Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

"What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them."

- Bastila Shan

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 in 2003. A sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords was released a year later in December 2004 by Obsidian Entertainment.

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 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons 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.

Opening text crawl
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Plot summary
After a battle with the Sith, the former Dark Lord Revan – after being captured by the Republic and having his identity replaced with that of a normal Republic soldier, explorer, or smuggler – found himself one of the lone survivors on the Republic ship the Endar Spire with decorated war hero Carth Onasi. Trask Ulgo helped Revan escape by sacrificing himself. After finding an escape pod, he crash-landed on the Sith-occupied world of Taris. Carth was able to carry the injured Revan from the wreckage to an abandoned apartment in the Upper City. Revan was unconscious for a few days.

When Revan awoke, Carth informed him that they would need to find and rescue Bastila Shan, a Jedi Knight whose escape pod had crash-landed somewhere on the planet. Bastila was the key to the Republic's war effort against the Sith due to her unique talent of Battle Meditation, a Force power that allowed her to strengthen an entire army with confidence and spirit, while discouraging and confusing the enemy. They set out to find Bastila, proceeding cautiously in the hostile world.

Revan and Carth eventually learned that the escape pod had 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, were engaged in a fierce gang war. This gang war, plus the search for any survivors of the Endar Spire prompted the Sith to impose a security lockdown, forcing Revan to disguise himself as a Sith soldier to gain entry to the area.

In the Lower City, Revan and Carth went to the Hidden Beks' hideout, where they found out from the leader of the Beks, Gadon Thek, that the leader of the rival Vulkar gang, Brejik, had taken Bastila captive intending to offer her as a prize for the winner of the upcoming swoop race. Gadon agreed to sponsor Revan as the Bek rider if he could retrieve a prototype swoop-bike accelerator that has been stolen from them by Vulkars. In order to get to the back entrance of the Vulkar Base, Gadon told him to recruit a Twi'lek girl Mission Vao and her Wookiee friend Zaalbar, who were supposed to be in the Undercity of Taris, the lowest level of the city where criminals and refugees were exiled.





Ironically, Mission needed their help, as they learned when she ran into Revan and Carth. She and Zaalbar had been attacked&mdash;while they were exploring the Undercity by Gamorrean slavers&mdash;and Zaalbar had been captured. Mission agreed to help them infiltrate the Vulkar base if they help her find Zaalbar. Eventually, they managed to rescue Zaalbar from the Gamorrean slavers, and when Zaalbar was freed, he offered a Wookiee life debt to Revan.

Mission then led Revan into the Vulkar base, where they managed to retrieve the accelerator, which they then returned to Gadon and the Beks. However, it is unknown whether this was his true course of action. Some sources suggest he may have betrayed the Beks, giving the accelerator to the Vulkars in exchange for a chance to race for Bastila's freedom. At the swoop race the next day, Revan managed to win the race, but Brejik broke the deal at the last moment. A fight ensued, and Revan was only saved when Bastila Shan broke out of her cage and assisted him in killing Brejik and his Vulkar thugs.

After the rescue of Bastila, the party began 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, wanted to speak with them at the cantina. When they got to there, Canderous proposed that they could steal the Ebon Hawk, a freighter belonging to his employer, Davik Kang, who worked 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 was from the Sith military base. To gain entry into the base, Revan would have to purchase a special astromech droid that Davik had had programmed with the entrance codes to the base. This droid's name was T3-M4.



After purchasing T3-M4, the party stole the passcodes and killed a Sith apprentice. After getting the passcodes, Canderous took Revan and one of his companions to Davik's place. When they got there, Canderous told Davik that Revan was a potential candidate for the Exchange to hire. After getting inside, the three opened the hangar doors and proceeded to steal the Ebon Hawk. At the same time, Darth Malak, the Dark Lord of the Sith that was leading the Sith after betraying Revan, ordered the admiral of the Sith Fleet to bombard Taris in order to prevent Bastila from escaping. As Revan and his companions were getting to the Ebon Hawk, they were confronted by Davik and the bounty hunter Calo Nord in the hangar; they killed Davik, and left Nord apparently dead under rubble caused by the Sith bombardment. Gathering all of his companions, the soldier took the Ebon Hawk and escaped the Sith onslaught.



After this, Bastila realized Revan still was very strong with the Force and took him back to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine to see if the Jedi Masters would train him as a Jedi. They did accept, and he finished his training after doing battle with Juhani; a young Jedi apprentice who had been influenced to the dark side. After defeating her, he succeeded in convincing her to return to the light side. After he had built his lightsaber he explored Dantooine and found a temple built by the Infinite Empire&mdash;there he learned that this was what had influenced Revan and Malak to the dark side. He found an incomplete Star Map there, which when completed would lead him to the Rakatan Star Forge, where Malak was building his unlimited supply of ships.

He and his companions journeyed to Tatooine, and explored the city of Anchorhead. Revan was given a job by the head of the Czerka mining company there to eliminate the Tusken Raiders that were plaguing the miners and the other hunters in the area. However, a Duros told Revan there may be a peaceful solution to the matter.

With the help of HK-47, an assassin droid bought by the town's droid shop owner Yuka Laka, Revan was able to communicate with a nearby tribe of Sandpeople and negotiate an end to the attacks on Czerka Corporation by giving the chieftain two moisture vaporators. The chieftain then presented Revan with his gaffi stick as a sign of good faith, and a map that helped him locate a Star Map hidden within a krayt dragon cave. Revan then went to the krayt dragon's cave and assisted Komad Fortuna in killing it. He then entered the cave and acquired the Star Map.

He then traveled to Kashyyyk, and found that the planet was under the control of Czerka Corporation. Revan then found out about their dealings with Wookiee slaves. He went to the village of Rwookrrorro, hoping to find the Star Map. Because he brought the mad-claw Zaalbar into the city, he was brought to the chieftain. The chieftain, Chuundar, who happened to be Zaalbar's brother, was in charge of the dealing with slavers and took Zaalbar with him. He then told Revan to go to the Lower Shadowlands to kill a mad Wookiee, who was actually Freyyr, Zaalbar's father. So Revan went down below, hoping to find the Star Map down their as well.



In the Shadowlands, he met an old hermit named Jolee Bindo, who told him he would lead him to the Star Map if he would do a favor for him. The favor included Revan and his companions getting rid of a Czerka camp to the northeast of Jolee's home. Revan finished the job, and Jolee lowered the deflector shield to let him down into the Lower Shadowlands. When down there, they found Freyyr, and they fought. However, Revan spared him and he told Revan of his plan to get Bacca's Blade, the symbol of a true chieftain, and fight Chuundar for the title of chieftain. He said that the blade of the sword was lost in a ritual fight long ago. So Revan went and defeated the beast, getting the blade and giving it to Freyyr, he then climbed up the trees to Rwookrrorro, telling Revan to meet him there. While in the Shadowlands, Revan found an old computer. He answered the questions it posed to him incorrectly, and he had to fight defense droids. When he defeated them, the computer found that the battle revealed much about Revan, and he let him see the Star Map.

They then had to kill the Wookiee in charge of the basket, Gorwooken, and used the basket to go back to the higher levels, where he was led to the village. When he arrived at the Chieftain's Hut, he convinced Zaalbar to tell his relatives that they could settle it peacefully, but Chuundar would hear none of it. He attacked with his Czerka Guards and all of them were killed. Freyyr then gave Zaalbar Bacca's Blade, and told them that there was a lot of work ahead of them. As Revan returned to his ship, he helped the Wookiees fight off the last of the Czerka on the planet, and they told him he would be the last outsider to visit the planet in a long time.

Following their visit to Kashyyyk, the crew of the Ebon Hawk traveled to Manaan, an oceanic world. He asked a Republic soldier if he knew about a Star Map, and was told to visit the Republic Embassy located there. There, he met Roland Wann, the Republic's ambassador on Manaan. He told Revan that he would help him, if he did something for him first. He told Revan to enter the Sith embassy on Manaan, and find a probe droid they had sent into Hrakert Rift some time before investigating, because while it was re-emerging, it was found and confiscated by the Sith. Revan agreed and on his way there, he met Shaelas, and was asked to search for some missing Selkath youth, who had gone missing a while before. Revan agreed, and questioned those in the bar about it, until he questioned an Iridorian mercenary, and found out he was the one to trick the Selkath to the Sith embassy. Also in the bar, he met a Selkath who asked him to investigate why the Republic was hiring so many mercenaries, he agreed, but first decided that he must complete the Republic's request first.

He entered the Sith embassy via one of three entrances, and fought his way through the base. Eventually, he found the scavenged droid, and took the part that Wann had requested. While he was in there, he fought several Dark Jedi, and freed the Selkath youth under Shasa through an expert use of persuasion. He then left the base, only to be confronted by Selkath authorities, who had somehow heard reports that shots had been fired from within the embassy, and was taken to court. He was offered an arbiter to represent him, but he refused. He showed the court the token he received from the base, and after examination, they found out it belonged to a Selkath youth. After Revan convinced the High Court that he assisted in the finding of the youth and exposed that the Sith were trying to take over Manaan using the youth as their pawns, the Court punished the Sith and freed Revan. He then proceeded to the Republic embassy.



He learned from Roland that the droid was sent to investigate an illegal Kolto harvesting plant that was created by the Republic. He told Revan that the reason for the Republic to hire so many mercenaries was really to investigate what happened at the Rift station, but none have returned. He told Revan that they lost contact with the facility after uncovering some ancient artifact, thought to be the Star Map Revan was looking for. So he got Revan a submersible, and sent him to the facility.

Once he arrived, Revan met a cowardly mercenary, who explained that after the artifact was dug up, the Selkath went insane and started killing everyone. So Revan fought his way through the facility, obtaining a wet suit and a sonic emitter in the process. He was forced to leave his party as he searched the ocean floor, as he acquired only one wet suit. He met another mercenary, who led him to the outside of the facility before being devoured by a Firaxan shark.

Revan continued to the second part of the facility, meeting and the head scientist Kono Nolan and his associate Sami, the only living scientists left. They told Revan about the Progenitor, a massive shark that drove all the Selkath insane. Kono Nolan had worked on a poison which in theory could kill the Progenitor, but his assistant Sami believed that doing so would pollute the waters of Manaan in ways that may never be corrected. Following Sami's advice, Revan destroyed the kolto harvesting machine, and the Progenitor immediately calmed down, even allowing him to approach the Star Map.

When he returned to the entrance of the base, he met Darth Bandon, the apprentice of Darth Malak, and they engaged in a vicious lightsaber duel, with Revan emerging victorious. He continued to the surface and told Roland what he had done, and while he wasn't overly pleased, he was content with the information, nonetheless. Revan emerged outside the embassy, and was immediately taken into custody by Selkath officials. He was brought before the Ahto High Court, and was to be tried, but Revan told them of the Progenitor, and they let him go.

As the party left Manaan, they were caught in a tractor beam by Admiral Saul Karath, Carth's old mentor. While they were being pulled in, they discussed how to escape, and Revan picked a member of his party to come and save them from capture. After deciding, the Sith captured all of them. Revan, Bastila, and Carth were all put in cages, and were interrogated by Saul Karath himself. Bastila refused to submit to Karath's questions, so he questioned Revan instead. Every question he answered incorrectly, Bastila would be tortured. Revan begged Saul not to hurt her, but Bastila convinced Revan that "Her pain is meaningless", and to tell Saul nothing. After Saul left, Carth told Revan that it was all just a shame, and hopefully the party member selected could save them.

The party member was able to infiltrate the Leviathan, and get many weapons in the process. In the prison block, he found a Rodian who would help him if he freed him. The party member agreed and got the ice breaker from the Rodian, who left shortly thereafter. The party member used the ice breaker to open the area that contained Revan and the others, and they got there equipment, after Canderous volunteered to take the group to the Ebon Hawk and get it ready to launch, while Revan, Bastila, and Carth moved to the bridge to disable the shields at the hangar bay.

After getting to the bridge by walking through the repair bridge on the outside of the ship with environmental suits, Revan, Carth, and Bastila confronted Admiral Karath and his men on the bridge. He revealed that the Dark Lord was coming, and Bastila could sense this as well. A battle followed, with Saul near death. He told Carth that he wanted him to know something, and he whispered into Carth's ear, and died. Carth confronted Bastila about what was whispered by Saul, and she said she would explain everything onboard the Ebon Hawk. He agreed and they rushed for the hangar bays, hoping to get their before Malak arrived.

However, as they were about to reach the hangar, Malak confronted them, and he told Revan something that the player never knew, his true identity. He told Revan that he was once a great Sith Lord, before he was betrayed by Malak. Bastila said that it was true, and as the trio were about to fight him, he used Force Stun on Carth and Bastila, leaving Revan to fight the Dark Lord by his lonesome. He nearly defeated him, causing Malak use Force whirlwind on Revan so he could retreat through a series of blast doors, and when Revan confronted him again, he was fully healed. After the duel, he stunned Revan, and Bastila charged in, telling Carth and Revan to find the Star Forge, and disappeared behind the now locked blast door. Seeing nothing else they could do, Revan and Carth ran to the Ebon Hawk, and after a skirmish with Sith fighters, the group learned the truth about Revan, and HK-47 reacquired his assassination protocol, which was programmed to active when he found his first master, which was Revan.

They then arrived on Korriban, a Sith world and location of the last Star Map.

The docking area was dominated by students from the Sith Academy. These students, training to become Dark Jedi, were encouraged to commit acts of cruelty and brutality. The most frequent victims of these acts were the civilian populous.

Revan quickly surmised that the Star Map would be accessible only by gaining acceptance to the academy which meant becoming a student. Unfortunately, admittance required gaining the notice of the student body and distinguishing oneself by means of strength, cunning, or ingenuity and to add an element of danger only one grad was allowed to move on each term so vicious and often fatal competition was encouraged.

Revan would have help in this regard when he came to the attention of Yuthura Ban, second-in-command at the Academy. She quickly noticed the vast Force potential of her newest recruit although she did not realize that she was dealing with the deposed Sith Lord, Darth Revan. She entangled Revan in a web of conspiracy whose ultimate goal was to engineer the assassination of Uthar Wynn the head of the Sith Academy and Yuthara's master.

Students of the academy proved their worth by performing various tasks, gaining prestige, some of the challenges were martial in nature others were mental but all required a certain commitment to the Sith ideals embodied by the Code of the Sith which Revan was 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 Code of the Jedi, was a harsh insight for Revan as much of its philosophy was based on ideals and motives he had set in motion as the Dark Lord.

Once again, the personal lives and agenda of Revan's companions would influence the course of his mission. At one point he encountered Dustil Onasi the now teen-aged son of Carth. The boy had escaped the destruction of Telos but was far from pleased to be reunited with his father, blaming him for the death of Carth's wife and Dustil's mother. Dustil was now in training for military service in the Sith army. Revan was obligated to provide proof of the Sith threat to the skeptical boy which he did by sneaking into Uthar Wynn's bedchamber and stealing a datapad implicating Uthar in the execution of a close friend of Dustil's.

Other tasks performed by Revan included: tracking down a group of fleeing students who Uthar Wynn demanded killed for disobedience; the elimination of the former headmaster of the academy Jorak Uln; and the destruction of a rogue assassination droid and exploring and raiding the tomb of the Sith Lord Ajunta Pall. This last task was complicated by the fact that the Sith Lord himself had survived the many centuries since his death as an embittered Force ghost. Ajunta Pall demanded that Revan locate his infamous blade, taking it with him when he left the tomb. Revan retrieved the blade as well as two more besides. Revan then persuaded the dark specter that he might at last find peace if he was willing to seek redemption. Reports conflict as to what happened to the blades after Revan left the tomb but many reports indicate that Revan, in a cunning maneuver, gave a false blade to a fellow student who was then killed by Uthar Wynn when the student attempted to pass the forgery off as the original blade.

Between Revan's actions and Yuthura's plotting Revan eventually won the prestige contest gaining access to the tomb of Naga Sadow and the Star Map contained therein. While reports differ on how the final confrontation with Yuthura and Uthar resolved itself it is clear that after Revan departed the academy there was a fierce civil war for control. So fierce in fact, that when the Jedi Exile arrived on Korriban just five years later she would find the academy lifeless and in ruins.

Armed with the location of the Star Forge, Revan and crew arrived at the co-ordinates shown on the Star Map, only to become trapped in a power disruption field which forced them to crash-land on the planet that was the source of the disruption.

They discovered the planet was a graveyard of crashed ships many of which had been stripped and looted by the savage civilian populous. Damage to the Ebon Hawk required that Revan find repair parts as well as the source of the disruptor field since not only did the field prevent The Ebon Hawk's crew from escaping the planet the field would effectively cripple the Republic fleet, on its way after being notified of the location of the Star Forge and the Sith fleet protecting it.

The source of the field was a temple guarded by priests who remembered encountering the Dark Lord some years ago. Revan and Malak had come seeking the Star Forge but crashed due to the disruptor field. Revan and Malak had used their Force skills to subdue the populous forcing the natives to grant Revan information about and access to the Star Forge. Once he had taken control of the stellar factory, Revan began the path of conquest and the chain of events that had led in inevitably to his downfall and redemption. Calling on the aid of the natives he had apparently abused somewhat the first time round Revan gained access to the temple with the help of Juhani and Jolee. Revan found his way to the disruptor field controls only to be confronted by Bastila who had fallen to the dark side. She had sworn herself to Darth Malak's service, Malak having preyed on her arrogance and pride to convince her that the Jedi were using and holding her back.

In a tense confrontation Revan found himself forced to the defend the way of the Jedi from the very person who had been most responsible for his redemption. Bastila, at first hostile, tried to seduce him back to the dark side. Even going so far as to pledge her loyalty to him and promising him that she would use her Battle Meditation in his service if he would retake his place as Dark lord of the Sith. Despite her temptations, Revan rejected her offer. Bastila fled, swearing that their next encounter aboard the Star Forge would be their last.

Escaping the temple and rejoining his companions Revan and crew joined the Republic assault on the Star Forge knowing that the fate of the galaxy would rest on their victory. However, for Revan, the battle would be a personal conflict since saving the galaxy might mean taking the lives of at least two close friends now turned to evil.



The Ebon Hawk crew joined in Battle of Rakata Prime, the republic assault on the Star Forge Led by Admiral Forn Dodonna and Master Vander who were mystified by the sheer size and efficiency of the Sith Fleet. The two commanders were horrified to learn from Carth Onasi that the reason for the Sith fleet's ability was Bastila’s defection to the Sith and her use of Battle Meditation against the Republic.

To counter the threat presented by Bastila the Republic commanders seized on a desperate plan. The Ebon Hawk led a strike force of Jedi through the static defenses of the Star Forge. Only a handful of ships actually survived the run to land safely on the Star Forge's flight deck where the Jedi were hemmed in by Dark Jedi backed by the station's battle droids. Eventually Revan and two of his companions found themselves alone against the bulk of Darth Malak's entire fighting force. Revan and his companions battled wave after wave of Assault troops and Dark Jedi some wielding force powers and combat abilities at the highest levels of proficiency.

Finally Revan would be separated even from his companions and left to confront Bastila alone. Bastila drew on all her skills and the dark power of the Star Forge but was still unable to defeat Revan. Revan for his part decided on a risky tactic. He left himself open to Bastila to attack counting on there being something of the noble Jedi she aspired to be and the caring woman he had helped her become. His gambit worked and Bastila lowered her defenses and finally admitted not only her intense doubts that had provided Malak with a hold on her, but also her love for Revan as well. Bastila promised to use her battle Meditation for the Republic Fleet and Revan left her to confront his old friend and apprentice – Malak.

Malak tried once more to delay Revan by unleashing more battle droids upon him but Revan proved to be quite resilient, reprogramming the production machines even as he battled wave after wave of droids, finally stopping the machine and allowing him access to the factory floor where Malak awaited him.

Malak had used the technology of the Star Forge and the bodies of Jedi he had captured during the sudden and brutal attack on Dantooine to create an unholy marriage of sorts. By keeping the bodies in stasis he could draw on their life force to empower himself, maintaining his life and power at maximum levels. His hope was to use this stolen power to defeat Revan and then to use Revan’s matchless potential in the same way.

Revan and Malak commenced to battle. Each time Revan seemed to be defeating him Malak would flee the battle and reenergize himself from the stasis pods around the room. Revan quickly began destroying the pods, freeing the Jedi within and denying Malak life force that would regenerate him. Eventually Malak was forced to rely on his own dark power. Revan would display a grim determination that would be spoken of in reverence years later by Brianna who would wax poetic about the battle and her frustrated desire to have been a witness to the events that transpired that day. Revan finally succeeded in defeating Malak and as his one time friend perished Revan expressed remorse over the part he played in Malak's corruption and fall into darkness. Malak would admit at the end that he alone had chosen to continue down the path of darkness.

Revan would flee along with the rest of his companions, barely escaping the final destruction of the Star Forge. The entire group would be awarded the highest citations of bravery and Revan himself would be welcomed back into the Jedi Order.

Locations and characters
The game is played over numerous planets in the Star Wars universe:
 * Dantooine
 * Kashyyyk
 * Korriban
 * Manaan
 * Lehon (referred to as "Unknown World")
 * Sleheyron (cut)
 * Taris
 * Tatooine

Players also visit other locations:
 * Ebon Hawk
 * Endar Spire
 * Leviathan
 * Star Forge
 * Yavin Station (PC only/ or downloaded from Xbox Live)

Along the way the player meets a large number of characters that join their party:
 * Bastila Shan
 * Carth Onasi
 * Canderous Ordo
 * HK-47
 * Jolee Bindo
 * Juhani
 * Mission Vao
 * T3-M4
 * Trask Ulgo (temporary)
 * Zaalbar

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 few years.

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 may have also explained the unlikely event of parallel evolution (that is, the Star Wars universe being populated largely by humanoids) by having a Sand People historian remark on the player's similarity to the ancients of their people, kidnapped by the Rakata many many years before. 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 off 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.

On alternate choices: The moral question
While the storyline allows the player to choose from several options to solve a mission, and of course to finish the game following the light or dark side, the canon is that of the light side. In the case of the fate of the NPC characters, Wookieepedia always will present as canon always the best (or less evil) choice. However, while it is certain that the player canonically chose the light in the end, it's not sure that all his/her choices were light in the course of the adventure; for example the player could have joined the Genoharadan (a dark side option), but still vanquish Malak in the name of the light side and become a hero of the Republic. (See the Behind the scenes section of Bendak Starkiller.) Also, many fans of the series have cried out for a series of books, but LucasArts has announced that any such attempts will be flatly rejected.

New continuity
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. A * indicates a character that was essential to the plot.

New characters
{|-
 * valign=top|

A

 * Ada
 * Adrenas
 * Ajuur
 * Kel Algwinn
 * Anglu
 * Jolan Aphett
 * Toll Apkar
 * Kandon Ark
 * Lur Arka Sulas
 * Ashana
 * valign=top|

B

 * B'ree
 * Bacca
 * Zoriis Bafka
 * Yuthura Ban*
 * Darth Bandon*
 * Belaya
 * Billan
 * Jolee Bindo*
 * Nayama Bindo
 * Bochaba
 * Bolook
 * Brejik*
 * Bwa'lass
 * Nilko Bwaas
 * valign=top|

C

 * C8-42
 * Galduran Calrissian
 * Chorrawl
 * Chuundar*
 * Christya
 * Gorton Colu
 * valign=top|

D

 * D-X12a
 * D-X12b
 * D-X12c
 * D-X12d
 * Matton Dasol
 * Dehno
 * Dern
 * Dia
 * Doba
 * Forn Dodonna*
 * Dorak*
 * Mika Dorin
 * Ivan Dragos
 * Duan
 * Deadeye Duncan
 * Duula
 * valign=top|

E

 * Elinda
 * Elora
 * Ergeron
 * Esala
 * valign=top|

F
{|-
 * Cassus Fett
 * Sharina Fizark
 * Ward Fizark
 * Fodo
 * Komad Fortuna
 * Freyyr*
 * Zelka Forn
 * }
 * valign=top|

G

 * Veren Gal
 * Eli Gand
 * Gandroff
 * Gar
 * Garn
 * Garouk
 * Gelrood
 * Gendar
 * Gerlon Two-Fingers
 * Gjarshi
 * Gluupor
 * Gorwooken
 * Grann
 * Grrrwahrr
 * Handon Guld
 * Gurke
 * Gurney
 * valign=top|

H

 * Hasek
 * Forii Haxa
 * Hendar
 * Hester
 * Hijata
 * HK-47*
 * Jamoh Hogra
 * Greeta Holda
 * Holdan
 * Tulak Hord
 * Hortath
 * Ben Hu'al
 * Hudrow
 * Hulas
 * Elassa Huros
 * valign=top|

I

 * Ice
 * Igear
 * Ignus
 * Ilsa
 * Ixgil
 * Yortal Ixlis
 * Iziz
 * valign=top|

J

 * Ja'Gatcha
 * Jaarak
 * Jagi
 * Jarg
 * Javyar
 * Hukta Jax
 * Jergan
 * Jhosa
 * Jon
 * Caal Jordan
 * Jordo
 * Juhani*
 * valign=top|

K

 * Karal Kaar
 * Kadir
 * Ganda Kaitoova
 * Jurgan Kalta
 * Davik Kang*
 * Saul Karath*
 * Davin Kotras
 * Lurze Kesh
 * J'ane Khan
 * Kni
 * Kota
 * Kraat
 * Kudos
 * valign=top|

L
{|-
 * Yuka Laka*
 * Vrook Lamar*
 * Largo
 * Adum Larp
 * Larrim
 * Lashowe
 * Gana Lavin
 * Zhar Lestin*
 * Ll'awa
 * Loopa
 * Galon Lor
 * Tyvark Luowan
 * Luo
 * Rickard Lusoff
 * Luugro
 * Deesra Luur Jada
 * }
 * valign=top|

M

 * Darth Malak*
 * Malya
 * Marl
 * Ahlan Matale
 * Shen Matale
 * Casandra Mateil
 * Matrik
 * Elam Mattic
 * Louie Mattic
 * Thalia May
 * Firith Me
 * Mekel
 * Fodo Medoo
 * Mic'tunan'jus Orgu
 * Queedle Molto
 * Elise Montagne
 * Motta
 * valign=top|

N

 * Naleshekan
 * Janice Nall*
 * Junix Nard
 * Narkal
 * Calder Nattic
 * Nemo
 * Niklos
 * Furko Nellis
 * Kono Nolan
 * Calo Nord*
 * Nubassa
 * Raxsus Nuli
 * Shaela Nuur
 * valign=top|

O

 * Omeesh
 * Carth Onasi*
 * Dustil Onasi*
 * The One*
 * Canderous Ordo*
 * Orsaa
 * Rundil ot Sulem
 * Sasha ot Sulem
 * Ahita Othar
 * valign=top|

P

 * Ajunta Pall
 * Phirk
 * Progenitor
 * valign=top|

Q

 * Duron Qel-Droma
 * Quatra
 * Dorak Quinn
 * valign=top|

R
{|-
 * Redros
 * Reeza
 * Revan*
 * Rilka
 * Yuka Rill
 * Rorworr
 * Rothrrrawr
 * Rukil
 * }
 * valign=top|

S

 * Sami
 * Samnt
 * Sanasiki
 * Casus Sandral
 * Nurik Sandral
 * Rahasia Sandral
 * Guun Han Saresh
 * Sarna
 * Lyn Sekla
 * Selven
 * Nico Senvi
 * Shaardan
 * Shaelas
 * Shaleena
 * Bastila Shan*
 * Helena Shan*
 * Shasa
 * Shelkar
 * Sherruk
 * Sol'aa
 * Sslamoth
 * Bendak Starkiller
 * Sunry
 * Bib Surool
 * valign=top|

T

 * T'sllth
 * T3-H8
 * T3-M4*
 * Tamlen
 * Suvam Tan
 * Tariga
 * Tela
 * Gadon Thek*
 * Vandar Tokare*
 * Tooka
 * Garm Totryl
 * Trewin
 * Twitch
 * valign=top|

U

 * Ujaa
 * Ujii
 * Gilthos Uksaris
 * Trask Ulgo*
 * Jorak Uln
 * Uriah
 * Fazza Utral
 * Uzgak
 * valign=top|

V

 * Griff Vao*
 * Mission Vao*
 * Vek
 * Senni Vek
 * Marlena Venn
 * Tanis Venn
 * Dak Vesser
 * Andor Vex
 * Viglo
 * valign=top|

W

 * Roland Wann
 * Janos Werka
 * Woorwill
 * Worrroznor
 * Uthar Wynn*
 * valign=top|

X

 * Xor
 * valign=top|

Y
{|-
 * Gonto Yas
 * Crattis Yurkal
 * Kebla Yurt
 * Yusanis
 * }
 * valign=top|

Z
{|-
 * Zaalbar*
 * Zaerdra
 * Zax
 * Zeena
 * Ziagrom
 * }
 * valign=top|

New sentient species

 * Dimean
 * Iridorian
 * Karakan
 * Paaerduag
 * Rakata
 * Selkath
 * valign=top|

New creatures

 * Brith
 * Deluvian fatworm
 * Firaxa
 * Gizka
 * Horn kath hound
 * Iriaz
 * Kath hound
 * Kinrath
 * Mykal
 * Orchana ray
 * Rakghoul
 * Rotgrub
 * Shyrack
 * Tach
 * Terentatek
 * Uller
 * Wraid
 * valign=top|

New droid models

 * Ancient droid
 * Assault droid Mark I
 * Assault droid Mark II
 * Assault droid Mark IV
 * Czerka Corporation protocol droid
 * HK protocol droid
 * K-X12 probe droid
 * Patrol droid Mark I
 * Security/maintenance droid
 * Sith security hovercam
 * Submersible probe droid
 * T3 astromech
 * Utility droid
 * War droid-series
 * valign=top|

New organizations
{|-
 * Black Vulkars
 * Hidden Beks
 * The Exchange
 * Genoharadan
 * Czerka Corporation
 * Infinite Empire
 * Sith Empire of the Star Forge
 * }
 * valign=top|

New planets

 * Althir
 * Bondar
 * Daminia
 * Deralia
 * Erai
 * Erai III
 * Fyrth asteroid fields
 * Lehon
 * Malachor V
 * Manaan
 * Ordo
 * Phemis
 * Sigil
 * Sleheyron
 * Sorjus
 * Talravin
 * Taris
 * Transel
 * Ukatis
 * valign=top|

New vehicles and vessels

 * A-wing military fighter
 * Ebon Hawk
 * Elevator basket
 * G-wing light shuttle
 * Interdictor-class Cruiser
 * Landspeeders (ancient models)
 * Manaan Sub
 * Military droid carrier
 * Republic assault fighter
 * Hammerhead-class capital ship
 * Republic cruiser
 * Republic escape pod
 * Sandcrawler (Czerka Corporation model)
 * Sith fighter
 * Sith freighter
 * Star Forge
 * Swoop (original model)
 * Yavin Station
 * }

Cast/Crew
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 as Revan(Male)
 * Jennifer Hale&mdash;"Bastila Shan"
 * Raphael Sbarge&mdash;"Carth Onasi"
 * John Cygan&mdash;"Canderous Ordo"
 * Rafael Ferrer&mdash;"Darth Malak"
 * Kristoffer Tabori&mdash;"HK-47," additional voices
 * Kevin Michael Richardson&mdash;"Jolee Bindo"
 * Courtenay Taylor&mdash;"Juhani"
 * Cat Taber&mdash;"Mission Vao"
 * Ed Asner&mdash;"Master Vrook Lamar"
 * Cam Clarke&mdash;"Sith Diplomat," "Kono Nolan," "Trask Ulgo," "Gate Guard Trewin," "Junior Czerka Scientist," "Sith Student," additional voices
 * Phil LaMarr&mdash;"Gadon Thek"
 * Robin Atkin Downes&mdash;"Mekel," "Griff Vao," "Vulkar Mechanic"
 * Tom Kane&mdash;"Master Vandar Tokare," "Rodian"
 * Frank Welker&mdash;"Sunry," "Jorak Uln," "Gar," "Swoop Fan," additional voices
 * Director&mdash;Casey Hudson
 * Writers&mdash;David Falkner, Steve Gilmour, Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn, James Ohlen, Preston Watamaniuk, Derek Watts

Xbox cheat codes
(WARNING: Save before inputting these codes in the event of the game crashing or freezing.)
 * Low/High Pitch Voices - Insert another controller in the 4th socket. During the game, hold white for high-pitch voices (sounds like a mouse) and black for low pitch voices (sounds like Darth Vader). To end the effects of this code, you must reset your Xbox.
 * Free-Roam Camera - Pause the game and select "Messages". Press X, Left, A, X. (Note: You can confirm if the code has been entered correctly by checking "Messages" > "Feedback". If it is correct, you'll see the message "Punch it, Chewie!) Once you exit out of the pause menu, press the Right Thumbstick to enter the Free-Roam Camera View. You can also lock on to a specific character by pressing black. Simply press the right thumbstick again to exit out of this mode.
 * Duplicate Armor, Weapons, etc. - This glitch happens on Manaan when you go underwater and pass through a pressure door. It duplicates your teammate's equipped items:

1. Equip your team with the equipment you want duplicated. (Note: Only things that your team is wearing, not you, will be duplicated) 2. Enter the submersible. 3. Go through the underwater base until you find a pressure door that leads to the ocean floor. 4. Strip your team of everything they have equipped. 5. Go through the door. 6. As soon as you exit, turn around immediately and go back through the door.

You should see your teammates wearing the same things you just took off of them. Check your inventory and you will see that their items have been duplicated. Repeat steps 4-6 until satisfied. (Note: All weapon, armor, melee, and lightsaber upgrades are included with duplicated items) If done correctly, you will be taken back to the Ebon Hawk and you will notice a few major differences:
 * Galaxy Droid - When you are in a space battle (going between worlds only), press the right-trigger repeatedly throughout the cutscene and into the first few seconds of the battle. As soon as the fighters scatter, you may track them down as you would normally do until they are all destroyed.

1. T3-M4 has been replaced by Zaalbar. You now have two Wookiees as your party members. 2. All of your party is gathered in the conference room. 3. A 'swoop' droid is in the storage room. The droid is merely a glitch and has no purpose, despite it's claims it will take you to any part of the current planet. 4. The main glitch is the Galaxy Droid, which acts as a cheat menu and can take you to any planet you want, allowing you to bypass the chance of running into enemy fighters and cutscenes during your quest, thus saving you time for your quest (WARNING: Do not choose to go to the Leviathan or the 'Unknown World'. This will cause the game to crash.)

Trivia

 * The game mentions various characters that have ties to the original trilogy and could be interpreted as ancestors, including Galduran Calrissian (Lando Calrissian), Cassus Fett (Jango Fett & Boba Fett), Komad Fortuna (Bib Fortuna), and Admiral Forn Dodonna (General Jan Dodonna).
 * The name Bendak Starkiller is an homage to the name originally chosen for Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.
 * Bastila Shan's character was originally to be Vima Sunrider herself (a Jedi appearing in the Dark Horse Comics' Tales of the Jedi series). The name Bastila was originally meant for a Cathar Jedi character. Eventually, it was decided to create a different character rather than use Sunrider and the Cathar Jedi would be named Juhani.
 * Though trivial, it is interesting to note that Revan's mask (before his capture) strikingly resembles that of Mandalorian Neo-Crusader helmets.
 * Certain lines through out the game also pay homage to the original films: Mission Vao says, "I have a bad feeling about this" several times, referring to a line spoken many times in the films. Additionally, the line "My name's [your character's name], I'm here to save you," is a homage to the line Luke Skywalker delivers when rescuing Princess Leia. Also, as Bastila is captured, Carth yells "No!"
 * A quest is called Finding Nemo, a reference to the Pixar movie.
 * The quest "The Trouble with Gizka" is likely a reference to the Star Trek episode entitled "The Trouble with Tribbles". Also, HK-47's line "Dammit, master, I'm an assassination droid, not a dictionary!" is similar to Dr. McCoy's frequent catch-phrase from the series.
 * Noticeably, all non-Jedi and non-droid characters in the party have some type of weapon or item belonging to them: Carth's Blaster, Mission's Vibroblade, Zaalbar's Bowcaster, and Ordo's Repeating Blaster.
 * In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, there is a randomly generated blaster called the "Onasi Blaster". Obviously this is reference to "Carth's Blaster" in the prequel.
 * When the player is being tortured on the Leviathan and pressed to reveal the location of the Jedi base on Dantooine, a possible response is "Alderaan, they're on Alderaan" to avoid Dantooine's destruction. In Episode IV: A New Hope, Princess Leia lies that the Rebel Alliance base is on Dantooine to avoid Alderaan's destruction.
 * At one point in the game Canderous Ordo tells of a ship he once chased until it crossed the boundaries of the galaxy; he says that the ship looked like an asteroid and spat fireballs. This sounds very much like a Yuuzhan Vong vessel from the New Jedi Order that will return to invade the galaxy millennia later.
 * If the character chooses to explore Jolee Bindo's life, on one dialogue, both the character and Jolee make a small parody of Limp Bizkit's song "Nookie" ("I did it all for the Wookiees" "The Wookiees?" "The Wookiees!")
 * The random name generator sometimes offers such last names as "Organa", Mothma and such first names as "Padmé", "Luke", "Lando" or "Wedge". Other names to note (not related to Star Wars) are "Homsar", a character from the Homestar Runner Flash cartoon series who mostly appears in Easter eggs and "Kerrek" a monster from the "Peasant's Quest" series.
 * The Upper City, Lower City, and Undercity on Taris, closely mirror the class separation struggles in Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi classic Metropolis.
 * When you're on Tatooine and you go into the Czerka office, the Czerka woman will tell you something funny. When you have "Force Persuasion" or a high enough amount of Persuade, she will start talking about Czerka's plans to leave Tatooine and leave the Sandcrawlers behind too. If you ask what will happen to the enormous Crawlers, she sarcasticly says; "Who knows?, Maybe the Jawas will find a way to use 'em? Hehe...Yeah, like that's ever going to happen..." This is of course referring to Episode IV, where Jawa's indeed use the Sandcrawlers and gives an explanation on how the Jawa's purchased the big machinery.
 * During the Sunry murder trial on Manaan, your character can speak to Sunry's wife Elora for information. After you suggest that Sunry has killed Sith before, Elora responds: "That was a long time ago, in a war far, far away." This is obviously an illusion to the famous opening titles of Star Wars that state: "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."
 * When on Tatooine, the player character gives Komad Fortuna the bantha fodder, he says, "Look, I have your fodder", a wordplay on the famous scene from The Empire Strikes Back.
 * When the player tries to enter a new area with party members, and they are not near the player character, a line appears reading "You must gather your party before venturing forth". This line appeared in the other games that used Bioware's Infinity Engine, such as Baldur's Gate (Planescape: Torment being the only exception), whenever the player tried to leave an area without the rest of the party. In the Baldur's Gate series of games this line was spoken by voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson, who also plays Jedi Jolee Bindo in Knights of the Old Republic.
 * If the Player character decides to follow the path to the dark side, their face and skin will gradually become deformed as they progress. Eventually their eyes will turn a pale yellow as well. This predates the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and was in reference to a theory, first expounded in Dark Empire that Palpatine's decrepit appearance was not entirely natural, but was due to his body being worn out by the dark side of the Force.
 * The LucasArts game that eventually became Star Wars: Obi-Wan was initially going to be called "Knights of the Republic". The title was rejected as too generic.
 * On an interesting note, despite the nature of Hutts seen in the Star Wars films and various Star Wars literature, none of the Hutts met in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a kingpin of organized crime, and most have almost nothing to do with criminal activity.
 * The Rakatan computer on Kashyyyk proposes a situation between your character and Zaalbar; it is basically the situation of the prisoner's dilemma, a popular example of the economic principle of game theory.

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 (briefly mentioned in both games) 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.

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 (cut)

Two other areas from the game 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 a community created add-on modifications (or "mods" for short). Unfortunately, these are only available for the PC version.

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

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.