People often list the Star Wars: Knights of the Republic series as one of the top classic game series that desperately need a revival, and it’s a wonder why no one has tried to capitalize on this desire yet. Even after all these years, storytelling in Star Wars has never quite overcome the dramatic reveal in the original Knights of the Old Republic. Its sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, being unfinished, is perhaps one of the greatest wounds in gaming history, made worse by the fact that the series has been effectively dead since that time.
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Just how did this series go so wrong, and what would a continuation of the engaging storyline have looked like if the stars had aligned and the series hadn’t drifted so far, far away? Thanks to reporting and dedicated fan projects over the years, we now know more about the KOTOR series than was known to fans who played it during its release over 20 years ago.
Obsidian Cut Knights of the Old Republic 2’s Story Down a Lot
The development of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords was infamously rushed, releasing barely a year after the original game. Developer Obsidian, which took over from BioWare for the sequel, faced pressure to meet strict deadlines set by LucasArts, a challenge for an inexperienced studio with only around 30 people on the project. This dynamic resulted in numerous cuts to the game, including arguably the best part of the experience: the engaging storyline.
“There would’ve been substantial penalties had we not made that date,” Lead Designer Chris Avellone told Eurogamer in a 2013 interview.
There were originally plans for the player to visit Alderaan, the planet destroyed in the first Star Wars movie, and the future homeworld of Princess Leia. Some planned action set pieces had to be cut when working within the limits of the game engine and Xbox hardware. A popular mod developed in the following years for KOTOR 2 called “Restored Content” aimed to add back some dialogue and quests left on the cutting room floor. However, the changes end up being minor differences in the grand scheme of the story and gameplay. Even with the restored content, numerous plot threads are still unfinished, and the mystery surrounding Revan’s actions from the previous game remains relatively unanswered.
What The Sith Lords’ Story Would’ve Been Like
If Obsidian had been better prepared or had extra time and resources, the follow-up for Revan would likely have been a bigger focus in the KOTOR 2 story. Obsidian decided to focus on other characters in the sequel, a decision that may have been born of the quick release schedule and the Obsidian team not being part of the story development in the original game.
“I don’t know if that was the best decision,” Avellone wondered in the same interview. “There’s a lot of design decisions that occurred in Knights of the Old Republic 2 that, to this day, I still question whether that was the right thing to do or not. One was, ideally, we should have maybe looked for more ways to introduce Revan in the sequel.”
A fully-realized story for KOTOR 2 would have tied up more of the loose plot threads, alleviating the need for the abrupt ending we got in the original release and possibly setting up more intrigue around Revan for a potential third game. From the Restored Content mod, we know the story would have included:
- Extra scenes with HK-47, Atris, and other characters
- Additional dialogue from the over two hours of unused voice recordings left in the game.
- Better resolutions for party companion subplots
However, nothing discovered in the game files appears to help illuminate or change the confusing ending of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.
Obsidian Planned a Knights of the Old Republic 3
The series seemed to be heading towards a trilogy based on how the story was told, and indeed, Obsidian did have plans to work on a third game. According to Avellone, in a 2019 interview with VG247, the third game would have centered around a player character following after Revan and encountering the ancient evils that existed in the far reaches of the galaxy.
Unfortunately, a third KOTOR game never saw the light of day. Development had begun on the project, but it was ultimately canceled by LucasArts in 2005 after the company announced that it had to undergo “major restructuring,” which resulted in staff layoffs. KOTOR 3 was reportedly in its early stages, with the team in charge of its development among those who were let go.
KOTOR is What Star Wars Games Should Focus on Now
Star Wars remains high in the public consciousness, despite the recent missteps with games like Star Wars Outlaws. More than just being aware, fans will also soon get a refresher of KOTOR’s iconic protagonist/antagonist: Darth Revan. Darth Revan made a new appearance in a Disney+ series teaser as a LEGO figure alongside a dark-side version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, making this an ideal time to follow up with another KOTOR game while the character is in the media ether again.
A remake of the original KOTOR game, initially announced in 2021, appears to have stalled in development. At this point, I feel like fans aren’t really looking forward to it as much, and KOTOR fans deserve more than a remake after all this time waiting. A sudden announcement of KOTOR 3 is what loyal fans of these classic Star Wars video games need the most, and it feels like now is the moment to give it to them.
Do you still remember the KOTOR series? Let us know in the comments about your favorite moment of either KOTOR or KOTOR 2.
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