That is an IGN opinion piece from Ryan McCaffrey, who labored at Official Xbox Journal from 2002-2012 throughout the unique Xbox and Xbox 360 period earlier than becoming a member of IGN, the place he stays “the Xbox man.” In the run-up to Xbox’s twenty fifth anniversary, he’ll be sharing his reminiscences from the platform’s first quarter-century.
Again in its day, the unique Xbox was referred to as the “shooter field” – a status that wasn’t unwarranted. However when you ask me, Microsoft additionally deserves a ton of credit score for popularizing Western RPGs on consoles. The numerous unimaginable Japanese role-playing video games on Nintendo and PlayStation platforms dominated the style again then, however when Xbox got here round, that started to vary. Bethesda’s Xbox port of The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind was the first salvo in 2002, but it surely wasn’t till the following yr when Xbox very loudly proclaimed to all RPG followers: “You could purchase an Xbox.” In July of 2003 – traditionally a barren desert for main recreation releases – Microsoft and BioWare launched Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It Drive-pushed away any challengers, turning into not solely my private favourite RPG of all time, however one of the biggest video games on the Xbox.
And, dare I say, it was higher than any RPG on the rival PS2.
If you happen to haven’t performed KOTOR, I’m not going to spoil something for you right here. It’s a must-play that’s at present simply $10 on the Xbox digital retailer (because of backwards-compatibility it’ll run on any fashionable Xbox) and I’d argue it’s properly value that even 20-plus years later. It’s nonetheless fairly playable regardless of its age, and obtainable on a quantity of different non-Xbox gadgets, together with telephones and tablets. If you happen to’re exceptionally affected person, hopefully you’ll get a crack at a contemporary model if the remake introduced again in 2021 ever finally ends up seeing the gentle of day, however that far-off chance shouldn’t deter you from enjoying the unique model.
Knights of the Old Republic did virtually every part proper. Chief amongst its triumphs was one thing we’d all liked in pen-and-paper roleplaying video games however had hardly ever seen in a online game as much as that time: it allow you to be angelically good or horrifyingly evil. Mild and Darkish Aspect meters in your character profile confirmed you which of them path of the Drive you have been strolling, based mostly on your actions and selections. This made the marketing campaign each replayable and a field of infinite potentialities for the curious participant. I instantly took the plunge and embraced the Darkish Aspect throughout my first playthrough, just because I’d by no means performed a recreation that had let me be this evil and really have it matter earlier than. In fact, that is an concept that the KOTOR group at BioWare would construct upon for its subsequent venture, a bit recreation you might have heard of known as Mass Impact…
Ask anybody who performed KOTOR at the time and they’re going to virtually actually smile as reminiscences come flooding again: there have been the planets (like Kashyyyk and Tatooine), the characters (HK-47!), and one of the biggest plot twists gaming had ever seen. These traits are all timeless, and guarantee it stays a top-tier RPG, even when what was as soon as a cutting-edge recreation, technologically talking, now seems Roblox-like by right now’s requirements.
I reviewed it for Official Xbox Journal and gave it a 9.4 out of 10, which was fairly rarified air at OXM again then; for context, Halo: Fight Developed received a 9.6 out of 10. However what I keep in mind most about enjoying it at the time is the way it utterly and convincingly pulled me into its story and world. I cared about my character, I cared about my celebration, I cared about the selections I made. Its story caught with me for years after I completed it.
Knights of the Old Republic didn’t simply blow away every other RPG on every other platform of its period, it legitimized the fledgling Xbox as a spot the place top-tier builders have been going to make top-tier role-playing video games. And to be sincere? I wasn’t an enormous RPG participant earlier than KOTOR. However after it, I grew to become a much more critical fan of the style – notably of the Western selection. It’s not hyperbole to say that was completely as a result of of BioWare and what it achieved with what was, at the time, the greatest Star Wars online game ever made… and it wasn’t even shut (cue the X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter followers coming after me in the feedback).
In brief, it’s exhausting to overstate how particular KOTOR was. As a result of of that, I’m extraordinarily skeptical that any remake – notably after the growth hell it’s already been by means of – can come anyplace near doing BioWare’s masterpiece justice, however that’s a matter for an additional day. For now, although, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic stays one of the absolute best causes to have ever owned an Xbox, and it taught a technology of recreation publishers that when you belief your licensed mental property with the proper builders, magic can occur.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s government editor of previews and host of IGN’s weekly Xbox present, Podcast Unlocked, and a co-host of Subsequent-Gen Console Watch. He is a North Jersey man, so it is “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.