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Jade Empire

Revy

★ 19 Years of Jade ★
18847

Jade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare & released in 2005. The closest thing to a Mortal Kombat role-playing game.
Jade Empire follows the style of the Wuxia genre within a mythical setting inspired by ancient China. The player character, progresses through an adventure based on traditional martial arts and can discover and develop new fighting styles martial arts, weapon styles, magic styles, support styles, or transformation styles. The combat is real time, giving players control when enemies dodge or attack. Players control the last surviving Spirit Monk on a quest to save their tutor Master Li and defeat the forces of corrupt emperor Sun Hai. The Spirit Monk is guided through a linear narrative, completing quests and engaging in action-based combat. With morality-based dialogue choices during conversations, the player can impact both story and gameplay progression in various ways.

The Xbox version of Jade Empire received positive reviews from most critics. It has an 89% rating from Metacritic, on 84 reviews. Jade Empire has received an 9.9 score from IGN.


Trailer

Gameplay

Modern Review


To Buy The Game:
SPECIAL EDITION
Steam
GOG
Mac
iOS

BASIC EDITION
XBOX

-> Fixes <-
Startup Fix
60FPS/Stutter/Performance Fixes

I had to do all of these & now it works great but I recommend tuning down your mouse sensitivity too - Revy

Mods
Jade Empire Wiki - Modding
NexusMods - Jade Empire
Jade Empire In Style Mod

Fandom Spot - Best Jade Empire Mods & Retextures: The Ultimate Collection

If anyone needs help installing or you're stuck feel free to tag me.

@Juxtapose @OutWorldAleMerchant @Marlow
 
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Revy

★ 19 Years of Jade ★
Would definitely fuck with a remake or sequel if it ever happened. This game was pretty unique in a lot of ways so I would like to see it happen again in some form.
It's actually on sale right now on Steam, I paid $4.99 CAD ($3.73 USD). With the tweaks to make it run at 60FPS, no stuttering & the mods I haven't been happier since the first day I ever played it when I was in the 5th Grade (I haven't tried it on an Xbox Series X yet though) & I last played it a couple months ago on a Xbox One. Keyboard has been way better than any pad as it makes the combat 100x better especially when you know what your doing or using mods.

The closest thing to Jade Empire is Dragon Age but it's still nowhere as close sadly as the story goes, they figured they could make way more money from Mass Effect & Dragon Age so they put it on hold then forgot about it. Also with the original founders of BioWare gone I wouldn't have much faith in a sequel as Jade Empire was their passion project they always wanted to do & I have zero faith in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake that's been in development hell since the day Sony teased it.
 
It's actually on sale right now on Steam, I paid $4.99 CAD ($3.73 USD). With the tweaks to make it run at 60FPS, no stuttering & the mods I haven't been happier since the first day I ever played it when I was in the 5th Grade (I haven't tried it on an Xbox Series X yet though) & I last played it a couple months ago on a Xbox One. Keyboard has been way better than any pad as it makes the combat 100x better especially when you know what your doing or using mods.

The closest thing to Jade Empire is Dragon Age but it's still nowhere as close sadly as the story goes, they figured they could make way more money from Mass Effect & Dragon Age so they put it on hold then forgot about it. Also with the original founders of BioWare gone I wouldn't have much faith in a sequel as Jade Empire was their passion project they always wanted to do & I have zero faith in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake that's been in development hell since the day Sony teased it.
I guess what I mean to say is that I really do need it to be remade or something because imo this game is dated af and did not age well at all. Really unique RPG, no question about that, but it's also really jank for being about martial arts.
Also, I would prefer someone other than BioWare to attempt it. I don't like Dragon Age at all.
 

Revy

★ 19 Years of Jade ★
Yeah, I'm concerned about this one as well.
When neither James Ohlen, Drew Karpyshyn or even Chris Avellone writing it or in-charge it's really hard to have faith & bringing in a lead writer who was a real bitch didn't help either. Also Aspyr has never made their own game before & I remember reading they showed a demo of what they had to Sony & LucasFilm but they hated it then fired the art director & design director. It was supposed to out next year but apparently pushed back to 2025 but I think even that's a stretch, I think we might have a cancellation or decades long development hell just like Duke Nukem Forever. Personally, I think they just say fuck it & find a new developer, maybe Sony will ask Santa Monica Studios since they just finished God of War: Ragnarok? ;)

It's a shame the fan-made remake got canceled because it looked amazing.
 
When neither James Ohlen, Drew Karpyshyn or even Chris Avellone writing it or in-charge it's really hard to have faith & bringing in a lead writer who was a real bitch didn't help either. Also Aspyr has never made their own game before & I remember reading they showed a demo of what they had to Sony & LucasFilm but they hated it then fired the art director & design director. It was supposed to out next year but apparently pushed back to 2025 but I think even that's a stretch, I think we might have a cancellation or decades long development hell just like Duke Nukem Forever. Personally, I think they just say fuck it & find a new developer, maybe Sony will ask Santa Monica Studios since they just finished God of War: Ragnarok? ;)

It's a shame the fan-made remake got canceled because it looked amazing.
Who's the bad lead writer?
 

Revy

★ 19 Years of Jade ★
Who's the bad lead writer?
Sam Maggs - She quit after massive fan backlash but she made it even worse due to her comments on Twitter on the original Knights of the Old Republic & Star Wars in general which didn't sit well with a lot of people who are fans & her upcoming Star Wars book helps her credibility & not piss everyone off.

Personally, I can't say she she's bad as I've never played or read anything she wrote.
 
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Sam Maggs - She quit after massive fan backlash but she made it even worse due to her comments on Twitter on the original Knights of the Old Republic & Star Wars in general which didn't sit well with a lot of people who are fans & her upcoming Star Wars book helps her credibility & not piss everyone off.

Personally, I can't say she she's bad as I've never played or read anything she wrote.
Ah. What did she have to critize about the original KOtoR? It was very well written for it's time.
 

Revy

★ 19 Years of Jade ★
Ah. What did she have to critize about the original KOtoR? It was very well written for it's time.
Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 are some of the greatest examples of amazing writing in gaming history because Drew Karpyshyn (KOTOR1) & Chris Avellone (KOTOR2) are batshit insane when it comes to depth & detail. When it comes to Chris Avellone, he's a master of detail & depth who went above & beyond as he researched the entirety of the Star Wars Legends up to that point before he started writing. Both of them had prior experiences working on classic RPGs before they worked on Star Wars like Neverwinter Nights (Karpyshyn) & Fallout 2 (Avellone) then made amazing epics afterwards like Mass Effect (Karpyshyn) & Fallout New Vegas (Avellone).



Now with Sam Maggs, where to begin?

This Twitter thread is just the tip of the iceberg.
 
Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 are some of the greatest examples of amazing writing in gaming history because Drew Karpyshyn (KOTOR1) & Chris Avellone (KOTOR2) are batshit insane when it comes to depth & detail. When it comes to Chris Avellone, he's a master of detail & depth who went above & beyond as he researched the entirety of the Star Wars Legends up to that point before he started writing. Both of them had prior experiences working on classic RPGs before they worked on Star Wars like Neverwinter Nights (Karpyshyn) & Fallout 2 (Avellone) then made amazing epics afterwards like Mass Effect (Karpyshyn) & Fallout New Vegas (Avellone).



Now with Sam Maggs, where to begin?

This Twitter thread is just the tip of the iceberg.
Ah, I see. That's certainly a lot to take in.

Well, we'll see what the remake turns out like.
 

OutWorldAleMerchant

Hotaru's Number One Fan
Jade Empire and MK are cut from the same cloth in that they are both westernized depictions of chinese fantasy. And thats a good thing! Jade Empire especially really went the extra mile with it with all sorts of lore, bordering nations, and world building that you only heard of in writing. So much room to do more with it.

I recommend playing it on the hardest difficulty and avoid Leaping Tiger because it trivializes the game barring mods.
 

OutWorldAleMerchant

Hotaru's Number One Fan
Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 are some of the greatest examples of amazing writing in gaming history because Drew Karpyshyn (KOTOR1) & Chris Avellone (KOTOR2) are batshit insane when it comes to depth & detail. When it comes to Chris Avellone, he's a master of detail & depth who went above & beyond as he researched the entirety of the Star Wars Legends up to that point before he started writing. Both of them had prior experiences working on classic RPGs before they worked on Star Wars like Neverwinter Nights (Karpyshyn) & Fallout 2 (Avellone) then made amazing epics afterwards like Mass Effect (Karpyshyn) & Fallout New Vegas (Avellone).



Now with Sam Maggs, where to begin?

This Twitter thread is just the tip of the iceberg.
Kreia is, without a doubt, one of the best written video game characters of all time.

And its not even Avellone's greatest work. That would be Planescape: Torment, the best written video game of all time by a country mile. No words would do it justice.
 

Revy

★ 19 Years of Jade ★
Jade Empire and MK are cut from the same cloth in that they are both westernized depictions of chinese fantasy. And thats a good thing! Jade Empire especially really went the extra mile with it with all sorts of lore, bordering nations, and world building that you only heard of in writing. So much room to do more with it.

I recommend playing it on the hardest difficulty and avoid Leaping Tiger because it trivializes the game barring mods.
Leaping Tiger is ridiculously overpowered but so is Viper & Iron Palm late game. I like White Demon (I just think it's slow) & Legendary Strike as well but I think Thousand Cuts is really really bad. There's certain fighting styles that make the game a breeze even on the hardest difficulty like longswords, Tempest, some of the transformation styles, Storm Dragon & Mirabelle.

I want try the "Jade Empire In Style" mod as it has 6 more martial styles.

Special Edition has Jade Master which I'm going to try after my current playthrough then try the Celestial Master mod to make it even harder.
 

Revy

★ 19 Years of Jade ★
Kreia is, without a doubt, one of the best written video game characters of all time.

And its not even Avellone's greatest work. That would be Planescape: Torment, the best written video game of all time by a country mile. No words would do it justice.
Black Isle Studios (Later Obsidian before The Outer Worlds) & Pre-2011 BioWare were gods of great video game writing & there hasn't been a developer to be remotely close maybe CDPR because Cyberpunk 2077 was the only WRPG I enjoyed storywise since Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
 

Marlow

Premium Supporter
Premium Supporter
Ah. What did she have to critize about the original KOtoR? It was very well written for it's time.
Maggs is a writer who is very passionate about feminism (or at least frustration with the patriarchal system that somewhat exists in a lot of video game and media culture, in addition to a number of social institutions) and representation, especially queer representation. KOTOR was very good for it's time, but I'm sure there's some valid criticisms to be made especially if you're coming from that angle. Sounds like Maggs enjoys Star Wars, and enjoyed KOTOR, but probably vented some frustrations, which likely pissed off a certain segment of toxic Star Wars fans, who then retaliated the the same way lots of toxic fans retaliate against a female who dared criticize something they love: Call her an SJW Woke B-word and run an online smear/harassment campaign against her.

Probably not that different than if a female NRS player were to say that she liked MK9 but didn't care for the representation of female characters. MK9 is a beloved game, but it has some problematic elements that haven't aged well, especially if viewed through a certain lens.
 

Marlow

Premium Supporter
Premium Supporter
Jade Empire seems cool, I loved KOTOR and KOTOR II. I always wanted to play Jade Empire but never got around to it. If I ever get my evenings back and have time to play video games I'll check it out.
 
Maggs is a writer who is very passionate about feminism (or at least frustration with the patriarchal system that somewhat exists in a lot of video game and media culture, in addition to a number of social institutions) and representation, especially queer representation. KOTOR was very good for it's time, but I'm sure there's some valid criticisms to be made especially if you're coming from that angle. Sounds like Maggs enjoys Star Wars, and enjoyed KOTOR, but probably vented some frustrations, which likely pissed off a certain segment of toxic Star Wars fans, who then retaliated the the same way lots of toxic fans retaliate against a female who dared criticize something they love: Call her an SJW Woke B-word and run an online smear/harassment campaign against her.

Probably not that different than if a female NRS player were to say that she liked MK9 but didn't care for the representation of female characters. MK9 is a beloved game, but it has some problematic elements that haven't aged well, especially if viewed through a certain lens.
Ah, as I said above, a lot to take in. As I've mentioned in other threads I have no fondness of social media at all, and I find any hot topic tends to devolve into extremists from both sides freaking out instead of actually trying to resolve issues.

For the original KOtoR, it has been 20 years so we'll see what they do with it. I do recall the original dealt with racism and discrimination very well (and early in the game too). Karth's line of "Ignorance and stupidity never going out of style" in relation to racism has stuck with me to this day.

Interestingly, while the canonical player character is male, as decided by LucasArts, apparently the writers originally intended it to be a female player character.

For Mortal Kombat, the female characters (and characters in general) look so vastly superior in Mortal Kombat 11 compared to Mortal Kombat (2011). That was the aesthetic for female characters at the time (in most games, not just MK), but it's nice to see characters are appearing more realistic now. At the end of the day though, gameplay is more important to me than visuals and I wouldn't freak if that visual style made a resurgence.
 

Marlow

Premium Supporter
Premium Supporter
I read an interesting review of KOTOR II which stated that based on the call backs in KOTOR II it actually made for a more compelling story in KOTOR if the main character was female.

As for social media, I just wish people would realize that it's ok to love something, and for that thing to be considered great, while at the same time being open to criticism of that thing. Everyone's life experiences are different, and people value different things. It's also ok to acknowledge that the thing you like has flaws, or at least elements that could be problematic to others even if they're not problematic to you. Doesn't mean you can't still enjoy it.
 
I read an interesting review of KOTOR II which stated that based on the call backs in KOTOR II it actually made for a more compelling story in KOTOR if the main character was female.
Interestingly, the sequel was apparently written for the player charatcer of that game to be male, but canonically, LucasArts decided female.

As for social media, I just wish people would realize that it's ok to love something, and for that thing to be considered great, while at the same time being open to criticism of that thing. Everyone's life experiences are different, and people value different things. It's also ok to acknowledge that the thing you like has flaws, or at least elements that could be problematic to others even if they're not problematic to you. Doesn't mean you can't still enjoy it.
A wise perspective. As a buddy of mine used to say: it's okay to like something, just don't be a dick about it. In general, not being a dick will get you through most opinion situations 99% of the time.
 

Marlow

Premium Supporter
Premium Supporter
When it comes to RPG's like KOTOR and Dragon Age my problem is that I get too much into trying to create a specific character to fit my own narrative that I typically about 1/3 of the way through before I want to go back and try out a different character.

I swear I've played Dragon Age Origins for 400 hours and 100 different characters and I've barely made it halfway through the game.

I installed KOTOR II on my PC could never get off the first ship because I kept going back and trying different character configurations. I have a hard time trying to balance character aesthetics with character efficiency.
 
When it comes to RPG's like KOTOR and Dragon Age my problem is that I get too much into trying to create a specific character to fit my own narrative that I typically about 1/3 of the way through before I want to go back and try out a different character.

I swear I've played Dragon Age Origins for 400 hours and 100 different characters and I've barely made it halfway through the game.

I installed KOTOR II on my PC could never get off the first ship because I kept going back and trying different character configurations. I have a hard time trying to balance character aesthetics with character efficiency.
Ah. For me, I generally take the first/default appearance for a character and perhaps change a thing or two for a minute, and then I get out there.

I like to try Skills and abilities as I go and my first character is always a "learning" character so I can get a feel for how the game plays and what skills are effective at what, which synergize well, which would make for a harder and more "skill" build, etc.
 

Revy

★ 19 Years of Jade ★
Maggs is a writer who is very passionate about feminism (or at least frustration with the patriarchal system that somewhat exists in a lot of video game and media culture, in addition to a number of social institutions) and representation, especially queer representation. KOTOR was very good for it's time, but I'm sure there's some valid criticisms to be made especially if you're coming from that angle. Sounds like Maggs enjoys Star Wars, and enjoyed KOTOR, but probably vented some frustrations, which likely pissed off a certain segment of toxic Star Wars fans, who then retaliated the the same way lots of toxic fans retaliate against a female who dared criticize something they love: Call her an SJW Woke B-word and run an online smear/harassment campaign against her.

Probably not that different than if a female NRS player were to say that she liked MK9 but didn't care for the representation of female characters. MK9 is a beloved game, but it has some problematic elements that haven't aged well, especially if viewed through a certain lens.
Sam Maggs is a "SJW woke bitch", no doubt about it & doesn't even hide it. I'm not even talking about Star Wars even though my opinion is the exact opposite (I like the prequels & the originals but hate the sequels but I loved Rogue One & didn't mind Solo). She hated on the Charlie's Angels (2000) movie by calling it & the 2000s feminism "misogynist & racist" but she says the same thing to anything doesn't like & thinks anything right-wing is misogynist, hateful &/or racist. Her whole "fighting the patriarchy" is cringe. I'm someone who is mostly right-wing but that doesn't mean I hate diversity, LGBTQ+ or women as I have close family who are Filipino & I don't discriminate against people who are LGBTQ+ or women.

A lot of Sam Magg's views are nonsense, "Don't compare how we felt to how (Trump) supporters feel tonight. We were rightfully scared for our lives, for our rights, for our friends & family & all marginalized people in this country. They're scared of being held accountable for their racism, misogyny, and hate." Everything that a SJW or woke melodramatic morons don't agree with is racist, misogynist or hateful as even my Prime Minister called unvaccinated people the EXACT same thing, it's lunacy.


Ah, as I said above, a lot to take in. As I've mentioned in other threads I have no fondness of social media at all, and I find any hot topic tends to devolve into extremists from both sides freaking out instead of actually trying to resolve issues.

For the original KOtoR, it has been 20 years so we'll see what they do with it. I do recall the original dealt with racism and discrimination very well (and early in the game too). Karth's line of "Ignorance and stupidity never going out of style" in relation to racism has stuck with me to this day.

Interestingly, while the canonical player character is male, as decided by LucasArts, apparently the writers originally intended it to be a female player character.

For Mortal Kombat, the female characters (and characters in general) look so vastly superior in Mortal Kombat 11 compared to Mortal Kombat (2011). That was the aesthetic for female characters at the time (in most games, not just MK), but it's nice to see characters are appearing more realistic now. At the end of the day though, gameplay is more important to me than visuals and I wouldn't freak if that visual style made a resurgence.
The tone from Malak, Canderous & the Jedi Masters is bizarre when you play as a female when they talk about Revan's history & due to the Revan & Bastilla relationship being a bit more fleshed out than the relationship with Carth or the relationship with Juhani. Surprisingly (as someone whose preference usually female), I actually loved playing as a male in KOTOR II due to The Handmaiden as I'm not a fan of The Disciple as I think Micah is annoying. Brianna is such a cool character as it sucks that you can't recruit her if you play as a female without mods: Having Visas Marr, Brianna, Mira with Meetra Surik would have been so cool (except the jealous lock). I think when you play the Jedi Exile as a male, not sure if it's just me but I think Atris hates you more but when you play as a female it seems to be more about jealousy & resentment towards Meetra leaving to fight in the Mandalorian Wars also Kavar's Master-Apprentice relationship sounds better if the Jedi Exile is a female too.


Now when it comes to female characters in Mortal Kombat. Kerri Hoskins (MK3 & MK4 Sonya) is the biggest critic of the how female characters have changed (at least Sonya) as she hated MK11 Sonya, "They softened her up, flattened her chest & made her a plain face" & wants to "Make Sonya Sexy Again" & I'm all for that. Sonya has been busty since MK3 when Kerri Hoskins took over & MK9 Sonya pretty much had the body of Kerri just with longer legs & the face was off. I know plenty of female MK players who miss MK9 female characters as they made them powerful & sexy, they're the most popular cosplays too. A lot of the reasons folks have against MK9 female models are kinda dumb, "Characters with boobs that big can't fight" then watch IBF Female Bantamweight Champion, Ebanie Bridges fight & certain professional wrestlers.

My only issue with MK9 character models were the female faces except Sindel who actually had a pretty face. MK9 Jade is by far my favourite in design because they just made improvements from her alternate costume from MKD/MKA & I loved it then as a 9 year-old boy in 2004 in MKD, I loved the MK9 version as a 16 year-old teenager & I still love both as a 27 year-old man while feeling meh about Jade's MK11 character model. MK9 in general had the best story by far, the best character designs that every fan of the series before then could recognize, with flawless voice acting (except Sonya tbh, kinda cringe), familiar movesets that old fans would recognize & it was by far the most compelling to watch. The only issues MK9 has is bugs (See this thread) & it's unbalanced.


I read an interesting review of KOTOR II which stated that based on the call backs in KOTOR II it actually made for a more compelling story in KOTOR if the main character was female.

As for social media, I just wish people would realize that it's ok to love something, and for that thing to be considered great, while at the same time being open to criticism of that thing. Everyone's life experiences are different, and people value different things. It's also ok to acknowledge that the thing you like has flaws, or at least elements that could be problematic to others even if they're not problematic to you. Doesn't mean you can't still enjoy it.
Kavar's Master-Apprentice relationship sounds better if the Jedi Exile is a female & the whole story of Meetra Surik is amazing especially if you played The Old Republic & read the Revan book (I have it, it's pretty good).

I can see what's wrong with the original KOTOR, the plot was not always consistent, it was predictable, it's too black & white in terms of good & bad (that's BioWare problem though) there's very little grey especially with moral choices & Juhani is pretty much ignored, she seems like an afterthought. Also not getting your mask back is annoying but I know the lore behind the reason why but why let us get our robes back on the Star Forge?

What made me love KOTOR II is how dark it was. Korriban level is almost entirely callbacks & the return of the Mandalorians which was awesome. I think the story of KOTOR II is way better due to Chris Avellone's insane writing & dedication in being thorough & he didn't have an easy task of continuing Drew Karpyshyn's story with the same quality & intrigue, what sucks is KOTOR II didn't get the same respect as the first one for some reason & it's not really fair. They went above & beyond to make the sequel that was edgier, the moral choices were more significant & grey, there was a lot more shock & awe moments & the story is far better paced. There's so many things that they didn't change that was perfect as there was minimal changes to combat so why change it when it's not broken? The biggest issue is graphics as they look exactly the same as the first game, lots of bugs & Peragus (fuck Peragus).
 
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Marlow

Premium Supporter
Premium Supporter
Sam Maggs has her life experiences and passions, you have yours. Not sure why her expressing her opinion makes her a "SJW Woke B-word". She has valid criticisms. Doesn't mean they're always true or completely accurate, but it's still a valid lens to look through.

She hated on the Charlie's Angels (2000) movie by calling it & the 2000s feminism "misogynist & racist" but she says the same thing to anything doesn't like
My guess is that as a female who spends a lot of time in heavily male dominated spaces like Star Wars and Video Games, she's faced her fair share of misogyny, which is what probably what colors her opinion and attitude.
 

Marlow

Premium Supporter
Premium Supporter
In KOTOR I thought it made a more interesting story if Revan was female. Made a more interesting relationship between Revan and Malak, skips out the tropey Bastilla love story, and makes a more interesting relationship with Carth.

It's been too long for me to remember the KOTOR II story, but I know I liked the idea of a male jedi who had basically fallen away from the force. I wanted to make a build that was mostly Dexterity/blasters based. Someday I'll get back to it.