Why The Bad Reviews?
A healthy amount of characters are featured in the game, including several who are not from the original trilogy - Jodo Kast (essentially a variation of Boba Fett), Mara Jade (think a replica of Luke) and Arden Lyn being the ones I remember. Characters such as Darth Vader had to be unlocked, meaning you actually cared about unlocking the true legends of Star Wars.
The difficulty was the one problem I found with the game. Thor - the Tuscan Raider - and Thok were the two biggest problems I remember facing, with their ridiculously power super-attacks, however I guess they are no different to the 'finishing' moves from today's Soul Calibur and Mortal Kombat series.
Graphically, the game probably could have done with improvement but it was such a fun game that you just didn't care. The music was excellent, taken straight from the films, and the locations were spot-on. Playing on the Death Star whilst Star Fighters fly over your head in a classic battle between Luke and Vader is something I will always remember.
Aside from the original Soul Blade (Soul Calibur Zero) it was the best fighting game on the PS1 (for me, anyway - I never really got into Teken or MK). If you see this in a store in a preowned section, I really recommend you get this. It's not perfect, but it's such a fun game that you will ignore it's flaws and just have a blast!