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Star Wars Day - The best iOS and Android games from a galaxy far far away

May the 4th be with you

Star Wars Day - The best iOS and Android games from a galaxy far far away

Happy Star Wars Day, everyone! What's that? You didn't know today was Star Wars Day?

It's okay. Don't worry. You're not missing a major national holiday, and you haven't turned up at work or school for no good reason.

Indeed, the only reason May 4th was unofficially designated Star Wars Day was because of a silly pun. See the strap line if you're still at all puzzled.

Still, there's no denying the sheer cultural impact Star Wars has had - and continues to have in the form of a couple of not-terrible recent films and other assorted media. That's got to be worth celebrating in these unsure times.

With that in mind, we thought now would be a good time to reach out with our feelings and lift the best mobile Star Wars games out of the murky swamps of the App Store and into the light.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
By Aspyr - buy on iOS / buy on Android

Forget 'a long time ago' - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is set a long long long time ago. Around 4,000 years before the time of Luke Skywalker, to be a little more precise.

There's little Star Wars fans like more than speculating about the lore of this fantastical universe, and BioWare's epic RPG indulges just such an urge.

It's also one of the finest role playing games ever made. So there's that.

Star Wars: Force Arena
By Netmarble Games - download on iOS / download on Android

Everyone is playing MOBAs these days, it seems. These multiplayer action-strategy games have you pitching small squads, led directly by all-powerful heroes, against one another in a battle for territory.

It's really about time someone made one with Star Wars characters. What's that? Star Wars: Force Arena, you say? Interesting.

Netmarble's game isn't quite as nuanced or polished as Vainglory, but being able to stomp rebel scum as Darth Vader goes some way to redressing the balance.

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
By Traveller's Tales - download on iOS / download on Android

For its sheer series spanning scope, it's difficult to look beyond LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga for a more easy-going take on the Star Wars universe.

Like the movie from which it's taken, however, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a modernised and technically more accomplished experience that gently nudges the franchise in interesting new directions.

For example, there's now a well-fitting cover system that lets you dodge behind walls, as well as a new multi-build system that lets you build several different constructs from the same set of LEGO bricks.

It's arguably the finest mobile LEGO game around, and a loving nod to Star Wars to boot.

Angry Birds Star Wars
By Rovio - download on iOS / download on Android

Do you really need another Angry Birds game in your life? If you haven't played Angry Birds Star Wars, then yeah, you probably do.

This is a surprisingly ace mash-up that takes a deeply silly, but also deeply loving approach to the source material. So yes, there are birds dressed up as Han Solo and Obi-Wan, but you can also deflect laser blasts with your lightsaber to help topple those (Stormtrooper) pigs.

Angry Birds Star Wars also borrows some of the gravity-warping mechanics from Angry Birds Space to spice things up a bit.

Star Wars Pinball
By Zen Studios - download on iOS / download on Android

If you want to play digital pinball, there's really only one developer you need to turn to. Fortunately, Zen Studios has also made a Star Wars-themed pinball game, so all of our Jedi prayers have been answered at once.

This is no cheap skinning effort either - each of the game's tables is packed with loving nods to each of the Star Wars movies. There's even a table dedicated to everyone's favourite bounty hunter.

Naturally, the ball physics and mechanics of play are spot on. This is Zen, remember.

Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.