Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Developer(s)	BioWare
Publisher(s)	LucasArts
Game engine	Odyssey engine
Release date	July 15, 2003
Genre	RPG
Modes	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T) OFLC (AU): G8+ USK: 12
Platform(s)	Xbox, Windows, Mac OS X

[Source]

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) is a Roleplaying game made originally for the Microsoft Xbox, and later released for the PC. The game was developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts on Xbox on July 15, 2003, for PCs running Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003, and later for Mac OS X. Set around 4,000 years before A New Hope, Knights of the Old Republic covers the era just after that of the Tales of the Jedi comics, the time of the ancient Old Republic.

KotOR is the first computer RPG set in the Star Wars universe. It uses the d20 System, from the Wizards of the Coast Star Wars Roleplaying Game rules. The game also allows the player to either be good (light) or evil (dark), using an alignment system that tracks actions, from simple dialogue choices to major plot decisions, aligned to the light or dark side of the Force. Combat is turn-based. Time is divided into discrete rounds, and combatants attack/react simultaneously. However, the number of actions a combatant may perform each round is limited. While each round's duration is a fixed short interval of real time (around 6 seconds), the player can configure the combat system to pause at specific events or at the end of each round.

A sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords was developed by a different studio, Obsidian Entertainment, using an updated version of the engine from the first game. Bioware was occupied with producing Jade Empire and wanted to focus more on their original productions than licensed games, but they recommended Obsidian for KotOR's sequel. It was released for Xbox a year later in December 2004 and PC in February 2005.

[edit] Opening crawl

Full cover art.

Four thousand years before
the rise of the Galactic
Empire, the Republic verges
on collapse. DARTH MALAK,
last surviving apprentice of
the Dark Lord Revan, has
unleashed an invincible
Sith armada upon an
unsuspecting galaxy.

Crushing all resistance,
Malak's war of conquest
has left the Jedi Order
scattered and vulnerable
as countless Knights fall in
battle, and many more
swear allegiance to the new
Sith Master.

In the skies above the Outer
Rim world of Taris, a Jedi
battle fleet engages the
forces of Darth Malak in a
desperate effort to halt the
Sith's galactic domination…

[edit] Synopsis

(Note: This is based on the canonical male light side version of the game and assumes that the planets are visited in the order Dantooine, Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan and Korriban. Gender, Force alignment, order of planets visited and other variables can differ depending on the input of the player.)

[edit] Trapped on Taris

Carth Onasi.

After a battle with the Sith, the player—either a normal Republic soldier, scout, or scoundrel (depending on player input)—wakes up to find himself one of the lone survivors on the Hammerhead-class capital ship, the Endar Spire on a mission under the talented Jedi Sentinel Bastila Shan. Trask Ulgo, a Republic soldier, aids the player's escape from the doomed vessel and splits off to face Darth Malak's apprentice Darth Bandon, sealing the door behind him, buying the player time to escape. After entering the starboard section plus finding an escape pod and Carth Onasi, the two join up and crash-land on the Sith-occupied ecumenopolis of Taris. Carth is able to drag the unconscious player from the wreckage to an abandoned apartment in the Upper City. The player remains in a stupor for a few days.

Bastila Shan.

When the player awakes, Carth informs him of the situation and that they need to find and rescue Bastila Shan, a Jedi whose escape pod has crash-landed somewhere on the planet. Bastila was and still would be if rescued the key to the Republic's war effort against the Sith due to her ability in battle meditation, a Force power that allows her to strengthen an entire army with confidence and spirit, while discouraging and confusing the enemy. Together, the two set out to find Bastila, proceeding cautiously in the hostile world.

The player and Carth eventually learn that the escape pod has landed in the Undercity of Taris—a rough area below the privileged Upper City and the slums of Lower City where rival swoop gangs, the Hidden Beks and Black Vulkars, are engaged in a fierce gang war. This gang war, plus the search for any other survivors of the battle prompts the Sith to impose a security lockdown, forcing the player to disguise himself as a Sith trooper to gain entry to the area.

In the Lower City, the player and Carth go to the Hidden Beks' hideout, where they find out from the leader of the Beks, Gadon Thek, that the Vulkar gang leader Brejik has taken Bastila captive, intending to offer her as a prize for the winner of the upcoming swoop race. Gadon agrees to sponsor the player as the Bek rider, on the condition that he retrieves a prototype swoop-bike accelerator that has been stolen from them by the Vulkars. In order to get to the back entrance of the Vulkar Base, Gadon tells the player to find the Twi'lek girl Mission Vao and her Wookiee friend Zaalbar, who are supposed to know a way in through the Undercity of Taris, the lowest level of the city where criminals and refugees are exiled.

Mission Vao.

Zaalbar.

Ironically, when they find her Carth and the player discover Mission needs their help. She and Zaalbar were attacked by Gamorrean slavers and Zaalbar has been captured as a result. Mission agrees to help them infiltrate the Vulkar Base if they help her find Zaalbar. Eventually, Carth and the player successfully track down and rescue Zaalbar from the slavers. Zaalbar, in gratitude, swears a Wookiee life debt to the player.

Mission then leads the player into the Vulkar Base, where he and the others manage to retrieve the accelerator after a confrontation with one of Brejik's lieutenants, Kandon Ark. Afterwards, they return to Gadon and the Beks, staying the night before going to the swoop race the next morning. At the swoop race, the player manages to win the race only to be beaten but win again. Before he can accept his prize however, Brejik breaks the deal at the last moment, claiming the player has cheated by using the prototype accelerator. A fight ensues and in the chaos Bastila breaks free and assists the player in killing Brejik and his Vulkar thugs.

Having rescued Bastila, the party begins looking for a way to get off Taris through the Sith blockade, when a messenger came to their apartment, telling them that a Mandalorian mercenary, Canderous Ordo, wants to speak with them at the Lower City cantina. When they get there, Canderous proposes that they could steal the Ebon Hawk, a freighter belonging to his employer, Davik Kang, who is the Tarisian boss for the Exchange. But first, they would need the security passcodes to get through the Sith blockade, and the only place to get these codes is from the Sith base. To gain entry into the base, the player has to purchase T3-M4, a T3-series utility droid that Davik has had programmed with the entrance codes to the base.

Darth Malak.

After purchasing T3-M4, the party breaks in and kills the Sith Governor to steal the passcodes. After getting the passcodes, Canderous takes the player and one of his companions to Davik's estate. When they arrive, Canderous recommends the player to Davik for hire as a ploy. Shortly after being welcomed, the three open the hangar doors and proceed to steal the Ebon Hawk. Even as they do so, Darth Malak, the Dark Lord of the Sith now leading the Sith after betraying his former master Darth Revan, orders Saul Karath, Admiral of the Sith Fleet, to bombard Taris in order to prevent Bastila from escaping. As the player and his companions are getting to the Ebon Hawk, they are confronted by Kang and the galaxy-wide famous bounty hunter Calo Nord in the hangar and are forced to kill them to escape, leaving Nord buried under rubble caused by the Sith bombardment. Gathering all of his companions, the player takes the Ebon Hawk and escapes the Sith onslaught.

[edit] Dantooine refuge

After this, Bastila reveals to the player that he is very strong with the Force and takes him back to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine to see if the Council there would train him as a Jedi. They accept, in spite of the player's age, particularly after it is revealed that he is experiencing visions detailing the fall of Revan and Malak - and that he shares these visions with Bastila, with whom he has forged a Force bond. After training under Zhar Lestin, the player is charged with doing battle with Juhani, a young Jedi apprentice who has been tainted by the dark side of the Force. After defeating her, he succeeds in convincing her to return to the light and is promoted to the rank of Padawan.

After this the player is ordered by the Council to investigate mysterious ruins that are believed to be the place seen in his visions. There he finds a droid, which requires him to pass two tests regarding his knowledge of astrography before proceeding further into the temple. The player completes these tasks successfully and is granted access into the room containing an incomplete Star Map, one which gives clues to the location of three more, similar maps. If linked, the party surmises, they would lead them to the mysterious "Star Forge" the droid spoke of and which seems intricately tied to the fall of Revan and Malak. After learning of this the Council charges the player with the mission to find this Star Forge, accompanied by Bastila, his companions, and Juhani.

Meanwhile, unknown to them, Calo Nord, who has survived the carnage on Taris, is brought before Malak by Admiral Karath. Nord offers information to the Dark Lord about Bastila and her companions, which Saul promises Malak will find "most interesting." Malak agrees to hear this and to hire Nord to hunt down the party and bring Bastila to him alive.

[edit] Second Star Map: Tatooine

The neophyte padawan and his companions, unaware of any of this, journey to Tatooine, and explore the city of Anchorhead. There, the padawan receives another vision, indicating that the Star Map he is looking for is located in the Dune Sea. When learning that only hunters are allowed to leave the city the padawan persuades the head of the Czerka mining company there to hire him to eliminate the Sandpeople that have been plaguing the miners and other hunters in the area. However, a Duros tells the padawan there may be a peaceful solution to the matter and urges him to find one.

Listening to the Duros' advice the padawan buys HK-47, an HK-series assassin droid, thinly disguised as a protocol droid from the town's droid shop owner Yuka Laka. With the droid's help, the player is able to communicate with a nearby tribe of Sandpeople at their enclave and negotiate an end to the attacks on Czerka Corporation by giving the chieftain two moisture vaporators. The chieftain then presents the party with his gaffi stick as a sign of good faith, and a map that helps them locate a Star Map hidden within a krayt dragon's cave. The padawan then follows this map to the krayt dragon's cave and assists a local hunter, Komad Fortuna, in killing it. He enters the cave and acquires the next Star Map. As he and the others leave the cave they are confronted by Calo Nord, who says he will have to kill them in spite of Malak's request that he take Bastila alive. However, the padawan and his companions successfully defend themselves, this time killing Nord for good.

[edit] Third Star Map: Kashyyyk

The player then travels to Kashyyyk, and finds that the planet is under the control of Czerka Corporation, where they are enslaving the local Wookiees. Hoping to enlist the aid of the Wookiees in reaching the Shadowlands and the Star Map present there the padawan heads for the village of Rwookrrorro. However, because he brings with him the accused mad-claw Zaalbar into the city, he is seized and brought before the chieftain. The chieftain, Chuundar, turns out to be Zaalbar's brother and to be secretly in league with Czerka. Chuundar blackmails the padawan into hunting down a crazed Wookiee in the Shadowlands, keeping Zaalbar as a hostage. Fortunately for the padawan this gives him a chance to find the Star Map.

Jolee Bindo.

In the Shadowlands, the padawan meets an old hermit named Jolee Bindo, who tells him he will lead him to the Star Map in exchange for a favor, in this case removing a group of Czerka poachers. The padawan finishes the job and, as promise, Jolee lowers the deflector shield to let the party into the lower Shadowlands. When down there, the party discovers the mad Wookiee, in fact Freyyr, Zaalbar and Chuundar's father who'd exiled Zaalbar as a mad-claw, only to discover the truth of Chuundar's treachery later. Having been driven from Rwookrrorro Freyyr descended into madness and when the party encounters him he blindly attacks them and is defeated. However, the padawan spares him and together they concoct a plan to get Bacca's Blade, the symbol of a true chieftain, and fight Chuundar for the title. Freyyr says that the blade of the sword was lost in a ritual fight long ago against an ancient beast. The party baits and finds the beast, killing it and retrieving the blade, which they give to Freyyr, who then climbs up the trees towards Rwookrrorro, asking the party to meet him there.

While in the Shadowlands, the padawan discovers an ancient computer; whose artificial intelligence poses him a series of ethical dilemmas, whose "correct" answers reflect Sith philosophy. The padawan's answers are deemed "wrong" by the computer, which sends out defense droids to terminate the intruder. However, when the party successfully defeats the ancient droids, the computer determines that the padawan is fit to receive its information and allows him to see the Star Map.

Upon returning to their lift the party is forced to kill the Wookiee in charge of the basket, Gorwooken, who has discovered their betrayal of Chuundar. The party proceeds to the canopy on their own, meeting up with Freyyr's supporters on the way to Rwookrrorro. Upon arriving at the Chieftain's Hut, the padawan aids Zaalbar and his father in defeating Chuundar. As a reward for their aid, Freyyr gives the party Bacca's Blade, which is passed on to Zaalbar. Shortly thereafter the Wookiees of the village unite under their new chieftain and strike against Czerka, with the aid of the party, who they swear will be the last welcome outsiders in a long time.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the news of Calo Nord's death, Malak sends his apprentice Darth Bandon to take the bounty hunter's place as the leader in the search for Bastila.

[edit] Fourth Star Map: Manaan

Following their visit to Kashyyyk, the crew of the Ebon Hawk travel to the oceanic world of Manaan, landing in the Docking Bay. After some investigation the padawan learns little about the Star Map's location, which his visions indicate is underneath the ocean. However, he is told that the Republic ambassador to Manaan, Roland Wann, might have answers to his questions. Upon reaching the embassy the party asks Roland, who agrees to help them in exchange for some help in retrieving a captured probe droid. The droid had been surfacing from a survey of the Hrakert Rift, a major source for Manaan's precious and unique resource, kolto, and where the Star Map may be, but as it surfaced, it was captured by the Sith.

The padawan agrees to help the Republic, infiltrating the Sith embassy via one of three entrances, fighting his way to the droid. Eventually, he finds the scavenged droid, and takes the part that Wann had requested found. With the information retrieved the team leaves the base, only to be confronted by Selkath authorities, who had received reports that shots had been fired from within the embassy. The party, namely the padawan, is escorted to the court where they are tried. Though offered an arbiter to represent him the padawan single-handedly persuades the authorities to let him go. Freed, the padawan proceeds to the Republic embassy.

A Selkath.

The party learns from Roland that the droid was sent to investigate an illegal kolto harvesting plant that was created by the Republic and which has recently broken contact with the surface. He tells the padawan that the Republic hired many mercenaries to investigate what happened at the Rift station, but none have returned. He also tells the padawan that they lost contact with the facility after uncovering some ancient artifact, probably the Star Map. In exchange for help in investigating the facility Roland provides the party with a submersible and sends them on their way.

Once he arrives, the padawan meets a cowardly mercenary and learns from him that, following the artifact's excavation, the Selkath went insane and started killing everyone. Refusing to leave in spite of warnings the padawan fights his way through the facility, obtaining a wet suit and a sonic emitter in the process. Forced to leave his companions behind the padawan searches the ocean floor with the one wet suit available, finding his way to a separate part of the facility.

There, the padawan meets the head scientist, Kono Nolan and his associate, Sami. The two are the only Human scientists still alive and free in the facility. After he survives their mad attempt to kill him the padawan persuades them to tell him what they know. They tell him about a massive firaxan shark, which was responsible for the Selkath's insanity. Upon asking how to get past it to the Star Map Kono reveals he's worked on a poison which in theory could kill the shark, but Sami believes that using it would pollute the waters of Manaan in ways that may never be corrected. Following Sami's advice, the padawan destroys the kolto harvesting machine, and the shark calms down, allowing the padawan to approach the Star Map.

When the padawan reunites with his companions at the entrance of the base, they meet Darth Bandon, accompanied by two Dark Jedi. After Bandon expresses his happiness that he can still "have the pleasure" of killing the padawan, the party engages in a vicious lightsaber duel from which the padawan emerges ultimately victorious. Thereafter, the padawan returns to the Republic embassy and informs Roland of what happened. Though displeased with the results Roland thanks the padawan, sending him on his way. Shortly thereafter the padawan is again seized by the Selkath authorities and put on trial for his actions at the Kolto facility. However, again, the padawan persuades them to release him upon revealing to them the full details, which some of the Selkath believe ties into their myths surrounding "the Progenitor," which they believe the padawan saved.

[edit] Startling revelation

As the party leaves Manaan, they are caught in a tractor beam by the Leviathan, the flagship of Admiral Saul Karath, Carth's old mentor. While they are being pulled in, they discuss how to escape and the padawan picks a member of his party to escape the Sith and save them from capture. Everyone else, the Sith captures. The padawan, Bastila, and Carth were all put in cages, and are personally interrogated by Saul Karath as he waits for Malak's arrival. Bastila refuses to submit to Karath's questions, so the Admiral questions the padawan instead. For every question the players answers incorrectly, Bastila is tortured. The padawan's will weakens but ultimately the Sith receive little of use from the interrogations and Saul leaves, ordering the three's torture to be continued. For the padawan he reserves extra suffering, torturing the player into unconsciousness and past it.

Meanwhile the party member picked is able to infiltrate the Leviathan, and get many weapons in the process. In the prison block, they find a Rodian who helps them in exchange for his freedom, giving him the ice breaker. The party member uses the ice breaker to open the area that contains the padawan and the others who, freed, recover their equipment. Afterwards, Canderous volunteers to take the group to the Ebon Hawk and get it ready to launch, while the padawan, Bastila, and Carth move to the bridge to disable the shields in the hangar bay.

After getting to the bridge by walking along the hull of the ship in environmental suits, the padawan, Carth, and Bastila confront Admiral Karath and his men on the bridge. The Admiral confidently reveals that the Dark Lord's arrival is near and Bastila confirms this through the Force. An urgent battle follows, which the three manage to win. Saul, near death, asks his old student to come closer so he can reveal a secret. Curious, Carth comes closer and with his dying breath Saul tells the soldier something that sends him into a fury. Carth confronts Bastila about what was whispered by Saul, and Bastila begs Carth to wait until after they've escaped to talk about this, promising to explain everything. Reluctantly, Carth agrees, leaving the padawan in the dark.

However, before they are able to reach the hangar, they run into the Dark Lord, who disarms Carth in a standoff with Bastila and the padawan. Then the Dark Lord says he's surprised to see the player again, which confuses the padawan. This amuses Malak who sneeringly reveals to the padawan the truth that Bastila and the Jedi have been hiding from him: his true identity as the former Dark Lord of the Sith, Revan. When the padawan asks Bastila if this is true she confirms it. Malak, eager to kill his former master once and for all used Force Stasis Field on Bastila and Carth, leaving Revan to fight the Dark Lord by himself. After a long and prolonged battle during which Malak toys with him Bastila releases herself and charges in, telling Carth and Revan to escape so they can find the Star Forge. She then takes on the Dark Lord herself and the door seals behind her, trapping her and stopping Revan or Carth from helping her.

Seeing nothing else that they can do, Revan and Carth run to the Ebon Hawk, and after a skirmish with Sith fighters, escape the Leviathan. Afterwards, the rest of the group learns the truth about Revan, meeting it with mixed but overall good reactions. In a strange coincidence, HK-47's memory, which had been lost for some time, is restored, which was programmed to do so upon returning to his first and true master... Revan.

[edit] Fifth Star Map: Korriban

Eager to acquire the last Star Map and find the Star Forge before its too late the group arrives on Korriban, a Sith world and the location of a Sith Academy. Students from the Academy dominate the docking area. These students, training to become Sith themselves, are encouraged to commit acts of cruelty and brutality. The most frequent victims of these acts are the civilian population.

Revan quickly surmises that the Star Map would be accessible only by gaining acceptance to the Academy... which means becoming a student. Admittance requires gaining the notice of the student body and distinguishing oneself by means of strength, cunning, and/or ingenuity. Only one graduate is allowed to join the Academy each term so vicious and often fatal competition was encouraged by the Sith Masters.

Revan finds help in this regard when he comes to the attention of Yuthura Ban, second-in-command at the Academy. She quickly notices the vast Force potential of her newest recruit although she does not realize that she is dealing with the deposed Dark Lord. She entangles Revan in a web of conspiracy whose ultimate goal is to engineer the assassination of Uthar Wynn, the head of the Sith Academy and Yuthura's master.

Students of the academy prove their worth by performing various tasks and gaining prestige. Some of the challenges are martial in nature while others are mental, but all require a certain commitment to the Sith ideals embodied by the Code of the Sith which Revan is required to learn and recite in order to take an early lead over his fellow students. The Code of the Sith, a brutal parody of the Jedi Code, is a harsh insight for Revan as much of its philosophy was based on ideals and motives he set in motion as the Dark Lord.

At some point Revan, most likely in an attempt to receive prestige, explores and raids the tomb of the ancient Sith Lord Ajunta Pall. This is complicated by the fact that the Sith Lord himself has survived the many centuries since his death as an embittered Force ghost. Ajunta Pall demands that Revan locate his infamous blade, taking it with him when he leaves the tomb. Revan retrieves the blade as well as two more besides. Revan then persuades the dark specter that he might at last find peace if he is willing to seek redemption. At last giving into the light, Ajunta fades away, redeeming himself by way of Revan.

Between Revan's actions and Yuthura's plotting, Revan eventually wins the prestige contest, gaining access to the tomb of Naga Sadow and the Star Map contained therein. There he finds the last of the Star Maps and finishes the last of the Academy's trials. Upon emerging he is forced to choose sides between Uthar and Yuthura and eventually defeats both of them, sparing Yuthura even after she betrayed him following the death of Uthar. With his goals complete Revan leaves the Sith world behind him, heading for the Star Forge itself.

[edit] Crash-landing on an unknown world

Armed with the location of the Star Forge, Revan and the rest of the crew of the Ebon Hawk arrive at the coordinates shown on the Star Maps, only to become trapped in a power disruption field which forces them to crash-land on the planet that is the source of the disruption. Before he crashes, Carth manages to send the coordinates of the Star Forge to the Republic so that they can gather a fleet to destroy the Sith forces located in the system.

They discover the planet is a graveyard of crashed ships, many of which have been stripped and looted by other voyagers affected by the power disruption field. Damage to the Ebon Hawk requires that Revan find repair parts as well as the source of the disruptor field; not only does the field prevent the crew of the Ebon Hawk from escaping the planet, it also would effectively cripple the Republic fleet on its way. Upon exploring the unknown world Revan and his companions find that the world is inhabited by a species that calls themselves the "Rakata."

Revan discovers the Rakatans are divided into several tribes, one of which are the Elders, who maintain some of the technology from the Rakatan Infinite Empire which built the Star Forge. The Elders, few in number, are at war with another, more primitive tribe known as the One. Revan discovers that during his previous visit to the world he'd exploited both sides to gain access to the Star Forge and he struggles to regain the trust of the Elders. Upon helping them recover some of their number who had been kidnapped by the One Revan convinces the Elders to aid him in entering the Temple of the Ancients, which is the source of the disruption field. Though he is required to enter alone Juhani and Jolee at the last minute, after receiving a vision that warns them that Revan is in danger, join him against the Elders' protests. Together they enter the Temple.

Inside, the three together find their way to the disruptor field controls only to be confronted by Bastila who has fallen to the dark side. She has sworn herself to Darth Malak's service, Malak having used a combination of torture and preying on her arrogance and pride to convince her that the Jedi are using and holding her back. In a tense confrontation, Revan is forced to defend the light from the very person most responsible for his redemption. Bastila, at first hostile, tries to seduce him back to the dark side, even going so far as to pledge her loyalty to him and promise him that she would use her battle meditation in his service and become his apprentice. Despite her temptations, Revan rejects her offer and the two are forced to fight. With Juhani and Jolee's help he defeats Bastila, who flees, swearing that their next encounter aboard the Star Forge will be their last.

Escaping the temple and rejoining his companions, Revan and the others join the Republic assault on the Star Forge knowing that the fate of the galaxy rested on their efforts. However, for Revan, the battle was a personal conflict since saving the galaxy might mean taking the lives of close friends now turned to evil.

[edit] The Star Forge

The Star Forge.

Admiral Forn Dodonna and Master Vandar are mystified by the sheer size and efficiency of the Sith fleet and, upon regaining contact with the Hawk and her crew, are horrified to learn of Bastila's defection. To counter the threat presented by Bastila, the Republic commanders come up with a desperate plan. The Ebon Hawk will lead a strike force of Jedi through the static defenses of the Star Forge. Only a handful of ships actually survive the run to land safely on the Star Forge's flight deck where Dark Jedi backed up by the station’s battle droids hem in the Jedi. Eventually Revan and two of his companions find themselves alone against the bulk of Darth Malak's entire fighting force, battling wave after wave as they make their way towards Bastila.

Finally, Revan and the others reach Bastila's chamber where he is separated from his companions and left to confront Bastila alone. Bastila draws on all of her skills and the dark power of the Star Forge, but is ultimately unable to defeat Revan. Eventually, through his love of her and the bond between them Revan is able to break Bastila's resolve and persuade her to turn back to the light. In return Bastila admits her love for Revan as well and promises to use her battle meditation to aid the Republic fleet. Revan then leaves her to confront his old friend and apprentice—Malak.

Malak tries once more to delay Revan by unleashing more battle droids upon him but Revan proves more resilient than expected, making it past them and into Malak's chambers. There, Malak uses the technology of the Star Forge and the bodies of Jedi he has captured to fuel his power, maintaining his life and power at maximum levels. Revan is able to defeat him in spite of this however and, eventually Malak is forced to rely on his own dark power. After a long battle Revan finally succeeds in defeating Malak who expresses regret in his last moments before dying.

Afterwards, Revan flees along with the rest of his companions, barely escaping the final destruction of the Star Forge. Afterwards, the entire group is awarded in a ceremony on the unknown world's surface the highest citations of bravery and Revan himself is welcomed back into the Jedi Order.

[edit] Credits

[edit] Voice cast

A large number of well-known and experienced voice actors were included in the game. The following voice actors are some of the most prominent:

• Rino Romano—"Revan" (Male)
• Jennifer Hale—"Bastila Shan"
• Raphael Sbarge—"Carth Onasi"
• John Cygan—"Canderous Ordo"
• Rafael Ferrer—"Darth Malak"
• Kristoffer Tabori—"HK-47," additional voices
• Kevin Michael Richardson—"Jolee Bindo"
• Courtenay Taylor—"Juhani"
• Cat Taber—"Mission Vao"
• Ed Asner—"Master Vrook Lamar"
• Ethan Phillips—additional voices
• Cam Clarke—"Sith Diplomat," "Kono Nolan," "Trask Ulgo," "Gate Guard Trewin," "Junior Czerka Scientist," "Sith Student," additional voices
• Phil LaMarr—"Gadon Thek"
• Robin Atkin Downes—"Mekel," "Griff Vao," "Vulkar Mechanic"
• Tom Kane—"Master Vandar Tokare," "Rodian"
• Frank Welker—"Sunry," "Jorak Uln," "Gar," "Swoop Fan," additional voices

[edit] Crew

• Director—Casey Hudson
• Writers—David Falkner, Steve Gilmour, Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn, James Ohlen, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts

[edit] Appearances

As an RPG, Knights of the Old Republic inevitably produced a huge amount of new continuity, much of which is made up of minor characters that have no great impact upon the plot. An asterisk ( * ) indicates a character that was essential to the plot. This is the first appearance or mention of everyone on this list.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Creatures

[edit] Droid models

[edit] Events

• Jedi Civil War
• Bek-Vulkar War
• Attack on the Endar Spire
• Battle of Taris
• Rebellion on Kashyyyk
• Raid on the Sith Embassy
• Attack on Dantooine
• Skirmish aboard the Leviathan
• Skirmish on Korriban
• Battle of Rakata Prime
• Duel on the Star Forge

[edit] Locations

An Asterisk (*) indicates that the location is visited by the player.

[edit] Organizations and titles

• Galactic Republic

[edit] Sentient species

[edit] Vehicles and vessels

[edit] Weapons and technology

• Arc wrench
• Blaster
• Blaster rifle
• Bowcaster
• Datapad
• Disruptor pistol
• Disruptor rifle
• Double-bladed lightsaber
• Echani foil
• Energy shield
• Frag grenade
• Ion blaster
• Ion rifle
• Ion grenade
• Lightsaber
• Motion detection goggles
• Plasma grenade
• Sonic detonator
• Thermal detonator
• Vibroblade
• Vibro double-blade
• Vibrosword
• Vulkar shock stick

[edit] Continuity

Set shortly after the Tales of the Jedi comic books from Dark Horse, BioWare designed the game around this little-documented period in order to have more conceptual and artistic freedom. This means the game has little resemblance in appearance and aesthetics to the classic Star Wars games of the classic Clone Wars or Galactic Civil War eras. However, while the Tales of the Jedi series shows the Galactic civilization to have an archaic retro-like aesthetic and technology (semi-organic skeletal ships with wings and membranes, stone buildings, etc.) the Knights of the Old Republic is more space-like and futuristic, yet the interval between them is only a few decades. One example of these changes was the use of navcomps and blasters in place of the hyperspace beacons and pulse-wave blasters of the Tales of the Jedi setting, suggesting some fairly fundamental technological improvements between 4,000 BBY and 3,956 BBY. The redudancy of the hyperspace beacons in particular would have dramatically reshaped the astrographic and strategic realities for space travel in the galaxy.

Knights of the Old Republic took a rather ambitious approach towards previously established continuity. Not least among these were the filling-in of Galactic history, moving the "ancient" look of comics set in a similar time period slightly towards the more "modern" look of the movies, and greatly expanding the Exar Kun War to a devastating galactic conflict.

Additionally, the game provided a full history of Tatooine and also explained the origins of Kashyyyk's ecosystem. It also offers up an alternate theory as to the original home planet of Humans by having a Sand People historian remark on the player's similarity to the ancients of their people, kidnapped by the Rakata many years before, implying that Tatooine is in fact the planet on which Humans originated. It also invented a few Sith Lords of the old Sith Empire and hinted that they may have had access to the Star Forge. In order to emphasize its place in continuity, there are references to known heroes' possible ancestors and future events (like a possible first contact with the Yuuzhan Vong).

As the game is set during a period long before the familiar films, the creators modeled their 'universe' on many characters and details from the movies, as well as including mentions of potential ancestors for film characters as well as conceptual ancestors (for example, the Sith fighter is considered to be an ancestor of the later Sith Infiltrator) but not always (while Sith troopers seem to be based on the movie-era stormtroopers, it doesn't mean the clone troopers were historically based on them). This was done in order to keep the Star Wars feel, and not create just "another space RPG." Examples of this include the modeling of characters, such as Darth Malak, a towering Dark Lord of the Sith who speaks through a vocabulator due to an old injury, very similar to Darth Vader, and the inclusion of Wookiee and droid companions as part of the player's party. Additionally, many scenes have direct analogues in the films, such as the capture of the main character's freighter smuggling vessel, the Ebon Hawk, by tractor beam, just as the Millennium Falcon was captured by the Death Star, followed by a prison break and loss of a character on board a vessel, which is very similar to the Death Star scene in the original film.

[edit] Cut content

While KotOR does not have as much evident cut content as its sequel, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, it is still present. It features the planet Sleheyron and an alternate ending for a dark side female PC's romance with Carth, which the player could choose to kill Bastila and die on the Star Forge with Carth.

Dantooine computer console.

The existence of a cut planet can be also deduced from Rakatan computer terminals the player encounters on Dantooine. They mention six types of planet environment, and five of them correspond to planets where the Star Maps are located:

• Arboreal: Kashyyyk
• Barren: Korriban
• Desert: Tatooine
• Grassland: Dantooine
• Oceanic: Manaan
• Volcanic: Sleheyron

Additionally, there were two other areas cut from the game. One was the second level of the Vulkar Swoop Gang Base, where the player would have to disguise himself as a Vulkar to get through the base. The other takes place on Manaan if the player beats Bendak Starkiller in the dueling ring on Taris. Deadeye Duncan shows up in the docking area, telling how he escaped the destruction of Taris and asks if he can use the name Mysterious Stranger.

Some of this content, including the Deadeye Duncan encounter on Manaan and the alternate dark side ending, can be restored in the form of community-created add-on modifications. These are only available for the PC version.

Early versions of the story from 2000 included a subplot involving clones. However, it was cut on orders of Lucasfilm in order not to detract from the details of the upcoming movie, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.^[1]

[edit] Critical reaction

The general critical response was enthusiastic. KotOR has won numerous awards, including Game Developers Choice Awards' best game of the year, BAFTA Games Awards' best Xbox game, and Interactive Achievement Awards for best console RPG and best computer RPG.

The game also won a Game Developers Choice Award for excellence in writing and for original character (HK-47) and an Interactive Achievement Award for best story/character development. Gamespot deemed the Xbox version of KotOR Best Xbox Game of 2003 and Best Role-Playing Game of 2003

In addition, the game has been ranked number two game of all time by X-Play and number four by IGN when they made their respective lists.

[edit] Sequels

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords was developed by a different studio, Obsidian Entertainment, using an improved version of the engine from the first game. It was released for Xbox in December 2004 and PC in February 2005. Obsidian has also expressed desires to make another sequel, as has LucasArts. However, no plans have been made in making another Knights of the Old Republic game, although representatives from LucasArts have said that they will not abandon the "franchise."

In a March 2007 interview with the owners of LucasArts Fan network, conducted by a Knights of the Old Republic fansite, owner "Aristotle" commented to "stay tuned" for a third Knights of the Old Republic.

Electronic Gaming Monthly reports in the rumors section of its May 2007 issue that BioWare has hired an online team for work on a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on Knights of the Old Republic.^[2]

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

•  E3 2002: Knights of the Old Republic on StarWars.com