It’s been ten years since the first Knights of the Old Republic game was released and after playing it through again recently for the first time in years? I can happily report that it still holds up awesomely. The game is just as enthralling to me now in my early 20s as it was when I was in my teens. A lot of that has to do with how distinctly Star Wars the game is despite being set thousands of years before anyone named Skywalker was of any relevance to the galaxy. Obviously it has all the superficial markings of Star Wars like the name, lightsabers and Jedi, spaceships, and such but it’s the overall feel of the epic tale that makes it so very obviously a part of the galaxy far far away.
Let’s take a look at some of what not only make this game pure Star Wars but makes it an excellent example for other stories told within the galaxy.
Note: Obviously one of the neatest things about the game is that you make your own choices through your own character and therefore the game could go any number of ways. I’m writing this piece assuming a light side Revan which is technically canon. This piece will also have a heavy bias towards playing with a female Revan which sadly isn’t canon but that’s my preferred storyline so canon can deal for the duration of this piece.
It’s a mission to save the galaxy
While it’s hardly a trope unique to the galaxy far far away, it is one of its pillars. Your character is just an ordinary person (or so you think) who, through a series of circumstances, has to go on a quest through the galaxy to find pieces of the Star Map to help win the war against the Sith. Along the way, you pick up a number of companions with whom you build friendships and you also often help others out even if they have nothing to do with your main quest. At the end of the day, you save the day by defeating the evil Sith leader and destroying the space station that was giving them the edge in battle.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Although a story doesn’t always have to have galactic ramifications to be one where good triumphs, that’s a part of what makes this game so good. The fate of the galaxy is literally in your hands. You choose whether to be a good guy or a bad guy and whether or not you’re going to save the Republic or take back the Sith Empire for yourself and rule and galaxy. Granted, the galaxy sort of falls to pieces five years later anyways but the Ebon Hawk and her crew still saved the day!
Awhile back, I wrote a post on EUCantina about the