Star
Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi
STORY: Masters
of Teräs Käsi takes place between the Star Wars movies, Episode
IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. The destruction
of the Death Star at the hands of Luke Skywalker severely crippled the
Galactic Empire. The Emperor wanted retaliation against him and all of the
Rebel Alliance and sought the services of assassin, Arden Lyn, to eliminate
the Alliance's key members. Luke and the others finds out about the Empire's
plot and challenge Arden, face to face.
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Look at those DYNAMIC HUNCHED fighting stances.
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REVIEW:
A
Star Wars fighting game... now that's something with
potential! Unfortunately,
the first (and only) Star Wars-themed fighting game didn't live up to the
hype, and that's an understatement... it's a pretty terrible PS1 fighting game. Teras Kasi
features your typical modes: Arcade, Survival, Team, Practice
and Versus. Fights take place on square arenas with ring-outs (definitely
inspired by the likes of Soul Edge). Each fighter starts off fighting bare handed, but has a weapon which they can
draw and use (ranging from blasters to light sabers). On paper, it was an innovative concept for the fighting game genre at the time, but the execution is beyond poor.
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This animation hurts for all the wrong reasons.
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In a nutshell, the gameplay of Stay Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi is noticeably janky and clunky (even for a PS1-exclusive 3D fighting game in 1997). Characters can sidestep, at least, which adds something to the gameplay. Overall, the actual fighting mechanics seem to be an afterthought. Basically, you're looking at a very sloppily-designed 3D fighting game engine... with the STAR WARS logo slapped on the
cover.  (Sorry guys, that's not gonna work. People actually play fighting games for gameplay.) Compared to nearly any other fighting game out in 1997/1998, Masters of Teras Kasi was laughable and nearly unplayable.
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Well... Han did shoot first.
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In addition to the shoddy gameplay... the graphics of
Teras Kasi aren't great and definitely appear "rushed" for
what the quality of Star Wars should be... and especially considering some of the
other vibrant and groundbreaking PS1 fighting games of the era. A missed
opportunity for 90s Star Wars hype! The animation can also be
summed up as "choppy"
and too slow for its own good. Below average character models and shoddy
textures
don't help the look of the game, and the gameplay is janky and broken.
One of the only conceivable positive aspects of Teras
Kasi is that the character roster is "pretty good"... I guess. However, Star Wars fans deserve better than the janky-edged PS1 polygon monsters
that appear in this terrible game. A game that should never have been
given as a birthday or Christmas present. If so, your parents got you the wrong
game and you know it. Even the most crazy overweight Star Wars fanatics, who might've gone to every Star Wars movie launch
dressed up as a Jedi or weirdo in a brown robe, would most likely be
disappointed in this game. 
However, somehow... seeing the early PS1 CG rendering of Mark Hamill still gives
me good memories of a bygone era. This game had memorable cover art, I'll give
it that.
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| Page Updated: |
May
19th, 2024
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| Developer(s): |
LucasArts |
| Publisher(s): |
LucasArts |
| Platform(s): |
PlayStation
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| Release Date(s): |
Oct.
31st, 1997 
March 1998
Sept. 23rd, 1998 
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| Characters: |
Darth
Vader, Luke
Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Boba Fett, Stormtrooper, Hoar,
Thok, Mara Jade, Jodo
Kast |
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Featured Video:
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| Related Games: |
Soul Calibur
IV, Soul Blade, Star Gladiator, Plasma
Sword, Bushido
Blade,
Bushido Blade 2,
Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring, Bloody Roar,
Bloody Roar 2, Mace:
The Dark Age,
Battle Arena Toshinden,
Battle Arena Toshinden 2, Battle Arena
Toshinden 3,
Tobal No. 1, Tobal 2,
Tekken 3,
Street Fighter EX,
Street Fighter EX2,
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition,
Final Fight Revenge,
Rival Schools: United By Fate,
Asura Blade |
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Gameplay Engine
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2.5 / 10
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Story / Theme
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7.0 / 10
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Overall Graphics
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4.0 / 10
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Animation
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5.0 / 10
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Music / Sound
Effects
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5.0 / 10
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Innovation
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3.5 / 10
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Art Direction
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3.0 / 10
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Customization
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2.0 / 10
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Options / Extras
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2.0 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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5.0 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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2.0 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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4.0 / 10
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Characters
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7.0 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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3.3
/ 10
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| Final
Words: |
A Star Wars fighting game seemed like a fantastic idea on paper at the time... but unfortunately,
LucasArts's first and only attempt at a fighting game was lackluster and laughable at best. Perhaps if LucasArts gave
Capcom or Namco the rights to make this game, it would've turned out
considerably better. (Actually, it 100% would have.) Missed opportunity!
Ironically enough, in 2008, Namco obtained the rights to add Darth
Vader and Yoda to SoulCalibur 4 as guest characters. Needless to say, it was amazing to see those Star Wars
icons finally looking properly badass and animating beautifully in a fighting game. Vader & Yoda's SC4 appearances made me want to imagine an entire Star Wars roster
with SoulCalibur quality graphics, animation & gameplay. Now that
would be a game worth playing. Why was that game never created? 
Ohh yeah... I'm supposed to be talking about this terrible, nearly unplayable PS1 fighting game, right? Short review: Masters of Tear-Ass Kasi plays like ass and it's not fun for more than 5 minutes. There were so many other great PS1 fighting games released around the same time. If you're a fan of fighting games with actual
gameplay mechanics, avoid this game at all costs.
Don't waste you're time with Tear-Ass Kasi, unless you're playing it for laughs. Star Wars fans, I recommend you check out
SoulCalibur 4 and see how amazing Darth Vader and Yoda look in action. Also worth a look is
Star Gladiator and its sequel,
Plasma Sword, a Capcom fighting game series
cleverly based on Star Wars. On the bright side, Masters of Teras Kasi is probably a bit better than the new trilogy. 
~TFG
Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen
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