Knights of the Old Republic II–The Sith Lords

(Darth Sion on the loading screen)

Introduction

Think of the movie The Last Jedi. Imagine its themes: failure and redemption, blurred morality and the burden of legacy. That’s this game. This game explores how wars waged by powerful force users impact everyone in the galaxy, from the Sith Lords and Jedi Masters to the ordinary people just trying to get by.

(My female Exile slaying her enemies like a boss)

(To see my review of the first KOTOR game, click here.)

Summary

KOTOR 2 is an RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by LucasArts in 2004. Once again, you can choose your gender, face, base stats (strength and dexterity) and skills (demolitions and security). This time you also start with a Jedi class: Guardian, Sentinel, or Consular.

Your character is the Jedi Exile. You were expelled from the Jedi Order ten years ago for following Revan during the Mandalorian War. Also, you are responsible for destroying an entire planet of Mandalorians and Jedi allies in a desperate attempt to win the war. Your connection to the Force was severed, leaving a painful emptiness in your soul where the Force once flowed. Thanks to your exile and a recent case of amnesia, you are unaware of the galaxy’s current state.

Your character awakes in a kolto tank in an eerily empty mining facility on Peragus II. As you explore the facility, you uncover the mystery of the disaster that killed nearly everyone in the facility and find companions among the few survivors. You also learn that the galaxy is still reeling from the war that Revan and Malak started when they returned from the Mandalorian Wars. People no longer respect the Jedi but openly despise them, seeing no true difference between the Jedi and Sith religions. The Republic is struggling to restore order, a new Sith threat is rising, and bounty hunters catch and kill lone Jedi to sell to crime lords.

You have multiple goals this time:

1. Restore the galaxy’s order

2. Restore your connection to the Force

3. Find the hidden Jedi masters

4. Defeat the Sith Triumvirate

5. And come to terms with your traumatic past.

Like the previous game, your character can change their alignment based on their choices, either light, dark, or neutral.

The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod

For my first playthrough, I played a light-sided female Jedi Sentinel. I beat the game in only three weeks. I had rushed through the game, eager to find out what happened next, only to find an abrupt, rushed ending.

That’s when I discovered the Sith Lords Restored Content Mod (TSLRCM for short). This mod restores some of the content cut during the game’s production. This content includes several character interactions, side quests, and a more fleshed-out conclusion.

I used it for my second playthrough (another light-sided female–I wanted to experience the new content that I missed on my first time). With the mod, I had a longer and much more satisfying playthrough. Sadly, though, the mod still does not resolve every plot point or fix every bug.

For example, the mod restores an NPC Jedi Padawan named Kaevee living in the abandoned enclave on Dantooine. Before running off, she tells the player that she had found a Sith holocron. At first intrigued by its power, she soon grew afraid of it and threw it away from the enclave. Later, the player encounters a salvager claiming to have a Jedi holocron for sale, but the player quickly determines it to be a fake. So where is Kaevee’s holocron?

The mod is not necessary to enjoy the game, of course. But I do recommend it.

At the time of this post, the most recent version of the mod is 1.8.6, from May 3, 2021. You can find it here: https://deadlystream.com/files/file/578-tsl-restored-content-mod/.

New Features (Well, New for a 2004 Game)

The sequel features three new game mechanics: item creation, random item distribution, and influence. We’ll talk about influence in the companions section.

In KOTOR 2, the player can create items like energy shields and medpacs by taking apart unused items in your inventory.

The game also features random item distribution. Shops and footlockers will contain different items during each playthrough. For example, on my first playthrough, I found a green crystal and Baran Do robes at the Telosian shop, but on my second playthrough, I found the Jal Shey Advisor robes and a silver crystal.

Companions

The companions you get depend on your character’s gender and alignment. The Male Exile gets Brianna (the Handmaiden) while the Female Exile gets Mical (the Disciple). Light-sided and neutral Exiles get Mira (a bounty hunter) while dark-sided Exiles get Hanhaar (a psychotic Wookiee). T3-M4, HK-47, and Canderous Ordo return as companions (though Canderous calls himself Mandalore in this game).

The rest of the companions are Kreia (your mentor), Atton Rand (a scoundrel with a dark past), Bao-Dur (a fellow soldier from the war), Visas Marr (a blind Sith apprentice) and G0-T0 (an interrogation droid).

While each of your companions starts with their own alignments, you can now change those alignments through your influence. You gain influence by supporting your companions’ beliefs and preferences, and you lose influence by doing the opposite. Extreme high or low influence with your companions unlocks new dialogue trees with them. If you gain or lose enough influence with Atton, Bao-Dur, Mira, and Mical/Brianna, you can convert them into either Jedi or Dark Jedi. The higher your influence, the more their alignment will reflect yours. The exception to this rule is Kreia. As the mentor, her alignment is fixed. Instead, your influence with Kreia determines how much information she will share about Revan’s past and her own past.

(The Exile’s influence turns Mandalore to the light side.)

Dialogue

Like the companions from the first game, each one has a distinct personality, unique abilities, and good voice acting.

I mean, just take a look at some of these lines.

(This golden line is only available with through TSLRCM.)

(Bao-Dur, expert at throwing shade)

(This one doesn’t need a caption.)

However, while the dialogue (and writing in general) have more nuance in KOTOR 2, I found the companion conversations to be less interesting than in the first game. In KOTOR 1, each companion’s conversation is short (except for Jolee’s, because he’s contrary) and gives insight into their different personalities. In KOTOR 2, the companion conversations, for the most part, are long-winded philosophical debates. Characters would rather give you their perspective on the Jedi Civil War than talk about literally anything else.

This is not to say that their conversations are always boring (Kreia’s too-edgy-for-you hot takes were a blast), but that they could have been a lot shorter and less heavy-handed.

Romances

Romances in KOTOR 2 are far more subtle than in the first game, but I think they’re also less satisfying. For one thing, there are no kissing scenes. Of course, romances don’t need kissing scenes, but the ones in KOTOR 2 have almost zero closure to them. Only one of the Female Exile’s love interests ever confesses his love (and that only happens with the restored content).

Romances can only be pursued by achieving high influence with certain companions. Male Exiles can romance Brianna or Visas Marr. Female Exiles can romance Atton or Mical, with a brief opportunity to romance Darth Sion. (And by “romance Darth Sion,” I mean that Female Exile gets exactly one dialogue choice to reciprocate Sion’s creepy feelings for her.)

Romances are also involuntary. The game considers whichever romanceable companion with the highest influence with you to be the character that your love interest, even if all you did was have an ordinary conversation with them. Unlike KOTOR 1, you have no choice but to romance someone.

(A love triangle? Only found in the restored content.)

Story

The story this time has a much darker tone. In KOTOR 1, you play as the amnesiac Darth Revan. Despite your dark and twisted past, the Jedi Council welcomes you back with open arms, no matter your alignment. When your crew learns that you used to be Darth Revan, everyone, except for Carth, accepts you for who you are now. They happily follow you.

When the characters in KOTOR 2 find out that you are a Jedi, they hate you. They blame you for all the problems they’ve experienced, from the deaths of their families at Malachor V to the destruction Darth Revan caused after the Mandalorian War. While the first game glides neatly over all the consequences of Darth Revan’s actions, the second game never lets you forget yours. The Council accepted Revan, the Sith Lord who plunged the galaxy into a terrible war, back into the Order, while your character gets exiled for daring to return the Jedi.

But your character is not innocent, and neither are your companions. You are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Mandalorians and Jedi, and your companions hide secrets of their own. Together, you and your companions must face your past trauma, whether by embracing the peace and forgiveness of the light or by letting your pain and rage fuel your power as you take revenge on all who have hurt you.

(Vrook from KOTOR 1 returns to argue philosophy with my Male Exile.)

About the Darker Tone

Honestly, the game’s darker tone surprised me at first because I wasn’t expecting to play a Star Wars story that explored the consequences of its wars in this way. I actually got angry at the characters for insulting the Jedi and for blaming my character for all of their problems.

Don’t get me wrong: I still enjoyed the game, but I was not prepared for my emotions to run as strongly as they did. It’s always startling for me how I identify with the player character in a video game, even though I know that that’s a natural part of playing a video game. I became the Exile. When Kreia praised the Exile for a decision they made, I felt proud. When Atton said that the Jedi deserved to die, I wanted to ignite my lightsaber through his chest.

However, the game’s conclusion (both with and without the TSLRCM), gave me closure for my feelings about the story and characters. I won’t spoil it here, but I will say that I found my companions’ final dialogues to be a comfort after all the trials and angry words we had been through before.

Light Side vs. Dark Side

Morality in KOTOR 2 is still very black and white but with one marked difference: the game constantly challenges you to consider the consequences of your choices. Your mentor, Kreia, does this the most. For her, it does not matter whether you choose the light or the dark side choices. She only cares if you’ve thought through the consequences and can accept them, whether good or bad. She would rather you be clever than light or dark. Her neutral alignment makes a neutral playthrough a more viable option than in KOTOR 1, but there are still far more bonuses for having a light or dark alignment.

(My Female Exile is a master of the Light Side.)

But having a neutral alignment doesn’t mean you get to make neutral choices. The only way to get a neutral alignment is through a mixture of good and evil choices.

Every choice your character makes must be either light or dark. There is no room for gray.

(This is one of my favorite lines in the game, to be honest.)

But having no room for neutral choices can be really annoying in this game.

Let me explain. In KOTOR 1, you spend most of the game as an ordinary person with no backstory: you’re a soldier/scout/scoundrel turned Jedi. In other words, the KOTOR 1 protagonist is a blank slate.

However, KOTOR 2 not only places greater weight on the impact of your character’s choices but also on your backstory. Your character went to war ten years ago for the ordinary people of the Republic. Why would that same person threaten to kill a war refugee over five credits?

Unless, of course, turning to the dark side does make you a completely different person.

(My Dark Exile contemplates murder over five credits.)

Combat

Like KOTOR 1, combat involves ranged or melee, with lightsabers, blasters, vibroblades, and grenades. But KOTOR 2 makes one significant improvement to combat styles: making unarmed combat a viable way to play. In fact, there are several instances where the game requires you to fight unarmed.

Some opponents will challenge the Exile to fight without lightsabers, force powers, or even medpacs. While these challenges make for more difficult gameplay, they also ultimately make the game more satisfying because your character gets to prove that they can fight without all of their special abilities and equipment.

And honestly, it is such a pure delight to build your character as an unarmed combatant and watch as they beat the life out of Sith assassins, armored Mandalorians, and pretentious Echani warriors.

(Hand-to-hand combat against an Echani woman)

(Lightning is still a very effective weapon.)

Replayability

Like KOTOR 1, this game is absolutely replayable. You can play as male or female, light, dark, or neutral. You can pick from three different starting classes and upgrade into one of three prestige classes based on your current alignment (for example, a dark-sided character could choose to be a marauder, an assassin, or a Sith Lord). However, if you choose to stay neutral, you won’t get to pick a prestige class.

You can choose to keep the Jedi Council alive while on the dark side or slaughter the Council while on the light side. You can even do a run where you deliberately lower your influence with every companion until their alignment is the polar opposite of yours!

Conclusion

I enjoyed playing this game a lot. It makes a thought-provoking sequel, and I absolutely will play it again!

Technical Info: I played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic–The Sith Lords on a Windows 10 PC. KOTOR 2 is available on Good Old Games (gog.com), Steam, and lots of other places that would take too long for me to hunt down in their entirety. It can be played on PC, Xbox, Android, iOS, and Classic Mac OS.

ESRB Rating: Teen (for violence)

All images are my personal screenshots from the game.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Windows PC Version, Obsidian, 2004.