23 Years Ago, Knights Of The Old Republic Introduced A Feature That Changed The Industry & Made Star Wars Movies Better

There are few western RPGs as beloved as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, making it unsurprising that its remake is highly anticipated, despite news of its existence being all over the place. This title revolutionized the expansive lore of Star Wars far outside of the movies, making a completely fresh world with the principles fans loved about the original sci-fi setting. With an expansive and sometimes surprising story as well, it’s no wonder this game’s anniversary brings back a lot of great memories.

Although somewhat dated by today’s standards, the gameplay of Knights of the Old Republic was defined by developer BioWare, the creators of the Mass Effect series later on. Although Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords was created by the group Obsidian Entertainment instead, the combination of BioWare’s gameplay and Obsidian’s storytelling is often considered lightning in a bottle in gaming history. With original creators of the first game coming back for the recently announced Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic spiritual successor, players will have to see if another RPG will create its own impact.

Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic Released To Mass Acclaim Little Over Two Decades Ago

Initial reviews for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic heavily praised the game, calling it “the best Star Wars game since X-Wing and/or TIE Fighter, if not ever,” or saying that “its atmosphere is second to none.” This is due to just how huge the game’s universe felt back in 2003, when it release on July 17 of that year. Now, nearly 23 years after its launch, the “Old Republic” universe of Star Wars still exists as an extremely popular branch of the sci-fi setting’s expanded world building.

The events of Knights of the Old Republic take place hundreds of years before The Phantom Menace, the first chronological “Episode” of the Star Wars movies. The prequels to Star Wars began releasing around the same time as this game, with Revenge of Sith coming to theaters only two years after both Old Republic RPGs were released. The first Knights of the Old Republic quickly became a must-play for Star Wars fans, as its characters were completely removed from the rigid canon of the universe that would dictate it for years to come.

Before this title, nearly every piece of Star Wars media was tied to the films, especially in gaming as a whole. Knights of the Old Republic represented a huge leap in creative representation of Star Wars not seen since the iconic 1977 film, forming a rich mythology that was independent of everything else in the series. This game built up huge events, such as the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War, as foundational parts of Star Wars‘ history that helped set up interesting characters, worlds, and plots that players eagerly absorbed as something different and new.

An Entirely New Setting For Star Wars Caught Players’ Attention Through A Compelling Story

The redefinition of the Star Wars mythos through Knights of the Old Republic didn’t just come from the larger world building, but also the story of the game itself. The RPG was practically a foundation to the Mass Effect approach BioWare would later standardize, with branching dialogue drastically changing the impact of the larger story. Different choices were available for almost every side quest or main mission, allowing players to customize their own Star Wars journey through their actions.

It also helps that this title is responsible for one of the biggest gaming twists of all time, which added even greater narrative weight into your choices. The game also had incredibly charming characters throughout the story, such as the hilariously murderous HK-47 assassin droid. Each aspect of the game was incredibly detailed, with every character having full voice acting across a script that easily took up hundreds of hours of playtime to fully explore across every system you visit.

Innovative RPG Mechanics Built Up One Of The Most Memorable Star Wars Experiences Ever

The gameplay of Knights of the Old Republic was revolutionary to the RPG genre too, mainly for how it seamlessly blended the excellent narrative into its mechanics. The actions players took earned them points toward the Dark Side or Light Side, tying narrative choice to gameplay benefits through a morality system. This feature is iconic in so many ways, granting players unique Force powers exclusive to either side, as well as determining the ultimate ending of the game’s story itself.

Knights of the Old Republic borrowed many systems from popular CRPGs, such as characters customized through stats, similar to tabletop games like D&D. Certain choices were locked behind a character’s specialized skills through this system, adding a level of replayability in an already massive game. Overall, the details in this RPG are extensive across the board, even if the turn-based style combat can be considered quite dated.

The sheer amount of what you can do in this game within a totally re-imagined Star Wars setting is what makes it a staple title within its genre. More than ever before, this was the Star Wars game where you could embody the fantasy of the setting the most, both through its themes and disconnection to established ideas. The polish of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the time was just icing on the cake of an RPG that still captures the hearts of gaming fans to this day.

What are your thoughts on the first Knights of the Old Republic game for its 23rd Anniversary? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!