’s been a game I’ve wanted to play for the longest time and the PC version has been in my collection for years. During my “Trying a Different Game” series, I was planning on finishing the year by finally trying the game. Instead, I wanted to wait until 2025 and dedicate a full week to play it. For all that waiting, this is one of the most disappointing Action-RPGs that I’ve ever played.
A Product of Its Time
There are two main problems I have with the game. The biggest is the combat and the other is its compatibility. I’ll cover the combat in a bit later, but for now, I’m going to address the problems I had trying to get this game to run. Because I had the PC Special Edition of the game I planned to play it that way.
While the game does have many resolutions, finding one that worked best was a challenge. In-game, the graphics look good and scale well, but all cut-scenes are 480p and they don’t compare. There are minor gripes with in-game cut scenes. Sometimes idle and background characters will pop in and out. They are a bit of a distraction but nothing to the point where you can keep up with the story.
The other problem I had was with the controls. I began playing this on an ROG Ally X, and the game does have controller support. Unfortunately, it’s not full controller support. Controls rely on using a keyboard and either a mouse or a controller. You can’t access the game’s menu via a gamepad. I learned this the hard way on a handheld since I was unable to stop the game and level up my character.
It took me a bit of time to get used to the controls. On my desktop, I use a gamepad for most things but still rely on the mouse to help with camera controls. On a gamepad, you don’t have full control of the camera. You can only rotate it with the left and right triggers. For a game that started on the Xbox, I was expecting better gamepad support. I guess in the mid-2000s, controller functionality wasn’t a priority.
My goodness, I hate the combat
At the time of this posting, I’ve put around 7 hours into the story. But, because of the number of times I’ve died, it’s closer to 8 hours of playtime. This isn’t a difficult game. But, the combat does get frustrating at times.
For starters, the camera controls are awful. Because of the limitations of using a gamepad, you’ll need the mouse to help see things. Most fights take place in close quarters, which means that the environment gets in the way. Lanterns, trees, and other objects can obstruct your view. Trying to move around these leaves you defenseless.
Most fights usually feature you and a partner against a handful of foes. In any fight where foes have weapons or magic, they have an unfair advantage. In these battles, those with spears have the mid-range. Meanwhile, magic foes can attack from long-range and their attacks are harder to block. There were many situations where I was surrounded by foes. You can only defend against front-facing attacks. So, any other attack is free to cause damage.
Also, the targeting system feels useless. Your character doesn’t track enemies in a way you’d expect. If an enemy moves, you don’t follow them. You end up only using the targeting to see how much health they have. For some reason, your character moves slower in fights. There is also a delay in dodges, so those make it harder to get away when you need a breather or want to use your magic.
At least the story is good
The story is the only thing that kept me playing. Each chapter so far has taken place in a different location. I spent over four hours in Tian’s Landing before finally reaching the Imperial City. There are a lot of quests for you to complete. Tian’s Landing had three main quests but there were a handful of side content for you to do if you choose. These interactions are good and are a sign of why BioWare became so popular with their later games.
I’ve met a lot of characters and my team has grown a lot. I’ve quite enjoyed how you come across them. The situation where you meet Wild Flower and the Guardian is interesting. Hou, the man who teaches you the Drunken technique is funny with his anecdotes about his crazy wife. At the start of the game, I spent most of it partnering with Dawn Star but have started to switch it up. I haven’t noticed a difference between these. In most cases, I find that they aren’t that beneficial in combat except in smaller fights.
The other aspect of the game I enjoy is the short interstitial shooter sections. Here, you are controlling a flyer and fending off waves of enemy airships. These are short sequences lasting around 30-60 seconds. These only happen when you travel between major locations. You can skip these but they are easy. Having these in an action role-playing game is odd but lore-wise they make sense.
Twenty Years Too Late
Sometimes video games age well and are worth playing decades later. Unfortunately, Jade Empire isn’t such an example. You can see the great story elements that later helped the popularity of Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Had I played this 10-15 years ago, my opinion of the game would be more positive. On the flip side, I’d love for this game to get a remake. Improving the combat and fixing other quality-of-life aspects would help so much. If there is a way for me to petition a remake at work, I’ll do it.
