were they ever relevant?
sure the n64 and gc had rogue squadron series that were highly praised for being technically impressive at the time, but other than those i don't recall a single star wars game that was goty material.
They were not always bleeding edge but they frequently pushed it, and if nothing else have provided some seriously solid games that it could be said to be a shame to have missed out on.
Notable games I would pick out.
The xwing vs tie fighter series is generally regarded as one of the better space combat sims ever.
The Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series started out as an above average Doom clone (for technical feats it was among the first to do the looking up and down bit) and then morphed nicely into force powers in engines of the day.
SNES star wars is not my thing but you will find it on many lists.
Ditto Lego Star Wars, indeed while it might not have defined the gameplay concept as far as Lego goes it certain pushed it high.
You mentioned rogue squadron already.
While its memory has faded I will throw in Bounty Hunter. Same for pod racer on the N64 -- not my favourite game but you will get many throwing in.
If I am doing things for which memories have faded then Star Wars Chess. It was mainly chess with a star wars skin but it was actually a really solid version of chess (granted chessmaster was fairly solid so no worries there).
Knights of the Old Republic will definitely appear in "Bioware at their prime" lists, though the ports of 2 might have been a sign of things to come (if you do end up playing check the various "restoration" mods out there).
EA's hosing up of Star Wars Battlefront in recent years was not just people taking an excuse to be mad at EA or fanboying over Star Wars or battlefield (which it is essentially it was the Star Wars themed spin off from). The originals however did represent something of note in the multiplayer shooter arena, as did later entries in the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight franchise.
The Star Wars The Old Republic MMO was brought low by the whole Jedi thing, and a few other bonehead choices, but it probably had the most chance of anything of dethroning world of warcraft in its prime by what it did right. Also another entry in Bioware's fall from grace.
I mentioned Force Unleashed already and while it was somewhat short of the hype I ultimately enjoyed it quite a bit. I could pick higher points but as a "last good one" then that works for me, give or take whatever predictable lego efforts might have come out after the fact.
They will likely have aged terribly but some of the PS1 efforts (this would be sequel trilogy era) did quite nicely far film cash ins go. Arguably laid the path for what the PS2 Lord of the Rings titles (not the Final Fantasy clone) would end up becoming.
I frequently have massive issues with what this guy has to say but here he aligns more with what I might have to say.
I too am a bit too young to have appreciated Star Wars the first time around, mainly saw them because they were on TV once or twice but never thought much of them, and by the time the sequels hit then it was just another bad sci fi film. Games though. They represented something more for me. I don't know if the world at large would have lost out for lacking them (xwing-tie fighter aside) but my gaming history at least would have been less rich for it.
