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Star Wars is a setting with some serious scope, and you're going to want a system that can capture that. I can only imagine the effort that goes into crafting the basics of such a world, then populating it and meticulously fine-tuning every detail. Star Wars: Saga Edition is one tried and true example of a game capable of launching you into the expansive universe LucasFilms first launched in 1977, and watched grow exponentially ever since. It isn't perfect, but it gets the basics right, and overall it makes for a great model of play.
A disclaimer first: I only have a couple of years' roleplaying experience across three platforms (Pathfinder, SW: Saga and the fan-made Mass Effect d20 conversion) but I've played enough of each to become familiar with the mechanics, particularly Saga, which I prefer out of the three, and which I'm currently running a game under. There will be other reviewers who can give you a wider perspective, particularly on other Star Wars models, but what I can offer here is an opinion and some observations as a novice player. Unfortunately I can't compare this game to other models such as d6 or Edge of the Empire; my point of view is stand-alone.
With that in mind, I'm going to do this real simple: here's what I think works, and what doesn't.
What Works
1. Level 1 characters aren't useless! This is a really simple one - your starting hit points vary from 18 to 30 depending on your class, rather than 1 to 12 as in any other game I've heard of. That means you don't spend the first level clearing rats out of a basem*nt (thanks, Morrowind... and every other RPG ever). The very first session I ever played, our party of 4 surprised the GM by slaughtering a level 5 dark Jedi and his cohort of stormtroopers. Level 1 heroes who are actually heroes mean I can at least stifle a groan when the GM decides to start us out at the very beginning.
2. The skill system is like methadone after having played Pathfinder. I don't know or care how original it is, but in Saga, your skills all increase by 1 every 2 levels, then again based on your ability modifier, and unless you get any special feats or equipment, you can train a skill to gain +5 in it. That's it; no fiddling around with 6+INT points and 'rank caps' every time you level up, this is so easy to memorise that you can calculate any character's skill in your head as long as you know whether she's trained in it. Better still, there are only about 20 skills to choose from, mostly compacted (Intimidate and Diplomacy both fall under Persuasion, for instance). It may not be the most realistic thing ever but it's sure less of a headache.
3. Force and Destiny points! This awesome mechanic gives the game a whole new dimension. At each level you recuperate a set amount of Force points and gain one Destiny point. These work like Hero points in Pathfinder. You can use them to cheat death, score an automatic critical, augment Force powers, boost feats and plenty more. They're an important resource afforded to both players and NPCs, so you really need to think hard about whether to use them. The only time they unbalance the game is when the GM makes it too easy and you're allowed to hoard them; otherwise they make for quite a refreshing element of gameplay.
4. Balanced multi-classing. In Pathfinder, you get specific penalties for taking multiple classes. Not so much the case in Star Wars Saga - and yet the system's designed so you're not likely to try dip your fingers into every pie.
5. Talent trees in lieu of archetypes. Not that there's anything wrong with class archetypes, but this simplifies things nicely. Each class has multiple unique talent trees - branches of special options you can choose that gear you to a particular combat style. It means when you take the Assassin prestige class, for instance, you can choose to specialise with sniper rifles or deadly sneak attacks - or you can try for the best of both worlds.
6. Plenty of extra options. A year into Saga, I discovered the Galaxy at War ruleook, which has whole chapters set aside for how to run a military campaign including requisitions, tactical options according to rank, promotion criteria, etc. There's heaps of stuff like this that you'll stumble across ages after you thought you knew it all. Most of it is well thought-out and adds a very satisfying touch to the game. And yet none of it is essential, so you don't have to rifle through thousands of pages of rules just to learn how to play.
The general d20 framework is solid. Not much to say here; if you're familiar with it, you'll be right at home, and if not, you'll settle in quickly enough. There's a lot of content but the basic learning curve isn't too steep.
As a final note on the topic of good things, there are the manuals themselves. I'm not picky, and it doesn't matter to me that much. But the style is nice and format is mostly easy to navigate. That's all I'm after, so that's all the attention I'll afford it in this review.
Onto what isn't so hot - and I may pay these details more attention. It's not that the bad outweighs the good, just that the bad seems to me like it would've been so easily fixed. Of course, anyone's mileage may vary, but this is what I found...
What Doesn't Work
1. A lot of the details. The most basic problems come not from the system itself but from how the developers populated it. These don't tend to be huge problems, but they can be frustrating and you'll probably find yourself implementing a lot of changes and house rules to make things run more smoothly.
A lot of the NPCs are poorly built, whether through haste or laziness or ineptitude, I'm not sure. Too many misplaced skills or feats that don't make sense in NPC blocks, making for allies or opponents who aren't as fun to use as they could be. This is a major problem in the Threats of the Galaxy add-on, which looks fine at a glance but is notoriously riddled with holes on closer inspection. Could've done with some proof-reading before they slapped a price-tag on the front.
Equipment isn't as good as I've seen in other games. All expansions accounted for there's a lot of stuff, and you're going to need to hunt for some resources that consolidate it all. That's fine - Star Wars is a big galaxy, so you'll likely want a selection that makes it feel big. Unfortunately, Wizards never developed the upgrade system to its full potential, making for mostly trivial and unexciting modifications to your inventory. Even stock items are kind of bland, in that the standard E-11 blaster rifle your level 1 street rat starts with is as good as any other gun you'll ever buy. A lot of items look awesome, but for some reason the mechanics are nerfed. Rail detonators do the exact same damage as standard blaster rifles - why? Sure, it makes for some kind of balance, but it also gives less of a sense of progression. Higher-level characters are supposed to afford better stuff. It means credits tend to not matter that much, whereas in other games they can be an important resource that adds strategic depth to the game. Bafflingly, even armour is mediocre unless you take Soldier class, and utterly useless if you don't.
For some reason, there are only 5 base classes. Now, sure, brevity has its place, but this is going to leave you wanting if you're the type who likes to customise. This can make the opening levels of a campaign frustratingly limited, especially when it seems as though several of the prestige classes could easily have been base classes. At the least, they could have included a Tech Specialist and Pilot class. Oh well.
2. Some of the mechanics are just plain broken. Most obviously: Reflex defense. As your level increases, you become increasingly ridiculous to hit. This is because, on top of your ability bonuses (Dexterity, Constitution and Wisdom), you also gain class-specific bonuses to your defenses, and each defense increases by 1 every level. Now, do the math: if your defenses increase by more than 1 per level, but your attack bonus does not... how are opponents supposed to hit you at higher levels? This became a problem early in my own game, where my level 6 party proved unable to hit a level 10 enemy unless they rolled a natural 20, regardless of how many special tactical options they employed. Following that session, I house ruled that Reflex would only increase three out of every four levels. It works fine, but it's irritating to have to implement house rules to account for things they should have really picked up in play-testing. It makes combat drag on, as though this wasn't already a problem inherent with d20 systems, and ultimately it leaves me scratching my head wondering why the standard defense score can often be around triple what it is in standard D&D.
Another instance: Jedi are still painfully overpowered. I've heard this problem was worse in prior systems, but they're still superior to the other classes. Again, simple rules like giving them d8 HP per level instead of d10 makes up for their ability to block / deflect and use Force powers, but it's annoying to have to figure this out and work it in yourself. I get that they're supposed to be tough. But a level 4 Jedi isn't necessarily supposed to be better than a level 4 Soldier, because while a level 4 Soldier represents a trooper with a few tours' worth of hard battlefield experience, a level 4 Jedi represents an apprentice. I find myself having to increase the DC of Force checks so that said padawan learner can't crash a colossal starship into a space dock (that actually happened, twice, in one game I was in).
On that note, the Skill Focus feat, which in the standard rules gives you +5 to any skill, is almost universally acknowledged to be broken. I've heard about a dozen suggested house rules to fix it, ranging anywhere from adding prerequisites to scrapping it altogether. My preference is to instead give the player +1 to the chosen skill for every 3 levels he has, but again, some proof-reading would've been nice before they started selling the rules.
3. Force powers leave me wanting. The system works fine, but I was introduced to Star Wars RPGs ten years ago through KotOR, and one great aspect of its Force abilities was you could upgrade them - from memory, each one had three distinct phases. Here, you only get mild boosts in the form of Force Techniques, or better yet generic boosts in the form of Force Secrets. The potency of your powers depends mostly on random dice rolls instead of set abilities. The result is there's not as much of a difference as you'd expect between a Jedi neophyte and a Jedi master. Perhaps it was a balance issue, and perhaps I'm nitpicking, but it still feels underwhelming, and not quite accurate.
I'm not the only one who's noted the Force power system is quite abstract. In lieu of an equivalent mana pool, the game lets you use a number of powers per combat based on the number you've essentially 'bought'. So, you can use a particular feat (Force training) to either buy one use of two different powers, or two uses of one power. It works okay, and it does bypass the need to keep track of cooldown, but otherwise it's a strange and dissatisfying way to handle it.
Lastly, some abilities are just plain missing. This is surprising considering they had thirteen rulebooks to work them into, not to mention plenty of characters who used said abilities. There's no Force Destruction, for instance, even though they have a stat block and biography for High Inquisitor Jerec.
The good news is, none of these gripes are deal-breakers and most are easily fixed with a little effort on the GM's part. Again, the system definitely holds up overall. At the least, it gives you a great framework to start with to you can work your own content into it.
Hope that's been of some value. I recommend Star Wars Saga for most players, Star Wars enthusiasts in particular. It's been a lot of fun for me and it'll probably be worth its weight in gold for you too.
