The VC Wii-shlist - Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64)

Star Wars games have ranged from disappointing (the recent "Lethal Alliance" for the DS) to the fantastic (the Rogue Squadron series). A Star Wars game for the Wii is all but a certainty, with the Wii-mote's motion-sensing technology. But that could be a long way from now, considering LucasArts has yet to make any kind of formal announcement. Of course, with so many Star Wars games in the Nintendo library, one is bound to hit the Virtual Console sooner rather than later. But if there was one game that Star Wars nerds just have to have, why not make it a forgotten 1996 classic?

"Shadows of the Empire," originally released on the Nintendo 64, takes players to a newer frontier. Rather than rehash the plot of the original trilogy, this game takes after a novel/comic written about the time period between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Players take the role of Dash Rendar, a notorious bounty hunter, employed to find the frozen body of Han Solo. Along the way, he uncovers a sinister plot by master thief Prince Xizor to have Luke Skywalker killed in order to show up Darth Vader, who has just convinced Emperor Palpatine to allow him to try and bring Luke to the Dark Side of the Force. By killing Luke, Xizor hopes Palpatine will ditch Vader and make him his right-hand man.