But what sets BioWare’s game
apart, even after all this time, is
where it sits on the timeline. Most of
the Star Wars stories being told today
revolve around the Skywalker clan
and other events from those nine
films. Even The Mandalorian, which
did a good job of carving its own path
through this galaxy, succumbed to
the temptation – particularly in the
latter half of season 2. But by
throwing you back to the days of the
Old Republic, KOTOR gives you a
fresh perspective on this universe,
letting you witness its rich and
storied history first-hand.
GOLDEN AGE
When the game begins, the Republic
is at war with the Sith, led by the evil
Darth Malak. The Jedi have been left
scattered and vulnerable, with many
turning to the Dark Side and joining
Malak’s growing army. And that’s
where you come in, a hero with a
mysterious past who joins the
dwindling Jedi Order and embarks
on a quest to stop Malak and his
powerful Sith fleet. Those are the
broad strokes, but things get a lot
more complicated – especially when
the protagonist learns, in a very Star
Wars plot twist, a shocking truth
about their shadowy past.
Of course, there’s the question of
canon. It’s a great story, but did it
‘really’ happen? Another big change
that occurred between KOTOR’s
release and now is that the events of
the game may no longer be part of
the main Star Wars continuity. When
Disney snapped up Star Wars it
categorised this game, and countless
other Star Wars spin-offs from the
so-called expanded universe, as
‘Legends’. That said, some things
BioWare created for KOTOR – the
planet Taris, card game pazaak, and
the Selkath race, to name just a few- have appeared in projects that are
considered canon. So the whole
situation is a little unclear. There’s
also a rumour that screenwriter
Laeta Kalogridis is working on a
KOTOR movie for Disney, so maybe
this story, if the film sticks closely to
it, will be canon after all.
Really, though, it doesn’t matter.
Just because the classic short story
anthology Tales of the Bounty
Hunters is as non-canon as it gets
doesn’t mean it isn’t still a fun
collection of Star Wars yarns. And
even though we now know it was
PARTY ON
Best to worst companions
HK-47
Assassin droid who despises all
organic life.
BASTILA SHAN
Powerful Jedi, knows her way
around the Force.
MISSION VAO
Tough-willed teenage Twi’lek
with an attitude.
CANDEROUS ORDO
Cranky Mandalorian with a very
large gun.
JOLEE BINDO
Wry old Jedi who straddles the
Dark and the Light.
ZAALBAR
Likeable Wookiee, but never has
much to say.
JUHANI
Kinda boring Jedi you can save
from the Dark Side.
T3-M4
Astromech droid with no actual
personality.CARTH ONASI
Soldier, hero, nice guy, handy
with a blaster.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9EXTRA LIFE
DIARY I MOD SPOTLIGHT I REINSTALL (^) I WHY I LOVE
Technically most of this isn’t
canon these days.
You’d be furious too if you had
to live on Tatooine.
Rocking the double lightsaber
4,000 years before Maul.