Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Why do Codexers like KOTOR 1?

Xor

Arcane
Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
9,345
Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Divinity: Original Sin 2
I'm convinced the only reason people remember KOTOR is because of the twist. Bioware figured that out too, and put twists in all their games after that for years. Maybe if I hadn't waited 8 years to play KOTOR1 and I hadn't know about the twist going into the game, I'd be defending it too. I doubt it, though. KOTOR2 has about the same gameplay but much better writing.
 

Prime Junta

Guest
KOTOR1 has a number of redeeming features. The pacing is good, the voice acting is, on the whole, good, the atmosphere is good, the story holds up well with a nice tension and the twist, it has some unarguably cool NPC's (notably HK-47), and it's more Star Warsy than some extremely megahuge members of the franchise. It may read like fanfic, but it reads like competent fanfic, unlike some things I can think of <cough>phantom menace<cough cough>.

Personally I liked it well enough. I also liked Jade Empire well enough. I haven't really enjoyed any BioWare game since; even DA:O turned me off with its MMO-ey gameplay, over-the-top grimdark, and dumb set pieces, despite also having some redeeming features (great C&C, dwarf noble origin story, fully-developed world).
 

raesha

Educated
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
53
Kotor 1 picks up a fair bit once you get past Taris imo, but its still inferior to kotor 2 for many reasons.

I think one of the reasons people remember it so much is because it rolled around at a time when the prequel movies were still kinda relevant and offered competent star wars writing, albeit it kinda flat and simplistic reading a bit like a fanfic.
 
Last edited:

Roqua

Prospernaut
Dumbfuck Repressed Homosexual In My Safe Space
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
4,130
Location
YES!
Because they love console games with super ridiculously easy combat and meaningless character development. And the clear black and white morality of the dialogue choices appeal to lowbrow monkey savages since it doesn't hurt their brain.
 

Bumvelcrow

Somewhat interesting
Patron
Dumbfuck
Joined
Nov 17, 2012
Messages
1,867,060
Location
Over the hills and far away
Codex 2013 Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Strap Yourselves In
Because they love console games with super ridiculously easy combat and meaningless character development. And the clear black and white morality of the dialogue choices appeal to lowbrow monkey savages since it doesn't hurt their brain.

Some of us like to have our latent sense of wonder stimulated. A quick blast around a science fantasy universe as a big epic hero is not a crime, as long as you don't make a habit of it*.

* See Mass Effect
 

Jools

Eater of Apples
Patron
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
10,652
Location
Mêlée Island
Codex 2014 Make the Codex Great Again! Insert Title Here Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2
Personally, I like it quite a bit and I dunno why. I'll try to self-diagnose.

-First off, when it was released, I had so far been an avid reader of Dark Horse comics set in the "old" SW universe, especially the Tales of the Jedi series, and KOTOR went just ahead and put that kind of feeling into an interactive form of entertainment;
-As a total lover of the Jedi Knight series, which had just gona full derp/retard with the Jedi Academy instalment, KOTOR kinda redeemed the SW videogame panorama a bit, and gave me the chance to see some more lightsaber action on screen (however in its silly, demi-RTWP, boring hybrid form);
-It's Star Wars;
-The story, however banalshitboring one might find it, featured half-decent writing and came across as a decent "fable" kind of tale;
-Bastila, even her low-poly self, is totally fappable to;
-Apart for a few sections/elements, the game was lightheartedly enjoyable and entertaining;
-I did like the D&D-meets-SW feeling, especially since I still was a big NWN fan (online shards, mostly) at the time KOTOR was released, thus the system felt kinda familiar;
-It was the first game (as far as I recall) that allowed the player to play different "classes" from the familiar character stereotypes (smuggler/rogue, trooper, consular/guardian/hybrid) we all knew from the movies;

Well, there's that, so far, and as far as I'm concerned.
 
Joined
Jan 28, 2015
Messages
891
Location
Canuckistan
My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
I like KOTOR, but I think it largely has to do with the fact it was a better prequel to the original star wars than any of the actual prequels. Star Wars was never deep, but it was briskly paced and fun. KOTOR really captures that even if it is easy. You never stick around one place too long, it's got an over the top twist, and enough of the companions are done well enough to not annoy you. Overall it's a shallow, but fun RPG. The biggest problem with the reputation it has is mostly in retrospect, Bioware never figured out how to improve on the design or writing they did in KOTOR and instead got worse.
 

vdweller

Arcane
Developer
Joined
Feb 5, 2016
Messages
625

I think it's Manaan, if memory serves from Empire ar War.

KOTOR came out quite some years ago. It was more of a deal back then, this and some other RPGs of that time like Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire etc.

It's difficult to shed any light on why one likes a game while a look at the past is so easily distorted by nostalgia or some generic fondness of years past. Granted, they might have been less shitty than the present, but it's not like the game came out in 1980.

Also, fuck writing from a smartphone.
 

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
5,703
Location
California
I think KOTOR has loads to recommend it. To begin with, its polish is extraordinarily high. To be sure, I recall some annoying console-style controls, but basically the game looked and sounded fantastic, had a basically functional camera, wasn't plagued by outrageous bugs (though I played it at least a year after release), and is -- in my opinion -- the best example of the Bioware plot formula. Is there anything more satisfying than finding parts of a map? The morality system is basic, but stuff like the character's appearance changing as he goes Sith is quite neat. The evil path has some great moments, even if they're a silly notion of evil. There are many laugh-out-loud funny moments in the game, and many satisfying moments, like when you finally get a light saber.

Obviously the Codex has lots of people who look past polish to the substance underneath, and the substance in KOTOR has its weaknesses. But sometimes it's nice to just play something that plays well, even if it's not deep, as oppposed to something deep that is also deeply flawed.
 
Unwanted

Manmower

Unwanted
Edgy
Joined
Apr 27, 2016
Messages
208
Location
The 14th Century
I liked K1 for the same reason I liked Zelda as a kid - it has an innocent charm that draws your into the game.

The game was neither gritty nor serious, but it never attempted any of that. It was a fun romp with feel-good characters.

And as much as we like to shit on Bio's writing, K1 has a believable story, interesting plot twist, and somewhat memorable characters.

A solid 8/10 in my book.
 

Severian Silk

Guest
I didn't like either of the KOTORs much. Characters/story made me cringe more in KOTOR 1, but KOTOR 2 was also kind of boring, and didn't feature as much exploration IIRC. Combat in both was pretty lame, especially with only three characters at a time. I would rather have had a party of 4-6 and isometric turn-based combat, or at least a BG clone.

(I actually can't think of a [isometric] turn-based RPG with 6 characters, other than ToEE. I am not counting RPG-lite games like Silent Storm or JA2.)

[edit]

Prelude to Darkness had parties of 6 and TB combat. And it is excellent except for the crude graphics. Why they don't remake this or release the source code so other people can, I dunno.

[edit]

Exile as well.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Mexi

Dumbfuck!
Dumbfuck
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Messages
6,811
I never finished playing it. The binary just killed me. I hate Star Wars' good and evil shit.

I'll say one thing. I had to come back twice. The starting part is so boring. It's only when you leave the starting planet that the game becomes fun.

I think if they flipped the setting on its head and got away from the good vs. bad shit, it wouldn't have been so bad. The combat is actually pretty fun for a casual RPG. The graphics are also really nice. I think they still hold up well, and everything is just so easy on the eyes.

I've never played KoTOR: 2, but I hear the storyline is better.
 

Mexi

Dumbfuck!
Dumbfuck
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Messages
6,811
Codex should be taken with a grain of salt. They claim to hate, hate, hate, modern gaming yet buy the latest shit and have 10,000 post discussions on it. Still better than elsewhere tho.
Eh, they lauded Wasteland: 2 as a good game. Enough said about the Codex.
 

Theldaran

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
1,772
I have two objections about KOTOR1:

- The pace is slow, and you've got to put in some hours to get to the good. But, you know, that's the thing with 50-hour games (even though HLTB marks 30 hours average for KOTOR1).
- You might finish the game and hadn't unlocked the full content for your party. It's better to stick with a consistent party to play all of their content. They have lots. This was a major upgrade over the BG's. Of course, some characters appear later in the game so you've got to be patient, and bring them with you at every occasion. The downside is the romances if you hate that shit.

Otherwise a solid game.
 

Ninjerk

Arcane
Joined
Jul 10, 2013
Messages
14,323
Then there's the whole issue of the gameplay being completely banal boring shit.
 

Theldaran

Liturgist
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
1,772
Maybe the system used was especially shitty, or at least especially shitty to simulate Jedis and so on. I have played D&D Third Edition during years, but not Star Wars d20.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom