Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Lore & Background

The game is set during the events of the Clone Wars movie and animated series, unlike the first two Lego Star Wars games and The Complete Saga, which were adapted from Episodes I-VI. The prologue level is based on the Geonosian Arena battle from Attack of the Clones. Gameplay is similar to previous Lego titles, with up to two players switching between characters to fight enemies, solve puzzles, and progress through levels. New features include scene swap, where players switch between teams in separate locations, and boss battles. Real-time strategy elements allow players to command large ground armies across battlefields, and space fights were remodeled for a more instinctive 3D-space battle sensation. The hub takes place on a Republic Cruiser named the Resolute and a Separatist Ship called the Invisible Hand, where characters can be purchased. The handheld versions for PSP, 3DS, and DS are simplified with less content but include exclusive characters and minigames.

Reader's Guide

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars received positive reviews, with GameSpot rating the PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii versions 6.5/10 and the Nintendo 3DS version 6/10. IGN rated the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions 7.5/10, the Wii version 7/10, and the DS, 3DS, and PSP versions 6/10. IGN commented that the hub world was open to exploration and that Traveller's Tales had 'outdone themselves,' noting that combining unexciting portions resulted in a simple, engaging game. GameTrailers gave the game 6.5/10, calling it 'one of the dullest in the entire series.' The game sold over 7.3 million copies worldwide as of December 2020. Its significance lies in expanding the Lego game formula with real-time strategy elements and a hub-based structure, while adapting the Clone Wars era for a broad audience across multiple platforms.

Did You Know?

• The Mac OS X version was released by Feral Interactive.
• The game engine was upgraded to hold more than 200 moving units or objects on-screen.

Production & Format

Star Wars: Clone Wars was conceived as a bold experiment in serialized animation, developed and helmed by Genndy Tartakovsky under the banner of Lucasfilm and Cartoon Network Studios. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on November 7, 2003, and ran through March 25, 2005, spanning three seasons and a total of twenty-five episodes. What made the production structure distinctive was its dual-format approach: the first two seasons consisted of bite-sized installments running just two to three minutes each, packaged together as Volume One, while the third season shifted to five substantially longer episodes of roughly twelve minutes, sold as Volume Two. Both DVD collections were handled by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Positioned squarely between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, the show became the first Star Wars television property since the Ewoks series of the mid-1980s, and it ranks among the earliest works to dramatize the galactic conflict that would later become a franchise cornerstone.

Narrative Arc & Key Storylines

The narrative opens in the immediate aftermath of Attack of the Clones, with the Republic and Jedi Order under relentless pressure from the Separatist Confederacy and the Sith. Volume One centers on Obi-Wan Kenobi commanding an assault against the Intergalactic Banking Clan on Muunilinst, while Supreme Chancellor Palpatine personally tasks Anakin Skywalker with leading the space fleet. Count Dooku, having taken the Force-sensitive Asajj Ventress as his Sith apprentice, dispatches her to eliminate Anakin, who ultimately prevails in a lightsaber duel on Yavin 4 by channeling his anger. Interspersed are vignettes of other Jedi: Mace Windu confronting a droid army bare-handed on Dantooine, Yoda rescuing Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee on the frozen world of Ilum, Kit Fisto commanding aquatic clone regiments on Mon Cala, and a stranded group of Jedi crossing paths with General Grievous on Hypori. Volume Two resumes with ARC troopers racing to Hypori, the Jedi Council elevating Anakin to Knight, and a later arc on Nelvaan where Anakin witnesses a chilling vision of his own fall to Darth Vader. The series climaxes with Grievous seizing Palpatine on Coruscant and Anakin and Obi-Wan rescuing him minutes before Revenge of the Sith begins.

Continuity & Legacy

Tartakovsky's team made deliberate efforts to weave the series into the broader prequel saga. Anakin appears with his replacement lightsaber after his original was destroyed in Episode II, C-3PO first shows up in his gold plating, and Anakin's Padawan braid is sent to Padmé, who keeps it alongside the necklace from The Phantom Menace. By Chapter 22, Anakin bears the facial scar he carries into Revenge of the Sith, and the show implies the Skywalker twins may have been conceived on Naboo. One of the series' most significant contributions was introducing General Grievous. According to Tartakovsky, George Lucas initially described the character as a ruthless Jedi killer before softening him into a B-movie villain archetype. The show also planted the seed for Grievous's signature cough: in the final episode, Mace Windu Force-crushes the chestplate housing his organs, a detail carried into the film and its novelization. Volume Two's Coruscant climax mirrors the novel Labyrinth of Evil, and the entire series functioned as a design and narrative pilot for the 2008 CGI The Clone Wars, whose character artists translated the 2D designs into three dimensions.

Critical Reception & Cultural Impact

From its debut, the series earned widespread critical praise and became one of the most decorated animated properties of its era. Both the Volume One and Volume Two DVD releases received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program, and the show accumulated multiple additional awards throughout its run. Its commercial and artistic success directly catalyzed the creation of the CGI-animated The Clone Wars series, which premiered in 2008 and went on to run for several seasons. The 2D original thus occupies a unique position in Star Wars history: it was the first television adaptation of the franchise in nearly two decades, one of the earliest dramatic explorations of the Clone Wars conflict, and the creative proving ground from which the much larger CGI series drew its visual and narrative DNA. As of 2026, the complete series remains accessible to new and returning fans through streaming on Disney+, ensuring that Tartakovsky's compact, character-driven take on the galactic war continues to reach audiences long after its original Cartoon Network broadcast concluded in 2005.