20 years ago, 'Star Wars: Republic Commando' made us care about the clones long before 'The Clone Wars' and 'The Bad Batch'

20年前，《星球大战：共和国突击队》让我们在《克隆人战争》和《残次品》之前就开始关注克隆人

It's March 2005, and before Revenge of the Sith's release in theaters and several other major Star Wars video game launches, Republic Commando has just hit the shelves. It looks and plays unlike any other Star Wars first-person shooter before it, and while the initial reception isn't glowing, it's destined to impact countless future stories.

2005年3月，在《西斯的复仇》上映和几款重要的《星球大战》电子游戏发布之前，《共和国突击队》刚刚上架。它在视觉效果和玩法上与之前的任何一款《星球大战》第一人称射击游戏都不相同。尽管最初反响并不热烈，但它注定会对无数后续故事产生深远影响。

Two full decades* later, it's hard to argue against LucasArts' tactical FPS being one of the most unique and best Star Wars games ever made. From the immersive action to its darker, boots-on-the-ground tone, it's the rare sort of Star Wars story that brought fans of George Lucas' galaxy far, far away closer to the nameless grunts dying on the frontlines. They may have only been pawns in the centuries-long chess match between the light and dark sides of the Force, but away from the Jedi and the Sith, every gunfight can be the last, and even the Republic's finest clone troopers were just humans at the end of the day.

整整二十年后，很难反驳卢卡斯艺术公司（LucasArts）的这款战术FPS游戏是迄今为止最独特、最出色的《星球大战》游戏之一。从沉浸式的动作场景到其更黑暗、更贴近实战的基调，它是一种罕见的《星球大战》故事，让乔治·卢卡斯（George Lucas）遥远星系的粉丝们更接近那些在前线默默无闻、牺牲的士兵。他们或许只是光明与黑暗势力之间长达数个世纪的棋局中的棋子，但在绝地武士和西斯之外，每一场枪战都可能是最后一场，而共和国最精锐的克隆士兵终究也只是普通人。

After their explosive introduction in Attack of the Clones as personality-less replicas of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett, the 2D Clone Wars animated series didn't make a case about why clone troopers mattered more than droids. Sure, that one squad with ARC troopers was rad, but why should we care about them beyond their cool armor? Dave Filoni and George Lucas' 3D show, far more ambitious in its scope and depth, would 'fix' that issue years later, but we often forget that Republic Commando was the first piece of Star Wars media that treated the clones with respect.

在《克隆人的进攻》中，克隆人作为曼达洛雇佣兵詹戈·费特（Jango Fett）的无个性复制品首次亮相，而随后的2D动画《克隆人战争》并没有解释为什么克隆人比机器人更重要。当然，那个拥有ARC士兵的小队很酷，但我们为什么要关心他们，除了他们帅气的盔甲之外呢？戴夫·菲洛尼（Dave Filoni）和乔治·卢卡斯的3D动画在范围和深度上更具雄心壮志，多年后才解决了这个问题，但我们常常忘记，《共和国突击队》是第一部真正尊重克隆人的《星球大战》媒体作品。

The game kicks off during the Battle of Geonosis, but not before we witness a montage that details Delta Squad's creation, early life, and training on Kamino. We could've just been thrown right into the heat of battle, yet director Tim Longo (who would shepherd Halo 5 a decade later), the team of writers, and the powers that be at LucasArts decided to hit the ground walking instead of running.

游戏从吉奥诺西斯战役开始，但在那之前，我们先看到了一段蒙太奇，展示了德尔塔小队（Delta Squad）在卡米诺的诞生、早期生活和训练。我们本可以直接被投入到战斗的激烈之中，但导演蒂姆·隆戈（Tim Longo，他十年后负责了《光环5》）、编剧团队以及卢卡斯艺术公司的高层决定先稳扎稳打，而不是急于求成。

It's a short but impactful sequence that juxtaposes nicely against the rest of the game, which is noisy and utterly relentless; a few moments of quiet before a galaxy-wide war that these soldiers weren't meant to survive to help set the tone.

这是一个短暂但极具影响力的开场，与游戏的其余部分形成了鲜明对比，后者充满了嘈杂声且毫不留情；在这些士兵注定无法生存的银河战争之前，短暂的宁静有助于设定基调。

For all its 2000s era video game trappings, the debut of the clone commandos was gritty and sobering. Without the Jedi saving the day at the last minute or John Williams' rousing musical themes adding classical wonder to the action, the clashes between the Republic and the CIS — especially those happening away from the frontlines — suddenly felt heavier and more dangerous.

尽管带有2000年代电子游戏的特征，克隆突击队的首次亮相却显得真实而令人警醒。没有绝地武士在最后一刻拯救局面，也没有约翰·威廉姆斯（John Williams）振奋人心的音乐为战斗增添古典奇幻感，共和国与CIS（分离势力）之间的冲突——尤其是那些发生在前线之外的冲突——突然显得更加沉重和危险。

Composer Jesse Harlin was fully aware Republic Commando needed to sound different: "The entire goal was to present a very dark and military take on the Star Wars universe," he explained to MusicOnFilm back in 2006. "These weren't guys who knew anything about galactic politics or the Force. These were just soldiers with a very dangerous, very thankless job to do." Needless to say, both the devs and Harlin succeeded in giving the game an identity of its own, with the track 'Vode An' being embraced by Star Wars fans and later official works as an essential part of the on-screen Mandalorian culture.

作曲家杰西·哈林（Jesse Harlin）深知《共和国突击队》需要与众不同的音乐风格：“整个目标是呈现一个黑暗且军事化的《星球大战》宇宙，”他在2006年接受MusicOnFilm采访时解释道，“这些士兵并不了解银河政治或原力。他们只是在执行一项非常危险且毫无回报的工作。”毫不夸张地说，开发者和哈林成功地为这款游戏赋予了独特的身份，其中“Vode An”曲目被《星球大战》粉丝和后续官方作品接受为屏幕上曼达洛文化的重要组成部分。

Even without getting into the 'meat and potatoes' of the competently-made first-person shooter that successfully merged Star Wars with Rainbow Six elements, fans soon were obsessed with the lore surrounding the clone commandos and their role in the larger war that culminated with the birth of the Galactic Empire. The fact that its ending was left wide open also encouraged further chatter. Later in 2005, an Order 66-centric sequel of sorts was released for mobile phones, but… well, it bears very little resemblance to the console and PC shooter that preceded it.

即使不深入探讨这款制作精良的第一人称射击游戏的核心玩法（它成功地融合了《星球大战》和《彩虹六号》的元素），粉丝们很快就被克隆突击队及其在整个战争中的角色所吸引，这场战争最终以银河帝国的诞生而告终。游戏结局的开放性也引发了更多的讨论。2005年晚些时候，一款以66号指令为主题的续作在手机上发布，但……好吧，它与之前的主机和PC射击游戏几乎没有相似之处。

With plans for a follow-up titled Imperial Commando binned at LucasArts even before the first game had released, the only continuation of the story left for fans was Karen Traviss' five notable novels: Hard Contact, Triple Zero, True Colors, Order 66, and Imperial Commando: 501st. It's safe to say there was an audience for more stories starring these clones, yet LucasArts was refocusing its strategy around (and after) the time of Republic Commando's release. Regular soldiers were pushed aside (this also included Battlefront 3's cancellation), while 'power fantasy' characters like Starkiller were brought to the forefront again.

由于在首款游戏发布之前，卢卡斯艺术公司就已经取消了名为《帝国突击队》的续作计划，粉丝们唯一能期待的故事延续就是凯伦·特拉维斯（Karen Traviss）的五部著名小说：《硬接触》（Hard Contact）、《三重零》（Triple Zero）、《真实色彩》（True Colors）、《66号指令》（Order 66）和《帝国突击队：501军团》（Imperial Commando: 501st）。可以说，对于这些克隆人的故事，确实有观众想要看到更多，但卢卡斯艺术公司却在《共和国突击队》发布前后调整了战略方向。普通士兵被边缘化（这也包括《前线3》的取消），而像斯达基勒（Starkiller）这样的“力量幻想”角色再次被推到前台。

With George Lucas' six-episode movie saga wrapped up in 2005 and the animated show that was announced soon after, following the Jedi and all-new clone characters, fans had to accept that Delta Squad's on-screen adventures were 'one and done' unless something big changed. Well, as we all know, Disney took over Lucas' empire in late 2012, and one of the first creative swings the 'new Lucasfilm' took under its umbrella was to explicitly declare the vast majority of the novels, comics, shows, and video games non-canon, giving them a clean slate outside the six original movies. But as a great man once said, "No one's ever really gone."

随着乔治·卢卡斯的六部电影史诗在2005年圆满结束，以及随后宣布的以绝地武士和全新克隆角色为主线的动画剧集，粉丝们不得不接受德尔塔小队的屏幕冒险“一次过”的事实，除非有重大变化。当然，正如我们所知，迪士尼在2012年底接管了卢卡斯的帝国，而“新卢卡斯影业”在其旗下采取的第一个创意举措就是明确宣布大多数小说、漫画、剧集和电子游戏为非正史，从而在六部原版电影之外获得了一个干净的创作画布。但正如一位伟人曾经说过的：“没有人真的离开过。”

Delta Squad seemed done for after the canon reset, but the focus on clones had returned. It was The Clone Wars that kept much of its soul alive with several clone troopers, such as Rex, Fives, 99, and Echo (among many others) getting just as much screen time as the Jedi generals who led them into battle.

在正史重置之后，德尔塔小队似乎已经结束，但对克隆人的关注又回来了。正是《克隆人战争》让许多克隆士兵的灵魂得以延续，其中许多克隆士兵（如雷克斯、五号、99号和回声等，还有很多其他角色）获得了与带领他们投入战斗的绝地将军一样多的屏幕时间。

Even during the uneven first season, the focus was often put on the wins and losses these soldiers created, often sacrificing their lives for the good of the Republic in the process. Throughout its run, the show covered serious subjects around the clones' loyalty, freedom, and even their humanity, adding a surprising amount of maturity to a series that everyone, fans included, had first registered as a lighter affair.

即使在参差不齐的第一季中，剧情也常常聚焦于这些士兵的胜利与失败，他们常常为了共和国的利益而牺牲自己的生命。在其整个播出期间，该剧探讨了关于克隆人的忠诚、自由甚至人性等严肃主题，为一个最初被粉丝们（包括观众）视为轻松作品的系列增添了令人惊讶的成熟感。

The four iconic clone commandos from the game – Boss, Scorch, Fixer, and Sev – were recovered for the season 3 episode 'Witches of the Mist' (2011) with a brief appearance. This allowed them to join the movie/TV canon before the aforementioned reset, which only kept the six original movies and The Clone Wars in the fresh new Star Wars timeline. Later, other Legends characters were (and continue to be) incorporated into the current canon, but their 'early' presence in the show highlighted how much they meant for fans and creatives alike. 'Missing in Action' (season 5) would also introduce Captain Gregor, an ex-commando suffering from amnesia.

2011年，游戏中的四名标志性克隆突击队员——老板（Boss）、燃烧者（Scorch）、修理工（Fixer）和塞夫（Sev）——在第三季的“迷雾女巫”（Witches of the Mist）一集中短暂露面。这使得他们在上述重置之前加入了电影/电视剧的正史。重置之后，只有六部原版电影和《克隆人战争》保留在全新的《星球大战》时间线中。后来，其他传奇角色也被（并继续被）纳入当前的正史，但他们在剧集中的“早期”出现突显了他们对粉丝和创作者的意义。“失踪行动”（第五季）还引入了格雷戈上尉（Captain Gregor），他是一名患有失忆症的前突击队员。

2017's Battlefront 2 (EA/DICE) would eventually receive a content update introducing clone commandos (though not Delta Squad) following fan requests, with Lucasfilm and the developers admitting they would be a good fit for the large-scale online shooter. More importantly, The Clone Wars' seventh and final season (2020) presented a squad of genetically enhanced clones nicknamed 'the Bad Batch', who would later get their own beloved show. They were certainly more colorful characters than Delta Squad, but the influences were clear for those who were around in 2005. Watch out for Scorch and other commandos' many appearances as the show advances, too.

2017年发布的《星球大战：前线2》（EA/DICE）最终在粉丝的请求下推出了一次内容更新，引入了克隆突击队员（尽管不是德尔塔小队）。卢卡斯影业和开发人员承认，他们很适合这款大规模在线射击游戏。更重要的是，2020年《克隆人战争》的第七季也是最后一季，呈现了一个名为“残次品”的基因增强克隆人小队，他们后来拥有了自己的热门剧集。他们当然比德尔塔小队更具个性，但对于2005年的人来说，影响是显而易见的。注意在该剧集推进过程中，燃烧者和其他突击队员的多次出现。

In a way, The Bad Batch became the culmination of everything that had been built around the seemingly simple concept of the elite clone troopers. Away from the constraints of the Skywalker Saga, but progressing right next to it, LucasArts and Lucasfilm managed to make us truly care about the Republic's cannon fodder just as much as the fall of the Jedi and the reign of the Empire. Nowadays, non-gamer fans will attribute this entire narrative to Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm Animation's top creatives, but Republic Commando was the genesis of this fascinating branch of Star Wars storytelling in the same way Dark Forces is key to understanding much of the current post-Empire chronology.

从某种意义上说，《残次品》成为了围绕看似简单的精英克隆士兵概念所构建的一切的高潮。在天行者传奇的束缚之外，但又紧随其后发展，卢卡斯艺术公司和卢卡斯影业设法让我们真正关心共和国的炮灰，就像我们关心绝地武士的陨落和帝国的统治一样。如今，非游戏玩家的粉丝们将这一整个叙事归功于戴夫·菲洛尼和卢卡斯影业动画的顶尖创作者，但《共和国突击队》是这一迷人分支的起源，就像《黑暗力量》（Dark Forces）是理解当前后帝国编年史的关键一样。

Star Wars: Republic Commando and its Aspyr-developed remaster are currently available to purchase on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

《星球大战：共和国突击队》及其由Aspyr开发的重制版目前可在PC、PlayStation、Xbox和任天堂Switch上购买。。