BioWare’sKnights of the Old Republicfrom 2003 continues to be one of the most belovedStar Warstitles despite its age, outshining countless other games bearing theStar Warsname. Along with its popularity as aStar Warsgame,Knights of the Old Republicis regarded as one of the finest examples of RPG storytelling and worldbuilding, with a memorable cast of characters and impactful decision-making that would inspire RPGs in the following decades.Knights of the Old Republicused an adapted form of theDungeons & Dragons3rd Edition ruleset as the foundation of its gameplay, a system that has certainly begun to show its age today.
With a remake by Aspyr on the horizon, the various ways in which the remake could improve upon the original are worth considering. Aspyr is a veteran team when it comes to ports and rereleases with a catalog including mobile ports ofKnights of the Old RepublicandJade Empirealong withre-releases ofStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastandStar Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. Aspyr’sKnights of the Old Republicremake is its biggest project to date and will likely differ from the original in numerous ways when it comes to gameplay, with rumors suggesting it will forego the original’s turn-based system in favor of action RPG combat. This move paves the way forKOTORto draw skill and combat improvements from more recent games with similar styles.
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Mass Effect’s Gameplay Could Be an Excellent Source of Inspiration
BioWare’sMass Effectseries of sci-fi RPGs took much inspiration from their earlierKnights of the Old Republicproject, from its Paragon/Renegade morality system which mirrors Light Side and Dark Side choices to its strong emphasis on the player’s party members.Mass Effecthad a similar set of skillsto level up, ranging from the usual combat abilities to computer hacking skills that could assist the party in various ways. LaterMass Effectgames expanded on this by letting the player choose various skill paths that altered how these abilities functioned. Perhaps theKnights of the Old Republicremake could take advantage ofMass Effect’s more hands-on approach to its gameplay systems.
Mass Effecthad a wide range of abilities that party members could use, which generally fall under Tech, Biotic, and Combat-based abilities. Abilities could be mapped to control shortcuts or the player could initiate a tactical pause allowing them to select an ability and aim it at a target before unpausing, similar toKnights of the Old Republic’s real-time-with-pause system. The Tech, Biotic, and Combat categories also reflectStar Warscharacters perfectly.Mass Effect’s Tech abilitiescould translate to hacking skills and the abilities of droid companions, its Biotic abilities are essentially Force powers, and Combat abilities are suitable for soldier characters like Carth, Canderous, and Zaalbar. Indeed,Mass Effect’s combat seems perfectly suitable for aStar WarsRPG.
Mass Effect’s various hacking minigamesare also an example of how theKnights of the Old Republicremake could improve on the original.Knights of the Old Republicfeatured many locked containers that party members could open with sufficient skill and computer terminals that could be sliced to manipulate enemies or open up new opportunities. Opening locks and hacking computers inKnights of the Old Republicwas boiled down to simple skill point checks, however, with little engagement beyond a button press. While potential hacking minigames in the remake don’t need to be as tedious asMass Effect: Andromeda’s full-blown Sudoku puzzles, some additional player agency could liven up the process.
The Old Republic MMORPG Has a Solid Variety of Interesting Playstyles
Knights of the Old Republic’s combat was not terribly full of variety, with most characters either wielding blasters or lightsabers which used nearly identical sets of abilities such as the blaster’s Rapid Shot and melee weapon’s Flurry. Force powers were also rather basic, with an assortment ofDark and Light Side Force powerssuch as Lightning, Heal, and Force Speed. For the most part, abilities inKnights of the Old Republichad very clear uses and players could get through the entire game using mostly the same rotation. To make things more interesting in the remake, the variety of combat styles inThe Old Republiccould serve as a useful reference.
The Old Republic’s classes can all develop highly distinct playstyles. For example, Imperial Agents can become Snipers, which can further specialize either toward hard-hitting precision shots or utilize debilitating poisons and crippling effects to whittle away enemies from afar.Ranged Force Users like the Sith Inquisitorcould focus on harnessing the power of Force Lightning to deal bursts of damage or use their dark powers to heal and bolster their allies. The ability to specialize in this way gives players the chance to adopt their preferred playstyle or augment their team’s composition.
This sort of depth could certainly be explored in theKnights of the Old Republicremake as each party member could be developed to specialize in a particular role. Characters like Zaalbar could be specialized toward dealing heavy damage with his brute strength, or more toward survivability and bearing the brunt of enemy attacks.The droid companion HK-47could specialize in sniping enemies from afar with his enhanced assassin droid protocols or focus on saturating areas with volleys of heavy blaster fire. Force-focused characters like Jolee Bindo may lean toward healing and buffing the party or toward using the Force to debilitate and weaken foes.
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Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Nailed Lightsaber Combat
If theKnights of the Old Republicremake is adopting action-style combat,Jedi: Fallen Ordercould serve as an excellent model for how to handle lightsaber combat. In lieu of attack and defense dice rolls determining whether a strike hits a character, actually being able to dodge, parry, and deflect blaster bolts would be a perfect way to replacetheD&Dsystem. Cal Kestis even utilizes all three lightsaber configurations inJedi Fallen Order: single blade, double-bladed, and dual-wielded lightsabers.
The controls were fairly simple and it’s certainly possible forJedi: Fallen Order’s lightsaber combatto fit into an RPG without things becoming overly complicated. By looking at what has worked well in recent games, theKnights of the Old Republicremake has tons of opportunities to evolve from the original beyond being just a graphics overhaul.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remakeis in development for PC and PS5.
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