We all know nowadays that Star Wars games are full of hidden details and easter eggs. What about older Star Wars games? Did they still have these little references peppered throughout the game? Republic Commando just re-released for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch and after doing some research, I did actually discover quite a few very unique easter eggs. And you can actually interact with them!
0:53 Did you know that you can actually find a lightsaber in Republic Commando? Here, we’re in the second chapter of the game aboard The Prosecutor. Towards the start of the level, just before you face the Trandoshan with the giant rotary cannon, you’re given the option of either breaking through the wreckage or crawling through the vents. Inside the vents, there will be one of those annoying scavenger droids to stab. Before we make our way up to the left, if you look to the right you will see a dead clone trooper and a lightsaber. Unfortunately, there’s no way of picking up the lightsaber. You can’t touch it or do anything with it.
2:57 Still aboard The Prosecutor but much later in the level, you can actually find a Speeder Bike. The same model Speeder Bike the Imperials and Ewoks had on Endor. So this is in the section of the game where you’re clearing out each hangar from the incoming droids, which I think was probably the hardest section of the game. Just before you make your way to hanger D, go to the back left corner of hanger C and you’ll see this: 3:26. Sev will say his spiel and you go to the console at the back. Once you activate the console, the bike takes off and crashes somewhere in the hangar.
4:16 Republic Commando has a lot of Aurebesh text in the game and especially in the menus. Aurebesh is that Star Wars language you see written everywhere, in case you didn’t know. Sometimes this text is meaningful, however, that is not the case for Republic Commando. In fact, the developers seem to have a lot of fun with what they wrote in the Aurebesh. In the menu when you are loading up your game, the background Aurebesh translates to random messages, which I’m assuming were text messages or emails sent between developers or someone on the Dev team. See translated messages here: 4:59, however, I did not translate these.
We also have a Dev with a sense of humor. In the opening intro where the Commandos are training on Kamino, this screen here: 5:38 translates to: 5:40. And on the right, it says: 5:49.
On the Death screen, we have this Aurebesh translating to “based on our revised project schedule and after talking with Chris it’s apparent it would be good for the project if I delayed my upcoming vacation by a week. Thus I will be gone from Monday September 20th for three weeks and will return on Monday October 11th.” I’m assuming this was back in 2004 when the Dev was trying to take some time off and used those emails in the game.
6:25 Next easter egg is much more obvious but some of you might have missed it. In Republic Commando, you play as Boss, the leader of Delta Squad and his designation is RC-01/138. The number 1138 has since appeared in nearly every Star Wars film, Indiana Jones, and almost anything that has to do with George Lucas. RC1138 is another reference to the maker himself in the main character of this game.
6:58 When you are making your way through the chick level and are about to enlist the help of a few Wookiees on your mission, Sev will say something about taking a Wookiee’s Bandoliers just like the one worn by Chewie. Not all Wookiees wear their Bandolier so maybe Sev will get lucky even if this reference is kind of dark seeing as though he’ll likely be taking a Bandolier from a Wookiee that’s been killed.
