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Before Mass Effect and Dragon Age (although after Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Knights of the Old Republic, to be fair), there was BioWare’s Jade Empire, an original Xbox game that proved console RPGs could be great. With the traditional story of a martial arts student thrust on a quest to save their master, Jade Empire wowed players with its engrossing world and its surprisingly nuanced dual philosophies, the Way of the Open Palm and the Way of the Closed Fist (mirroring BioWare’s success developing “light” and “dark” paths for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic).
- Jade Empire’s made-up language, Tho Fan, was created by Wolf Wikeley, a Ph.D candidate in linguistics at the University of Alberta.
- Its limited edition came with three additional Xbox game demos: Forza Motorsport, Conker Live & Reloaded, and MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf.