Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic – Making The Switch

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Fast Facts

Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic takes place 4000 years before the Galactic Empire, and the Jedi Knights have fallen at the hands of the Sith. It’s up to you, a nameless protagonist, to save the Jedi Order from becoming a memory. You must protect the Republic’s last hopes, the Jedi knight Bastila Shan. Unfortunately, the Jedi are hellbent on interfering with your plans. After the squirmish, you and Republic soldier Carth Onasi need to hunt down Shan as they escaped before you. Can you master the power of the Force or will you succumb to the Dark Side?

Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic is an action RPG game where players play as customisable human character/crew member of the Endar Spire. The game’s combat is a mix of turn-based and real-time battles while a sprinkle of random Dungeons & Dragons dice-based calculations; it can feel random and unresponsive as times as your actions (attack, healing, or what have you) will have to wait their turn before being executed. This can be problematic, especially when getting multiple misses and enemies use overpowered attacks.

A long time ago in a galaxy far away…

As with any good old RPG, you’re not alone in your adventure. As you pilgrimage through the galaxy, you’ll come across friends who will tag along with you in your party. You can switch to them to move around and be used in combat. When in combat, characters controlled by the A.I. will behave according to their programmed limitations, so don’t expect to be as smart as today’s A.I.s. Another benefit of having a crew is that some party members will have abilities that the main character doesn’t such as unlocking/hacking locked doors. Given that it’s a Star Wars RPG, you can expect the game to make you choose between the Light and Dark Side depending on your choices made throughout your intergalactic romp. The quest system as a whole is pretty solid giving players a plethora of ways to conquer each area; although sometimes it can be frustrating to figure out where to go next.

The biggest issue here is that this game clearly shows its age, especially combat-wise. It feels and plays like an archaic RPG that feels like random button-mashing more than anything else. Another nuisance that hinders the experience is HUD and menu navigation. It takes a while to get used to the menus and some of the more useful mechanics are hidden behind complex menu navigation.

The Force feels Archaic

The game does show its age, let’s not kid ourselves, but even by today’s standard, it holds up well; they’ll still make players feel like they’re in the expansive Star Wars universe. Additionally, aside from expected loading screens, the game runs surprisingly well on Nintendo’s now near six-year-old hardware and it rarely, if ever, sees a drop in resolution or frame rate. As far as the audio goes, most of the voiceover actors performing the core characters’ voice work are strong and believable, but there are some weaker, more stiffed performances that can drag the experience down a bit. The soundtrack itself, while admirable and faithful to the Star Wars universe, is quite forgettable.

While Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic may have revolutionized the RPG genre back in the early 2000s, it has not aged well; feeling more like a clunky game than a fun experience. That said, the game’s saving grace is its gripping narrative. Newcomers to the game might feel a bit turned off by the archaic mechanics. With the archaic mechanics, Knights Of The Old Republic is a prime example of a game that should’ve stayed in the past as it will mostly appeal to those already familiar with it. Take this trip into the Galaxy at your own risk!

3 out of 5

3

Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic can be purchased on the Nintendo eShop.