History YMMV / RogueSquadron

** ''The Queens Gambit'' in ''Battle for Naboo'' starts off easy, but the second half, where you're saddled with the Naboo Bomber, is aggravating, especially on medal runs. The bomber is near useless--it moves slow as molasses, only has six bombs (two of which are needed to take out the MTTs before they reach their destination) and its slow firing laser cannons are pathetic. Did we mention there are lots of turrets and mines scattered arond to distract you as well? Being able to replay the level with the N-1 Fighter doesn't make it much better either, since its whole load of missiles wont take down a single MTT, and your lasers take even longer to chew through them.

*** First off, it's a [[ScrappyLevel Y-Wing mission]], which obviously requires the player to fly the Rebels' slow, lumbering bomber that will most likely get shot down at least once. The first half of the mission requires the player to use the ship's ion cannons on three generators powering a forcefield, which gets ''pretty tedious.''

*** [[MostAnnoyingSound Oh, and you have to do this while ''constantly'' hearing the Rebels scream at you.]]
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: For a game that was released in ''2001'' and as a UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube launch title, ''Rogue Leader'''s visuals hold up very well to this day.

** How has no one mentioned ''Prisons of the Maw'' yet!?:

* AntiClimaxBoss: The World Devastators in the "Battle of Calamari" are this. Let's just say that taking them down is a LOT easier than how they were depicted as being taken down in the original source material of ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire''.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The games all used music from the movies (the first game using Musy X remixes of songs from them, the sequels using the real audio tracks), [[AwesomeMusic/StarWars with all that entails.]] Factor 5 also improvised plenty of their own music for the games, and while the Musy X synthesizer was no match for Creator/JohnWilliams' fully orchestrated scores, it turned out some respectable pieces, such as the moody theme of "The Jade Moon".

* ScrappyLevel:
** Pretty much any of the on-foot missions in ''Rebel Strike''.
** For those looking to get every Best Ever score they can, "The Sarlacc Pit" is actually very good due to its fairly forgiving requirements. So why am I writing about it here? See the above point? Apply it to a short level (no time to lose to get that Best Ever score!) that has you ''platforming while directly over the Sarlacc pit''. Not ''hard'', but rich with FakeDifficulty.

* GoodBadBugs: In ''Rogue Squadron'', it's possible for certain cutscenes to continue on if the player is to crash their vehicle just before they even begin.\\\
For example, the "Liberation of Gerrard V" cutscene that shows Wedge being chased by a pair of TIE Interceptors would continue on longer than usual, only for the two [=TIEs=] to suddenly crash into the sea below, as if they were both shot down.

*** Their ''sole'' weakness is the Snowspeeder's tow cable. The first game straight up [[CharacterSelectForcing prevented you from using anything but the Speeder]] in missions featuring them, even with cheat codes or when the walkers weren't mission-critical at all (looking at you, Imperial Construction Yards). ''Rogue Leader'' let you use other ships for some [=AT-AT=] missions, but [[KungFuProofMook nothing besides the tow cable could destroy them,]] not even the Y-Wing's bombs, forcing you to switch to the Speeder mid-mission until they're dealt with.

** [=AT-ATs=] in every game, but especially ''Rogue Leader'' (in the original game, any level with these notorious assets of the Galactic Empire did not give players a choice on craft even with cheats; they HAD to use the snowspeeder as their craft if at least one AT-AT is in the mission). They only face one direction so staying out of their line of fire is so easy the most likely way to die against them is to run into them, but since they can only be destroyed by lassoing their legs with a tow cable, destroying them takes a painstakingly long time, and you '''ALWAYS''' have to destroy them because whenever they appear they have to destroyed before they destroy a mission-critical objective. ''Rebel Strike'' makes [=AT-ATs=] ''slightly'' easier to deal with by giving you an alternate way to destroy them by picking up a bomb and flying it into the side, but with the Snowspeeder's low flight ceiling, it's just as easy to [[EpicFail plow headlong into the side of the AT-AT yourself]], without even scratching the paint job.

* TakeThatScrappy: ''Battle for Naboo'' features an N64 logo falling on [[TheScrappy Jar-Jar's]] head.

** And none of these entries account for medal runs, where you can't die or use the targeting computer at all, plus other restrictions like time--one ''minute'' for "Razor Rendezvous", for example.

** And the 2 part "Escape from Kessel" mission ("Rogue Squadron, where's our cover!")

** ''Panaka's Diversion'' from ''Battle for Naboo''. Not that hard of a level on its own, but getting a gold or platinum medal turns it into an endurance test. The nastiest criteria to meet is that you cant die at all--this level is packed with enemies in a cramped city environment, so getting through in one piece, on top of having to kill enough enemies ''and'' meet a strict time limit, will really push your skills to their limits.

* GoddamnedBats:
** Tank Droids: numerous, tough, hard-hitting and ACCURATE. Plus a couple [=TIEs=] & TIE Interceptors actually have AI rather than flying pre-programmed paths (Kile II, Chandrila & Thyferra). Plus Moff Seerdon's Sentinel Shuttle, which is the boss of the semi-final mission of the original game. [=AT-STs=] might count too, since you tend to crash into them while trying to strafe.
** [=AT-ATs=] in every game, but especially ''Rogue Leader'' (in the original game, any level with these notorious assets of the Galactic Empire did not give players a choice on craft even with cheats; they HAD to use the snowspeeder as their craft if at least one AT-AT is in the mission). They only face one direction so staying out of their line of fire is so easy the most likely way to die against them is to run into them, but since they can only be destroyed by lassoing their legs with a tow cable, destroying them takes a painstakingly long time, and you '''ALWAYS''' have to destroy them because whenever they appear they have to destroyed before they destroy a mission-critical objective. ''Rebel Strike'' makes [=AT-ATs=] ''slightly'' easier to deal with by giving you an alternate way to destroy them by picking up a bomb and flying it into the side, but with the Snowspeeder's low flight ceiling, it's just as easy to [[EpicFail plow headlong into the side of the AT-AT yourself]], without even scratching the paint job.

** The Battle of Hoth bonus level in the first game is a breeze on its own, but getting a gold medal on it is a pain due to the very tight criteria. You're given just barely enough time to finish the level, so if you flub up even once with taking down the AT ATs, you may as well just start over. On top of that, the accuracy requirements are usually high, which can be an extra pain in the neck despite the precense of three huge targets to shoot at due to the aforementioned time requirements.

** ''The Queens Gambit'' in ''Battle for Naboo'' starts off easy, but the second half, where you're saddled with the Naboo Bomber, is aggravating, especially on medal runs. The bomber is near useless--it moves slow as molasses, only has six bombs (two of which are needed to take out the MTTs before they reach their destination) and its slow firing laser cannons are pathetic. Did we mention there are lots of turrets and mines scattered arond to distract you as well? Being able to replay the level with the N-1 Fighter doesnt make it much better either, since its whole load of missiles wont take down a single MTT, and your lasers take even longer to chew through them.

* How has no one mentioned "Prisons of the Maw" yet!?:
** First off, it's a [[ScrappyLevel Y-Wing mission]], which obviously requires the player to fly the Rebels' slow, lumbering bomber that will most likely get shot down at least once. The first half of the mission requires the player to use the ship's ion cannons on three generators powering a forcefield, which gets ''pretty tedious.''
** But that is ''nothing'' compared to the second half! Wedge and crew have to bomb the prison's gun towers and walkers while a group of Rebels make their escape on a train. If you don't complete the objectives lightning fast, [[NonStandardGameOver the train will be destroyed and you'll be forced to retreat.]] Needless to say, it's a Death Star-sized pain in the ass.
** [[MostAnnoyingSound Oh, and you have to do this while ''constantly'' hearing the Rebels scream at you.]]

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Thanks to ''Film/RogueOne'', the entire series takes on an extremely uplifting tone. [[spoiler: You are essentially carrying on the legacy of the Rogue One strike force that gave their lives during the Battle of Scariff.]]

** Missile Turrets, particularly in the first game. One alone can put a nasty dent in your shields. Two or three will drop an X-wing in a little over a second. [[HellIsThatNoise You will learn to fear the lock-on sound.]] Worse yet is that the FinalBoss has access to them; not so bad if you've learned how to avoid them by that point, but completely awful if you haven't.

** The Naboo Starfighter is an absurdly powerful JackOfAllStats that has high speed, great shields, and powerful weapons in all of the main games. It makes earning Gold Medals nearly ''trivial'', even in bombing levels designed for the Y-Wing. Adding homing cluster missiles in ''Rebel Strike'' is just icing on the cake.

** ''Rogue Leader's'' "Strike At The Core". '''[[NintendoHard Seriously,]]''' it's the trench run minus vertical clearance and constantly changing dimensions. You reach the core, then do it all ''again'', but this time without decelerating or you fry. And all this is assuming that you can actually get inside the Death Star II in the first place, without being shot down either by [=TIEs=] or the absurd number of turbolaser turrets on the surface, or falling too far behind your wingman, which causes an instant fail.

** Any ship with [[ReverseShrapnel cluster missiles]] once the homing technology is picked up, starting with the V-wing airspeeder in the first game (essentially the New Republic's answer to the [[VideoGame/TIEFighter Missile Boat]]), then ''Slave 1'' and Vader's TIE Advanced in ''Rogue Leader'', and lastly the Naboo Starfighter (which was already a GameBreaker in the last two games ''before'' getting clusters) in ''Rebel Strike''.
** That being said, ''Slave 1'' has very poor laser accuracy and is as slow as molasses (slower than the Y-wing, if you can believe that), plus it doesn't have good shielding, so if you run out of those cluster missiles, you're screwed.
** ''Rebel Strike'' arguably passed the Game Breaker mantle from cluster missiles to sonic mines (first seen in Film/AttackOfTheClones). Just shoot a few in random directions, and boom--[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_mines big blue waves of doom that cut through shields]]. Putting them on the ''Slave 1'' makes a little sense due to the above flaws, but it really goes into broken territory when they're equipped on the fast-and-small Jedi Starfighter.

** ''Rogue Squadron'''s Naboo Starfighter is faster than the A-wing, more maneuverable than the X-wing, and carries laser cannons that carry more firepower and faster firing speed than the V-wing's rapid-fire turrets. It makes getting gold on every level it's usable in damn near ''trivial'', especially those in which you'd otherwise be limited to the Y-wing.

** The [=AT-STs=] in ''Rebel Strike'' rapidly regenerate both health and concussion missiles; any level where you drive one is basically an extended CurbStompBattle.

** If any player selects the TIE Advanced in the multiplayer mode of ''Rebel Strike'', that player has pretty much automatically won, since its homing cluster missiles can pretty much one-shot-kill anything without even having to aim. Especially bad since--unlike in the single player mode--''they're all unlocked at the start of the game.''

** ''The Queens Gambit'' starts off easy, but the second half, where you're saddled with the Naboo Bomber, is aggravating, especially on medal runs. The bomber is near useless--it moves slow as molasses, only has six bombs (two of which are needed to take out the MTTs before they reach their destination) and its slow firing laser cannons are pathetic. Did we mention there are lots of turrets and mines scattered arond to distract you as well? Being able to replay the level with the N-1 Fighter doesnt make it much better either, since its whole load of missiles wont take down a single MTT, and your lasers take even longer to chew through them.

** The Battle of Hoth bonus level in the first game is a breeze on its own, but getting a gold medal on it is a pain due to the very tight criteria. You'ee given just enough time to finish the level, so if you flub up even once with taking down the AT ATs, you may as well just start over. On top of that, the accuracy requirements are usually high, which can be an extra pain in the neck despite the precense of three huge targets to shoot at due to the aforementioned time requirements.

** Both of the Y-wing levels in the first game also qualify. Slow ship + lots of missile turrets + tons of TIEs = bad times. Thankfully you can use the Naboo Starfighter in those levels as well as the X-wing ones.

For example, the "Liberation of Gerrard V" cutscene that shows Wedge being chased by a pair of TIE Interceptors would continue on longer than usual, only for the two TIEs to suddenly crash into the sea below, as if they were both shot down.

** Tank Droids: numerous, tough, hard-hitting and ACCURATE. Plus a couple TIEs & TIE Interceptors actually have AI rather than flying pre-programmed paths (Kile II, Chandrila & Thyferra). Plus Moff Seerdon's Sentinel Shuttle. AT-STs might count too, since you tend to crash into them while trying to strafe.

** ''Rogue Leader's'' "Strike At The Core". '''[[NintendoHard Seriously,]]''' it's the trench run minus vertical clearance and constantly changing dimensions. You reach the core, then do it all ''again'', but this time without decelerating or you fry.