Opinion: Knights Of The Old Republic: 10 Years Later (Spoilers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) turned 10 years old. Happy birthday to one of my favourite RPGs and my favourite Star Wars video game of all time!!! KOTOR is a game that takes place approximately 4000 years before the Star Wars movies. It grew into a franchise that includes KOTOR II: The Sith Lords and Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). In truth, the MMO is designed to be the continuing story of KOTOR. It has been an interesting 10 years for KOTOR and I, as I’ve played alongside people like Carth Onasi and Canderous Ordo towards tracking down the Star Forge and defeating Darth Malak. Along the way, the character I get to play as has evolved into my favourite Star Wars character of all time. Oh yes, Bioware made a masterpiece 10years ago and it still resonates in our hearts today as one of its best pieces.

In KOTOR, the Republic is at war with the Sith lead by Darth Malak, the last surviving apprentice of Darth Revan. In Star Wars lore, Revan and Malak are not true Sith but Jedi Knights who slowly fell to the darkside during the Mandalorian Wars that ended approximately 5 years before the game started.

During the Mandalorian Wars, the Republic was getting beaten bad and pleaded to the Jedi for help. The Jedi refused because this war was so soon after the war with Exar Kun. Revan and Malak did not want to hear any of that as they travelled to worlds that were utterly destroyed by the Mandalorians, such as the Cathar home world. Instead of obeying the Jedi, they formed a splinter group within it called the Revanchist. This faction helped the Republic defeat the Mandalorians… and then they disappeared into deep space.

Unfortunately the Republic wished their heroes had stayed there, as Revan and Malak came back as Sith Lords with an army behind them! This started the Jedi Civil War. The player starts the game ~4 years after the above back story. I started off as a Republic Soldier on the Endar Spire above the world of Taris, and was ready to start my greatest Star Wars adventure yet. The other two classes a character can choose from are the Scout and the Scoundrel.

In this adventure my main character, named Serea , evolved from being a lowly Republic grunt into a Jedi who travelled the galaxy. In the game, you can choose to be a Jedi Guardian, who is mostly a fighter; a Jedi Consular, who is the caster; and a Jedi Sentinel, who is mostly a skills Jedi.  Serea was a Jedi Guardian because I love the rush of charging into battle with my lightsaber drawn. During my adventure, Serea visited known worlds like Tatooine and Yavin IV (on the PC version, you travel to a space station above it), and I visited worlds that were new to me like Korriban and Manaan.

The story of KOTOR is so engaging. It tells a complete tale, yet leaves many of us wondering. For example, Revan and Malak’s fall to the dark side  remained shrouded in mystery for most of the time. Sure, I could give an educated guess about why they fell but what completed that fall remained hidden. In fact no one really knows how or why they fell until SWTOR’s release. That is one thing that stood out to me from the game’s get-go that continued in KOTOR II: Those games are full of mystery. In fact, you really have to work in order to understand what’s going on and who you’re travelling with. Talking to the NPCs and asking tonnes of questions are a must for getting the most out of KOTOR’s story, or else you will miss a key component of both games.

Another key component to both games are plot twists that have left my jaw hurting for over 10 years… thanks Bioware and Obsidian.  Just kidding, a good plot twist that leads to your jaw dropping is a necessity for us gamers who enjoy a good story! What’s KOTOR’s plot twist? See Revan in the picture above? Ever wondered who is behind the mask?  I was curious too and I had my guesses. However, NOTHING in the universe could have prepared me for what Bioware had in store when Revan removed Revan’s Mask (note the costume in both pictures is modified). Warning: This is about to be a plot spoiler. If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading immediately and look at the other lovely articles on this site. If you already know or don’t care, keep reading:

Serea… You’re Darth Revan? I’ve been playing this game as Darth Revan!!! It turns out that prior to the game’s start, the Jedi set a trap for Revan and Malak. Bastila, one of the Jedi that travels with you, boarded Revan’s ship. Malak, hungry for power like all Sith are, ordered his ships to fire on Revan’s ship in order to kill his master and kill his enemies at the same time.  What did that action result in? 1) Malak proving to be an idiot cause his enemies AND Revan survived that. 2) The Jedi are not the good little angels looking out for peace, freedom and justice like we once thought. In fact some of their actions are questionable. Serea had no idea she was Revan at the beginning of the game because Bastila saved Revan, whose mind was badly damaged, and the Jedi basically brainwashed Revan. They healed Revan but re-programmed her mind into someone loyal to the Republic in order to draw out her memories without her being dangerous. 3) For once, an epic central character of Star Wars lore could be female or male.

Unfortunately, number 3 was short lived, and female Revan fans, like myself, have been paying for it  ever since. What was awesome about KOTOR and KOTOR II is that the gamer’s were given choices. I was able to choose whether my character was male or female; whether they were the fighter, caster, or skilled character; whether I went light side, neutral, or darkside; and in many ways, how my game and the galaxy were left at the end. Thanks to the canon people living at LucasArts, that got taken away in 2007 in Star Wars lore.  Revan was declared canonically light sided and male.

Now, from a story stand point I can understand why they would do that. In order for it to flow, some things had to be set in stone in order for things to make a bit of sense, especially if they planned to make a MMO. It might not have been feasible to design 4 different Revan story lines for the Republic and Empire based on what people chose during their KOTOR game play. At the same time, this was a big mess up on their part.

Star Wars really went back to keeping the status quo because of this. In KOTOR II the Jedi Exile is the protagonist and was made canonically female. Whether that was done to shut up the angry female Revan fans or to keep quiet those who say there are no major female characters in Star Wars is up for debate. Unfortunately, this didn’t really help matters as she really is one of Revan’s side kicks in the overall story and in the Revan Novel she got reduced to a secondary character whose fate could have ended better. In the story line all she does really is follow Revan: She follows Revan to war and then follows Revan back into deep space after KOTOR II ends. So at the end of the day, this places men as the central characters driving the story in a major Star Wars franchise, and the females playing more of a secondary role. In KOTOR, KOTOR II, and the Revan novel the protagonist is male, the antagonists are male, and the females are mostly secondary characters instead of being more central.

I know what you’re thinking: Hey, Princess Leia was the head honcho in the movies. She was a leader in the Alliance, became the head of state, and out ranked Luke, Han, and Lando! So, she is a strong and central female role model in Star Wars. Yes, that is true but being central in Star Wars in terms of faction doesn’t mean you’re central in a movie or always at the forefront. For example, Mon Mothma is the leader of the Rebel Alliance yet we only see her for maybe 5s in Return of the Jedi. The only time I’ve seen her play a major role is directing the Rebel Alliance campaign in Star Wars: Empire at War. In the movies Leia isn’t the one who gets Jedi training but she is the one that needs rescuing in A New Hope, and isn’t the one who redeems her father, Darth Vader.

KOTOR was the perfect chance for Star Wars to have a strong female character be at the centre, and be the hero. Now in Star Wars that is lost, and I guess it’s because Lucas Arts aimed for the lowest common denominator. While some in that denominator like reminding people who are fans of the Female Revan that they won, and Revan is canonically male, their cries are falling on deaf ears. My character was female long before I knew who Darth Revan was and the game is most enjoyable for me, and many other KOTOR fans, as the female Revan. And you know what? That’s OK! Canon is ultimately not the one playing KOTOR or KOTOR II, same goes for the 8 different class story lines in SWTOR. If you have fun playing every single character as a female or male, all power to you. You’re the one that needs to have fun, not canon.

To that end, I have a message for Disney and Bioware 10 years later: DO NOT CANONIZE THE CLASS STORY LINES IN SWTOR. Don’t tell me what gender my juggernaut is canonically, nor what force alignment my trooper should be at the end. Don’t tell me who officially got spared and who officially died . Feel free to canonize general stuff, like the Sith Warrior and Inquisitor got their Darth titles and finding their rightful place in the Sith Empire at the end, cause that is  expected by all when they play Sith: We want our Darth title! But leave it as our own personal Star Wars story in which the gamer decides how they achieve their title.  The whole point behind the class story in SWTOR that kept getting advertised prior to launch was the class stories are the gamer’s personal Star Wars story. If they take that way via canonizing things, they will prove they’ve learned nothing over the past 10 years and will destroy one of SWTOR’s unique features that keeps people playing the game.

Now I have a message for the gamers: Don’t let canon spoil your gaming moments. If you enjoy the light side male story line, go for it! If you want to play as the most bad ass female known to galactic history, knock yourself out. Canon doesn’t have the controller, you do. So, control  Revan’s fate as you like it. Same goes for your Jedi Exile, Sith Warrior, Trooper, Imperial Agent, Jedi Knight, etc. The point is having fun, so go have fun in KOTOR your way and I’ll have fun with it in my way!

So, at the end of this I want to say a couple of thank yous:

1. Thank you to Bioware for making, in my opinion, the best Star Wars game of all time, even after 10years.
   
2. Thank you to all the modders out there who made modifications to KOTOR. Practically all of the pictures I posted from KOTOR are a scene from the game, as well as having a modification. My favourite is Brotherhood of Shadow: Solomon’s Revenge by silveredge9. Thanks to that mod, I have Revan in a Republic military Jedi outfit and a Revan suit  Serea can run around in!
3. Thank you to Obsidian for taking the reigns and improving on KOTOR. Unfortunately the game was released incomplete, so it doesn’t quite make my vote for the best Star Wars game. BUT it does fill in some holes in KOTOR’s universe and makes it more grey, then simply black and white

So, where do we go from here? Well, that’s up to Bioware. I personally hope that they release KOTOR and KOTOR II with updated graphics, instead of re-releasing the games as-is. I think if they did that it would draw newer generations into the Old Republic through KOTOR like so many of us were. Perhaps that can be our treat next year for KOTOR II’s 10th anniversary?