Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (video game)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or in English Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (abbreviated Kotor) is one of the first ARPGs set in the fictional universe of the Star Wars saga. It was developed by the Canadian company BioWare with the sponsorship of LucasArts, a subsidiary of Lucasfilm, published in July for Xbox and in November 2003 for Windows.

The game's plot is set some 4,000 years before the formation of the Galactic Empire, when Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith, initiates his attack on the Old Republic. The player's perspective is to roam the galaxy searching for the items needed to destroy the Star Forge, the source of Malak's military resources.

Players choose from three character classes, customizing them early in the game, and engage in turn-based combat against enemies. By interacting with other characters through dialogue and actions, the alignment system will determine whether the player character aligns with the light or dark side of the Force.

A sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 - The Sith Lords, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, was released in 2004. The history of the series continued with the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, an MMORPG developed in 2011 by BioWare.

On September 9, 2021, after a series of rumors, a remake of the original 2003 game by Aspyr Media was officially confirmed during the Playstation Showcase.

Plot

After three years of the Mandalorian Wars and another three years of the Jedi Civil War, the young Jedi Lady Bastila Shan continues her crusade against the converted Jedi who call themselves Sith and who have lost their leader Revan. Now, however, Bastila has disappeared, captured or dead, after the battle on the faraway metropolitan world of Taris. Her hope, and that of ending the war, now led by Revan's apprentice Malak, lies with a single being and the allies she may find on a grand journey across all fronts of the galaxy.

Knights of the Old Republic uses the d20 system of the Dungeons & Dragons. The video game allows the player to choose between good (light) and evil (dark) using an alignment system that varies depending on the actions that are carried out: from small conversations to big decisions, they will make the player opt for the Light Side or the dark side.

Locations and characters

The game takes place on numerous planets:

• Taris
• Dantooine
• Kashyyk
• Korriban
• Manaan
• Tatooine
• Rakata Prime or Lehon (known as Unknown world)

Although players will also visit other places:

• Ebon Hawk (The Ebony Hawk)
• Endar Spire
• Leviathan
• Star Forge
• The Yavin Space Station

Video game characters:

• Darth Revan
• Bastila Shan
• Carth Onasi
• Canderous Ordo
• HK-47
• Jolee Bindo
• Juhani
• Mission Vao
• T3-M4
• Zaalbar

Other characters you will meet in the adventure:

• Ajunta Pall
• Calo Nord
• Darth Bandon
• Darth Malak
• Davik Kang
• Uthar Wynn
• Mekel
• Yuthura Ban
• Vandar Tokare
• Dorak
• Zhar Lestin
• Vrook Lamar

History of the video game

The game begins with the attack on the Endar Spire, a Republic cruiser ship, by the Sith. He or the protagonist was stationed in this ship. Trask, another soldier, assists the protagonist as they try to escape from the cruiser. Along the way, Trask informs the protagonist that his goal as a soldier is to find Bastila Shan, a Jedi also stationed on the ship and his commander. At the same time, Carth Onasi contacts the protagonist and encourages him to meet and escape together to the nearby planet. On the way, they find a Sith, to which Trask decides to confront him to give the protagonist time. Finally the protagonist meets Carth and together they escape to the nearby planet, while the Endar Spire falls and is destroyed. Already in Taris, the planet to which they fell, the protagonist decides to fulfill his objective as a soldier of the Republic and find Bastila and finally leave the planet. Since Taris is under Sith control, a quarantine is put into effect, denying anyone access or exit to Taris, with the goal of locating the missing Jedi. After exploring the planet, certain complications and confrontations, they manage to find Bastila, steal a ship and escape the planet.

The group decides to head to Dantooine, where a Jedi academy was held. Bastila informs the protagonist that he has a connection to the force, giving him the ability to finally become a Jedi. Already in the academy, the protagonist begins his training, facing various challenges and tests. During his final test, the protagonist discovers a Star Map, a tool created by the Rakkata to lead them to The Star Forge, a forge under Sith control that was the source of his endless power. This is how the protagonist begins his search for the remaining Star Maps, to finally destroy it and end the war against the Sith.

Critical reaction

Professional critics generally responded enthusiastically. KotOR has won numerous awards, including the "Game Developers Choice" for Best Game of the Year, "BAFTA Games" for Best Xbox Video Game, and "Interactive Achievement" for best console RPG, best computer RPG and best story/character development.

The game has been described as novel; both in gameplay and in prehistory, completely new and with both classic and modern soundtrack.

Aftermath

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords was developed by another studio, Obsidian Entertainment, using an improved version of the engine from the first game. It was released for Xbox in December 2004 and for PC in February 2005.

In addition, in the world of comics, there is the Knights of the Old Republic series set in the Mandalorian Wars, by Dark Horse, whose edition began in America in English in February 2006.

On October 21, 2008, the official announcement of one more sequel was made. This is a massively multiplayer online game for PC, Star Wars: The Old Republic. The story of that video game would take place 300 years after what happened in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords.

In 2013, with the tenth anniversary of the game's release, Chris Avellone - designer of Obsidian - confessed in an interview that they were making a third part of KOTOR but that they did not have the support of LucasArts. According to Level Up, this was due to the title "taking the player down a dangerously gray path, allowing them to reflect on their actions and the meaning of good and evil." while being tutored by Kreia... this overly ambiguous and complex view was rejected by Lucas, who viewed such philosophies as a betrayal of his franchise." of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to the market, which included new engines and developments that would add an additional cost, which paralyzed the project.