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By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Star Wars fans recently celebrated a milestone: the 20th anniversary of Knights of the Old Republic II. When the game first came out, it received some criticism from fans and critics alike for being an incomplete story that couldn’t live up to the majesty of the first game. While he still lives in the shadow of his predecessor, KÓTOR II It is now celebrated by fans who lovingly restored much of its cut content, and the game’s storytelling has influenced the Disney era of Star Wars in many ways, including the storytelling of The acolyte.
The History of the Knights of the Old Republic II
What is Knights of the Old Republic II But about that? In this game, you play as an exiled Jedi who has been isolated from the Force after committing a brutally decisive act in the war against the Mandalorians. Along the way, you’ll meet a shady mentor and a colorful group of supporting characters, and you’ll need all their help in the fight against two powerful new Sith Lords who dream of taking over everyone’s favorite galaxy far, far away.
In the past, the Knights of the Old Republic II The protagonist baffled some fans because they assumed players would pick up where the first game left off. On that first title, beware of spoilers if you’ve never played these games before! – you play as an amnesiac character who is later revealed to be Darth Revan, a fearsome Sith Lord who was mind-wiped by the Jedi and used as a weapon against his former apprentice, Darth Malak. The reveal is possibly the best Star Wars plot twist since the reveal that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father, and it still hits harder than most franchise reveals before or since.
The protagonist change was unpleasant for some fans and others were upset because Knights of the Old Republic II some of its most ambitious content was removed to release it at retail just in time for the holidays. So why is the game so much more popular now than before? On the one hand, fans worked hard to modify the game and restore much of its lost content, and this has helped them better understand the game’s epic plot and its wide diversity of morally gray characters, while also helping them Enjoy the game in a whole new way. shape.
Shades of gray in Star Wars
Speaking of which, the moral ambiguity of characters like Kreia means that Knights of the Old Republic II adds some much-needed depth to the Star Wars universe. This fictional galaxy has long been populated by characters who are either cartoonishly good or bad, and while that contributed to the archetypal charm of the Original Trilogy, those one-dimensional heroes and villains were already wearing thin in the Prequel Trilogy and seemed completely played by the moment when the sequel trilogy appeared. Audience demand for more complex characters is a big part of the reason. Andor is so popular, and it’s worth celebrating that KOTOR II gave us this complexity almost two decades earlier. Andor It blew our collective minds.
Speaking of the Disney era of Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic II had a surprisingly direct influence on the controversial series The acolyte. Showrunner Leslye Headland previously confirmed that she was inspired by Kreia’s character, and while she didn’t elaborate, it’s fair to assume that Kreia influenced the design of Qimir, a villain who shares her disdain for the Jedi and her skepticism about how they work. Space magicians define both the Light Side and the Dark Side. Such open, on-screen criticism of the Jedi seemed necessary largely thanks to the fact that we haven’t gotten much of it since. KÓTOR II came out first.
Everything fans want from modern Star Wars
Many didn’t realize it at the time, but in 2004, Knights of the Old Republic II gave us almost everything that the modern era of Star Wars is missing. We had original heroes who had nothing to do with the Skywalker clan, complex villains even more compelling than Darth Vader, and a story with more shades of gray than the inside of the Death Star. Add in the fact that the gameplay is equally incredible and you have a title that remains some of the most refreshing Star Wars content ever created.
Knights of the Old Republic II It’s not a perfect game, but it does something that modern Star Wars almost never does: take big risks and make big changes from start to finish. In an era where the franchise can do almost nothing more than trot out familiar characters in an attempt to appeal to our nostalgia, this game dared to do something bold and new and largely succeeded. It’s been 20 years, but this decade-old title is still worth playing for any fans who want to remember why they fell in love with the biggest sci-fi franchise in film history.
