Star Wars Battlefront II Easter Eggs You Missed
Where the first Star Wars Battlefront from DICE and EA was merely content to offer a very pretty multiplayer experience, Star Wars Battlefront II features a single-player story that explores more of that galaxy far, far away, and is filled with references to just about every extension of the new Star Wars canon. Good for you then that we've explored every mynock hole and wampa cave, managing to unearth all the glorious hidden Easter eggs within Star Wars Battlefront II. Be wary, however–there are spoilers ahead.
Rebel Secrets Revealed
The very start of the game finds Inferno Squad commander Iden Versio imprisoned on a Rebel Alliance ship–though she allowed herself to be captured as part of a plan to destroy vital transmissions the Rebels stole. As she explores the ship, several background conversations allude to events that transpired elsewhere in Star Wars canon. First, Iden's little droid overhears a conversation in the halls about Corona Squadron, who uncovered the Imperial plans for a second Death Star. Later, as Iden sneaks past some Rebel meetings, Admiral Ackbar can be seen on holovid describing Operation Yellow Moon.
What's Operation Yellow Moon? It was the primary focus of Moving Target, a novel released ahead of The Force Awakens in which Princess Leia attempted to distract the Imperials from learning about the massing Rebel army ahead of the attack on the second Death Star. After her successful mission, Leia even steals the Imperial Shuttle Tydirium, which you may recall is the ship Luke, Han, and Leia use to sneak onto Endor in Return of the Jedi.
The Emperor's Revenge
Once reunited with the Imperial fleet after the destruction of the second Death Star, Iden Versio meets with one of Emperor Palpatine's sentinel messenger droids. First introduced in Marvel's Star Wars: Shattered Empire comics, the sentinel messengers activated as part of Palpatine's contingency plan in the event of his death. The first element these creepy red droids activated was Operation Cinder, a massive attack via weather satellites that would destroy the atmospheres on planets sympathetic to the Rebel cause.
Not only does the sentinel messenger relay the details of the post-mortem mission with a perfectly eerie imitation of Palpatine, it also uses the exact same dialogue from its first appearance in Shattered Empire. The placement of the phrases may not be exact, but the speech is the same, and shows just how well-organized the droids were in delivering the deceased Emperor's message.
A Rogue Star Destroyer
In order to kick Operation Cinder off correctly, the Imperial's forces must acquire the weather satellites from the shipyards above Fondor, one of the Empire's key developmental resources. Inferno Squad is expected to provide cover when a contingent of Rebel ships arrives at Fondor to keep pushing the offensive on the last remaining Imperial strongholds.
The key Imperial Star Destroyer the Inferno Squad must protect is the Dauntless, which previously appeared in a brief cameo above Jedha in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The Dauntless is responsible for delivering the experimental satellites to locations like Naboo in order for the Emperor to extract his revenge from beyond the grave. Without Iden Versio's help, that wouldn't have been possible.
Luke Skywalker's Mysterious Compass
Following the events above Fondor, Inferno Squad splits up some of its members to go on different missions. We get to step into the shoes of Luke Skywalker to see one of those missions from a different perspective on Pillio. Inferno Squad's Del Meeko was tasked with destroying one of the Emperor's observatories, with the Pillio location hosting a storage unit full of Jedi artifacts. After helping Del turn off the automated defenses so he could set charges to destroy the cache, Luke Skywalker uncovers a mysterious compass.
Ordinarily that wouldn't elicit much of a reaction, but that same compass has appeared in the novel The Legends of Luke Skywalker, albeit with a different origin, and in action figures for Luke Skywalker based on The Last Jedi. The compass makes an appearance in the movie itself, though its actual significance is still unclear.
The Prison Planet
Though we don't get to see Sunspot Prison in Star Wars Battlefront II, that doesn't stop Iden and Del from pondering if that's where they'll wind up if they defect to the Rebellion. Originally introduced in Marvel's Star Wars ongoing comic book series, Sunspot Prison is a distant, hidden security installation where the Rebels lock-up high-priority prisoners like Moffs, spies, and–in the comics–Darth Vader's one-time confidant, Doctor Aphra.
Sunspot Prison's exact location isn't known, but the jail gets its name from being positioned directly in the orbit of a sun, which bathes the prison in a constant stream of light. It makes Sunspot Prison rather hard to locate given the radiation from the heavenly body, and serves as a defense mechanism too, since it makes approaching the station from the rear nearly impossible.
Naboo Outcasts
With the former Inferno Squad members on their side, the Rebel Alliance learns about Operation Cinder and does its best to put an end to the Emperor's contingency plan. High above the skies of Naboo, several of the deadly weather satellites loom, ready to wreak havoc on the planet below. Fortunately, Iden and Del arrive just in time to help Princess Leia and Shara Bey (Poe Dameron's mother) take the satellites out before they settle down to help the ground forces fend off the Empire.
The moment echoes what we see in the Shattered Empire comics, but getting to live through the chaotic battle is way better than just reading about it. Additionally, during the firefight above Naboo, players can hear Nien Nunb and Lando Calrissian over the comms delivering more dialogue straight from the comics. Unfortunately, the Mellcrawler II is nowhere to be seen on screen.
Time Out on Takodana
After players get the chance to visit with Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa earlier in Battlefront II's story, it only makes sense that Han Solo would eventually show up, too. It's here we return to the familiar ground of Takodana and Maz Kanata's castle for a covert mission where Han must get a defecting Imperial agent out in order to obtain some information about liberating Kashyyk, the Wookiee homeworld.
Though there aren't many visual Easter eggs in this mission, there are some excellent sound bites to pick up if you take your time exploring all of Maz's home. Characters throughout talk about purple "Wookies" with green eyes, an allusion to Star Wars Rebels' Zeb Orrelios; some make references to Skystrike Academy, where former Imperial cadet Wedge Antilles trained; a droid bartender offers Port in a Storm, an incredibly strong drink referenced in the novel Bloodline; and you can visit the room where Rey found Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, even though you can't actually go inside.
Live from Lothal
Late in the game, Iden and Del get a tip that their former Inferno Squad cohort Gideon Hask is up to no good on Bespin, so they take the first opportunity they can to investigate. While approaching the docking platform, Iden and Del talk about their potential plans when the Galactic Civil War is over, if they manage to survive. Del hints that he'd like to visit the planets Lothal and Mykapo, figuring they'd be good places to start over.
Lothal is a primary location in the ongoing saga of Star Wars Rebels, and also happens to be home to a Jedi Temple. Mykapo is also a reference to Star Wars Rebels, and was where a massive space battle played out in the episode "Iron Squadron."
Stormtrooper Gossip
Continuing the search for Hask on Bespin, Iden and Del go undercover as Stormtroopers to get closer to their target. While wandering the halls of one of the Imperial control centers, Iden can listen in to a conversation between two other unidentified Stormtroopers. Though they appear to be talking about some random leader and encounter offworld, just about every reference made in this game serves a purpose.
The Stormtroopers mention Governor Adelhard and the "uprising" he's fighting, which is a callback to EA's mobile game, Star Wars: Uprising. That title focused on a group of Rebel soldiers putting a stop to Adelhard's Iron Blockade, an Imperial plan to prevent the galaxy from learning about Emperor Palpatine's death.
Aftermath on Jakku
The Lost Stars and Aftermath: Empire's End novels both detailed the Battle of Jakku at length, and we got to play a bit of the battle in the previous Star Wars Battlefront via DLC. That was a more generic experience though, and Battlefront II puts a much more personalized touch on the events that transpired on that desert planet. Two quests in particular on the planet call back to events described in Empire's End, and we get to see them from Iden's perspective.
In one mission, players had to aid Captain Lindsey, an Alliance pilot whose squadron was shot down approaching Carbon Ridge. In Empire's End, Carbon Ridge is where Imperial agent Gallius Rax's secret facility on Jakku is located. Additionally, you'll be called to aid a group of Rebel troops trying to evacuate but who've cornered by an attacking group of AT-ATs. Iden calls in air support from Starhawk Command, a group of ships introduced in Empire's End that were key players in taking down numerous Imperial ships, including the Ravager. The Ravager is, of course, the massive Star Destroyer Rey and Finn fly through when escaping Jakku in The Force Awakens.
Snappy Dialogue
Elsewhere on Jakku, players can hear a lot of comms chatter between the various Rebel pilots trying to finally bury the Empire. The longer players spend time in their X-Wings before heading to new objectives, the more references to existing characters and events they're likely to hear.
Not only are there direct calls to Phantom Squadron and its members Wedge Antilles and "Snap" Wexley, but you'll also hear a lengthy bit about a Star Destroyer on a crash course with the planet's surface. An unnamed voice details that a Rebel contingent behind enemy lines is responsible for this crashing ship, and even mentions Thane Kyrell by name. Anyone who read Lost Stars should be immediately familiar with Kyrell and this Star Destroyer, the Inflictor. Aside from appearing in Lost Stars, the Inflictor is also present in The Force Awakens when Rey speeds past it on her way back to Niima Outpost.
Kylo Ren's Reveals
After defeating the Empire on Jakku, it seemed as if Iden's and Del's story was over, but Battlefront II jumps ahead some 30 years to the time just before The Force Awakens begins. Gideon Hask has tricked Del into returning to Pillio, where Kylo Ren is brought to interrogate the traitor. The First Order believes Del might know where Lor San Tekka and the map to Luke Skywalker are located, but he won't give up that information willingly. Kylo Ren reaches into Del's mind in the same way we saw him dive into Poe Dameron's and Rey's in The Force Awakens, only this time we get to see how his powers work first-hand.
Playing as Kylo Ren, we travel through Del's memories going back to his time on Scarif before the events of Rogue One, and his adventures with Inferno Squad and the Rebellion. We also learn Iden and Del had a daughter, who Hask is set to hunt down next on his quest for revenge in Battlefront II's DLC.