There is a classic saying, “Don’t fix what isn’t broken.” If you are ever making a sequel to a game that is flawless by all definitions, the natural impulse is to change as little as necessary. If it were possible to make an entirely new game while recycling a bunch of content from another,    you could save on costs and make fans happy at the same time. Even if it has the setback of lacking originality, being a sequel to a highly beloved game more than makes up for it. That is basically the story of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

The Role You Play

You play as an unnamed former Jedi who has fallen from grace with the Jedi Council. As your journey begins, you regain your force powers and relearn who you are. You can also make decisions that align you more with the light side or the dark side.

As you progress through the game, you are joined by teammates with a broad range of character classes ranging from other Jedi to droids to soldiers, scoundrels and scouts. You can also train some of your non-Jedi party members in the ways of the Force and make them into Jedi.

Plot

When you first wake up, you hear the voice of a mysterious old woman named Kreia. She slowly begins to reintroduce you to your Jedi powers that you rejected several years ago. You have no memory of your past, but it starts coming back in small pieces as you become reacquainted with your powers. You were forced to stand trial for war crimes on the planet of Malachor V and had your ties to the Force severed by a council of Jedi Masters.  In order to figure out the secrets of your past and regain your connection to the forge, you must reunite the Jedi masters and uncover the truth.

Gameplay

Knights of the Old Republic II uses the same turn-based combat system as the first game. You queue commands to your party members and they engage the enemy in back-and-forth combat. Each character has different specialties depending on their class. Their abilities can vary from attacking, special attacks, force powers, grenades, and healing items.

Each character can also use their skills outside of combat to hack computers, repair broken machinery, or learn additional information during dialog scenes.

Length

Knights of the Old Republic II is expansive with a lot of opportunities to pursue side quests and play mini-games. There is plenty to explore outside of the main quest, which is pretty long on its own. There is plenty of lore to explore and character development to do within your own party, in addition to the various NPCs you meet. You are free to dive as deep into each character’s back story as you want. The options you have change based on your gender, other party members and alignment to the light or dark side.

Music

The soundtrack is pretty much what you would expect from a game set in the Star Wars Universe. It does its best to be immersive in the environments and stays true to the original John Williams score. It does a good job of building up the atmosphere while not distracting from the action.

Quite a bit of the music is borrowed from the first game and the opening theme is from the original John Williams score, but those are both to be expected.

Notable Features

The big standout features of Knights of the Old Republic II are that it adds new features that the first game did not have. One feature in particular is that it increases the level cap from 20 to 50. Another big feature is the expanded options when it comes to customizing your equipment. You can now build custom parts for your armor, blasters, vibroswords and lightsabers. Each of these upgrades can make your weapons and armor more effective in combat. Your main character can also take on a prestige class. This allows them to take on a new class and learn a brand new set of skills in the process.

The Talking Parts

Dialog plays as big of a role in Knights of the Old Republic II as it did in the first game.  You retain your ability from the first game to take actions that shift your alignment toward either the light side or the dark side of the Force. Another notable feature is your ability to influence your fellow party members. Your influence can affect your conversation options with your party, affect their force alignment, unlock special items and bonuses, and help you learn more about their backstories. It can also help persuade certain members to study under you and learn the ways of the Force.

Z…We’ve Reached the End. Anything Else?

There is a lot of content in KOTOR II that has been completely recycled from the first game. Many of the interfaces for the dialog boxes and menus are identical to the first game. The character animations during dialog scenes and combat are mostly identical to the first game. The only content that isn’t copied are the abilities, location or other features that weren’t in the first game. The many recycled assets are understandable cost-wise, but they are difficult not to notice if you played the first game.

Final Summary

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords borrows a lot from its predecessor, but for good reason. It keeps a lot of what made the first game good and adds just enough to make the sequel feel fresh. Though lacking originality, it’s still a fantastic follow-up to an excellent RPG that I can easily recommend.

Final Score: 9/10

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