Star Wars Games Rogue One Wiped Out of Canon! Who Originally Stole the Death Star Plans?
182Rogue One wiped these games out of canon. Star Wars Rogue One is a film about a rag-tag bunch of outlaws and misfits who embark on a dangerous mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. If you’ve ever followed the Star Wars "Legends" Expanded Universe canon, you’re probably aware that who originally stole Death Star plans is the most over-told story in all the Expanded Universe Legends canon history. So many people have been said to have stolen the Death Star plans that the official line was that each person had only stolen a piece of the plans, and Princess Leia put them all together on the Tantive IV.
I want to just take a moment here and remember the canon of Star Wars games which came before, before Rogue One wiped the slate clean and rubbed out all these brilliant Legends games stories.
X-Wing PC
As I mentioned in my series of review of X-Wing and TIE Fighter, the story of X-Wing dips in and out of the events seen in A New Hope. During his second tour of duty, Rebel pilot Keyan Farlander protects Lambda shuttle Maria, as it carries a physical copy of the intercepted Death Star plans to be delivered to Princess Leia aboard the Tantive IV. Keyan then attempts to protect the Tantive IV as it escapes during a fierce space battle.
Dark Forces PC
I will always remember the Death Star plans being stolen by Kyle Katarn in the first level of the Star Wars Dark Forces PC game. Dark Forces is the original story of the Death Star plans being stolen. The mission briefing calls the retrieval of the plans Operation Skyhook and sees Kyle infiltrate an Imperial facility and steal the plans from a computer archive. Similar to Rogue One Dark Forces features an ex-imperial defector, a Rebel ace pilot, a high-ranking imperial officer overseeing a new imperial superweapon, and a never-before seen dark-armoured stormtrooper.
Lethal Alliance DS PSP
During PSP Star Wars Lethal Alliance mercenary Rianna Saren works with Kyle Katarn but ends up captured and thrown into an imperial prison on Despayre, where she learns about the newly-completed Death Star. Tarkin is celebrating the completion of the Death Star by testing its superlaser on Despayre. Very similarly to Rogue One. Escaping just in time, Rianna informs the Rebellion that the plans are being held on the planet Danuta. Rebel leadership decides an all-out attack is too costly, instead sending Saren and Kyle Katarn separately to infiltrate the facility and steal the plans. Rogue One seems to have been inspired by this story in the EU Legends canon.
Battlefront II PS2 Xbox PC
But somehow, before all of this, a prison breakout aboard the finished Death Star sees some unnamed Rebel stealing a set of plans for the Death Star and beaming them down to the planet of Polis Massa - putting an end to CC’s argument of “Why didn’t the Empire just keep the plans for the Death Star on the Death Star?” The breakout is put down in a violent finale of blaster fire and lightsaber combat, with the rebels being ultimately defeated after a huge surface battle on Polis Massa. The Empire’s newest phase of dark-armoured Stormtroopers aids in crushing the rebels but against all odds plans made it out.
Empire at War PC
Bookending the entirety of Operation Skyhook sits 4X strategy game, Empire at War. During the Rebel campaign, Captain Antilles intercepts the Death Star initial plans after a raid on an Imperial facility. Later in the Imperial campaign, it turns out that some Death Star security codes were leaked to the Rebels from the Bothan Spynet. This leads to The Emperor himself going down to Bothawui and slaughtering loads of Bothans before being told the plans are aboard the Tantive IV.
The Force Unleashed Xbox 360 PS3 PS2 PC
I think we owe an honourable mention to our old pal Starkiller here. In TFU; Mon Mothma, Bail Organa and Garm Bel Iblis end up captured and held on the Death Star, whilst it’s still being built. Canonically, they’re the first non-Imperial people to ever see the station. After their escape with the help of Galen Marek, they receive reports (presumably from Rianna Saren) of what the Death Star is capable of. So begins the mission to steal the Death Star plans.
Most of these Star Wars Legends stories grate against one another, even die-hard fans like me can agree that it’s a jumbled mess. So in one way, it’s good that Rogue One wiped that slate clean. We’ve been given a more concise story, but I personally think Disney could have used these ideas a bit more, rather than just cloning the set-pieces or situations. I would have killed for a Kyle Katarn cameo in Rogue One, but I suppose it was just not meant to be.
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