Jade Empire

Jade Empire is a video game that consists of 2 releases

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An adventure-RPG by critically acclaimed developer BioWare which transports the player into a mystical and oriental setting based on ancient China where they must confront all sorts of dangers and find their destiny within the Jade Empire!

Overview

The last game developed by BioWare for the original Xbox, Jade Empire is a RPG set in a mystical oriental land inspired by ancient China where the player creates their own character and must carve out their adventure using various martial arts fighting styles in real time combat against the many evils within the lands of the Jade Empire. As is common amongst many of the RPG games BioWare creates players have the opportunity to become good or evil based on their decisions within the game. Such choices can have an effect on the fighting styles the player learns aswell as their relations with the many companions who accompany the player on their adventure.

Jade Empire was release on the Xbox on 12th of April 2005, the PC on 26th of February 2007 and the Mac OSX on 18th of August 2008.

Plot

Players begin the game as a student at the Two Rivers academy under the guidance of Master Li who considers the player his most promising student. As the player takes part in a training exercise the local village is attacked by a group of pirates and it is up to the player to protect the local villagers and fend of the attackers. This sets the stage for a tutorial section of the game and allows the player to get aquainted with the controls and combat system early on in the game. After fighting their way to the shore the player finds the ship that the pirates have arrived on and confronts the leader who summons ghosts and spirits to attack the player.

However Master Li arrives just in time and defeats the pirate leader who he revelas was a member of the Lotus Assassins who are servants of the Jade Emperor. Master Li explains further that they had come for the player character and a piece of the Dragon Amulet and then goes on to explain that he is infact a brother to the Emperor and had saved the player when they were a child during the attack on Dirge, the monastery of the Order of Spirit Monks. And that the player is the last Spirit Monk alive.

The player is then tasked with retrieving a piece of the Dragon Amulet thats underneath the academy and during their task they are confronted by a vision of the Water Dragon. A mystical entity who was "killed" during the attack on Dirge and her death ended the Long Draught that had fallen over the lands of the Jade Empire back then. But since her death spirits of the dead have begun walking the lands as ghosts causing havoc around the country. As the player retrieves this piece of the amulet their life long friend Dawn Star is kidnapped by a rival student, Gao the lesser, who was earlier exiled from the academy for using deadly magic to fight the player. As the players rescues Dawn Star they also find a new companion, Sagacious Zu, who accompanies the player and Dawn Star back to the village which they find is in flames with Master Li kidnapped and enemies crawling all over the place the trio decide to escape using a flying machine in persuit of Master Li and his kidnappers who are headed to the Imperial City.

However on their way to the Imperial City they crash land at Tien's Landing where they must now find a new flying machine and a wind map to show them the direction. As the player explores the area they locate a new flying machine, the Marvelous Dragonfly, which is located in the middle of the Gao the Greater's base. Gao becomes angry when he hears that his son was killed and the player must kill him aswell when it becomes obvious Gao the Greater is working with the Lotus Assassins. Its at this point in the game the player also recruits two new companions, Sky and Kang the Mad.

Upon further investigation the player finds the Lotus Assassins are searching some old ruins for another piece of the Dragon Amulet and it is here the player comes into contact with Chai Ka, a celestial demon trapped inside a young girls body sent to protect the player. The adevnture takes the player to a great forest where they can either help the cannibals overthrow the Forest Guardian or help the Forest Guardian kill the cannibals. Whichever choice is made the player can then retrieve the wind map they require and the piece of the Dragon Amulet that the Lotus Assassins had found.

Using the Marvelous Dragonfly the group finally reaches the Imperial City where they encounter a mysterious woman by the name of Silk Fox who infact is Princess Lian the Heavenly Lily, daughter of of the Jade Emperor and niece to Master Li. She does not believe her father is the evil man the player says he is but infact thinks it is Death's Hand, leader of the Lotus Assassins who is the one responsible for the suffering that is occuring throughout the lands of the Jade Empire. The player then infiltrates the Lotus Assassins underground fortress to find the last piece of the Dragon Amulet and they cause the complex to begin collapsing in on itself. After killing Grand Inquisitor Jia the group is confronted by Death's Hand himself and Sagacious Zu sacrafices himself to buy the player and his friends time to escape, both Sagacious Zu and Death's Hand get burried in the rubble of the collapsing fortress.

The adventure continues with the player fighting their way into the Emperor's throne room where Silk Fox / Princess Lian finally gets to see her father's true nature and realises he is the one responsible for the troubles within the Jade Empire. The Emperor however has gone mad with power and knows that the Water Dragon's death has stopped the spirits of the dead from reaching the underworld but doesn't care due to his own insanity. Master Li sits as a prisoner and watches as the player fights the Emperor and defeats him using the Dragon Amulet. However Master Li takes the Empror's jade heart for himself and uses its power to kill the player who wakes up as a spirit in the underworld.

As the player enters the underworld they are confronted again by the Water Dragon who explains that Master Sun Li had planned all along to use the player to defeat the Emperor that is why he saved him/her as a child when the Emperor attacked the Dirge Monastery. It is also revealed that Sun Li and Sun Kin (who is infact Death's Hand) tried to overthrow Sun Hai, the recently killed Jade Emperor, but when it proved a fatal mistake Sun Li escaped and assumed the identity of the player's guardian and went into hiding. The Player fights their way through the underworld version of Dirge along with Abbot Song and when they come upon the place where the Water Dragon was slain the player must fight their dopplegangers. Once defeating them the player is transported back to the world of the living where their friends fly to Dirge and meet them.

Sun Li ever the master strategist raises Death's Hand from the dead and sends his imperial army to Dirge to finally destroy the player and their friends. However Skye manages to fool Death's Hand into coming alone and the player engages the armour clad warrior in single combat. However even after defeating him Death's Hand continues to rise again and again and eventually the player must use their force of will to break Sun Li's control over his brother's spirit. At this point the player can choose to enslave Death's Hand to his or her own will, set him free or force him to seek redemption for his past sins. Having defeated the army sent to Dirge the player then flies back to the Imperial Palace to finally put an end to Emperor Sun Li's machinations.

Upon making their way to confront Sun Li the player and friends encounter the body of the Water Dragon which has been cut up to allow her blood, which is water, to flow into the lands of the Jade Empire and stop any future droughts. At this point the player can decide to destroy her body and allow the spirits of the dead to reach their final resting place in the underworld or control her body for their own use once Sun Li has been defeated. The player then confronts Sun Li who sends constructs to attack the player, once they are defeated he turns the player into stone and tries to break their will by use of mind control. At this point the player is essentially having a battle of wills with Sun Li in their mind and has the support of their friends and companions they've picked up along the adventure.

The final fight with Sun Li is now at hand and the player is offered the chance to submit their surrender and be killed quickly so that they may live on in legend for not defying the new Emperor's will. Or the player can choose to refuse and have one final battle with their old master.

The Endings

The game has endings for not only the player character but their companions aswell.

Player Character / Student

Assuming the player chose to destroy the Water Dragon's body then the game ends with the people of the Jade Empire cheering for the player as their hero and saviour. This is considered the good ending.
Should the player have chosen to corrupt and control the Water Dragon's body then the game ends with the remaining Lotus Assassins bowing and kneeling before the player. This is considered the evil ending.
And if the player chose to accept Sun Li's offer to submit and recieve a quick death the game ends with a statue being raised in their honour with a group of children sitting around it being told their tale. This is considered a somewhat ambiguous ending, neither good or evil but somewhere in the middle.

Sky

If Sky is chosen as the romance option then he and the player character liver together in Tien's Landing. Or if he is not chosen as a romance option he will become the new Death's Hand or use the thieves guild for positive purposes.

Silk Fox

If the player character is male and chose her as their romance option then Silk Fox and him rule the Jade Empire together in a firm but fair manner. If the player character is female and chose her as their romance option then the pair rule together in a firm but fair manner with both of them becoming the "Silk Fox". And should the player not have romanced her at all then she will become the sole ruler of the Jade Empire as its Empress.

Dawn Star

She lives the rest of her life with the player character, rules alongside the player as Empress and Emperor, lives on her own or disappears on her own should the player have chosen a Closed Fist ending.

Chai Ka

The celestial demon either stays trapped in the young girls body and she lives the rest of her life insane or he returns to heaven and grants the young girl the gift of eternal life.

Black Whirlwind

Lives the rest of his life roaming the world brawling and cleaving skulls till he eventually goes around the world entirely.

Death's Hand

Either wanders the land seeking redemption for his past sins or becomes even more evil until eventually his armour can no longer hold his new, more evil form.

Henpecked Hou

After some minor disasters he starts his own delivery service which gives him the opportunity to escape his demanding wife.

Kang the Mad

Continues his life as an inventor until he is one day killed in a tragic explosion or so it seems as the player recieves complex and imaginative machines whenever it is his or her birthday. Or Kang continues to work for the player as a slave if they chose the evil ending until one day Kang escapes into another dimension through some explosion.

Gameplay

Jade Empire follows a tried and true method of RPG gameplay where players choose a character to begin the game with, customising their initial stats and then proceeding to start the game where they begin in a tutorial enviroment. As they progress through the story the game become more challenging and the player gains experience from quests and killing enemies which allows them to level their character and boost their stats or fighting styles.

Unlike most RPG's though there are only three stats that need boosting once the player levels their character these are Body, Mind and Spirit. However there are other abilities that rely on these three main stats such as Focus, Chi, Health, Intuition, Charm and Intimidation. Focus is used mainly to deal damage with weapons or to go into a sort of "bullet time" where enemies slow down and the player speeds up dealing damage quicker. Chi is spirit energy mainly used much like a mana pool to heal or support your companions but can also be used to deal a devestating Chi Strike. Health, Focus and Chi are replenishable by collecting the orbs dropped by fallen enemies.

Combat in the game is in real time and players can both attack and dodge at will and switch their martial arts fighting styles on the fly depending on the situation. They can also use various weapons like swords and staves if they prefer. There are various fighting styles in the game and some are only accesable by making certain choices or performing certain actions meaning it is impossible to get every fighting style in one playthrough. Thus adding more replay value to the game by coaxing players to come back and try out the fighting styles they missed the first time round.

Minigames

In addition to the regular gameplay for Jade Empire there is also two minigames available for players. The first being a simple drinking contest in various tea houses where players can try to out drink regular punters resulting in some witty and drunken dialogue.

The other is a top down minigame for the flying machines used in the game. Players must fight their way through waves of enemy flying machines collecting health, chi and weapon drops as they go along before facing a boss at the end of each game.

Romance Options

Jade Empire has a number of romance options for players to experience and try out inticing some replay value for the game. This is done through ingame dialogue between the player and their companions, saying or doing certain actions will increase your standing with certain companions resulting in the possibility to romance them.

What is notable about the romance options in the game is that there is the choice for heterosexual and homosexual encounters for both Male and Female player characters. The scene for the romance option occurs on the eve before the battle at the temple of Dirge against the Imperial Army. However it should be noted that if the character and their partener are of the same sex the camera pans out before the actual kiss unlike the heterosexual romance scene where the kiss is shown.

There is also the possibility for male player characters to romance both Silk Fox and Dawn Star at the same time, although this is rather difficult, and as the dialogue for the romance scene hints at, the player appears to sleep with both of them. Resulting in a threesome.

Open Palm & Closed Fist

Like many of BioWare's RPG games Jade Empire has a good vs evil option of morale choices the player can pick resulting in alternate endings, changes to how companions react, what skills or quests etc become available or not. Players can choose to walk the path of the Open Palm which is essentially the "good" path or walk the path of the Closed Fist which is the "evil" path.

Game Versions

The Xbox version of the game which was named the "Limited Edition" came with extra content such as a video detailing the making of the game aswell as an extra character for players to choose to play as named Monk Zeng. It also came with demos for Forza Motorsport, Conker Live & Reloaded aswell as MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf.

The PC version of the game was named the "Special Edition" and came with many bonus and extra content features...

Monk Zeng character
Increased resolutions, new special effects, improved textures, ability to import save games.
Two extra martial arts styles "Iron Palm" and "Viper" style.
New monsters such as the Rhino Demon.
More higher level weapons.
Improved NPC AI in combat allowing them to take cover and block more often.
"Jade Master" difficulty setting.
New world map interface.
Bonus artbook and world map.

General Information Edit

Game Name	Jade Empire
Platform(s)	Mac Xbox Xbox Live Marketplace PC
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios 2K Games
Developer(s)	BioWare
Genres	Add a new genre Action Adventure Role-Playing (RPG)
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy Martial Arts
Original US Release	April 12, 2005 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	know the real date?
Aliases