5 ★ (76)
4 ★ (24)
3 ★ (7)
2 ★ (1)
1 ★ (0)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a third-person science-fiction role-playing game developed by BioWare (Company) and published by LucasArts for the Xbox (Platform) on July 15, 2003 and the PC (Platform) on November 19, 2003.
Set four millennia before the events of the Star Wars (Franchise) films, Knights of the Old Republic has players take on the role of a customizable soldier of the Galactic Republic (Concept), who must find a way to stop a powerful armada of the Sith Empire (Concept) (led by Darth Malak (Character)) while uncovering the soldier's mysterious Jedi (Concept) heritage.
It is the first third-person RPG developed by BioWare (Company) (who later created Jade Empire (Game) and both the Mass Effect (Franchise) and Dragon Age (Franchise) series), with a combat system that mixes real-time movement (similar to action RPGs) with turn-based mechanics (based on the d20 system, likely inspired by the Star Wars Roleplaying Game). Along with extensive character building and numerous dialogue trees, the game features a dedicated morality system similar to Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Dark Forces II (where specific actions push the player's character towards either the "light" or "dark" side, unlocking extra narratives and easier access to specific Force Powers) and bonus mini-games (including swoop bike racing and an original collectible card game called "Pazaak").
Knights of the Old Republic later received a sequel in late 2004/early 2005, developed by Obsidian. BioWare (Company) later developed a MMORPG spin-off on December 2011 titled Star Wars: The Old Republic. The series also received numerous spin-off comic books and novels in the same timeline. The game's setting has origins in the 90's Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi comic book series and is considered part of the Star Wars expanded universe. Because of this, the game's story and added setting are officially non-canon.
The game was later ported by Aspyr to the Mac (Platform) on September 7, 2004, iOS devices on May 20, 2013, and Android (Platform) devices on December 23, 2014. Both the PC and Mac versions were bundled in a digital Steam (Concept) release on September 5, 2009. The Xbox version is backwards compatible with the Xbox 360 and was released on the system's online storefront on October 23, 2017. On October 24, 2017, it was made backwards compatible with the Xbox One.
KOTOR's gameplay consists of two parts, combat and dialog. The combat is turn based, although the animations give the illusion of real-time combat. The player may pause the game at any point during combat to get their bearings and rethink their strategy. The combat is based on Wizard of the Coast's d20 system. Your character may be equipped with a long-range weapon such as a blaster, or a short-range weapon such as a sword or a lightsaber. In addition to your weapons, you can use force powers that your character has learned throughout the course of the game, as well as those of your companions. Special combat moves such as "Flurry" may be activated at any time during combat, which will increase your attack speed, your damage, or your chance of dealing a critical hit. To unlock abilities such as these, one must earn them through points gained by leveling up. There is a good variety of abilities and there are many options for customizing a character to fit the desires of the player.
The other half of gameplay is the dialog where you interact with the NPCs through complex dialog trees. The game allows for a wide range of moral choices and options so that even after multiple playthroughs new content may still be discovered. The player is encouraged to build an emotional connection with their companions by learning their back-stories and potentially even fall in love with them. The game tracks the player's choices throughout the game to determine their alignment to either the dark or light side. The player's alignment can alter the appearance of their character, and affects how companions react to you. All characters in KOTOR are voiced with exception of the main character, who remains unheard during dialogue sequences, though the player may hear numerous grunts and battles cries during combat.
The main character in KOTOR has a customizable appearance and skillset, with the ability to be either male or female at the outset, as well as the choice of three player classes. Players were also asked to assign attributes to the character such as their Strength, Willpower and Intelligence.
The character creation system in KOTOR is drawn primarily from Wizards of the Coast's paper and pencil d20 Star Wars RPG rules. Character classes, defense, hit points, feats, ability scores, experience points and even the level cap are all largely identical to the tabletop game.
Since the d20 system was used for third edition of Dungeons and Dragons, that means KOTOR is indirectly descended from Dandamp;amp;amp;D, whose first edition tabletop rules formed the backbone of Bioware's Baldur's Gate series.
Each playable character in the game is designated into one or more "classes", which affect their stats and special abilities. When characters level up (up to a maximum of 20), they improve their character based on their designated class.
The player character is unique as players start the game by choosing one of the three basic classes (Soldiers, Scouts, and Scoundrels) and later (between level 2-8 of their basic class) gain Jedi (Concept) training, forcing them to multiclass to one of the three Jedi classes for the remainder of the 20 levels (with no further progression towards the basic class).
The two droid companions are given their own unique classes with less Feat options and two unique Feats: Logic Upgrade and Droid Upgrade. They also cannot be healed by medicine or the Force, requiring use of special Repair Kits.
Gaining a level in either Basic class automatically allows the character to equip light armor and Blaster Rifles.
Gaining a level in either Jedi class allows the character to use Force powers (gaining new powers and power improvements every level), equip lightsabers and special Robes, and gain new Feat options (increasing the efficiency of lightsaber bolt deflection, base defense bonus). However, both their Skill and Feat progression are slower than most of the basic classes.
In addition, the player character gains additional Force stamina (thanks to the free exclusive Force Sensitive feat) and can gain two levels of Force Persuasion as Force powers, gaining new options in some dialogue trees.
The game includes nine companions that can join the player character in their missions. Players can choose up to two squadmates at a time (but will sometimes need to complete parts of the game with just the player character). The fates of certain characters can change over the course of the story.
During the prologue mission, generic Republic soldier Trask Ulgo (Character) is the player character's sole squad member as a tutorial sequence.
| ===Carth===
A Republic war hero, expert pilot, and former Commander of the Endar Spire, Carth Onasi (Character) escapes the ship with the player character and works with them to escape Taris (Location) and help the Republic. He is cautious about trusting people since his previous mentor in the Republic fleet betrayed him and joined the Sith (leading the destruction of his homeworld). He is recruited during the mission "Search for Bastila", and is also a potential love interest for the player character (female only). Class: Soldier Weapons: Blaster Pistols, Blaster Rifles, Heavy Weapons, Melee Weapons Armor: Light, Medium, Heavy Starting Level: 4 Starting Attributes: STR 13, DEX 16, CON 12, INT 13, WIS 10, CHA 12 Starting Feats: Weapon Specialization (Blaster Pistol), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting |
| ===Bastila===
A young, ambitious Jedi Knight, Bastila Shan (Character) is proficient in "battle meditation", a special ability that lets her use the Force to boost the morale and battle prowess of all nearby allies in a large range. She also shares a unique "Force bond" with the player character, which allows both of them to share special visions over the course of the game. She is recruited during the mission "Search for Bastila", and is also a potential love interest for the player character (male only). Class: Jedi Sentinel Weapons: Lightsabers, Blaster Pistols, Melee Weapons Armor: Robes Starting Level: 3 Starting Attributes: STR 12, DEX 18, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 15 Starting Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting, Flurry |
| ===Mission===
An optimistic teenage street-smart Twi'lek urchin from the undercity of Taris (Location), Mission Vao (Character) was abandoned by her shifty older brother Griff and grew up with her best friend Zaalbar (Character). As she learned to fend for herself for a time (gaining the technical skills that helps the player character infiltrate the Black Vulkar gang base), she is greatly incensed when it's suggested that she is incompetent because she is "just a kid". She is recruited during the mission "Search for Bastila". Class: Scoundrel Weapons: Blaster Pistols, Blaster Rifles, Melee Weapons Armor: Light Starting Level: 3 Starting Attributes: STR 10, DEX 16, CON 12, INT 14, WIS 11, CHA 10 Starting Feats: Dueling, Caution |
| ===Zaalbar===
A powerful but shy Wookiee, Zaalbar (Character) is the best friend and guardian of Mission. After his rescue from the player character, he swears a life debt and becomes a loyal ally. It's learned that prior to arriving in Taris (Location), he was exiled from his tribe in Kashyyyk (Location). He is recruited during the mission "Search for Bastila". Class: Scout Weapons: Blaster Pistols, Blaster Rifles, Melee Weapons Armor: Light, Medium Starting Level: 4 Starting Attributes: STR 20, DEX 13, CON 20, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 8 Starting Feats: Weapon Focus (Melee Weapons), Improved Power Attack Bonus Feat: Wookie Toughness (increased vitality and damage resistance) |
| ===Canderous===
A battle-hardened Mandalorian (Concept) war veteran and mercenary, Canderous Ordo (Character) worked for crime lord Davik Kang (Character) before helping the player character steal the Ebon Hawk during the Sith blockade. A firm believer of the Mandalorian code, he doesn't bother with morality and only joins the player character to find worthy adversaries. He is recruited during the mission "Escaping Taris". Class: Soldier Weapons: Blaster Pistols, Blaster Rifles, Heavy Weapons, Melee Weapons Armor: Light, Medium, Heavy Starting Level: 5 Starting Attributes: STR 15, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 14, CHA 10 Starting Feats: Weapon Specialization (Heavy Weapons), Improved Power Blast, Rapid Shot, Toughness |
| ===T3-M4===
A custom-ordered T3-series utility droid commissioned by crime lord Davik Kang (Character) to infiltrate the Sith military base on Taris (Location) and escape the Sith blockade, T3-M4 is instead bought by the player character (at the suggestion of Canderous) and becomes part of their crew. While his combat attachments are not very effective, he is heavily skilled in electronics (including locks, computer systems, and broken droids). He is recruited during the mission "Escaping Taris". Class: Unique (Expert Droid) Weapons: Blaster Pistols Armor: Droid Plating Starting Level: 3 Starting Attributes: STR 10, DEX 15, CON 14, INT 20, WIS 10, CHA 10 Starting Feats: Gear Head, Caution |
| ===Juhani===
A hot-blooded Cathar Jedi Knight, Juhani (Character) believed herself lost to the dark side as she reveals that she killed her master in a fit of rage. While tainting the ancient grove outside of the Jedi academy in Dantooine (Location), she fights the player character in a duel. If she survives, she later joins the Padawan to redeem herself. If she is spared in the mission "Jedi Trials", she is recruited during the mission "Quest for the Star Forge". She is also a potential love interest for the player character, regardless of gender. Class: Jedi Guardian Weapons: Lightsabers, Blaster Pistols, Melee Weapons Armor: Robes Starting Level: 6 Starting Attributes: STR 13, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 14, WIS 12, CHA 13 Starting Feats: Conditioning, Power Attack, Toughness Bonus Feat: Force Camouflage (allows her to enter Stealth mode without requiring a Stealth Field Generator) |
| ===Jolee===
An old and mysterious Jedi hermit who spent decades living in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk (Location), Jolee Bindo (Character) is considered a "Gray Jedi": one who does not adhere to the Jedi code and yet has not fallen to the dark side. After helping with the player character's quest in Kashyyyk, he joins them out of boredom. He is recruited during the mission "Star Map: Kashyyyk". Class: Jedi Consular Weapons: Lightsabers, Blaster Pistols, Melee Weapons Armor: Robes Starting Level: 6 Starting Attributes: STR 12, DEX 16, CON 12, INT 12, WIS 15, CHA 15 Starting Feats: Improved Dueling, Conditioning |
| ===HK-47===
A Hunter-Killer assassin droid of mysterious origin, HK-47 can be purchased from a shop on Tatooine (Location) to help communicate with the native Sand People (or just to accompany the crew as an effective combat droid). Despite his affinity for causing death and his misanthropy (referring to organics as "meatbags"), he is loyal to his master and sometimes acts as a comic relief. He can optionally be recruited during the mission "Star Map: Tatooine". Class: Unique (Combat Droid) Weapons: Blaster Pistols, Blaster Rifles, Heavy Weapons Armor: Droid Plating Starting Level: 6 Starting Attributes: STR 16, DEX 14, CON 10, INT 14, WIS 12, CHA 10 Starting Feats: Weapon Focus (Blaster Rifle), Power Blast, Toughness |
Unlike Actions, Force Powers require use of a regenerating Force point gauge (shown in blue), representing the user's "stamina". While universal powers require the same amount of points for each use, both Light Side (defensive) and Dark Side (offensive) powers are unique in that their point cost adjusts depending on the user's current alignment. (For example, a very high Light Side user requires upwards to 50% less points for a use of a Light Side power and requires upwards to 75% more points for a use of a Dark Side power)
Some Powers can only be unlocked at certain character levels (which is the combinated class level for the player character), while some Powers cannot be used while equipping Armor (with the exception of casual clothing and Robes).
Effects that require a save are based on both the user's character level and the user's Wisdom and Charisma modifiers.
When the game begins, the Soldier wakes up on the Republic cruiser Endar Spire that is under siege by the Sith flagship Leviathan, led by Darth Malak (Character). With the help of Republic soldier Trask Ulgo (Character), they must navigate the ship and evacuate down to the planet Taris (Location).
This mission is short, linear, and is used as the game's main tutorial sequence.
Knocked unconscious for days from the crash landing, the Soldier wakes up in an apartment in the Upper City of the planet Taris (Location) by fellow Republic soldier Carth Onasi (Character). With the entire planet under Sith lockdown, the pair must search for a key Republic asset that also escaped the Endar Spire: the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan (Character).
While investigating leads in both the peaceful Upper City and the hostile Lower City, the pair learns that Bastila is captured by the Black Vuklars gang and used as a prize for the winner of an upcoming swoop-bike race against the Hidden Beks gang. The Soldier is recruited by the Beks to infiltrate the Vulkar's base for a key swoop-bike component (with the help from street urchin Mission Vao (Character) and her friend Zaalbar (Character)) and then win the race for either gang.
Once Bastila escapes capture and joins the crew, they must find a way to escape the Sith blockade. With help of the mercenary Canderous Ordo (Character), the crew must infiltrate a Sith facility for request codes and then infiltrate crime lord Davik Kang's estate to steal his prized ship: the Ebon Hawk.
The crew escapes to the rural world of Dantooine (Location), home of the Jedi (Concept) Council. Sensing a high concentration of the Force within the Soldier, the Council has the Soldier undergo a series of trials to become a Jedi Padawan (one of which is encountering the fallen Jedi Knight Juhani (Character)).
Once the Soldier becomes a Padawan, the crew is ordered to investigate mysterious ruins close to the Jedi Academy.
In the ruins, the crew learns about an incomplete "Star Map" leading to the mysterious "Star Forge". Believed to be tied to the Dark Lords Revan and Malak, the crew must search four planets shown from the Star Map for additional Star Maps.
Considered the main mission of the game, the planets can be done in any order:
In addition, players can navigate to a space station orbiting Yavin IV (Location), where the Soldier encounters a friendly inventor named Suvam Tan. Through him, the Padawan can purchase rare items and equipment not available anywhere else in the game (including unique lightsaber crystals and infinite-use droid weapons) and can sell inventory for higher prices. More inventory is available as more Star Maps are found. On the Xbox version, the station can only be reached after downloading free DLC (making it impossible to reach after the shutdown of the original Xbox Live (Concept), if the player has not downloaded the DLC beforehand).
Once three of the four Star Maps are found, the Ebon Hawk is captured by the Leviathan. While most of the crew are either imprisoned or being interrogated, one crew member (designated by the player) must infiltrate the facility and rescue them. Afterwards, the crew must find the bridge controls to escape the Leviathan before the arrival of Darth Malak (who has a shocking revelation for the Padawan).
After the four Star Maps are found, the Ebon Hawk is piloted towards the coordinates of the Star Forge, only to be caught in a planet-wide power disruption field. It crash lands in a mysterious tropical world, which holds two sparring tribes of native species called Rakatan. Along with finding ship parts for the Ebon Hawk, the Padawan must convince one of the tribes to help them access the Temple of the Ancients to disable the field (revealing more information about the Star Forge itself).
Once the power disruption field is disabled and the Republic fleet is waging war against the forces of the Star Forge, the Padawan must infiltrate the space station and face off against Darth Malak in one final confrontation.
Although the cut content in the original Knights of the Old Republic was not as significant as the content that had to be cut from The Sith Lords, a few things were, including one planet that was mentioned in pre-release videos, a dark side romance option, and a brief encounter with Dead-Eye Duncan on Manaan.
The planet, called Sleyheron, was going to be a volcanic world controlled by the Hutts, a slaving center. This planet was supposed to have a Star Map on it, but was likely removed early in the development process to allow Bioware to focus more on their other five main planets. The planet Sleyheron is briefly mentioned in the game on Korriban by Yuthura Ban. It is also mentioned in a side-quest in KOTOR II, where Vogga the Hutt agrees to ship some of his fuel reserves from Sleyheron to Citadel Station, above Telos IV.
Also cut was an option for female Dark Side players who had fallen in love with Carth to repent at the very end of the game. After defeating Malak, Carth would board the Star Forge alone and convince Revan to give up her dark ways. Revan would kill Bastila, and remain with Carth aboard the Star Forge as the Republic forces destroyed it. In this ending, the Ebon Hawk would be destroyed, and all of her crew would be dead by the end of the game. This ending has been recreated via fan-made mods for the PC release of KOTOR.
The other known piece of cut content is on Manaan. If the player defeats Bendak Starkiller in the deathmatch on Taris, later on Manaan, Dead-Eye Duncan will appear in the hangar, having escaped the destruction of Taris, and will ask if he can use your duelist name from Taris, The Mysterious Stranger. This has also been re-created via PC mods.
Also, an early development idea was for there to be a subplot involving clones in KOTOR, but the idea was nixed by LucasArts so that KOTOR would not steal the thunder from the upcoming 'Attack of the Clones' film.
*3D Transform Lighting (T&L) Capability required
**Microsoft DirectX 9.0b is included on this CD.