A nostalgic classic. A classic I frankly would not enjoy as much without that nostalgia, truth be told.
There's a lot good with it, and a lot bad. Juhani's entire plot is immensely rushed and she feels more like a character I added through a fan-made restoration mod than one from a finished product. The cruelty of the council gaslighting her could have been spotlighted more to set up the later twist, but no, that depth isn't really there. It feels very first draft and then they had to ship it.
As an role-playing game, the dialogue fluctuates between giving you plenty of character building options that express multiple viewpoints and feelings, to being stuck in a binary between "The council is great and could never do wrong" and "I love killing orphans and eating puppies." It's a bit disappointing if you want to be a tad more jaded than full-on Jedi superfan, but without having to be Space Hitler.
And gameplay wise as an RPG, it's wretched. It really is. The character building is nonexistent. Blasters not scaling with dexterity but melee scaling with strength completely negates the other half of the combat tree. Blasters are good if you want to self-impose a difficult challenge on yourself, a turn-based version of a no-hit run. But as an actual character choice that won't have you pulling out your hair as the stronger melee enemies completely mop you up as you deal the same amount of damage you did on Taris? Oh, oh god. A Teras Kesai run would be easier. I truly believe Bioware giving Canderous and Zaalbar strength stats but ranged signature weapons was to trick people into handicapping themselves, as a 3-melee party makes the game difficulty insignificant at any point.
It is funny to play this and be like, "Oh, this is the start of the Bioware formula." Every post-KOTOR Bioware game is reskinned KOTOR, even moreso than BG2's influence on Bioware's future games. The non-linear 4 points to get the macguffin, the post 3rd macguffin story event, talking to party members on the ship after every planet, it all started here.
But I have to be honest with myself: How much of the game do I really like? Kashyyyk is a horrible auditory nightmare. Manaan has THREE goddamn court case quests, and eye-searing scenery. Taris has a dedicated sewer level. Tatooine is basically just a hallway city and then a desert. The companions are bare bones and one dimensional outside of a few. Zaalbar says nothing. Mission may as well have died on Taris for how much she contributes afterwards. Juhani, lol. T3 doesn't exist after seducing the door to the sith base. Carth is memetically hated on, but hey, he actually talks throughout the entire game and has an arc.
But I love the game regardless. Even on PC, where it is the worst port I have ever played. Thanks for the two decades of memories, KOTOR. I hope that remake never comes out.
There's a lot good with it, and a lot bad. Juhani's entire plot is immensely rushed and she feels more like a character I added through a fan-made restoration mod than one from a finished product. The cruelty of the council gaslighting her could have been spotlighted more to set up the later twist, but no, that depth isn't really there. It feels very first draft and then they had to ship it.
As an role-playing game, the dialogue fluctuates between giving you plenty of character building options that express multiple viewpoints and feelings, to being stuck in a binary between "The council is great and could never do wrong" and "I love killing orphans and eating puppies." It's a bit disappointing if you want to be a tad more jaded than full-on Jedi superfan, but without having to be Space Hitler.
And gameplay wise as an RPG, it's wretched. It really is. The character building is nonexistent. Blasters not scaling with dexterity but melee scaling with strength completely negates the other half of the combat tree. Blasters are good if you want to self-impose a difficult challenge on yourself, a turn-based version of a no-hit run. But as an actual character choice that won't have you pulling out your hair as the stronger melee enemies completely mop you up as you deal the same amount of damage you did on Taris? Oh, oh god. A Teras Kesai run would be easier. I truly believe Bioware giving Canderous and Zaalbar strength stats but ranged signature weapons was to trick people into handicapping themselves, as a 3-melee party makes the game difficulty insignificant at any point.
It is funny to play this and be like, "Oh, this is the start of the Bioware formula." Every post-KOTOR Bioware game is reskinned KOTOR, even moreso than BG2's influence on Bioware's future games. The non-linear 4 points to get the macguffin, the post 3rd macguffin story event, talking to party members on the ship after every planet, it all started here.
But I have to be honest with myself: How much of the game do I really like? Kashyyyk is a horrible auditory nightmare. Manaan has THREE goddamn court case quests, and eye-searing scenery. Taris has a dedicated sewer level. Tatooine is basically just a hallway city and then a desert. The companions are bare bones and one dimensional outside of a few. Zaalbar says nothing. Mission may as well have died on Taris for how much she contributes afterwards. Juhani, lol. T3 doesn't exist after seducing the door to the sith base. Carth is memetically hated on, but hey, he actually talks throughout the entire game and has an arc.
But I love the game regardless. Even on PC, where it is the worst port I have ever played. Thanks for the two decades of memories, KOTOR. I hope that remake never comes out.