The popular Star Wars mobile game Galaxy of Heroes has had plenty of ups and downs over the years, but in recent months there has been an encouraging number of updates and excitement.
They’ve released several characters from the Star Wars Jedi franchise, including Cal Kestis, Cere Junda, Merrin, Tarfful, and Saw Gerrera, plus a legendary release of Cal from Survivor. Just this week, they officially announced that Taron Malicos will be coming to the game as well, as the newest character unlocked through Conquest. Malicos, of course, was a key antagonist in Fallen Order fighting Cal and Merrin, a fallen Jedi who lived on Dathomir post-Order 66 and went insane.
There’s more excitement as well, as the Krayt Dragon raid was released earlier this year. It’s based off of The Mandalorian season two, and while it’s vastly different than previous raids, it’s enjoyable. They just announced that a new version of the raid will be coming later this year, designed after the Endor speeder bike chase from Return of the Jedi, which is exciting. To have such momentum on raids like this is plenty of reason for optimism.
One of the biggest character releases of the year, though, has been the marquee release of Captain Rex, designed after the fan favorite’s appearance in Star Wars Rebels. He’s a great character who really lifts the Phoenix team to far greater heights, and he’s been very well-received by the community. But as is typical, marquee releases come into play down the road, and that’s what is happening here: the long-rumored and long-suspected Galactic Legend Leia Organa will be coming to Galaxy of Heroes later this year!
It seems almost certainly designed after her on Endor, and in that way it’s sort of the long-delayed counterpart to Jabba the Hutt as part of the ROTJ 40th anniversary celebration. I am beyond excited about this, as I’ve written before that Leia was by far the most neglected and overlooked character in the game, both when compared to similar characters in-game and especially when compared to especially significant in-universe characters. This is quite overdue, but it’s better late than never. It seems Leia will take the rebels to another level, and I can’t wait for that.
Captain Rex is part of the first batch of requirements for the character that’s been revealed (we all probably saw that coming), as are Wicket, Admiral Ackbar, and Lando Calrissian. All four of these characters make perfect sense: the latter three are major players at the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, while Rex has been confirmed to be a part of the strike team on Endor too. Leia’s close connection with the Ewoks means more will probably be included, and we know of one already: Princess Kneesaa, who will be released soon as a marquee character. Many fans probably won’t be familiar with her, but she was a main character in the Ewoks animated series. She has also appeared in the canon series Forces of Destiny, showing up in a couple of episodes set on Endor. She’s the daughter of Chief Chirpa, a friend of Wicket, and a logical new Ewok to add to the game.
There’s another marquee character who’s being released that, well, isn’t so logical. With so much going well in the game, I am genuinely encouraged about Galaxy of Heroes – which has not always been the case in recent years. But I just cannot get excited about the release of a new character named Drogan, who will, according to Capital Games, be important to the GL Leia squad. Drogan is a brand new character created by the studio for this game. Here’s what they write:
Next up, we are thrilled to introduce a new original character into the Star Wars galaxy: Drogan, a Rebel Captain who fought with the Rebellion on Endor and is a key part of the GL Leia squad! Since birth, Drogan has not just had a limb difference, but also sense of justice and passion to help those in need. From the start, we focused on designing Drogan to not only be authentic, but also a character that feels part of broader the Star Wars universe. We are excited to welcome Drogan to the squad and look forward to other ways we can broaden inclusive design in our game.
This isn’t the first time they’ve created a character. They actually just did so recently with 5OR-T, an Old Republic droid. I wasn’t a fan of it then, but I really am not a fan of it now. For an Endor Leia squad, there’s any number of characters that they could release. There are some obvious ones like General Han Solo or pilot Luke Skywalker, as well as some really thematic inclusions for Leia like Bail Organa or even Evaan Verlaine. There are Battle of Endor staples like the Scout Trooper (long wished for) or Nien Nunb. There’s lesser-known characters like General Madine or Nik Sant, or even a generic Endor Rebel Trooper or something like that. Instead, we’re just getting a made-up character, who’s supposed to be a major part of Leia’s GL team. I’m not a fan, especially because there’s no shortage of actual characters that would be possibilities to use. With 5OR-T, it at least could be justified that there weren’t many in-universe options that fit the bill for what CG was looking for, but the same can’t be said with Drogan. There’s an abundance of Rebel fighters tied in with the Battle of Endor that could easily have done the same thing, but that’s not what’s happening.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that one of my most anticipated character releases in the history of this game (in GL Leia) is going to be accompanied by what is by far my least anticipated character ever (Drogan). I guess that’s just how it goes. But overall, there’s a lot to be excited about in Galaxy of Heroes right now.
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