It was 1997. Star Wars was everywhere because the Special Editions had just hit theaters, and George Lucas was printing money. But something felt off in the gaming world. While everyone was busy playing GoldenEye 007 or Final Fantasy VII, LucasArts decided to take a massive gamble. They looked at Tekken and SoulEdge and thought, "Yeah, Han Solo should definitely punch a Tusken Raider in the face."
That’s basically the origin story of Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi.
If you grew up with a PlayStation 1, you probably remember the box art. It featured Luke Skywalker looking surprisingly intense, holding a lightsaber that looked a bit more like a neon glow-stick than a weapon of a Jedi Knight. For a lot of us, it was a "must-buy" based on the brand alone. But once the disc started spinning, reality set in. This wasn't just another Star Wars game; it was a bizarre, clunky, and strangely ambitious fighting game that attempted to bridge the gap between cinematic lore and arcade mechanics. It didn't quite land the jump to lightspeed.
The Fighting Style Nobody Could Pronounce
Let’s talk about the name first. Teräs Käsi. It sounds like something you’d order at a fusion restaurant, but in the expanded universe—now called "Legends"—it was a legitimate martial art designed specifically to allow non-Force users to fight Jedi. The term actually comes from Finnish, meaning "Steel Hand."
LucasArts didn't just pull this out of thin air. They pulled it from the 1996 novel Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry. In that book, Prince Xizor is a master of the craft. It was a cool bit of world-building that gave regular people a fighting chance against a wizard with a laser sword. But translating that into a 3D fighter? That was a different beast entirely.
The game’s roster was... eclectic. You had your heavy hitters like Luke, Han Solo, and Leia (in her Boushh bounty hunter gear, which was actually a great touch). Then things got weird. Arden Lyn was the "big bad" of the game, a character created specifically for this title. She had a mechanical arm and a backstory involving the "Followers of Palawa."
Then you had Hoar. Yes, a Tusken Raider named Hoar. And Thok, a Gamorrean Guard. Seeing a pig-guard from Jabba’s palace doing a backflip is an image that stays with you. It’s glorious and terrifying all at once.
Why the Gameplay Felt Like Walking Through Carbonite
If you go back and play it today—and honestly, you should, just for the fever dream vibes—the first thing you’ll notice is the speed. Or lack thereof. Compared to Tekken 3, which came out around the same time, Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi feels like the characters are fighting underwater.
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The movement is heavy. The jumps are floaty.
There was this massive balance issue that haunted every match: the lightsaber. How do you balance a weapon that is supposed to cut through literally anything? The developers decided to make the lightsaber behave like a glowing baseball bat. You could whack Darth Vader across the face three or four times, and he’d just stumble back. It broke the immersion for a lot of fans, but from a mechanical standpoint, what else could they do? If Luke could one-shot everyone, the game would last ten seconds.
Interestingly, the game featured a "Force Meter." It allowed for special moves, which was standard for the era, but the execution was often frustrating. You’d input a complex command, wait for the animation to wind up, and by the time the move actually triggered, your opponent had usually wandered off to get a snack.
The Visuals and the Sound (The Saving Graces)
Despite the clunky controls, the game looked decent for 1997. The character models were large and detailed for the PS1. Seeing the environments was the real treat. Fighting on a platform in Cloud City while a Tibanna gas refinery chugs away in the background felt authentic. The developers at LucasArts clearly cared about the aesthetic. They used actual sound samples from the Skywalker Sound archives. When that lightsaber hummed or a blaster bolted past your ear, it sounded like the movies.
John Williams’ score did a lot of the heavy lifting. It’s hard to feel like a game is a total failure when "The Imperial March" is blasting in your ears.
But then you’d notice the weird stuff. Like the way Han Solo would pull out a blaster in a "fair" fistfight. Or the fact that Chewbacca seemed to have the reach of a skyscraper. It was a game of contradictions—high production value mixed with baffling design choices.
Arden Lyn and the Legacy of the Followers of Palawa
Arden Lyn is a character that deserves more credit. She wasn't just a generic villain. Her backstory involved being in stasis for centuries, having been a master of Teräs Käsi from an era long before the Empire. She represented a different kind of threat—not a Sith, not a politician, but a pure martial artist.
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The "Followers of Palawa" were a group that studied the midichlorians not to serve the Force, but to counteract it. This is some deep-cut lore that modern Star Wars shows like The Acolyte or Ahsoka could actually mine for gold. It’s a shame the game she debuted in is often relegated to "worst of" lists, because the concept of a Force-neutralizing assassin is genuinely compelling.
Why It Flopped (And Why We Still Talk About It)
Critically, the game was panned. Magazines like GameSpot and IGN at the time gave it middling to low scores. They cited the stiff animation and the uninspired combo system. It felt like a "cash-in" to many, even if the developers clearly put heart into the lore.
But here’s the thing: it sold. People bought it because it was Star Wars. And because of that, it has this weird, nostalgic grip on a specific generation of gamers. We talk about it because it represents a time when LucasArts was willing to be experimental. They weren't just making flight simulators like X-Wing or point-and-click adventures like Day of the Tentacle. They were trying to put their stamp on every single genre.
Sometimes you get Knights of the Old Republic. Sometimes you get a Tusken Raider named Hoar trying to kick Boba Fett.
The Real Value of Masters of Teräs Käsi Today
If you’re a collector or a Star Wars completionist, this game is a fascinating artifact. It marks the end of the 90s era of Star Wars—before the Prequels changed the visual language of the franchise forever.
There is a certain charm in the limitations. The "Endurance Mode" was actually quite challenging, and unlocking the secret characters (like Mara Jade, a fan favorite from the Timothy Zahn novels) felt like a genuine achievement back in the pre-internet-spoiler days. Mara Jade’s inclusion was a huge deal. It was one of the first times a "book character" made the jump into a high-profile video game, legitimizing the Expanded Universe for a lot of kids.
How to Experience Teräs Käsi Now
You can’t officially buy this on modern storefronts like the PlayStation Store or Steam. It’s stuck in licensing limbo. To play it, you’re looking at:
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- Original Hardware: Finding a physical copy on eBay. Prices fluctuate, but it's generally affordable because it wasn't exactly a rare gem.
- Emulation: Using software like DuckStation to run the original ISO. This is actually the "best" way to play it now, as you can up-scale the resolution to 4K, which makes the character models look surprisingly sharp.
- YouTube Longplays: Honestly, for most people, watching a 20-minute playthrough is enough to satisfy the itch without dealing with the frustrating controls.
Practical Steps for the Curious
If you’re dead set on mastering this clunky relic, start with Boba Fett. He’s arguably the most "broken" character because of his projectile spam. It’s not honorable, but it’ll get you through the arcade mode.
Avoid the jumps. The air game in Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi is a death sentence. The gravity is weirdly high, and you’re a sitting duck for any ground-based combo. Focus on the mid-range strikes and learn the "Force" specials early.
Also, take a moment to look at the manual if you can find a PDF online. The lore snippets in 90s game manuals were often better written than the games themselves. They provide a lot of context for why these characters are fighting in the first place (spoiler: it has something to do with a giant "TIE Fighter" sized droid and a tournament organized by the Empire).
The Final Verdict on the Steel Hand
Is it a good fighting game? No. Not by a long shot. It’s stiff, unbalanced, and often feels unfinished. But is it a fascinating Star Wars product? Absolutely. It’s a snapshot of a time when the franchise was experimental and a bit messy. It gave us Arden Lyn, it brought Mara Jade to the screen, and it proved that even the most powerful Jedi can be defeated by a Gamorrean Guard if the player pushes the right buttons.
The legacy of Teräs Käsi actually lives on in the current canon. You can see Qi’ra using the style in Solo: A Star Wars Story and the Crimson Reign comics. The game might be a relic, but the idea of the "Steel Hand" is here to stay.
To dive deeper into this era of gaming, look for original copies of the Shadows of the Empire soundtrack or the making-of features often found in old issues of Star Wars Insider. Exploring the 1997 LucasArts catalog gives you a much better appreciation for the risks they took, even the ones that ended in a "K.O."