

Once I have enough Force powers and regular abilities, I’m equipped for most situations regardless of my team composition. Optimizing my strategy through party composition and weapon choices is important, especially in the early game when my Force powers are limited. KOTOR is a full-fledged RPG, and it allows me to choose between three character classes at the start of the game, along with a range of weapons, equipment, armor, skills, and Force powers once I learn the ways of the Jedi. The freedom in character design that the game gives me is also impressive. While graphics have improved noticeably over the years, the sound of a lightsaber today sounds much the same as it did in 1977.

The carefully crafted and canonically faithful audio connects me with my earliest Star Wars memories. Twi’lek, Wookie, Hutt, and Sand People dialects are all represented, among others less familiar. Excluding the main character, this game is fully voice acted, including all the alien languages. The game convincingly recreates blaster fire, alien languages, and iconic lightsaber hum. Throughout my playthrough, the sound design of KOTOR reinforced the setting and story in subtle ways. The developers really managed to capture the essence of Star Wars’ iconic weapon. The game’s faces and skyboxes do remind me just how far in-game game graphics have progressed in the last twenty years, but I was pleasantly surprised with the vibrancy and glow of the lightsabers in game. It’s remarkably well textured compared to other interior locations and even seemed like a real-life spaceship once I collected all my NPC companions. This attention to detail really shows in the Ebon Hawk, my main character’s version of the Millennium Falcon. At 1600x1200, the highest resolution available without modding, most textures avoid pixelation or noticeable fuzziness. The title launched 18 years ago on the original Xbox, yet I'm impressed with how well its graphics have aged. Set 4,000 years before the events of the main movies, KOTOR introduces familiar faces and names as well as more depth to the existing Jedi vs. KOTOR managed to create an original yet canonical story that let players make their own mark on the galaxy. Released in 2003, directly between The Phantom Menace and The Attack of the Clones, this classic RPG from Bioware was praised by Star Wars fans and regular gamers alike. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) gave fans a chance to write their own Star Wars story at a time when the franchise was being given new life by the prequels. I had taken my first step on the path to bringing balance to the Force and peace to the Republic. Once my lightsaber was completed and glowing a vibrant green, he congratulated me for passing the Jedi Trials and granted me the title of Padawan. I wasn’t too picky about the color, but I had my heart set on a double-bladed weapon. He praised my memorization and instructed me to begin assembly of my lightsaber.

There is no death there is the Force,” I recited for my Jedi Master. There is no ignorance there is knowledge.
