In the first of an ongoing weekly column spotlighting some of the secretly classic, kitschy, overlooked, or downright wack games in the vast Xbox library, we drill deep to unearth one of original Xbox’s best RPGs in BioWare’s Jade Empire.

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Jade Empire's Wu the Lotus Blossom graced OXM's April 2005 cover.

Let’s be honest here — if you were an RPG lover and you owned an original Xbox, it was slim pickings at best. Beyond the spectacular Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (and it’s Obsidian-helmed follow-up), Lionhead’s Microsoft-published Fable, Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and action-y comic superheroes love letter X-Men Legends, it was like the sad-sacked rest to the glittery best. Floundering titles like Sudeki and Azurik were what you were left with. And let me tell you — that’s a bad part of town to find yourself in.

So, when BioWare released the Xbox-exclusive Jade Empire in early 2005, all those entranced with the developer’s KOTOR-style of choice-making, party-building, action-oriented fighting gameplay took note. With its concoction of ancient China high-fantasy and setting up the rudimentary building blocks of relationship-building that would go on to fuel every game in the BioWare game library thereafter (Mass Effect, Dragon Age, etc.), fans devoured it from opening scene to multiple endings.

The heroes you could choose from: Monk Zheng (far right) was a bonus character for Limited Edition purchases.

Was there a single moment in Jade Empire that did it for me? Not really; it’s more of a collection of things. The number of companion characters — only one of which could accompany you into battle, though they were swappable at any time — was massive and each had his or her own personality quirks. The “light/dark” path from KOTOR was now presented as either “Open Palm” or “Closed Fist,” to determine your interactions with folks, as well as which of three endings you got. And which path you chose could sway the leanings of any of your companions if you spent enough time with them.

By today’s standards for RPG game length (barring anything from the kings of open-world never-ending RPGs Bethesda, of course), Jade was pretty average — clocking in around 30 hours of gameplay. Back then, for gamers weaned on JRPGs that could last 40-70 hours, it felt a bit lean. But what was packed into those hours spanned everything from wisp-filled cemeteries to intricately detailed temples — all stuffed with sidequests that would give you a chance to push towards Open Palm or Closed Fist, along with trinkets, new fighting styles, and experience points.

Tiger goes Closed Fist, Ling opts for Open Palm. Check out the gauge: looks a bit familiar, eh, Mass Effect fans?

Sure, Jade had its share of serious problems, too. Jittery framerates, super unnecessary Dragonflyer top-down shooting galleries (groan), and the inability to revisit previous areas to complete quests irked me then, and still annoys me now. But seeing just how much of Jade is in every (far superior) BioWare game now — it’s pretty incredible the impact it had in what we’re playing and demanding of our RPGs now. Everything from developing more diverse relationships with your companions (romantic or otherwise, same-sex now included) through your in-game decisions to the real-time action combat to developing an original universe through characters and dialogue… It’s odd that while KOTOR got all the (much-deserved) praise and kudos, Jade has occupied this weird ambivalent space in gamers’ memories. Some folks are immensely fond of it — as evidenced by some clamor for a sequel leading up to the recent teaser of BioWare’s new franchise — while others scoff and call it an overrated, clunky mess. It wasn’t as polished or well-executed as KOTOR (though I’d argue that KOTOR had a whole established, familiar canon to play with, while Jade was built from scratch) or what came after it, but it felt riskier and more daring at the time. And the rewards for those risks yielded two series that have pretty much taken over the RPG space on console. That’s a pretty bitchin’ accomplishment if you ask me.

(Jade Empire originally released for Xbox on April 12, 2005, and is currently available on Xbox Live Games on Demand for 1200 MS Points.)