Playing as Yoda

By Joe Martin

So, what about the Xbox 360 version then? What differences does that have and is it worth getting both versions? Also, how do you get Darth Vader and Yoda both unlocked and how do you pit them against each other in a fight of continuum shattering proportions?

Answer; you can’t. Yet. Apparently there are tentative but not-laid-in-concrete plans to introduce some downloadable content at a later date which will offer gamers on both platforms the chance to unlock the exclusive characters of the opposite platform. Yoda on the PlayStation 3, Vader on the Xbox 360.

For now though, there’s no way to get Yoda or Vader off of their exclusive platforms. Plain. Simple. The plus side though is that you aren’t really missing much – especially if you’ve got the PlayStation 3 version and find yourself sans Yoda, because he isn’t really all that good unfortunately.

Yoda is obviously the anti-thesis to Sony’s Vader and while the Darth-master is slow and powerful thanks to his fascinating combination of raw Force powers and lack of what you’d conventionally call skin, Yoda is much more sprightly and speedy. He’s like a teeny bopper at a rave, but with the complexion of one who has eaten the brown acid.


There’s a few issues with both the Star Wars characters, not least of which is the fact that there’s always a voice in the back of your head insisting that Yoda (or Vader) is stupid – that the lightsaber should just cleave right through everything else in this lesser and totally incompatible universe.

“Pah! It’s only a game,” you tell yourself. It doesn’t work though. That insistent voice just keeps coming back, louder and shriller – like a crying baby tied to your wrist by an unbreakable elastic band which keeps pinging back no matter how hard you drop-kick it away.

Yoda’s biggest problem though is his lack of size. Not that I’ve got anything against short people, of course. My girlfriend is a short person and I love her very much. All I’m saying is that I wouldn’t trust my girlfriend to hold her ground against someone like Asteroth, no matter how green and wizened she may be looking on any particular morning.

Yodas lack of stature means he isn’t very easy to hit, which means that a lot of people who haven’t learned all the low-attack moves off by heart won’t really enjoy playing against him.


Conversely, on the playing-as-Yoda side of things he lack of height means he spends nine fifths of every move jumping in the air, which means he’s never quite as fast as you expect him to be. It isn’t as massively debilitating as a kick in the crotch, but it is a little disappointing when you remember how fast Yoda is supposed to be.

So, what you have then is one of those annoying characters which occasionally break the game – the equivalent of Eddy on Tekken 2 or the Mitsurugi and Damascus Sword combo on Soul Calibur 2. In a serious versus match, Yoda is a logical choice for button bashers because of his speed and invulnerability to high attacks.

“No, I’m not playing if you’re going be him,” comes the inevitable reply from your hypocritical sparring partner. Of course, they probably want to play as Yoda too, but you won’t let them. That wouldn’t be fair.

To be fair, Yoda never really breaks the game irreparably. Low hits can usually get him and characters like Xinghua and Kilik are easily matched against the miniature green slaughter-machine, but the character is definitely a little unbalanced for newbie players. What’s more, since the character is unlocked from the start, his appeal is basically lost from the moment you first play with him. There’s novelty there, but it’s short-lived.