Why We’re Excited for the Knights of the Old Republic Remake

 

After over a year of waiting, Sony unveiled a swath of new announcements for games coming to the PlayStation 5 in a brand new Showcase. During the Showcase, PlayStation showed off new looks at some previously announced titles like God of War: Ragnarok and Square Enix's Forspoken as well as brand new games like Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and a brand new Wolverine game! One of the most exciting announcements was what opened the show, though.

Return to a Classic Role-Playing Game

The Showcase opened with a mysterious teaser trailer with a familiar voice, longtime voice actress Jennifer Hale and the appearance of one of Star Wars’ most beloved characters, the menacing Darth Revan. The game captured the hearts of fans when it was released back in 2003, and told a fresh story in a new era of the Galaxy nearly 4000 years before the films take place. The sense of grand adventure, a cast of charming and likable characters, and the wide amount of choice that the game gave players were remarkable at the time.

KOTOR was impressive not just as a Star Wars game, but as a role-playing game in general. BioWare, the team behind the game, went on to make awesome games like Jade Empire, Mass Effect and Dragon Age using the formula that their Dungeons and Dragons games Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights established and KOTOR cemented.

The Old Republic Era

“For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire.” -Obi-Wan

 

Rather than setting the game in a familiar period for Star Wars, the team at BioWare tried something unique for the time. They would set their Star Wars story long before the films take place, and establish the stories of a much older Galaxy Far Far Away. There is plenty of familiar ground during this time that fans of the movies would recognize. There are still ships, droids, Jedi Knights, and Sith Lords, but with a bit of an ancient twist. Droids and ships are blockier and less sleek, there are numerous heroes and villains on both sides, and the Mandalorian Crusaders are engaging the Republic in haunting numbers.

It is a gripping time for the Galaxy, one full of heroes and monumental battles. The original Star Wars trilogy was inspired by the classic Samurai films that George Lucas loved growing up. In Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare fully channeled the fantasy side of Star Wars. The game emphasized the larger-than-life threats, mythical creatures, and diverse party of characters setting out on a quest that is commonplace in Fantasy storytelling. This change of pace felt right at home in the much older period, while still making the atmosphere equal parts genuine and distinct.  

The Story of Revan

“Four thousand years before

the rise of the Galactic

Empire, the Republic verges

on collapse. DARTH MALAK,

last surviving apprentice of

the Dark Lord Revan, has

unleashed an invincible

Sith armada upon an

unsuspecting galaxy.

 

Crushing all resistance,

Malak's war of conquest

has left the Jedi Order

scattered and vulnerable

as countless Knights fall in

battle, and many more

swear allegiance to the new

Sith Master.

 

In the skies above the Outer

Rim world of Taris, a Jedi

battle fleet engages the

forces of Darth Malak in a

desperate effort to halt the

Sith's galactic domination.…”

-KOTOR’s Signature Star Wars Crawl

 

The story of Knights of the Old Republic follows the story of Bastila Shan after engaging with the evil Sith Lord Darth Revan. After defeating Revan, the Sith’s apprentice Darth Malak takes control of the Sith Empire and uses its power to launch a campaign against the Republic. You wake up on a Republic ship after the battle, confused and knowing one thing, you need to find Bastila and escape the grip of the Sith. A simple start expands to a story full of diverse characters, locations, and huge stakes that propel the ever-expanding party of heroes on their quest to defeat Darth Malak. The mystery surrounding your confused past and discovery of your destiny is a personal story that you can influence with your choices and actions. Do you embrace the Light Side of the Force, or succumb to the power of the Dark Side? It is up to you, and both the story and your abilities in combat and conversations change accordingly. Most Star Wars games are just supplemental to the movies, but Knights of the Old Republic sets itself apart by feeling more like a main course and is an essential story for fans looking for more from the universe after the films.  

What the Remake Could Improve

KOTOR is a beloved game, but time has not been kind to it on the gameplay front. The story is outstanding, but the combat and exploration deserve to be improved, making the idea of the remake so exciting. The original game had a mix of turn-based DnD combat where all of your attacks are decided by dice rolls. The battles unfolded in a real-time setting where the fight keeps going without pausing (unless you want to) and does not feel quite as satisfying today. According to Aspyr, the team behind the remake, the new version is going to be more action-focused. After seeing what Square Enix did with adapting Final Fantasy 7’s turn-based combat into an action-packed romp, the potential for KOTOR is huge.

Utilizing the wide array of Force powers, your Lightsaber, and managing party members in the vein of Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s combat system sounds like so much fun, and the perfect shift the original game needs to be brought into the modern age. Seeing the planets you and your party visit in a new, modern light invigorate my imagination. Perhaps better yet, encountering the characters again for old fans and letting new fans be introduced to them for the first time is going to be outstanding when the game launches. As long as the team at Apsyr stay true to what the original game and story legendary, both old and new fans should look forward to this new vision of the Old Republic. 

 

By: Noah Friscopp