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The original was posted on /r/starcraft by /u/Altermerea on 2024-08-25 22:13:31+00:00.
Hi, I'm currently replaying StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War probably for the 20th time.
I have my own play-through order of completing the game that I always go with, so I thought I could share it with other people, I find it to be the most comprehensive way to get 100% of the original StarCraft lore, while skipping all the irrelevant, or canonically dubious missions. Feel free to share your feedback, or propose your own canonical order of play. Maybe someone completely new to the franchise could use this mini-guide to fully complete the game before playing StarCraft II, if they don't want to revisit it later.
Here's my order of play:
1. Precursor Campaign
Before I start playing the campaigns from the release version of the game, I first start by launching and completing the Precursor Campaign. It's a very short, prequel campaign that consists of 5 missions, it's almost like an Episode 0 and it happens on Chau Sara, before the original story begins. The Precursor Campaign has to be downloaded from the Map Archives on the StarCraft Compendium website from the original (classic) version of battle.net, specifically [HERE]
For authenticity sake, this campaign should be played in StarCraft (Original) Game Type - without Medics and Valkyries.
2. View StarCraft (Original) Intro
Jem's Tune - Big Tuna in the background "I can't see a thing, Jim." "Well hold on." "I swear, it's always some damn thing..."
It's easy to accidentally skip, because the intro doesn't play by default before Episode I, but it is technically a part of the story, so it's one more fun cinematic to watch before the real game begins.
3. StarCraft (Original) Single Player Campaign
Episode I, Episode II, and Episode III. Not much to say here, I just complete the original game from start to finish.
4. The original Enslavers Campaign
These missions should be in your *\Starcraft\maps\campaign* folder by default, this is an even shorter campaign than the Precursor and it consists of 3+1 missions. The events of this campaign happen "just after the fall of the Confederacy", but I recommend completing it after Episode III and before Episode IV as it doesn't really follow the main storyline and it also should be played in StarCraft (Original) Game Type, so it can be considered the last thing to complete before starting Brood War.
5. View StarCraft: Brood War (Expansion) Intro
Same thing thing here. Easy to accidentally miss out on, it's a Brood War intro cinematic. It introduces two of the expansion's new main characters.
6. StarCraft: Brood War (Expansion) Single Player Campaign
Episode IV, Episode V, and Episode VI. Again, I just complete the game uninterrupted from start to finish. Don't forget to beat the ninth Zerg mission of Episode VI with five minutes or more left on the timer to access the secret Brood War mission.
7. Deception - Single Player Mission
The notorious Kimeran Pirates decide to liberate dark secrets from a Confederate Science Facility. It's a map available in the SCC: Map Archives, it is in itself of low relevance, but it introduces a lore-related reveal in a form of a short, scripted event that is canonically connected to the next mission. Plus this map is really simple and very fun to play. The map can be downloaded [HERE]
Between Deception and Resurrection IV there's also another map from the Stukov series - Mercenaries II. It can also be played after Deception and before Resurrection IV, but it doesn't push the story in any way, shape, or form; it's mostly just a filler mission and it isn't as fun to play as Deception and Resurrection IV. I skip it, but if you want to to listen to the Briefing Room and check the map out, it is also available in the SCC: Map Archives and can be downloaded [HERE]
8. Resurrection IV - Single Player Mission
Raynor and Taldarin bonus mission. This map has actually a huge lore relevance, despite being rather obscure and originally only available in the Nintendo 64 version of StarCraft. This map has never officially been made available for the PC version, additionally it was a two-player secret mission, an unofficial version (created and released by Zero and Drake Clawfang of StarCraft Legacy) can be downloaded for StarCraft: Brood War, both as a two-player mission and as a single-player mission. The single player map is available [HERE].
Chronologically this is the final canonical event that is playable in StarCraft: Brood War.
9. Enslavers: Dark Vengeance Campaign
Also known as Enslavers II. It's a Brood War veteran campaign. Lorewise, the events of Enslavers: Dark Vengeance take place just after the energies of the Xel'Naga temple scoured the Zerg from Shakuras. However, I personally recommend to leave it as the last thing to complete, as it's definitely the hardest portion of the game and completing it can be very difficult for some people, and also it detracts a little from the main Brood War storyline. Alternatively, you can complete it after Brood War Single Player Campaign, before Deception, Mercenaries II & Resurrection IV. This campaign consists of 5 missions, although depending on the choice made in the 3rd mission the last two missions will be very different (path A & path B), so it has a total of 7 missions. This campaign can be found in SCC: Map Archives, available [HERE]
As for StarCraft: Insurrection and StarCraft: Retribution, I skip them. Nothing from these campaigns had ever been referenced in subsequent media and while Blizzard hasn't made any final verdict, unofficially they are leaning toward saying it is not canon. And personally I find them to be of rather poor quality.
