With the recent release ofLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and the announcement of aKnights of the Old Republicremake, 2022 is delivering a lot of goodStar Warscontent. That said, game releases always tend to invite fan theories and speculation about future games, as well as movies, TV series, and everythingStar Wars. The latestLEGO Star Warscomes six years after the last title, andKnights of the Old Republicis being remade after almost two decades. There could still be hope yet for aKnights of the Old Republicsequel.
Unlike many other video game sequels,Knights of the Old Republic 2stands on its own with a unique story, characters, a new protagonist, and Kreia - or Darth Traya. Even if the sequel improved uponKnights of the Old Republicin a few narrow aspects, most of the gameplay remained the same. A potentialKnights of the Old Republic 3would have to meet some pretty high expectations with how the first two games were received, and that means improving more than just graphics by sticking the old formula intoUnreal Engine 5. If the upcoming remake does anything, it should set the foundations for aKnights of the Old Republic 3.
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Open-Ended Endings in Knights of the Old Republic
One aspect of bothKnights of the Old Republicgames that makes sequels easier is their open-ended conclusions. Whether with Revan or The Exile, players can choose a light or dark ending based on their moral alignment. However, since the canonical ending in the first game is the light side ending - as retold inThe Old Republic: Revannovelization, it’s likely that the developers would want to keep this continuity in the second game. It’s also possible that the developers do the complete opposite, and canonically keep The Exile on Malachor 5 as the new Dark Lord of the Sith.
InKnights of the Old Republic,through the player’s choices, they can decide to follow the Jedi Way or embrace the Sith. This is a nice touch for both Revan’s and The Exile’s characterization as they can pick either options. Dialog especially is more than just color commentary, rewarding the player with unique powers. Yet,Knights of the Old Republichas serious issues withbalancing light and dark side rewards.
Players have more incentive to pick the dark side, as it offers more money, experience, and levels. As the game progressed, dark side users would find themselves overpowering their light side counterparts. Moreover, dark side powers focused on damaging individual or groups of enemies, while light side powers focused on buffs. In terms of lore, thedark side is canonically strongeron a 1-to-1 basis, but this is an aspect of the game that needs to be reworked in a sequel.
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KOTOR’s Button-Mashing Combat
Even veteran players may have trouble understanding thebutton-mashing combat inKnights of the Old Republic, asKOTOR’s turn-based combat system has aged poorly. As with tabletop RPGs likeDungeons & Dragons, every attack had a hidden dice roll mechanic that would randomly decide whether it landed. Every type of attack used this system, including lightsaber slashes, force attacks, and blaster shots. This system should make combat more fluid, but instead it turns battles into freeze-frame mashing sessions.
Problems arise when the combat enters a paused state where players can select a sequence of attacks, and then watch the fight unfold. Combat inKnights of the Old Republicfeels like a mix betweenbullet time combat mechanics, and classical turned-based RPG combat. Unfortunately, those two don’t work very well together, and there typically isn’t any feedback on whether attacks land until it’s too late.
Most of KOTOR’s Skills and Companions are Not Viable
One bigmiss withKOTOR’s gameplay mechanicsis its skills. There are a number of skills that players can nurture during their playthrough, for example Computer Use allows the player to hack into security systems and open doors. Meanwhile, Treat Injury increases the amount of recoverable health from medpacs. Unfortunately, Computer Use is redundant because players can just destroy doors with Demolition, and the only truly useful skill is Persuade, as talking one’s way out of trouble with some help from the Force is the most effective tactic available.
As for companions, Force users like Jolee Bindo and Bastila Shan are the most viable. They are more resilient, their lightsabers have better damage output, and they are versatile. Meanwhile, laser users like Canderous and Zaalbar fall flat against their melee counterparts, as they are more fragile - especially during melee combat - and their crowd control is lacking.Making non-Force user companions genuinely viableinKnights of the Old Republic 3would fulfill a wish that fans of the franchise have had for a long time.
There were attempts to make aKOTOR 3shortly after the second game’s release, yet the project was canceled as Lucasfilm entered a period of financial woes. With Disney now in charge ofStar Wars, money shouldn’t be an obstacle in the production of more high-quality games.Star Warsfans have learned to always hope, so it’s not unreasonable to hold out hope thatKOTORremake could foreshadow development onKnights of the Old Republic 3.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Remakeis in development.
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