Is KOTOR the best Star Wars game?

Almost 20 years after the premiere of KOTOR, there is still talk of the first Star Wars RPG, which for many is the best Star Wars video game. In this special we talk about everything that made this BioWare role-playing adventure special, imagining how its remake should be if it is real.

He was even able to extend his influence beyond video games

BioWare signed a masterpiece that made history, that marked a whole generation of players, and in this special I'm not just going to talk to you about what I would like to see in that possible KOTOR remake that has been talked about so much in recent months, but Also, I want to delve into everything that made the first Star Wars RPG great, in what made it a memorable game, not without first asking you, whether you are veterans or players who want to discover KOTOR, to participate by sharing your opinions, the memories that you treasure with so much affection or the stories that you have heard and have made you want to play this classic role-playing game.

A Star Wars RPG, a dream come true

"There wouldn't have been KOTOR if LucasArts hadn't been run by Star Wars geeks who loved things like D&D and Baldur's Gate."

I think this phrase from the journalist Alex Kane in an interview with 365starwars.com perfectly sums up how unrepeatable the birth of this classic role was. Nothing like it had been created and except for the scale of the remarkable Star Wars Galaxies, neither had a game based on George Lucas's universe so colossal and ambitious been created. But BioWare, which had built a golden reputation with the great Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, faced the challenge fearlessly with the illusion of creating the best possible game.

But beyond the graphics, art and music, what made this role-playing classic special was the freedom of action; the sense of living your own adventure in the Star Wars universe. There were eight planets that you could freely explore, some already known to fans, others completely original, and in all of them you found fascinating places with incredible stories. It was pure Star Wars… in a different universe, with new designs, new threats and a completely original cast of protagonists. This was one of KOTOR's great achievements. Today even more than before, LucasFilm - now Disney - exercises a tight grip on the stories, characters and worlds of Star Wars. You have to stick to the canon, follow the rules that govern this universe, so BioWare was very clear that they did not want to work with that pressure. They needed creative freedom, to be able to tell their own story, and that took them back nearly 4,000 years in the chronology of the Star Wars movies

"In the Star Wars timeline, space travel has existed for more than 25,000 years, which places the technology of the time relatively close to that of the movies," Casey Hudson commented at the time. "This gave us the opportunity to create a cinematic experience with a style and essence close to that of the movies, while also giving us the freedom to create our own art, characters and completely new stories. In fact," he adds, "LucasArts he even encouraged us to 'destroy a planet.' Such was the freedom that this new historical period afforded us. " Years later, Hudson himself reaffirmed this idea in an interview with StarWars.com. "The great thing about the Old Republic is that you have a lot of freedom, you have the opportunity to have many more Jedi and you can design your own ships, your own planets, vehicles and aesthetics." The hard part was making it all fit in with the original style.

What would change (and what not) in the KOTOR remake

Being one of my favorite video games of all time, I find it difficult not to get excited about the simple idea of ​​reliving my adventures in Knight of the Old Republic with a new generation of graphics. But of course, what more can we ask from this supposed remake? What would you change and what would you not touch for the world? Although I love the original game, I think there are details that can be improved significantly to adapt to the most current role-playing games, but ... where do we put the limit? I think this makes for a very interesting debate, but from the outset, I do feel that the conversation system can be improved and expanded, making the relationships between the protagonists more lively and natural than those of the original.

This is something that its sequel The Sith Lords did very well, and over the years BioWare itself perfected it with Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Another tricky topic is the fighting. At the time, they opted for battles in real time with tactical pause following the rules of the 3rd edition of Dungeons and Dragons, which means that the success or failure of each and every one of our actions depends on a roll of the dice. Should this system be kept, updated to more recent rules, or should combat be completely modified? I've read from players who would like a more action-focused, Mass Effect-style combat, and who wouldn't change their RPG essence. I position myself more on this side, although I would welcome refining the fight to make it more spectacular and exciting. That in the end we talk about battles with Jedi, Sith and soldiers shooting, escaping from explosions and using lightsabers. Which brings me to talking about the combat team.

Veteran Chris Avellone even hinted at what Obsidian's KOTOR 3 was going to be like, and it promised to be awesome, but at this point, is a Knight of the Old Republic sequel still possible? The history of the saga continued with the MMORPG The Old Republic by BioWare, so if there was a new RPG from KOTOR, perhaps it would bet on another historical context, possibly based on the new High Republic that is the main focus. of Disney interest today. Be that as it may, I'm looking forward to KOTOR, I want it to come back! Because in recent years, a whole generation of creatives, filmmakers and writers who have grown up with Star Wars stories are giving us some of the best War of War products. the Galaxies, as is the case with Clone Wars and The Mandalorian. So thinking about what they could do with a new Star Wars RPG inspired by KOTOR's legacy… I was thrilled.

To retrieve a few words from journalist Alex Kane, author of the book Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic (Boss Fight Books), "KOTOR's authors were young, many of them inexperienced in many ways, but their ideas were bold and exciting [. ..] and LucasArts helped them make it possible by giving them the necessary budget to create a true blockbuster. " Now that LucasFilm Games is back with the promise of bringing great video games, it's hard not to get excited about what the creatives who love and have grown up with the KOTOR legacy could do. I'm scared to get overly excited but I think good years are coming for Star Wars fans in video games.