While the tragedy of Darth Plagueis, a favorite Star Wars meme, may be quite funny, it doesn't compare to the greatest tragedy in the Star Wars universe - Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. What seems as though it should have been a no-brainer kind of sequel that would have taken the world by storm, trouble around its development ultimately caused KOTOR 2 to miss out on its full potential.
The hotly anticipated sequel to the awarding-winning original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, KOTOR 2, should have been a surefire hit. To a certain extent, it was - it sold well and gathered mostly favorable reviews from critics. However, it was hit by several changes behind the scenes at LucasArts, and the game was famously rushed by developer Obsidian Entertainment as a result, all stunting what should have been a brilliant RPG that offered something even grander than the franchise-shaking game that came before it.
To fully understand why KOTOR 2 is a tragedy, it is essential to look at the context of its development. Looking at what was going on behind the scenes at LucasArts and how that impacted game development creates a better understanding of the finished products they released. Only by taking into how that impacted KOTOR 2 can anyone start to realize the true scope of what could have been.
Star Wars: KOTOR 2 Can Afoul Of LucasArts' Issues
In the early 2000s, LucasArts was a publisher of contradictions. On the one hand, it had two new Star Wars games that were performing well and had been well received by the fans: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy and KOTOR (developed by Raven Software and BioWare, respectively). On the other hand, these titles were not generating the revenue it had hoped, and George Lucas knew something had to change to get LucasArts back on track. His solution was to bring in Jim Ward in 2004, who had been the senior vice president of marketing, global distributions, and online for Lucasfilm. However, that seemed to only add to the problems behind the scenes, as several LucasArts employees told Game Informer that Ward’s leadership style was challenging for some. He also lacked an understanding of how video games were made, partly due to his background being in movies; he could not understand that the games industry worked differently.
This led to uncertainty for many LucasArts employees veteran employees working on Star Wars games as milestones would be shifted, game concepts would be expanded or scrapped, and deadlines would change rapidly. All of this created an atmosphere of turmoil behind the scenes that ended up causing development teams to scramble while working on new game mechanics without the additional time or budget. As a result, LucasArts imposed strict and short deadlines on the other studios they were working with, which led to problems with games both internal and external.
KOTOR 2 Had An Absurdly Short Deadline
Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is one such game that suffered due to these issues. LucasArts wanted to capitalize on the success of one of the most highly lauded Star Wars games, the infinitely replayable KOTOR, released in July 2003, so it gave the sequel to Obsidian Entertainment. By October 2003, Obsidian had already begun development, but in an interview with Eurogamer in 2013, lead designer Chris Avellone recalled LucasArts giving the team an extremely short time frame to complete the game: only 14 to 16 months.
From a business perspective, it makes sense. A quick turnaround and getting KOTOR 2 out within a year would build on the success of its predecessor and waste no time about it. However, as Avellone notes, this led to large sections of the game being cut and the final product being released in an unfinished state. Feargus Urquhart, Obsidian's co-founder, told KOTOR 2 was originally given the time it needed, aiming for a 2005 release date but that LucasArts moved up to December 2004. According to Urquhart, he was faced with the choice of “get in trouble or get it done,” and so Obsidian chose to cut quests, scenes, and entire planets from the game.
Despite Its Shortcomings KOTOR 2 Is Well Loved By Star Wars Fans
So with all of these problems and an essentially incomplete game, why is KOTOR 2 so loved by the Star Wars fanbase? It won no awards, and reviews praised the plot and voice acting while pointing out the bugs, poor graphics, and other shortcomings. The answer to that comes down to the story of KOTOR 2 and what it brought to the broader, expanded Star Wars universe.
KOTOR 2 has the player in the role of the Exile, a former Jedi Knight cast out from the Jedi Order and disconnected from the Force. Throughout the game, with the help of companions, the player must reconnect with the Force, find Jedi Masters in hiding, and ultimately stop a terrible Sith plot. The storyline is clever, with some good twists and hints of the cut content, a tantalizing glimpse of what could have been.
However, what really makes KOTOR 2 still worth playing, despite the faults, is the wonderful new take on morality it introduced to Star Wars. Previously, both on the big screen and in games, Star Wars morality had been very black and white. In Star Wars video games, Jedi were good, and Sith were evil in a way that was quite clear, but lacking nuance. Reality has more subtleties, and people don’t often fall into such rigid categories. KOTOR 2 used that to its storytelling advantage.
KOTOR 2 is far less black and white than any other Star Wars game had ever dared to be, and this introduced some interesting concepts to the universe. The player finds themselves in this gray world, a former Jedi who followed Revan but didn’t fall to the dark side as he did. KOTOR 2 blurs the lines between Jedi and Sith, leaving all choices up to what the player feels is right. KOTOR 2 manages to get Star Wars gaming fans to imagine things from a different perspective, using its characters well, having made them nuanced and complex, to move forward a plot where moral choices actually matter. Players can follow a light or dark path but will find that it involves more ambiguous decision-making, as well as more unexpected outcomes.
Despite all its flaws, bugs, and being mostly unfinished, KOTOR 2 is still a high point for the wider franchise. Ultimately Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a game that deserved better. With more time to fully realize their vision, Obsidian could have created something truly exceptional with the Star Wars universe.
Sources: Game Informer, Eurogamer, Kotaku
