Star Wars has a barrage of games, so it would be an overwhelming challenge to play all of them. But the crown jewel of all the games is widely considered to be 2003’s Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic. Originally developed by Bioware and published by Lucasarts, Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic could be played by anyone, as it has its own story completely divorced from the films and explains the universe in play all on its own.
Knights of the Old Republic Takes you 4000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire in an indirect prequel that has no impact on the galaxy seen in the films. This game is an RPG, meaning you choose a Gender, Class, skills, attributes and make choices throughout your journey. Since this game has a core structure in its story, it is less so what you do, and more so how you do it.
Throughout the game, you make choices that are either Light Side or Dark Side decisions. Make moral choices, and the game will give you light side points, but make selfish choices, and you will get dark side points. This game was made before Mass Effect’s system of a voiced protagonist and limited choices, so Knights of The Old Republic is a very traditional RPG. It has a turn-based roll-a-dice combat system, which is acceptable, but far from perfect. While the story is gold, the combat and animations come across as janky by today’s standards.
The story does not forget it shares its universe with the films and makes plenty of references to them. The Jedi and Sith are still in this game, familiar technology and planets appear in the game, and famous lines are also in this game. Originally, this game was meant to tie-in with Attack of the Clones, but the team wanted creative freedom with the project while still heavily referencing what came before.
Since this was before even Yoda was born, you will not see a single familiar face in this game. However, the game creates memorable and iconic characters so well, that if Star Wars started with this game, it would be an instant hit. It does everything a Star Wars story does on its own. It establishes the universe, the characters and the factions.
Although the galaxy may seem like it does not progress much over time between this game and the Phantom Menace, it is only a small problem with the writing. Scaling back technology just a little bit could have helped. The journey you and your companions make is well written and exciting. This is one of the few games I felt true excitement over. I became obsessed with this game after only an hour of playing it. It’s very re-playable like any compelling RPG and a fan favourite amongst gamers.
Final Verdict: The game may not be ground-breaking in actual gameplay, but the story and choices more than make up for it. This game receives a 9 out of 10, with most of the score directed at the story.
