Editorial: A Deep Dive Into ‘Knights of the Old Republic’ - Part 2

This is the second part of a 3-part series discussing 'Knights of the Old Republic' in honor of its 20th anniversary. Check back with us here at Star Wars News Net as the final installment releases in the coming days.



Link to Part 1 HERE.



Dantooine



Once you’ve left Taris, Bastila sets the Ebon Hawk on course for Dantooine, which is the current home of a Jedi training academy. She hopes that the relative peace of Dantooine will provide everyone with a much-needed break after the events on Taris. Plus, the Jedi Masters there will no doubt have ideas on what steps to take against Malak and his forces.



Shortly after your arrival on Dantooine, Bastila informs you that the Jedi Council there want to speak with you. Carth notes how unusual it is for the Council to request a meeting with a common soldier, but he advises you go anyway. The Council reveals that they sense you’re strong in the Force and have heard from Bastila about what happened on Taris. Consequently, they’re debating on whether they should train you to become a Jedi, even though normally one must start the process as a child. However, the conversation soon becomes heated, and the Council sends you away while they speak privately amongst themselves.







That night, you have yet another vision. This time, you see Revan and Malak in a mysterious ruin. Malak warns Revan that if they continue deeper, they will be banished from the Jedi Order, but Revan continues as the dream fades away.



After you awaken, Carth tells you that Bastila and the Council want to see you again. The Council already knows about your dream because Bastila had it, too, and she sensed your presence within it. The Jedi Masters take this as proof that you and Bastila have a bond similar to that of a Jedi Master and their apprentice. They believe that the two of you may be key to the Republic’s victory against Malak, and they decide to train you as a Jedi.



The game wisely chooses to present your first few weeks of training in a quick but effective montage. Your skill with the Force develops quickly, and you become an apprentice in the Jedi Order.







Dantooine: Jedi Training



It’s at this point that KOTOR gives players another key part of the Star Wars experience: becoming a Jedi. As I mentioned at the start of this editorial, BioWare wanted this game to let players live out their own saga. What better way to do that than to allow the player character to learn the ways of the Force? Even today, Star Wars fans everywhere like to imagine themselves in Luke Skywalker’s place training under Master Yoda’s tutelage on Dagobah, and the same was certainly true in 2003.



Even better, the game’s overall story structure makes sure that this development lands with the weight that it deserves. BioWare could have chosen to have the player start out as a Jedi, and that could have worked as well. Games like Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed certainly didn’t suffer from giving players a lightsaber and Force powers from the beginning.







However, there’s something to be said for how KOTOR waits to give you those rewards. For the first several hours of the game, you were just another Republic soldier trying to survive and find your Jedi commander so you could escape a difficult situation. Now, though, you’ve moved up in the galaxy. Through all your trials and victories up to this point, you’ve proven that you’re more than an ordinary grunt. When you build your first lightsaber and see your character turn it on, the sense of achievement is undeniable. You weren’t just given it, you earned it.



Your training doesn’t end with the construction of your lightsaber, however. The Council informs you that before you can truly join the Jedi Order, you must complete one final test. You must see the effects of the dark side influence for yourself, and confront an opponent who also wields a lightsaber. You are directed to a nearby grove that has become corrupted by the dark side, and you are told to cleanse it.







When you reach the grove, you find Juhani, a young Cathar woman, meditating there. She draws her lightsaber and attacks you. After you defeat her, you are presented with a choice. Juhani despairs in her failure, insisting that she is lost to the dark side and cannot be redeemed. If you want, you can try to reason with her, find out why she turned to the dark side, and attempt to turn her back. Alternatively, you can just kill her.



If you decide to talk to Juhani, you can eventually discover that she was a Padawan at the academy. She attacked her master during a training session and then, thinking that she had killed her, fled. Juhani is convinced that she is irredeemable. However, if you choose the right dialogue options, you can convince her that the Jedi will take her back, provided she truly repents. Juhani then runs back to the academy.







Once you return to the academy, Juhani reveals the truth of what happened. Her master intentionally provoked her so she would fall to the dark side and see how easy it is to stray from the path of the Jedi. Now that Juhani has been redeemed, she has rejoined the Order.



What makes this quest work so well is how much choice the writers give to the player. If you redeem Juhani, she eventually joins your party and is around for the rest of the game. During that time, you can learn about her backstory and form a closer friendship with her. If your character is female, you can even develop a romance with Juhani.



None of what I just described comes to pass if you decide to kill Juhani. The fate of a potentially major character in the game’s story is left entirely up to you. That’s a lot of weight to put on a single decision, but KOTOR is better for it. Throughout the game, you have the choice of either following the light or dark side of the Force, and it’s great that the story makes sure your decisions have lasting consequences.







With the grove cleansed of evil, you have passed your final test, and you are accepted into the Jedi Order as a Padawan. Now that you are officially part of the Order, the Council sends you and Bastila to investigate the nearby ruins you saw in your dream.



Within the ruins, you meet an incredibly old droid that informs you that the structure is actually a monument created by an ancient race called the Builders. The monument is intended to inform visitors about a mysterious artifact called the Star Forge, which the droid says is the Builders’ greatest achievement and their ultimate instrument of conquest.



After passing some combat and riddle-based trials, you and Bastila are granted access to the ruins’ final chamber, and you finally see what Revan and Malak searched for all those years ago. The final room contains an ancient device that activates as you enter. The machine projects a map of the galaxy, and Bastila recognizes the other planets it displays: Tatooine, Manaan, Korriban, and Kashyyyk.







The map provides some coordinates, but they are incomplete. Bastila theorizes that this Star Map was meant to give a partial guide to the Star Forge. She thinks those other worlds have their own Star Maps which each contain more of the necessary coordinates to find it.



You and Bastila reveal your discovery to the Jedi Council, and they decide to send the two of you as well as all of your current companions on a mission to find the other Star Maps and stop Malak. The fate of the galaxy depends on your success, and time is of the essence.







Dantooine: Final Thoughts



After the vast cityscape and seedy underbelly of Taris, Dantooine provides a welcome change of pace. It’s much more agrarian than Taris, and consists mostly of grassy plains and farmland. The Jedi Academy comes across as a calm and peaceful place where members of the order are able to rest between missions, meditate, and train.



Granted, Dantooine doesn’t offer quite as much variety in its locations as Taris did, which had an idyllic upper level, a dark and dangerous lower level, and a near-apocalyptic undercity. Dantooine, on the other hand, mostly consists of similar-looking brown grasslands with the occasional ruin or cave to spice things up.







The relative lack of variety also extends to the enemies. You spend most of your time on Dantooine fighting kath hounds, which are an indigenous and generally predatory animal species. They get the job done as far as enemies go, but they do become a bit repetitive over time.



Finally, there’s the side quests. Dantooine doesn’t have that many of them, but the handful that it does offer are pretty good. Have you ever wanted to solve a murder mystery? Now’s your chance! Are you itching for a fight and ready to do battle with some bands of marauding Mandalorians? Go right ahead!







As an aside, I love how the Mandalorians are portrayed in this game. We learn throughout the story that a number of years ago the Mandalorians went to war against the Republic. Revan and Malak acted quickly and aggressively to combat them, against the Jedi Council’s wishes. The Republic prevailed thanks to those two Jedi and their followers, but there are still pockets of Mandalorian warriors scattered throughout the galaxy who continue to raid and pillage.



We see that the Mandalorians have a strong warrior culture, and they’re tough to overcome in a fight. You understand how hard it must’ve been to defeat them in the war when there were entire armies of them.



Overall, Dantooine isn’t quite as interesting of a planet to explore as Taris, but it doesn’t really need to be. Taris was KOTOR’s first major location, and it had to get the main story moving in an engaging fashion while also offering side quests and an interesting new planet to explore. Dantooine, on the other hand, is more of a pit stop intended to provide some necessary character growth (You get to become a Jedi!) and exposition before the main portion of the game’s story begins. By that standard, Dantooine works.







The Hunt For The Star Maps



This portion of the story easily takes up most of the game’s runtime, so I won’t discuss it in too much detail. However, I do want to talk about some of this section’s highlights and give my overall thoughts on it.



Now that you know your mission, you have four planets to visit, and there’s a Star Map you must find on each one. It’s in this section of the game where the breadth of its scope is revealed. All four planets have their own storylines, unique characters, and side quests.







Your objective on each planet may be the same, but the paths you have to take to achieve it on all four of them are remarkably different. On Tatooine, you’ll have to confront an aggressive tribe of Tusken Raiders that seek to defend their land at all costs. Even after you’ve solved that problem, you’ll find that an even bigger threat awaits before you can get to the planet’s Star Map.



Kashyyyk isn’t any better off. The native Wookiees are being oppressed by the evil Czerka Corporation, which enslaves and sells them to off-worlders. The local chieftain has done nothing to prevent this continuing atrocity, but perhaps his rule can be brought to an end…if the right challenger were to present themselves that is.







Meanwhile, on Manaan, the native Selkath are trying to remain neutral in the ongoing war between the Republic and the Sith Empire. Their planet is the only natural source of kolto, the most powerful healing substance in the galaxy, and they sell it to both sides equally. However, the Sith are obviously cooking up a nefarious scheme to seize control of the planet. To make matters even more interesting, it turns out the Republic has secrets of its own as well.



Then there’s Korriban, the ancient homeworld of the Sith. Going here at all is a classic case of heading into the lion’s den. There’s only one way to get to where you suspect the planet’s Star Map might be, and that’s by enrolling in the local Sith academy and impressing the headmaster. Of course, doing that requires you to commit some truly evil acts unless you can find a way to keep your true allegiance a secret.







There’s already plenty of fantastic content in this portion of the game, but BioWare originally planned for it to be even more extensive. In the released version of KOTOR, it’s possible for you to hear about a Hutt-controlled world called Sleheyron. You don’t learn much about it, but it’s clear that the Hutts keep slaves there.



For a time during the game’s development, Sleheyron was intended to be yet another planet players could explore. In the book BioWare: Secrets and Stories from 25 Years of Game Development, Art Director Derek Watts  thankfully revealed some interesting details on what this planet would’ve included:

The book goes on to describe a world that sounds downright dystopian. Nearly everyone on Sleheyron who isn’t a Hutt is a slave for one of them. The Hutts rule through with an iron fist, and whenever slaves aren’t being forced to perform brutal labor, they are pitted against each other in gladiatorial combat. Even the environment on Sleheyron has been ruined because the planet has been excessively industrialized to the point where the atmosphere is nearly toxic.



Sleheyron sounds like it would’ve been a more than worthy addition to KOTOR’s assortment of planets. The thought of having to navigate a hellish world suffering under the terrible reign of the Hutts is exciting to say the least. That said, I understand that some content is almost always cut during the development process of a high-profile game like this one. Besides, it’s not as if KOTOR is lacking in locations or quests!







This entire portion of the game is simply phenomenal. I’ve emphasized time and again how BioWare sought to give players their very own Star Wars saga with this game, and no part of KOTOR delivers that better than this one. So many fans have fantasized about having their own ship and crew and flying across the galaxy from one planet to another as part of a grand adventure. Here, you get to do exactly that, and it’s awesome.



***SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS AHEAD***



However, Malak doesn’t just wait around while you and your friends are out looking for the Star Maps. Like any good villain, Malak is constantly trying to stop you from foiling his plans. To that end, he sends a number of assassins after you that you’ll encounter during your travels.







Once you’ve found three Star Maps, though, the direction of the story irrevocably changes. While you’re en route to your fourth Star Map, the Ebon Hawk is captured by the Leviathan, which is Darth Malak’s flagship. You, Bastila, and Carth are sure to be captured, and the three of you must make an escape plan. Carth also reveals that Admiral Saul Karath, the Leviathan’s commander, was once a Republic officer who he saw as a mentor. However, Karath betrayed the Republic and helped the Sith bomb Carth’s homeworld. Needless to say, Carth has a score to settle.



This part of the Leviathan sequence requires you to choose a party member outside your core trio of you, Bastila, and Carth to pull off a prison break. The early portions of this sequence vary slightly depending on who you choose. Your choice of party member doesn’t make a huge difference in how this scene plays out, but it’s still neat that BioWare went through the effort to give each potential choice their own moment to shine here. It isn’t long before your chosen companion finds and frees you, Bastila, and Carth.







Before that happens though, there’s a particularly tense interrogation scene involving the main characters and Admiral Karath. It becomes clear early on that he knows something about you that you don’t. Karath informs you that Malak is away from the ship at the moment, but he will send a message letting his lord know about your capture. In the meantime, he decides to torture the three of you. Karath also reveals that the Sith discovered the Jedi Academy on Dantooine and bombed it. Eventually, Karath leaves the three of you alone in your cells, and it’s up to your chosen party member to free you.



Once you’re all free, Canderous decides to lead the rest of the party and retake the Ebon Hawk while you, Bastila, and Carth head to the bridge to open the hangar doors. The three of you fight your way through the Leviathan and reach the bridge to find Karath and a group of soldiers and Dark Jedi waiting for you. After you defeat them, Karath is dying on the bridge floor. The admiral asks for Carth to approach so he can whisper something to him before he dies.







As soon as Karath breathes his last, Carth erupts in anger toward Bastila. He accuses her and the Jedi of hiding something. Bastila insists that the Jedi had their reasons for doing so, and begs Carth to wait until you’ve all escaped before pressing the issue. Carth reluctantly agrees, and the three of you head for the Ebon Hawk.



You don’t get too far, though, before the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Malak, arrives and blocks your path. Even worse, he seems to recognize you. It’s here that Malak drops the biggest bombshell of the entire game: you are none other than Darth Revan, his old master! A montage of earlier scenes and moments plays now, each one containing a line of dialogue hinting at this reveal. The story has been planting the seeds for this reveal since the beginning, and it’s a Death Star-sized understatement to say that it hits hard.







Where do I even begin in discussing how awesome this plot twist is? The way I see it, this is exactly how a plot twist should be executed. On your first playthrough, it’s cleverly hidden and you’re unlikely to guess it in advance. Case in point, I’ve loaned my copy of this game out to a number of friends over the years, and only one of them was able to see this reveal coming. Everyone else was floored by it.



However, it’s important to emphasize just how well the writers laid the groundwork for this reveal. Upon repeat playthroughs, the hints regarding your true identity are clearly there from the start. Those dreams you had on Taris and Dantooine of Bastila and Revan? Those were your earlier memories resurfacing. How did Bastila recognize you as soon as she met you on Taris? She’d met you before when she led the strike team that was meant to capture you. Why did the Jedi Council agree so quickly to train and accept an adult into their order? You were a powerful Jedi before you fell to the dark side, and they knew they needed your help to stop Darth Malak.







The clues were all there, almost hiding in plain sight. That’s why this reveal works so perfectly. It elicits a shocked reaction, yes, but that shock is almost immediately followed up by, “Well of course I’m Darth Revan! It all makes sense now!”



Not to mention, the Revan reveal dramatically alters the story going forward. Before, you thought you were just a gifted young Jedi entrusted with stopping Malak from conquering the galaxy. Now, though, you know the truth. You are the former Dark Lord of the Sith, and you must defeat your former apprentice, either to destroy his empire or claim it for yourself.







Lastly, and I know this is obvious, but this plot twist is clearly an homage to the reveal of Luke’s true parentage at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Both reveals come at roughly the same point in their respective stories (about two-thirds of the way through). Both reveals also relate to the identity of a major character, and are delivered by the main villain. Finally, both have major repercussions for their stories going forward. Seriously, this reveal rocks. I’ve praised KOTOR's writers for drawing obvious inspiration from the original trilogy while putting their own spin on similar story beats, but this moment is their crowning achievement.



After dropping one of the best plot twists ever, Malak uses the Force to paralyze Bastila and Carth. He engages you in single combat before fleeing when you gain the upper hand. He attacks you again as soon as you find him, and your duel continues until Bastila suddenly arrives and interrupts it. She tells you she’ll keep Malak at bay so you and Carth can escape and find the Star Forge. The young Jedi attacks Malak as the blast doors seal the two of them off from you and Carth.







With Malak occupied, you and Carth are able to make it to the Ebon Hawk, where the rest of your party is waiting, and flee the Leviathan. The Hawk jumps into hyperspace, and now it’s time for a very awkward conversation with your other companions. You and Carth tell everyone that you are Darth Revan, and Carth reveals that that was what Admiral Karath told him right before he died.



Predictably, everyone is shocked at this news. What really makes this scene work so well, however, is how every single character reacts once the surprise starts to wear off. Each of your companions decides to continue helping you for their own reasons, and their logic makes sense. All the members of your adventuring party have been so well-defined by this point that you can understand why every one of them still chooses to follow you.







All the cards are on the table. The game’s big reveal has dropped, and everyone knows who you are. Malak has captured Bastila and plans to turn her to the dark side so that he can use her battle meditation ability to make his already-terrifying forces all but invincible. The stage is set for a final confrontation between master and apprentice with the fate of the galaxy at stake. You only have to find one more Star Map before you (re)discover the location of the Star Forge and go there to face your former apprentice.



I know I’ve repeated this long past the point of annoyance but by the Force this story is so good!



***END SPOILERS***



Unsurprisingly, everything leads up to a final confrontation with Darth Malak that harkens back to Luke’s battle against Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine from Return of the Jedi. Depending on your choices throughout the game, you can either save the galaxy or throw it into greater darkness than ever.



Don’t miss “A Deep Dive into ‘Knights of the Old Republic’ – Part 3” next week. We'll discuss the gameplay, mechanics, the game's technological achievements, and talk about the chances that we'll ever see a great modern remake.



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