KOTOR is like Neverwinter Nights - get three quarters through on the first try, give up and start again with knowledge of how the game works and then spend the next ten years doing the first couple of areas with different builds.

Khaye Baasch is the best Star War character, so glad he's finally getting some recognition

The reason the center path doesn’t ultimately lead to anything is because it cannot. The chaotic nature of the force resists it, human nature strays from it, ultimately if you use the force sight on Kreia in the final fight she shows up not as the mostly balanced near-grey she has been for the rest of the game, but instead as a solid red, even her failing at her principles

Feels amazing when Kbash covers one of your favorite video games

The thing with Kreia is that she'll call you choice wrong no matter what. If you don't help the gy, she'll berate for it too. You have to show you're thinking about the consequences of your actions to gain influence with her. It doesn't always work well with the clunky dialogue system, but once it clicked for me it made love her character.

I feel so vindicated when I hear KBash give glowing praise to KOTOR 2. It's always been my favorite for the reasons he stated. Obsidian really knows what they're doing when it comes to complex choices in western RPGs.

This is the KBash RPG content I wanted.

Jade Empire would be neat to look at in relation to these

Thank you for your passionate examination of these games. I hold these series very dearly and I think you did an excellent job slicing up the good and the bad of it all 😄

This series was made to be engaged with in your format, glad you gave it its proper due. Can be really tempting to power through or gloss over stuff that dated but i appreciate being able to experience it for what it is, where it is. By doing so you've added some more insights to my own understanding of the series, thank you

KBash uploading a video on Star Wars KOTOR on May the 4th is extra cheeky

Kreia did nothing wrong.

KOTOR was such a rad series

I'm glad that, despite the numerous technical issues behind the games (which is especially noticeable these days) AND having no real connection with Star Wars as a franchise you were still able to come out of KotoR with some amount of appreciation for the characters and the story being told. I'll admit as a SW fan, I've always enjoyed being able to explore the smaller details and the nuance behind the different characterizations of the force in SwtoR 2. Kreia especially had me question my actions as a teen, always trying to do good but never understanding why I would strive for that. That and the fantasy of having your own lightsaber color as well as being able to train and influence companions was big for me. It's a bit of a shame that you didnt get to experience handmaiden as I enjoyed her character quite a bit with the way she struggles with wanting to be a jedi but still having to deal with her lineage (and Atriss). Its a huge moment when you convince her through your dialogue, fighting, and actions that Atriss is wrong. I'm sure theres many characters like her these days, but back then it just hit different for me. Overall thanks for making this and suffering through some buggy messes for our entertainment and opinions! Always happy to hear the takes of others as we all have different approaches and mindsets and the information from such differences is valuable and appreciated!

The important aspect of the restored content mod is that it… adds the ending again. The droid planet is at least on computer a seperate mod and I believe that one is the thing that is generally considered cut content that was not necessary to add back in, but yeah, restored content mostly fixed it by putting back in an ending

The thing I really liked about these games is them not having in-game codex. If you wanted to learn about the world you needed to ask someone about it (usually someone who actually seen it) or trust item descriptions. Souls games don't really do this the same way, they are much more... Mean about it's lore, in kotor people sometimes lied but most information was actually there. I don't say it's better way to do it, I just think it's neat. And I prefer it over lore spreadsheet in more modern RPGs

Nah I feel ya, Aspyr lied about the Switch version getting a patch/mod of all the fixes and additions the up to date versions had but they went weirdly silent and we haven't heard anything from them since. so I feel you, you def aren't the only one and I wish I was smart enough to help you. Also wtf bro I LOVE Jade Empire , I thought I was the only one! Please you have to find me before it's too late only we can save the world because we're drift compatib-

Loved the first. Blew me away back in the day, but I never got around to part 2 despite always "meaning to go back to it."

Not sure what you mean. Gray Jedi playthrough has you practically overpowered by the end because of all the bonuses kreia gives you for following her teachings. Also with RCM you can still sequence skip and kill mini bosses on accident. RCM just makes the game less glitchy and adds in some dialogue that fleshes out the story.

I genuinely don't understand how you can say that a bad translation is "incidental" to a game, story is one of the most important parts of an RPG and if it has a bad translation you might as well just not play it. If they gave Xenoblade a shitty translation with broken English that would absolutely ruin the experience and bring down the games quality.

My girlfriend also laughed out loud when Anakin screamed "I hate you!" so I know you're good people.

I love KoTOR 2 and Kreia in particular because so much of the game and Kreia is left up to interpretation. I've seen multiple researched, hours-long videos about Kreia and what she believes with very different conclusions. But what makes it cool is that there's always something interesting in whatever take you have. Personally, I always had the belief that Kreia was lying during most of her encounters, even at the end. I think she WANTED the player character to turn to the Light Side, and be unwavering in their devotion, to be able to combat the 'hidden Sith threat' she constantly alleges to. The entire game is about her training and confronting the player character with conflict to forge a Hero that can turn the tide of Destiny. She never WANTED to kill the player character, it was just a show, to force them to grow. But if you saw her as a character that simply saw the player character as something completely opposed to her own beliefs, that she disliked or despised, that's also, at least a little, more interesting than most video game villains.

man I was having such a bunk day and this is just what I needed. thanks kbash.

Before watching anything I have to do what all of us star wars fans do and rage. HOW DARE YOU WROOOONG. Okay I'll go enjoy your content now.❤

Play the SWTOR mmo, it's good. It's not too bad of a grind, and the base game with most of the interesting writing in it is spread across the unique intro planets and quests. I'd say do all of them once to get a feel and then go with the character you feel the most attachment to.

Another rad vid from my fav youtuber. Thanks dude

Star Wars fans would never complain about Bastila having a different lightsaber color because they would know that the color of the lightsaber a Jedi has indicates what type of Jedi they are.

Excellent review. Appreciate the candor and honesty on what worked and didn't for you. A game series so beloved but that didn't cause you to play nice so to speak to not enrage the fans. Great stuff.

Hey there, I stumbled into this video after seeing you were also in Eurothug's video on Siren! Very glad that this game series is getting attention - I'll say that KotOR 2's restored content patch *does* end up padding out the pacing by a fair margin. I personally love it to bits, but this is also a Nostalgia Trip for me. I love how you came to completely different conclusions than I did about KotOR 2's story and plot, and read many of its characters in a completely different way to me. My own read on it is that the "wound in the force" is a metaphor for trauma and PTSD, and the game is Therapy-With-Lightsabers for you and all your companions. While I could say "Ooh, yeah, I disagree with THAT take", the fact is that the text is deep enough and the artistry is well-enough crafted to totally support alternate readings - and I really appreciate and love that about it! Thank you for giving me a video to spend a cosy 47 minutes of my Monday evening in!

Jade Empire is a hidden gem, if you like Bioware ARPGs you gotta play Jade Empire.

Gotta be honest, I don't think this video has the Kbash oomph that most of your videos do. It feels really dry and technical, I feel like you described the game (both technically and gameplay wise) but didn't link back to either something personal or comedic (there were a couple moments I liked but I think talking about these games and not talking about star wars as a larger thing just doesn't work so good). Still excited to see more, hope this doesn't stick in your craw so to speak.

I can't believe he said the KOTOR 2 characters weren't interesting. I'd really like to know what he considers an interesting character

now THIS is swoop racing

The big issue with the restored content mod is that while it does make the ending slightly better, it absolutely murders the pacing in some cases. I think the biggest cardinal sin here is that people have confused the fact that all of the unfinished content was meant to be in the game, without recognizing that some of the stuff is cut for a reason not because Obsidian ran out of time.

I’m a massive Star Wars fan and I gotta say, seeing someone who’s not all that invested in the IP review a beloved title is extremely entertaining. It can be difficult to look past your own fandom sometimes, so seeing an outsiders perspective is awesome. KOTOR 2 is a perfectly written example of why we love the world of Star Wars so dearly. Great stuff dude 🤟🏻

The mobile port for Kotor 1 is great! Bluetooth and wired controller support, and no bugs that I've run into on several devices, a heads up for you n others thinking about it.

Its kinda funny when i played kotor 2 the last time something kinda crazy for me happened. I started the game on the dark path but when i got to the snow planet and talked to atris. I realized how much i actually cared about doing something good in the game. She tells you you were wrong for trying to go and actually save the galaxy. She and the jedi council wanted to sit around and do nothing while the mandalorians who were literally a threat to the galaxy started a war. And for me games like this never give me a good reason for the most part to follow the good route but this one did in such a compelling way. I absolutely love both of these games.

love ur vids thanks for making them

have you ever thought.. the world could be beautiful.. christ man why you gotta do me like that i'm dying here

never played kotor and never will but i will rewatch this video at least 10 times in the next month god bless Kbash

The dark side path for KOTOR is so satisfying because you get to kill all those awful boring party members. Ordering the wookie to murder the tentacle hair women is a cherished gaming memory

YOOOOOOOOOOOO I hope this doesn't get claimed.

You know I would've found Bastilla annoying too, but Jennifer Hale is also the voice of Naomi from Metal Gear, so having grown up with that character I was kinda already used to that voice talking down to me lmao

Alright but your hair looks real real good dude. Like, good work taking care of it like that

Even when I'm not trying to talk about Persona, it finds a way in. Jokes aside though, I agree with your thoughts on Bastilla and I think the Yukari comparison is really good. Also the Exile only has amnesia if you want them to (So basically your first play through since the player shouldn't know the Exile's past) but you always have the option to act like you know. It makes the Exile feel more like an actual character than Revan in KOTOR 1 which is good because she is featured in a lot less material after this game

see you next year for SWTOR review (he'll play the 8 origins stories + 2 factions specific expansions + 5 expansions)

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1894">31:34</a> Yeah, because people love to boink aliens with a head that looks like an artichoke for some reason.

I never heard anyone say that they don't like Bastilla. Maybe those that only played the beginning and didn't get to see her development.

A verified Kbased classic

Sure to be a KBASH CLASSIC

I am a real gamer, I played Kotor 1 5 times on the mobile port only.

Kotor was the first game I ever beat, 100% as a kid. I made GI Joe, a sentinel, as my main character. I had never been so invested and so fully immersed in any games characters as I was in Kotor (especially the first). Thank you kbash for talking about them. ❤

Man, I loved kotor. It introduced me to crpgs as a kid. I only knew jrpg style games and it was a whole new world to me.

correction. the jedi exile does not actually have amnesia. they know full well what is going on they just keep it form the player until it is relevant.

'No Redemption' You can actually redeem one of the Sith on Korriban and convince her to rejoin the Jedi. There's an NPC in the MMO who has the same last name implying that might even be Canon and had descendants. One of my few complaints with these games is the lack of Species choice. I'm playing a game about Space Wizards with countless cool Alien Species, why do you force (Pun Not Intended.) me to pick the Wheat Bread Option? Fun Fact, The Disciple replaced another character that was planned, a character way cooler than him, a Devaronian Jedi who Hunted the Sith who was slowly falling to the Dark Side, I'm guessing you would have had the option to either reverse the fall or make him fall. So of course we got The Disciple instead because..............I don't fucking know.

hey whatd you think his hair routine is? does he use a masque? if not id be surprised

Not a star wars fan but I am a Kbash enthusiasts lol. You got anything to say about Armored Core? Since the new one is coming out and you have covered the souls stuff I wonder if you have any experience in that arena. Keep it up man your videos are awesome.

Jedi: We rehabilitated you and removed your libertarianism. My Revan: Taxation is theft, fuck you. *force storm intensifies*

Not many know the secrets of the open palm and the closed fist.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1008">16:48</a> did you just use YIIK music and why did I recognize it's form YIIK

Nice, a KOTOR essay that doesn't tiringly whine about the Jedi

Not kept up with Star Wars? What a lucky opportunity to watch Andor in blissful ignorance of so much of the other stuff 😅 Although it’s just as rigid in a lot of ways I feel like Kotor fulfilled so many of the promises Neverwinter nights never quite lived up to. I don’t know if it was the beginning of design catering to consoles or the increased focus on 3D spectacle, but compared to earlier crpgs everything that followed was just less granular - in terms of world interaction, itemization, party dynamics, actions in combat, etc. but somehow kotor 1 and 2 still managed to surprise you when they transgress the bounds of those limited expectations. Enjoyable watch as ever, cheers.

Watching these unoptimized builds is really funny in a good way. Also, Canderous Ordo is a powerhouse, especially in the first game. He may not have Jedi powers, but he's going to drop a lot of bodies

Excellent video. Well written.

Is it true they are planning to do a remake or remaster of this game ?

As the kid who made wookie noises in middle school... Because wrrrrooooorrrr fun.

DEW IT. DEW Knights of the Old Republic online. Dew it

Something tells me the comments ate gonna be wild in this one.

The timing is crazy I just loaded this game up and wanted to see a modern review 😭

I played KOTOR 2 cut content and it's cut for a reason at least droid planet. Part one is dear to me cause it has that optimistic SW feel and couple plot twists about redemption, I was hyped to KOTOR 2 Kreia but at the end got similar sentiment. You really missed on HK-47 thou.

I just saw Baten Kaitos and I instantly wondered if you have tried that series. I personally enjoyed Origins a lot.

i absolutely adore KOTOR2. genuinely top 3 favorite games of all time.

What feels funny to me is how people saw these games as a step down in complexity from baldur's gate and the other pc rpgs, and for little kid me, it was a whole complicated and new type of game that really wowed me lol I really miss the type of combat that these games and dragon age origins had. Bring it back!

I can't believe there's actually a game I know more in depth than Kbash

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="152">2:32</a> feels like a full on rite of passage Went through this myself recently on May 4th

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="592">9:52</a> dawg 💀💀💀

Quick take this [ENGAGEMENT] Also liked the intro

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="559">9:19</a> ThorHighHeels <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="874">14:34</a> also ThorHighHeels

Honestly, I've always enjoyed Star Wars, I watched the original trilogy as a kid with my dad, I had toys and enjoyed some of the games (super Star Wars, Jedi Knight games, X-Wing, Kotor 1). But Knights of the Old Republic 2 made me fall in love with Star Wars.

Grew up playing this game, beaten it at least 5 times, how the hell did I not know that lightsabers can spawn on Taris…

I'm actually more a fan of 1 then 2. Even if we ignore it not being really finished, 2 gets a bit to involved for it's own good, raises questions it can't answer and just personally i don't like that as much. Like on my first playththrough i had no need to go to Korriban storywise but the game made me, or how being neutral doesn’t give you the prestige classes. Sometimes simple IS better. Not always but here it was for me.

I always felt that the problem with Kreia is that she's done dirty by the game, especially on multiple playthroughs. Once you've seen everything she has to say and how she criticises you no matter what, there are only two possible conclusions you can come to 1) She's just a contrarian who will say you're always wrong while offering no real answers or 2) The game isn't finished enough to give you the options that actually make sense for her writing Given that option 1 is pretty lacklustre and doesn't seem to be the interesting character that Obsidian wanted to write her as, I have to believe in option 2. So what should she have been if the game had all the resources it needed? I think what she actually should have been encouraging you to do is to go down the Light Side path, but to do it with evil motivations - the idea being to help everyone, robbing them of their choices and opportunities to grow so that you could be the ultimately powerful Sith Lord, constantly growing in power by facing and overcoming other people's challenges, while leaving them to rot in their own stagnation and being perceived by everyone around you as an amazing Jedi. Kriea highlights the problem with these types of games in exactly the same way the morality system in Jade Empire does. Both games want to talk about how much player motivations matter in any given action, but then never give the player access to those motivations. A Light Side/Open Palm act is predetermined by the game to be good no matter what, even if you did it with an evil motive in mind and you are given no way to alter the game's perception of your action

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1008">16:48</a> So close but Infrablue Zedbeddy Coggins is a canon character who appears in Episode 7.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1112">18:32</a> I did not know that was possible

I've been playing these games and they're great.

You definitely should do swtor the mmo. That's the one I played, I never played Kotor 1 & 2. Hoping to get the chance with the remake.

what about kreia is utilitarian?

I have never had a sith playthrough in these games because I don't want to hurt these fictional characters. Okay there was this one time...

It's ridiculous that naga shadow piller puzzle still isn't patched. It was reported years ago. Aspyr says if you want the poison sword just use the console command lol. It wasn't a surprise when they canceled the restored content dlc for kotor2. At least the pc version of kotor2 has native controller support, so for me at least there isn't really any reason to get the switch version.

I think I could get KOTOR to run flawlessly on my system, but in your defense, I'm a huge nerd.

Yo man when you gonna review the Jak and Daxter Trilogy? Would love to see you cover it my guy

I know it was . Probably obvious to everyone else . But when I played the first game I didn't know you'd be a Jedi . So I went full blaster build but then everything kinda just pushed you to be a lightsaber guy . My whole build became obsolete and I couldn't respec

bruh the sneaker sounds made me chuckle haha XDD

Best time I had with KotOR was playing blaster build and without Jedi companions.

Man these seem like real schloppy ports, first im even hearing these puppies came out on switch, lol.

Maybe because I played it till it was in the ground, but I love the shit out of KOTOR 1, even more so than the second.

Revan didn't need to be rehabilitated, he was never evil to begin with as him being sith was to get the jedi to stop being complacent.

I’ve played it through 3 times and no matter what I do, Kreia shits on my decisions.

The TSLRCM is more or less a mixed bag, like you'd guessed. The good bits are worth it if you're an ultimate gigafan, but I couldn't say it's worth a second playthrough just to see the changes. Paragus is mostly unchanged. For the worse I think, but that's just because it has a lot of buildup, sucks for repeat playthroughs. Telos gets a couple quests and I think an alternate solution or two, it's fine, not better or worse. Dantooine comes out the best, it makes the exterior siege playable so your actions before it actually matter. Nothing else really worth saying about it. Dxun and Onderon were more or less finished, I think a couple dialogues get re-added but whatever. Mandalore gets the most out of it, there's a cool conversation with T3 you can't get enough influence for in the base game. Nar Shaddaa gets the worst of it in the base mod, you have like three new sequences where you play as your party members fucking around after you're captured, and none of the companions get anything to make up for it. Korriban itself isn't changed much by the mod, unless you make the horrible mistake of installing the M4-78 part. Now you've got an entire sequence of jack shit that's more or less made up by the modders because the only thing that was left was three massive maps and a couple dialogues. Endgame, you get the HK Factory, it makes up for everything else. Watch the HK Factory if you're never gonna replay the game. There's I think an extra sequence where you play as Atton or some shit? Mandalore and Visas smooch over shared love of nukes? Handmaiden can go evil if you keep her lightsaber on? Couple party members get to talk about how Traya's gonna fuck them up? You can detour to free your boys and get some fucked up loot too if you want, but Trayus Academy's already kind of long.

Thank you for your service playing the games I will otherwise never touch.