We all love the space monks with laser swords, right? Right. While they're undoubtedly appealing in movies and TV shows, the promise of wielding both a lightsaber and the force for yourself is simply too alluring to pass up. As such, there have been quite a few video games where Jedi play a major role. Today, we want to forget the failures and focus on the successes.

The most recent Star Wars game, "Jedi: Survivor," is less than a week old, so we don't think it's right to rank it just yet. We're going to need some time to digest it. Meanwhile, here are the seven best instances of Jedi (and Sith, if you're nitpicking) in video games.

7.' SoulCalibur IV'

The Star Wars universe is an incredible setting for a fighting game, but it's been criminally under explored to date. There was a rough PS1 game called "Masters of Teräs Käsi" that we all like to forget, but Namco's excellent "SoulCalibur" series brought in the likes of Yoda and Darth Vader back in the 360 and PS3 generation to show off their skills. Getting to use a lightsaber in a fighting game feels incredible, and we won't apologize for it.

The biggest downside? This game is completely unplayable unless you happen to have some ancient hardware. This licensing deal happened years before Disney bought LucasFilm, so we're likely never going to get an official re-release.

6. 'Star Wars: The Force Unleashed'

Also releasing during the 360 and PS3 era, this action-adventure title at least benefits from a PC release that's still readily accessible and pretty darn fun as long as you have a controller.

"Starkiller," the main character, gets retconned into being Vader's secret apprentice, but he's then forced to come to terms with the evil that the Empire has been up to. The canonicity of this title has been stripped, but you can still have a great time using the physics engine to whip stormtroopers around willy-nilly.

5. 'Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy'

If you want a multiplayer Jedi experience, it's hard to find anything better than "Jedi Academy." Like some other games on this list, it's decades old now, but there's still something magical about dueling your friends in this game. There have been other good gun-focused Star Wars multi-player experiences, but we still haven't seen anything with this kind of robust melee focus.

4. 'Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast'

Protagonist Kyle Katarn's journey to eventually becoming a full-fledged Jedi had massive ramifications for the Expanded Universe back in the day. Mickey Mouse has wished my man Kyle into a cornfield now, but we'll always have "Jedi Outcast" to salve our wounds.

These older games are broadly still available on PC and Switch, so even newcomers can embrace Kyle as he works through his issues into becoming the Jedi we know he's destined to become.

3. 'Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order'

After years of fumbling the Star Wars license, EA finally let Respawn Entertainment put out this incredible single-player game with no microtransactions right before the pandemic hit. It did gangbusters, and lead not only to the recent success of "Jedi: Survivor," but also allowed other single-player games to live within the confines of EA.

Taking inspiration from both "Metroid" and "Dark Souls," this title focused on traversal and exploration in a way that few other games with the license have tried before. By the end, you really feel like a wildly capable Jedi Knight.

2. 'Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic'

Playing "KotOR" as a young man was a life-changing experience for me. I played for such long sessions that when I eventually left my house, the user interface was still lightly overlaid on the real world.

The semi-turn-based combat is based on archaic "Dungeons and Dragons" rules, but the characters and story are what really shine here. Getting a proper glimpse at the Jedi in their prime thousands of years before the movies was a revelation back then. And to some extent, Disney is still trying to recapture that magic with the new "High Republic" setting and the troubled "KotOR" reboot.

1. 'Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords'

There's a split in the Star Wars video game fan base on the rushed follow-up to "KotOR." There's no doubt that it launched in an unfinished and disappointing state, so plenty of folks hate it. However, some folks consider this the high water mark for Jedi-based storytelling. I happen to be among the latter group, so you're just going to have to live with its placement on this list.

While the Sith are never really presented as anything other than an obvious threat to society, the morality and effectiveness of the Jedi is undermined time and time again by the secondary character "Kreia." If you have any interest in thinking through the folly of the Jedi order and how that might have real-world implications, "KotOR 2" is the game for you — just be sure to play the game with the fan-lead restoration patch.