Star Wars has a long, long history in the video game landscape. From the very first Star Wars game releasing for the Atari 2600 all the way back in 1982, the beloved Sci-Fi/Fantasy franchise has received at least one video game adaptation every year since, and while not all of these have been met with equal critical or fan reception, most of them have fulfilled the promise of transporting the player to a galaxy far, far away. From shooting a blaster to flying an X-Wing, Star Wars games, more often than not, let fans live out their greatest Star Wars fantasies, and a good handful of them let players take control of some of the most powerful characters in the Star Wars universe, the Jedi.

While a Star Wars game doesn't need to feature the Jedi to be great, with the stellar Rogue Squadron series or the very first Star Wars: Battlefront being great examples of this, it often helps. After all, some of the most iconic moments from Star Wars come from the movies' lightsaber battles and Force training sequences, so it's only natural that fans would want to use those weapons and powers for themselves. With four decades' worth of Star Wars games out, there are quite a few that let players control a Jedi, but only a handful revolve around the most powerful Jedi in the universe.

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Strongest Video Game Jedi With a Lightsaber

Jedi Outcast's Kyle Katarn

The Jedi are the peacekeepers of the galaxy, highly trained in both the art of swordplay and with the mystical life-energy known as the Force. Over the last 40 years, fans have been able to play as some of the strongest lightsaber-wielders in the entire Star Wars universe, being able to use their fine-tuned senses to aid them in one-on-one combat.

One of the strongest Jedi with a lightsaber is Kyle Katarn, the protagonist of the Dark Forces series and Jedi Outcast. In the first Dark Forces game, Kyle Katarn is just a mercenary, tasked by the Rebellion to retrieve the Death Star plans in a non-canon version of events. This first game takes heavy inspiration from Doom and chooses to focus on blaster combat as opposed to any lightsaber gameplay.

In the sequel, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2, Kyle Katarn learns that his father was a Jedi, and the same inherent connection to the Force is present in him too. After a run-in with some bounty hunters on Nar Shaddaa, Katarn returns to his family homestead on Sulon and discovers his father's lightsaber, with a message from his late father explaining that the Dark Jedi Jerec, responsible for killing him, must be stopped at all costs. Over the course of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2, Kyle sets aside his mercenary life and adopts a new path, the Jedi path.

While Kyle is a decent Force user, his powers are limited, with only short bursts of Force Heal, Force Speed, and other abilities being available. Instead, Kyle Katarn is much more skilled with his lightsaber, using it to effectively cut down armies of Imperial Remnants in his way. Within just a few swipes, Katarn is able to defeat some of the most skilled dark Jedi of his era.

In Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast, players once again take control of Kyle Katarn. After regaining his powers from a brief training session with Luke Skywalker, Katarn once again sets out to defeat a dark Jedi uprising. Jedi Outcast is widely considered to have some of the best lightsaber combat of any Star Wars video game, and all of it is used to show just how powerful Kyle Katarn is with a lightsaber, capable of dodging and jumping behind his opponents with ease while slicing through their defenses in seconds.

Kyle goes on to train Mara Jade, who eventually becomes Luke Skywalker's wife in the non-canon Legends universe. Through his teachings, and her own inherent talent, Mara Jade quickly becomes one of the strongest lightsaber-wielders of her era, even capable of besting Kyle Katarn when he is lured to the Dark Side towards the end of Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith.

A more recent contender for the strongest lightsaber user, Cal Kestis from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order uses a heavier form of lightsaber combat than Kyle Katarn or Mara Jade. Though Cal's attacks are slightly slower, they are much more powerful, and the raw strength behind each swing can land some devastating blows on Stormtroopers and Purge Troopers alike. Despite having his training cut short due to Order 66, Cal is still capable of defeating some of the Empire's best Inquisitors.

But there's one lightsaber user that Cal can't even land a single hit on: Darth Vader. Playable in a range of Star Wars games over the years, Darth Vader is one of the most powerful character in all of Star Wars, and the most recent episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi is the perfect example of that. While he prefers to use the Force to intimidate and defeat, Vader is lethal with a lightsaber, only ever making the most deliberate and powerful strikes.

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Strongest Video Game Jedi With the Force

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The Force surrounds us, penetrates us, binds the galaxy together, and it's what gives the Jedi their power. Without the Force, the Jedi cannot exist, and even the most skilled lightsaber-wielder would be reduced to a shell of their former self. Those strongest in the Force are some of the most powerful beings in the entire Star Wars galaxy.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed's Galen Marek, better known as Starkiller, is one such being. One of the most popular Star Wars Legends characters out there, Starkiller is one of the most powerful Force users in any Star Wars medium. Throughout the game and its sequel, Starkiller is seen to bat away waves of Stormtroopers with just a single flick of the wrist, and take down fully grown rancors with just a few taps of the Force. With his powers taking from both the Light Side and the Dark, Starkiller is able to achieve more than most Jedi, even being able to take down entire Star Destroyers with nothing but the Force, all while flicking away attacking TIE-Fighters like flies.

While their powers are much more reserved than Starkiller's, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic's Revan is on a similar power level and perhaps an even higher one. Throughout their life, Revan is constantly trying to find new ways to grow stronger, from learning all there is to know at the Jedi academy on Dantooine, to trying to harness the power of the Star Forge. By the end of their life, Revan was so powerful that they could even assist their granddaughter as a spirit, years after their death, to defeat the Sith Emperor.

Though she wasn't quite as powerful as Revan, Bastila Shan's Battle Meditation is one of the most powerful uses of the Force in the entire Star Wars universe. Bastila gives allies a significant morale boost on top of the ability to coordinate with supreme efficiency, acting as one mind. Battle Meditation is capable of turning the tide of battle in mere moments, even being able to demoralize the opponent's army.

Shortly after Revan disappeared, a Force-user known as The Exile would take on some of the most powerful dark Jedi of the era, and would succeed in defeating them. Later named Meetra Surik, The Exile is not often cited as one of the strongest Force users in Star Wars, but they were able to defeat the near-unkillable Darth Sion, the literal planet-eating Darth Nihilus, and the immensely powerful Darth Treya, one after the other.

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