Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic - 18 Years Later
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- One of the greatest RPGs of all time.
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• Retrospectives
Timestamps, click to skip ahead!
Introduction 0:00
Bioware History 0:52
Gameplay / Combat 2:51
Character Creation 6:30
The Party System 9:34
Companions 10:45
Voice Acting 15:21
World Building / Immersion / Exploring 17:24
Questing / Mini-Games 19:58
Moral System 22:19
Graphics 24:30
Music / Sounds 25:21
Story 26:23
Legacy for Bioware 28:39
Conclusion 29:17
Welcome to Nostalgia Review, the flagship retrospective series for the Jwlar, produced by James Lewis.
This series will cover games, consoles, and all things geeky, new and old, that have imprinted a memory on me in some way, whether bad or good. Primarily, I will be re-visiting titles that I enjoyed thoroughly in the past, and am curious to see how they stand up in the present day. And hoping to drop in a little comedy and humor along the way!
One of the Greatest Games of all time... released 18 years ago, and still remains within the top 100 games of all time. Winner of multiple awards, and remembered by many as one of the best Star Wars games nestled within a mountain of others.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a legendary release not only within the Star Wars universe, but in all of gaming - helping to legitimize the western RPG market, and bring it to the masses - while revolutionizing character story building.
Not many games can claim to be as influential as Bioware's magnum opus.
But is this level of fellating still accurate? Is KOTOR as good as we remember? Can it still hold up after 18 hard years; and is the story still the masterpiece many claims it to be?
Bioware, founded in 1995, is now famous for the style it headlined with KOTOR, with titles such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age pulling direct influence from the Star Wars game.
Before KOTOR however, they had already found fame and success within the PC and D&D communities with titles such as the Baldur's Gate games and Neverwinter Nights.
The Developers had perfectly married their love for the D&D table-top game-style and world, with the technologies available at the time.
Following their success on the PC, Bioware wanted to branch out, having sold their license to producing D&D games; in the early 2000's they partnered with LucasArts to bring an RPG to the Star Wars universe.
At the same time, Microsoft we're developing their first foray into the console gaming market,
with the original Xbox.
Wanting to secure as many high-quality launch titles as they could, Microsoft would help finance KOTOR... for exclusive rights to release the game on the Xbox and the PC.
All of Bioware's ducks were put in a row, with the funding and IP rights they needed, Bioware was in the ideal position to introduce thousands of Star Wars fans and console gamers alike to the possibilities of a character-based story-driven RPG.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: 18 Years Later
#kotor #knightsoftheoldrepublic 2 #jwlar - Hry
Thanks for watching. Let me know what you thought of the video!
WOW, I did not expect a video of this high quality from someone with so few subscribers, I could tell the effort that went into this was extreme. You deserve to be so much bigger.
Thank you!
Gospel!
Wish there was a way to help pump your channel, beyond the obvious.
Please! Keep up the amazing work!
You can tell this video was made by someone who truly loves what he's talking about. Impressive, most impressive!
Thank you so much!
I still play this and Kotor 2 every couple of years and enjoy it just like I did as a kid
Same 😂
I didnt get to play them as a kid, instead playing them for the first time in 2015 and well into my 20s but I also started doing that, in fact I finished the first one last month and want to boot up II this weekend
Your channel branding is such an apt representation. A hidden gem. Anymore it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s only a matter of time until the masses find you, and I’m humbled to be here so early! Absolutely adored your Daggerfall retrospective. Tempted to download it myself, as intimidating as that title is.
This music reminds me of so many good memories of my childhood and adolescence, KOTOR 1 is one of the greatest video games I have been able to play in my life and the second is even better I think, deeper and fuller than the first one.
It makes me feel the same as when I hear the music of Oblivion, Morrowind and the very first Dragon Age
We would need a remake of all these games there with the Unreal Engine 5 on PC
This game is deeply ingrained in me, and i did a new playthrough (on PC with community fixes and mods) just 2 years ago and i agree with every statement you made, it has held up great and truly is a game that everyone should have experienced atleast once.
It also saddened me greatly.. because this reminded me of the stark contrast of how Bioware became the peoples champion, and how today they are slowly declining and decaying..
Great stuff, you got a new subscriber today :)
First time i touched this game i played for 21 straight hours. It was crazy. a total hook.
No sleep, barely eat, and few pissings.
OMG that's the longest i've been focused onto somthing. That's my body limit
That was on xbox, 20 years ago
Thanks to your video i think i'm gonna look it for PC
There is a cool mod called "Brotherhood of Shadow" and "Solomons Revenge". It at some part takes you back to the Mandalorian wars and how Revan fought with Malak against the Mandalorians. There is even the battle of Malachor V against Mandalore the Ultimate as Revan.
I remember getting this game on xbox in 2006. At first I got kind of bored because I couldn't get passed the dueling quest and I wasn't used to RPG's, actually kotor was my first introduction to rpgs. I decided to give this game another shot after I heard from a friend that you could learn the force later on. Im glad that I took his advice because I started a new playthrough, got use to the mechanics and let bioware teach me how much fun and immersive a star wars game could be. My little brother would go through a dark side play through and I would go through a light side one and we would watch our playthroughs when it was either of our own turns and saw how different the choices were. The story blew me away, the writing was so much on point and I remember exploring every area to grab everything and sell things I didn't want to get money to buy better stuff and see if the new stuff made any kind of difference in my playthrough. Thank you for talking about this game and delivering really great content and doing your research. This is the kind of polish big youtubers have and I look forward to your journey to become one.
Thank you so much!
Yes, this game’s story is legendary, I wanted to go deeper into it, but I think it’s worth experiencing it rather than spoiling it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Been watching a bunch of Knights of the Old Republic stuff after getting access to the game on my phone. This is one of my favorite retrospective breakdowns of the game I’ve seen so far. I’m glad I found it. Keep it coming.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I played KotOR like a dozen times, and I pretty distinctly remember getting my ass kicked by Master Vrook on Dantooine.
Hall of Fame game, no question. A BIG game, in many sense.
Works perfectly on iPad.
Very High Quality video my friend , excellent production and deep thought went into this liked subscribed and hoping to find more videos from your page in the future!!
OMG. I don't know how I didn't find this channel before (thank you Steam for showing it in the game's page). The level of work that's put into this (Editing, scripting, etc.) is incredible and very very well done. This channel is criminally underrated. U r awesome man, totally deserve millions of views. Keep the good work pls!!
Greetings from Chile:)
Loved the video. Just downloaded the game for my first playthrough.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hope you like the game :)
Kotor was an incredible experience for those who were into the Star Wars universe. It had million of hidden references. At the time there was a saga of books focusing in an alien species that come from outside of the galaxy, the Yuuzhan Vong. Well, Canderous Ordo does mention them casually when he was talking. The level of detail of the game was incredible. It made the experience very immersive for the fans.
Dantooine was a pain, the world was too big an empty and you spend hours walking to go from one place to another. Fortunately there was a bug, that if you were walking and fast save at the same time, the character teleported to the wall in front. It was extremely useful to walk through Dantooine.
I found all the minigame amazing, although I got stuck in the pod racing for a big while... I definitely dont share your opinion on the shooting one. It makes the game to feel more like Star Wars.
Unfortunately, I never finished the Kotor II because I always hit a different bug that never let me continue. I did try that game 3 times. That was the day I decided I will never ever buy anything from obsidian anymore.
This game MADE ME A STARWARS FAN!!!
One of my favorite games of all times!
Played it for the first time like 4 years ago. Held up well. Easily made it's way into my top games
Bro I love playing 1 and the sequel it is legit one of the best ever RPGS I had played
Kotor was my first Bioware game and to the kid who was obsessed with Star Wars this was a dream come true. 90s- early 00s was the golden age of Star Wars fandom the games we got were almost all high quality and Kotor is at the top, I could gush about this and Kotor 2 for a long time. I'll just say I've replayed this game many times over the years and Bastilla was one of my first crushes as a 9 year old child lol. Edit: These videos are all high quality, I'm confused as to why your subscriber count is so criminally low especially since your Daggerfall retrospective has over 2M views looking forward to getting around to that one.
Sick video, bro. Loved it.
Played and finish it for the first time this year. Fun game, probably one of the most enjoyable rpg experiences out there, even out of the Star Wars niche. Still, the combat is not amazing, the story is a bit shallow (its most memorable feature is the big reveal/twist), and some technical limitations hurt the presentation. But is it one the best games out there? sure.
I’ve just came across your channel and after watching this and your Morrowind video, I knew I needed to sub. Keep up the great work, dude. Your videos are top quality and I’m keen to see more!
Thanks!
This is really an excellent review - Thank You.
Glad you enjoyed it!
It's the "Dark Side of the Moon" of videogames!
What a fantastic comparison, Pink Floyd is one of the best bands of all time period!
I really enjoyed this! When I went to hit like I saw 30 likes and then I was like wait what? Then I saw the views and subs etc...and I just assumed that this channel was a big channel because you really know what you're talking about! I hope you continue to grow! Keep putting out high quality content like this and I'm sure you will :)
Thank you so much!
Came here after your ridiculously impressive Daggerfall video, I can tell you know what you're talking about because you chose the mullet man face haha. I heavily respect the effort you put into these vids.
A great look at an amazing game. One of my favorites.
It's wild to think that the writers thought Carth was so annoying, that he canonically was stripped of weapons and armor, and forced to beat his own son to death with his bare hands.
At least it's canon to my playthroughs.
Most underrated channel I've seen in a minute
STATEMENT: This is a great channel... for a meatbag creation.
You, deserve a lot much dude. Nice one.
Thank you so much!
Great video. Great game. This channel is gonna blow up. 💥
Thank you!
18 years and I didnt even realize Juhani could be a companion and I played this game to death hahaha just killed her every. single. time!
Played the game recently on steam, never had a more infuriating time PLAYING a game. And that should say a lot about it when its still my 2nd favorite SW game, beating force unleashed and battlefront 2. The story is great, the twist is famous and luckily I didn't know, the characters are all great. Building your characters the way you want, customizing your own lightsaber with different crystals. Even though combat was a slog or buggy mess sometimes, dominating your opponents is always a great feeling. Building a charismatic rogue who rejects the use of a lightsaber, but will still use the force when she needs to, relying on her use of blasters and silver tongue most of the time was incredibly fun and became such an immersive time, though unfortunately I did go stealth heavy first time over. I got lost in the game and I couldn't be happier for it.
Quality content about a quality game. Cheers.
Cant wait fir a remaster
Thanks
Thank you 🙏🏼
@@Jwlar keep at this brother your content is really good, it will pay off eventually. 🙏
What the heck was that deer/goat looking thing at like 17:56?
Also, watching this after your work on Morrowind... Great stuff! Keep it up :)
Thanks for watching! Glad you like it!
I think it’s an ‘Iziz’ - one of the animals restored with one of the restoration mods.
They don’t do anything, just stand there haha.
@@Jwlar It's correct name is "Iriaz" and yeah they are kinda essentially part of the scenery. Do nothing but make a loud noise ahah
@@supanova7522 Oh yeah, you're right! Thanks for watching :)
Whats the track in the background starting at 00:54 ?
THE GOAT
Mucha shaka baka
I still play on my series X I bought as a launch title
The KOTOR series was a breath of fresh air due to the absence of anything Vader, Emperor, Death Star and Stormtroopers imho....
Had no idea the music was by the Morrowind guy!
Kotor 3 was actually somewhat planned after the Kotor 2. It was supposed to be darker and more violent than the 2nd.
It's a shame we never got it.
Well, hopefully, the new rumors are true and we can finally have a Kotor 3 to look forward to.
@@Jwlar i worked as a game tester for swtor and most of the time I thought of it as kotor 3. If I remember correctly, there are some lore connections that it draws as well. Actually come to think of it swtor had surprisingly well designed SP lore for a MMO
the xbox version used to crash on me after i beat the krayt dragon on tattooine, so i had to replay the whole game on my pc and beat it
Answer: YES!
Kotor only remains challenging if you neglect the Force.
21:15 you were meant to change gear? I don't think I did that once no wonder i always sucked lmao
Will you review kotor 2?
One day, likely later this year.
I didn't like Kotor2 as much when I was younger becuase of the bugs, but after playing it with the Restoration Mod I can say it is as good if not better than Kotor1.
There's a lot more to say about that game too becuase of the theme and how it handles its approach to the force (wth Kreia etc.) so I'm going to hold off for a bit so I can make it as in-depth as it needs to be.
@@Jwlar Good. The restored content mod does make the game so much better. There are some points I broke my saves in Kotor2 and it just had to be 3 worlds into the play and game breaking and more than 20 hours into the game. 10 years later I dusted the game off and found the restored content mod and made my first play through of Kotor 2. It was better than I thought it was.
Im a huge kotor2 fan, played it dozens of times and have never played the restored content even though there is a way and have now got it on the phone i am totally clueless im not good with technology ill have 2 wait till covids over 2 see 1 of my mates to do it and set it up 4 me lol 😆
why is it that star wars video games have a tenancy to follow better story lines than all the films combined?
Minor correction: T3-M4 is an astromech droid, not a protocol droid.
I gave this game a few hours of my life and I enjoyed the world, writing, and it's willingness for you to explore, but I just couldn't get past the clunky combat and annoying minigames. I wish I could just cut them out
I'm one of those weird people who really enjoys the first KOTOR but did NOT enjoy the 2nd one, given its an unfinished broken mess without a large amount of mods.
No. it doesn't hold up. the story doese though. best star wars story ever.
23:04 Juhani didn't look attractive bit cathars are lorically attractive
KOTOR 1 and 2 offer better characters, stories, plots and atmosphere than Episodes 7-9.
I disagree with every claim of the game's challenge level. The moment you progress a bit so that you can customize your build a bit, and min-max a bit, the game breaks. I remember steamrolling the game on my first playthrough with a light side build with dual wield and optimal combat buffs. It was so ridiculously strong that the combat was walking up to the enemies (with boosted speed) and seeing numbers fly. The first fight with Malek was done in one cycle of attacks (under half a second) that the narrative bits of the encounter made no sense. And it makes no sense to laud this game for its 'sustained challenge'.
Granted, it was more fun (and required more button presses/clicks) in a dark side playthrough combat-wise (despite still being on the very easy side), but then the senseless/corny cartoon evil writing of western rpgs kick in to ruin the game in the narrative side.
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Having come here from your Daggerfall video (which I found brilliant), I found the lack of criticism here disturbing.
...
no KOTOR, no mass effect, no 90% of western rpgs since.
Junhani was probably my least favorite character. Every other character was gold and extremely well written. I don't think I liked juhani all that much because she was kind of whiney, always gloomy and bringing the mood down. I think her overall design and cat face also rubbed me the wrong way, maybe the accent to. I could see what bioware was going for that character, someone who struggles with the light and dark side, and this video actually helps me see that character a little differently.
I fully agree, I didn’t even know she was a companion until my second play through - I killed her straight away for being so annoying on my first one haha
Yeah I ignore them every play through. I just get them to be in the group to be my Jedi meat stick.
great game. didn't age well. i tried to play the sequel a couple of months ago, and it was just way too dated.