In retrospect, I feel like I erred and should have gone to Onderon before I went to Dantooine but that’s what I get for asking Twitter and abiding by the poll results. Onderon and Dxun are some of my favorite parts of the game to play through because we get Mandalorians and royalty! Space politics!
Everything’s going just fine when you arrive in the Onderon system until someone in their military figures out who you are and tries to kill you and you have to crash/hide on the moon of Dxun. Coincidentally, it’s also where the Mandalorian War started and where an outpost of Mandos still remains. Unknown to the Exile, Kreia tells Atton that he’s not allowed to be done with the ship repairs until she says so which means we have to find another way to Onderon. Ugh.
After fighting through the jungle and encountering the warrior race, Canderous—I mean Mandalore offers to take you with him to Onderon but only if you prove yourself useful and worthy first. That means (you guessed it) running around the camp and the jungle finding more beasts to beat up and things to fix. Along the way, Kreia even teaches you a totally useless power that’s supposed to work against beasts. (Spoiler: It doesn’t do crap.)
Speaking of Kreia, she’s doing nothing to help her ‘crazy and creepy old lady’ reputation. In case there was any doubt that the new Mandalore is Canderous Ordo, he confirms as much when Kreia talks about how Revan left him at the edge of the galaxy when she went off and dear lord this is the story that I want to read. (No, take that Revan book away. It is trash and I will not acknowledge it.)
Once we get to Onderon, the space politics is very much on display. General Vaklu is not subtle about his desire to take the throne from his cousin Queen Talia. We know this because the entire freaking city is talking about it. You can’t run ten feet without finding someone else loudly discussing it. I hate Vaklu, by the way. He’s kind of a jerk and having to side with him when I play dark side kills me a little every time. I’d much rather make contact with Master Kavar and work with him and Queen Talia. (I’m convinced that the two of them may have a secret fling going on. It’s all very Obi-Wan and Satine esque.)
The downside of Onderon is that it feels like it’s flying by but I think that’s because it’s broken into such distinct sections. There’s Dxun and then Onderon proper and then you have to leave the planet for a little while and return once Kavar tells you. I love that the game hints at all of this backstory between Kavar and the Exile but hate that it never really delves fully into it.
Bright side: I finally got Mira to let me show her the ways of the Force! Wait a minute… that sounds wrong but you all know what I meant. While it can be frustrating, I do like that Mira and Bao-Dur both take a little more time and work. It’s sweet that you talk to Mira about the sound and feel of Nar Shaddaa and then take her back there for her awakening. Mostly though, I’m just happy that I got her on the Jedi train because I can stop stressing about that now. On the other hand… I sacrificed some light side points to suck up to G0-T0 and I’m not entirely sure that I regret it.
Next up? Korriban where there’s nothing but dead people as far as the eye can see. Yay?
