Reaction to ''Harmy's Despecialized Edition'' has been almost universally positive. Writing for [[Inverse (website)|Inverse]], Sean Hutchinson placed it at number one on his list of the best ''Star Wars'' fan edits, and described it as "the perfect pre-1997 way to experience the saga"."<ref name=Hutchinson/> Whitson Gordon of [[Lifehacker]] called the edits "the best version of ''Star Wars'' you can watch", and named them "the version of ''Star Wars'' we've all been clamoring for the last 20 years".<ref name=Gordon/> Similarly, Nathan Barry of ''[[Wired (website)|Wired]]'' praised the films as "an absolute joy to watch",<ref name=Wired/> while [[Gizmodo]] described them as "very, ''very'' good".<ref name=Gizmodo/> In an article listing [[Ars Technica]]'s favorite ''Star Wars'' items, Sam Machkovech selected ''Harmy's Despecialized Edition'', calling it "a treat"."<ref name=Machkovech/>
