We’ve been playing through the new Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge and enjoying our virtual return to Batuu while Disneyland remains closed. This virtual reality game is a beautifully crafted expansion of the world-building that started with Galaxy’s Edge in the Disney Parks.
While I’ve been living my own Star Wars adventure from home, I’ve noticed a few elements from the game that I’d love to see incorporated into the actual land. Here are five things that would be a perfect fit for the real Galaxy’s Edge:
Seezelslak’s Cantina
Seezelslak’s Cantina is the hub for all your adventures in Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge. It’s in a prime location, high above the docking bays and Oga’s Cantina. Despite this, it seems like Seezelslak doesn’t get that many customers.
Considering the popularity of Oga’s Cantina, I’d imagine Seezelslak cantina would be more popular in the parks than it is with the characters in the game.
Music
The music is excellent in Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge; there are two elements I’d like to point out. Firstly, Seezelslak’s jukebox has a handful of songs in it. Some are familiar, from Oga’s Cantina, but composer Danny Piccione has created some new ones like the Pinteeka Dub, included below. Wouldn’t it be great if DJ R-3X got his hands on some new tracks in the near future?!
Oh and while I’m talking about the cantina, I found something interesting in the dark corner of Seezelslak’s Cantina: a hobbled together stage. Imagine a live performance like the Gaya concert we were treated to at the D23 Expo in 2017.
The second part is atmospheric music, the stuff that plays in the background. We’ve had much to say about the lack of background music at the parks and thankfully, the team at ILMxLab has a full score for the entire Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge. In fact, they have three composers.
They’ve uploaded two of their themes, one for Tara (the main protagonist and leader of the Guavian Death Gang), and the theme for one of Seezelslak’s “tales” about Yoda and a Jedi temple on Batuu.
The use of beautiful background music really elevates the Tales experience in a way that the land at Disney parks does not. Tara’s foreboding theme is exciting, the Age of Jedi is haunting, the Batuuan Wilds have a twangy Western feel, and Mubo’s Droid Depot has a light jaunty warmth. The inclusion of these tracks would feel right at home at the real Galaxy’s Edge.
Batuu Wildlife
Bina’s Creature Stall is home to many creatures throughout the galaxy, in fact, the Kowokian Monkey Lizards you meet in Tales broke out from her stall. What you can’t find at Bina’s is any Batuuan wildlife.
Tales features a few animals, including the Cidder and the Demlin. Both are rather nasty, actually. The Cidder look like flying Cthutulu that spits acid.
The Demlin are similar to Kowokian Monkey Lizards but are way more aggressive and nasty. If you look around the spires, you might see some birds, I believe they’re the Pipa Birds.
Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Traveler’s Guide to Batuu mentions the pipa birds and other wildlife that actually have calls you may have heard in the background audio at the park. A few examples include the Batuuan Rat, Spiran Firefly, Dugar Dugar (deer-like), Lahiroo (feathered reptiles), Nightsnake, and the Terra Tree Toad. Many of these animals are kept as pets by the Batuuans, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see Bina sell them to travelers in the future. . . or see them in cages hanging outside some of the residences.
Interactive Characters
The main storyline of Tales brings you into contact with several characters, some new and some old. Notable ones include C-3PO, R2-D2, Mubo, Seezelslak, and Tara. At the parks, R2 does roam Black Spire, and 3PO was tested at Disneyland, but the omission of shopkeepers like Mubo is unfortunate.
Included in interactive characters are the few atmospheric elements such as this Gonk droid. Roaming droids were tested years before Galaxy’s Edge opened (we miss you, Jake, the droid) but were never actually implemented in the land (besides R2). It was even heavily rumored that Disney did indeed build the droids but opted not to use them. An addition like this would greatly enhance the atmosphere and kinetic energy of the land.
Yoda (and other legacy characters)
One of the strongest elements of Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge are the namesake “Tales.” These are what I’d call “immersive flashbacks,” in which Seezelslak fixes you a drink and tells you a story that you literally become a part of. For the Temple of Darkness sequence, you momentarily eschew your Batuu character and become a padawan Jedi years before (think before The Phantom Menace). This is where you encounter Yoda, who’s come to assist you with the evil that’s been unleashed in the temple.
This is a storytelling mechanic that could definitely work at the parks. Disney has already established stories on Batuu that include Han Solo, Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala, Darth Vader, and Grand Admiral Thrawn. These stories can be told through flashbacks in the park in various ways, even something as simple as the way Enchanted Tales with Belle works at the Magic Kingdom. Considering the immense popularity of the Mandalorian, having a way to insert Mando content into the park’s version of Galaxy’s Edge is a no-brainer.
Baby Yoda’s Macarons
Speaking of the Mandalorian, I thought I’d add a little something extra not related to Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge. In an adorable scene from season two’s fourth episode, The Child (now known as Baby Grogu) uses his Force powers to steal some blue macarons from a local Nevarro boy.
I could definitely see myself picking up a couple of these from Docking Bay 7 or a vendor stall in the future. Although, if you want them now, Williams Sonoma is offering them. Just make sure you don’t eat too many before hopping on Smuggler’s Run, lest you end up like this:
About Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge
Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge is an Oculus-exclusive action-adventure VR title. It’s set on the planet of Batuu, shortly before the events seen at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park and Disney Hollywood Studios. You play an employee of the Droid Depot turned Resistance fighter after a run-in with the Guavian Death Gang. It’s available now for $25 on Oculus Quest 1 and Quest 2.
We found the game to be a nice little shooter with great atmospheric storytelling. Due to the nature of the media, it definitely fulfills a bit more of the storytelling and interaction we were looking for when Galaxy’s Edge opened last year.
Tales is by and large more ambitious and potentially more fun than ILMxLab’s previous title, Vader Immortal, albeit short (about 3-4 hours for the main quest). Like Vader, this too is a multi-part game, so only part of the full game is available now. It will be continued as new downloadable content early next year. To sum it up in one image:
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Let’s Hear From You
In the grand scope of things, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is new to us and the Disney Parks, and there’s still a lot of room for development as it’s accepted into the Disney Parks experience. Do you think any of the five items I suggested could have a shot of making it into the parks? Let us know what you like to see added to Galaxy’s Edge and whether you’d be interested in playing this VR game . . .