Star Wars: The New Droid Army

In the Jedi temple, Anakin is summoned before Yoda and Mace Windu, where he discovers that Raala, an informant situated on Tatooine, has reported a new type of battle droid on the planet. Communication with Raala has since ceased. Anakin's assignment is to journey to Tatooine, investigate these new droids, and determine what happened to the informant.

The Jedi Council receives a distress signal from Tatooine not long after the Clone Wars began, prompting them to dispatch Anakin Skywalker, a Padawan, to investigate. He faces attacks from groups of Womp rats and battle droids. While in Mos Espa, he learns that something is likely disturbing the Womp rats' nests. He travels through Xelric Draw to the Womp rat caves and eliminates the Anoobas that were apparently the cause of the disturbance. Upon exiting the caves, Skywalker is confronted by Aurra Sing, who is attempting to collect a bounty on his head and had directed him to the Womp rat cave with the intention of him getting lost there. Before fleeing, she throws a thermal detonator and sends some of her "associates" wielding vibro-axes after him.

Upon returning to town, he is informed by a man that Watto might be able to assist him in locating Raala Ponchar, the individual who sent the transmission. However, assassins hired by the Hutts are searching for Anakin. After fighting through them, Anakin locates Watto, who reveals that Ponchar is a customer of his, purchasing evaporator equipment, and that she can be found at a moisture farm located north of town. Before Anakin departs, Watto suggests that he should return to work for him if his Jedi duties become too challenging. On his way to the farm, another moisture farmer informs Anakin that Tusken Raiders have abducted some other farmers, and Anakin agrees to rescue them, stating that he has "no love for the Tusken Raiders." Following this, one of the farmers guides him to Bellek's homestead, where Ponchar is located, but they encounter a destroyed homestead along the way. The man explains that the droids, unlike any he has ever seen and led by a "witch," had destroyed the place, and now the sand people are scavenging for salvageable materials. A few homesteads later, Anakin locates Bellek, who reveals that Jabba the Hutt has kidnapped Ponchar. Bellek cautions Anakin that he will need to traverse the Jundland Wastes, which are "prime Tusken Raider territory." Anakin assures Bellek that he "know[s] how to deal with Tusken Raiders" and inquires about the "witch," but Bellek decides to return to his work on his moisture farm.

Anakin makes his way to Jabba's Palace, battling through guards and battle droids, only to encounter Aurra Sing at the palace entrance. Sing declares that she will enjoy watching Skywalker die. Suddenly, a mysterious figure appears, dressed in red and wielding two red lightsabers, instructing Sing to conserve her strength, and then uses the Force to choke Anakin. The newcomer instructs Sing to imprison Anakin in the dungeons, stating that she will inform her master "that the Jedi is no longer a threat to our operation." Anakin awakens in Jabba's palace dungeons, where he finds Raala Ponchar. He effortlessly uses the Force to open their cell door, and they escape together. Ponchar informs Anakin that Jabba is being compensated by Wat Tambor to assist in smuggling construction materials and cortosis to Metalorn. After freeing the other prisoners from the dungeon, Anakin escapes on a skiff, which is shot down in the desert by another skiff. The Dark Jedi who previously captured him, named Saato, confronts him near a Sarlacc pit, but she is defeated. Anakin then contacts his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and explains the situation. However, Obi-Wan instructs Anakin to return to Coruscant because it is under attack.

Upon arriving in Galactic City, Anakin finds Obi-Wan waiting for him. Obi-Wan explains that Separatist battle droids are attacking the underlevels of Coruscant and instructs Anakin to assist in repelling the invasion, before departing for the Jedi Temple to gather reinforcements. Anakin senses a disturbance in the Force and encounters a lightsaber-wielding man named Trenox, who accuses Anakin of causing him trouble, and then flees. Anakin pursues him to the underlevels, where he encounters fellow Padawan Barriss Offee, whose troops have been overwhelmed by C-B3 cortosis battle droids. Anakin offers to handle the situation and assists clone troopers in eliminating B1 and C-B3 battle droids, as well as Rodian combatants, ASN-121 assassin droids, and droidekas. He encounters Dexter Jettster, who tells him about a Jedi wielding a red lightsaber who entered the nightclub. As Anakin gives chase, Dexter reminds him to tell Obi-Wan to visit him in CoCo Town more often.

Anakin enters Bentho's Nightclub, briefly dueling Trenox inside before Trenox flees again, leading Anakin to chase him through a cargo bay. He finds Vandalor, a bald male Chiss, and asks him about Trenox's whereabouts. Vandalor replies that Anakin is too late and that Trenox has likely already destroyed most of the Jedi Temple in the two minutes since Anakin last saw him. The Chiss then departs, claiming to have work to do. Anakin takes an airspeeder to the Jedi Temple, but instead finds Count Dooku waiting for him. Dooku remarks on Anakin's cybernetic arm, stating that it suits him, and after some banter, Dooku excuses himself, stating that he must destroy the Jedi Archives. Anakin objects to the potential loss of millennia of knowledge, but Dooku insists that without the knowledge contained in the Archives, his Separatist allies will be able to win the war. Dooku then leaves Anakin to face a C-B3 cortosis battle droid.

After defeating it, Anakin contacts Obi-Wan, sharing his newfound knowledge of the plot to destroy the Jedi Archives. Obi-Wan's transmission is interrupted by a battle, and Anakin decides to stop the assault on his own. After battling through the Jedi Archives, he finds Trenox and they duel in a small room away from the main Archives. Anakin defeats him and receives a hologram transmission from Master Yoda, who informs him that reinforcements have arrived and that Anakin should meet with the Council. There, they inform him that Obi-Wan has been injured in a duel with Dooku and must recover from his wounds. They then instruct Anakin to travel to Metalorn to locate and retrieve Wat Tambor and the plans for the cortosis droids.

After landing on Metalorn in his Jedi Starfighter, Anakin infiltrates a droid factory. Inside, he contacts Master Yoda and informs him that Dooku appears to be creating a new droid army. Yoda responds that Anakin must destroy the factory, as the Jedi Order cannot withstand such a threat. Deeper within the factory complex, Anakin encounters the Dark Jedi brothers Vinoc and Karoc and engages them in lightsaber combat. After defeating them, he finds charges to destroy the factory's five reactors. However, Wat Tambor greets him before he can reach the fifth reactor. Tambor brings in Vandalor, the Chiss bounty hunter, to kill Anakin. Anakin defeats him, takes Wat Tambor prisoner, and plants the last detonator.

As Anakin and Tambor escape from the destroyed factory, Count Dooku arrives. The two duel, and Dooku states that he senses confusion, anger, and pain in Anakin resulting from the death of his mother. Dooku taunts Anakin, attempting to make him embrace the dark side of the Force in battle. Anakin attacks Dooku until he falls, claiming that his master foresaw his defeat and that Anakin has ensured the fall of the Republic, before fading away.

Back on Coruscant, Anakin informs the council that he has destroyed the factory, defeated Dooku, and apprehended Wat Tambor, whom Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has requested to be kept under the watch of his personal guard. Mace Windu and Yoda observe that Anakin's skills are rapidly advancing, although Yoda senses an approaching shadow and notes that the Republic is growing weary of war. Anakin promises that he will always be there for the Republic.

Star Wars: The New Droid Army is an action game designed for single-player play.

Helixe developed Star Wars: The New Droid Army, and THQ published it on November 14, 2002. It was released exclusively for the Game Boy Advance. Daniel Thron and Lead Designer Dave Konieczny from Helixe wrote the game's story, and artist Christopher Bruser led the game design. The ESRB rated it "E" for Everyone, citing "violence" as a content descriptor.

Star Wars: The New Droid Army was originally placed in 21 BBY by The New Essential Chronology, which is ten months after the events of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. However, this is no longer considered valid due to continuity changes made by the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series.

Anakin seemingly kills Count Dooku at the end of the game. However, Dooku's subsequent appearances in later Star Wars content created a continuity problem. To address this, Star Wars writer Abel G. Peña introduced a retcon in The Official Star Wars Fact File 116, explaining that the "Count Dooku" in Star Wars: The New Droid Army was actually a dopplegänger projection created using the Force. This concept, inspired by the Star Wars: Dark Empire comic book series, was later referenced in the 2004 novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous.

• UPC 785138321233; November 14, 2002; THQ; US edition [1]
• EAN 4005209041065; November 29 , 2002; THQ; UK edition [5]