Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
A GameCube launch title that sold consoles, and still one of the best-looking games of its generation. Ten missions of pure Rogue Squadron flying, gold medals that demand real precision, and a Death Star run nothing has topped since. It has never been re-released and a planned Wii compilation was cancelled, so GameCube hardware is the only honest route in.
- Released
- 2001
- Developer
- Factor 5
- Genre
- Flight action
- Platforms
- GameCube
Playing it today
Still the best console Star Wars flight game, and still stuck on a 2001 disc. Rogue Leader scored 90 on Metacritic, and the Death Star trench run and the Battle of Endor hold up today as well as they did at the GameCube's launch. Ten missions go by in an afternoon; the gold medals are what keep you flying.
It has never been re-released, on any platform. Factor 5 built a Wii compilation of the series and it was cancelled when the studio went under in the 2008 financial crisis. So the realistic options are a GameCube, or an original Wii with the model number RVL-001 on the bottom, plus a used disc and a GameCube controller. Check the model before you buy a Wii for this: later units dropped GameCube support.
Rebel Strike, the sequel, includes most of Rogue Leader's missions reworked as a two-player co-op mode, so one used disc can cover both. If you have no interest in old hardware, there is no modern stand-in; Squadrons is the closest current game, and it plays very differently.
Where to play it
Never re-released · checked September 24, 2026
There is nothing to buy new. A used GameCube disc, played on a GameCube or an original Wii, is the only legal way to play it.
GameCube only. Wii consoles with model number RVL-001 play GameCube discs and take GameCube controllers; later Wii models, the Wii Mini, the Wii U and Switch do not. A Wii compilation of the Rogue Squadron games was cancelled when Factor 5 closed.
List prices in USD. Stores change prices and listings; check before you buy. Where to buy old Star Wars games
Games like Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron1998 · Factor 5 · Flight action
- Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike2003 · Factor 5 · Flight action
- Episode I: Battle for Naboo2000 · Factor 5 · Flight action
- Star Wars: Starfighter2001 · LucasArts · Flight action
- Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter2002 · LucasArts · Flight action
- Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon2003 · Pocket Studios · Flight action
Sources: Wikipedia: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader; Wikipedia: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike; Nintendo Support: differences between Wii models; Nintendo Everything: Factor 5's cancelled Wii compilation; Wikipedia: Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (series).