| Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Obsidian Entertainment[a] |
| Publisher | LucasArts |
| Producer | Chris Parker |
| Designer | Chris Avellone |
| Programmer | Chris Jones |
| Artist | Aaron Meyers |
| Writer | Chris Avellone |
| Composer | Mark Griskey |
| Series | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic |
| Engine | Odyssey Engine |
| Platforms | |
| Release | |
| Genre | Role-playing |
| Mode | Single-player |
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is arole-playing video game developed byObsidian Entertainment and published byLucasArts. It is the sequel toBioWare'sStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and was released for theXbox on December 6, 2004, forMicrosoft Windows on February 8, 2005, forOS X andLinux on July 21, 2015, forAndroid andiOS on December 18, 2020 and forNintendo Switch on June 8, 2022. Like its predecessor, it is set in theStar Wars universe 4,000 years before the events of the filmEpisode I: The Phantom Menace and is based on thed20 System developed byWizards of the Coast.
The game uses theOdyssey Engine, which was originally used inKnights of the Old Republic. Writing first began before the originalKnights of the Old Republic was released, and development began in October 2003, after BioWare offered Obsidian theirStar Wars license due to being confident in their previous work.
Knights of the Old Republic II starts five years after the events of the first game and follows the story of The Exile, aJedi Knight who was exiled from the Jedi Order. During this time, the Jedi Order has been almost completely wiped out by theSith. The game begins with the protagonist waking up from unconsciousness on anasteroid mining facility. After the player escapes with the help of their party members, they find the person who exiled them ten years ago, who sends the protagonist on a mission to seek out the remaining Jedi to fight against the Sith.
The game's critical reception upon its release was generally positive; praise was given to the story, characters, and writing, which were noted to be more gray than the originalKnights of the Old Republic. The game was included in the book1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. Particular praise was given to the character ofKreia, withGameSpy naming her the best video game character of 2005. However, the game received criticism for being too similar to its predecessor in terms of graphics and gameplay systems, as well as being launched in an incomplete state. The game has since gained a cult following.[1]
Knights of the Old Republic II is not a turn based game, but is arole-playing video game played from athird-person view that featurespausable real-time combat.[2] Combat and interactions with the environment andnon-player characters inKnights of the Old Republic II are based on thed20 System as inStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.[3] The game starts with a character creation screen with several choices to make, and there is also an option of letting the game do it automatically.[4] There are 30 newForce powers, which are manifestations of the Force, inKnights of the Old Republic II.[5] Like its predecessor, the game has severalminigames, including swoop bike racing and a card game called Pazaak.[6] The interface has been streamlined from the original game and party management has been made easier; for example, the player can switch between two selected weapon sets in the menu.[4] As in the first game, the player can choose to align with either the light side or the dark side. Choosing dialogue options that are respectful and empathetic gives the protagonist light side points, while options that are egotistic and evil result in dark side points.[2]
The combat ofKnights of the Old Republic II is identical to its predecessor.[7][8][9] Several newlightsaber forms were added to the game.[10] Each of them is useful for a different situation.[11] For example, one is best for enemies using blaster weapons, while another would be good for recovering from using Force powers.[11] The player can use a variety of melee and ranged weapons, including swords and firearms.[11] Fighting unarmed is also an option.[11] A new addition to the game is "prestige classes", add-ons to the Jedi classes that were established inKnights of the Old Republic. They allow the player character to practice in lightsaber combat or Force powers, depending on player choice.[2]
The player can travel with up to two party members at a time, who gainexperience points at the same rate as the player character.[2] Equipment and perks for party characters can be selected for different statistical effects or abilities.[12] Players canloot corpses and various environmental objects.[12] The protagonist also has the ability to "influence" their party members; by doing things that impress them, the player increases their influence with them.[11] Depending on the level of influence, party members may support the player character unconditionally or turn against the protagonist. The player can also exploit high influence by drawing party members to either the light side or the dark side, and some characters can even be trained to use the Force.[13][14]
The game takes place five years after the events ofKnights of the Old Republic and 3,919 years beforeEpisode I: The Phantom Menace,[15][16] in a time when theJedi have been nearly exterminated by theSith.[17] The player's character, a former Jedi Knight exiled from the Jedi Order, is referred to as "The Exile" or "Jedi Exile". Throughout the game, the Exile restores their connection to the Force while, with the help of playable companions, setting out to stop the Sith. The player makes choices that turn the Exile to either the light side or the dark side of the Force, and they travel to six planets to either help or hinder the Republic's efforts to bring peace and stability to the galaxy.[18]
New playable locations inKnights of the Old Republic II include Telos, Onderon and its moon Dxun, Malachor V, the Peragus Mining Facility, and various starships such as the hijacked Republic cruiserHarbinger, the Sith cruiserRavager, and Goto's yacht orbiting Nar Shaddaa.[18] Two planets featured in the original game, Korriban andDantooine, are revisited with ravaged buildings and intensified problems.[18] TheEbon Hawk, the main character's ship in the first game, is also the player's transportation inKnights of the Old Republic II.[18][19]
The Exile's backstory reveals that the character served underRevan during the Mandalorian Wars and ordered the activation of a devastating weapon in the climactic battle over Malachor V. The deaths that ensued created such a substantial "wound" inthe Force that the character was forced to sever their connection to the Force to survive, and the Jedi Council ordered the character exiled from the Jedi Order.[18] As the game progresses, the Jedi Exile rebuilds a connection to the Force and creates unusually strong Force Bonds with other characters and places, while unknowingly sapping Force powers.[18]
Among the characters who join the Jedi Exile areKreia, who acts as the Exile's mentor;[18][20] pilot and former SithassassinAtton Rand; technician and Mandalorian War veteranBao-Dur and his droid remote;[18] the criminal droidG0-T0;[18] and the Sith apprenticeVisas Marr.T3-M4 andCanderous Ordo (now identified as "Mandalore"), both featured in the first game, also join the Exile's team.[18] Other characters join the Exile's party under certain conditions.HK-47, who appears in the first game, joins the quest if the Exile collects and uses the parts necessary to reactivate him.[18] Depending on the player's alignment, the Exile will either be joined by thebounty hunterMira (light side or neutral)[18] or by her rival, aWookiee bounty hunter known asHanharr (dark side).[18] Depending on the player's gender, the Exile will either be joined by Mical the Disciple (female Exile) or Brianna theHandmaiden (male Exile).[18]
The game features three main antagonists: Darth Traya, a mysterious assailant who remains in the dark through most of the game;[18]Darth Sion, an undead Sith Lord who once served underExar Kun in the Great Sith War (as seen inTales of the Jedi);[18] andDarth Nihilus, a Sith Lord whose physical being was destroyed due to his immense affinity to the Force.[18] These three Sith Lords are leaders of a loose affiliation of warriors and assassins leftover fromDarth Malak's empire from the previous game. Between the events of that game and this one, the Sith have launched a largely successful genocide campaign against the Jedi Order. Another major antagonist isAtris, a former member of the Jedi Council whose unethical efforts to thwart the Sith come into conflict with the Exile.[18]
While hiding on theHarbinger, a Republic cruiser, the Exile is sedated by an HK-50 assassin droid to be delivered to a crime syndicate called the Exchange, who have put out a bounty on live Jedi. The Exile is rescued by Kreia, with whom the Exile forms a Force Bond, and the droid T3-M4 on theEbon Hawk, and the three flee theHarbinger as it is hijacked by a squad of Sith assassins. However, their ship is damaged during the escape by theHarbinger's gunfire, and they eventually arrive at the Peragus Mining Facility. Teaming up with smuggler Atton Rand, the group escapes to the planet Telos IV. While hiding out on Telos, they encounter Atris, a surviving member of the Jedi Council who sentenced the protagonist to exile ten years prior and plans to rebuild the Jedi Order on her terms. After settling a dispute regarding the Exile's past sentence, Atris forms an uneasy alliance with them, instructing them to seek out other surviving Jedi in order to rally against the Sith. The Exile then travels to four worlds to find reclusive Jedi Masters and either beg for their aid or kill them in revenge for being exiled, depending on player choice. As the Exile continues their journey, they are joined by several individuals in their quest.[18]
Through the game, clues and characters imply the events of from the previous installments, where the Jedi knight Revan turned to the dark side and waged war against the Republic, were actually part of a greater plan to unify and strengthen the Republic against a true menace. Revan would have discovered the Mandalorian Wars were staged all along by a hidden enemy, leading him to turn voluntarily to the dark side and conquer the Republic to ready it. These hidden enemies are hinted to be Sith hiding in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy.[18][b]
After finding all the Masters, the Exile travels back toDantooine and learns that the countless deaths at Malachor V resulted in the Exile unconsciously giving up their connection to the Force, which then became the teachings of the new Sith. If the player aided the Jedi Masters, they prepare to strip the Exile of their Force connection permanently, as the Masters fear that it could result in the actual death of the Force, but Kreia reveals herself to be the former leader of the Sith and murders them all in retribution. If the player killed the Jedi Masters, Kreia attacks the Exile and leaves. Tracking Kreia to Telos, the Exile fights and defeats a corrupted Atris, from whom it is learned that Kreia plans to strengthen a massive "wound" in the Force made ten years prior in Malachor V. This "wound" had been created by the Exile during the Mandalorian Wars, when they activated a gravitational superweapon, the Mass Shadow Generator, in order to end the battle on the planet Malachor V, causing mass death and destruction. Before following her to Malachor, where Kreia had since rejoined the Sith as Darth Traya, the Exile stops a Sith invasion of Telos, defeating one of Traya's former apprentices, the Sith Lord Darth Nihilus. On Malachor V, the Exile is separated from their companions and fights through hordes of monsters on the planet's surface and the inhabitants of a large Sith Academy who survived the cataclysm. On the final floor of the academy, the Exile kills the Sith Lord Darth Sion and confronts Darth Traya in the planet's core.[18]
The Exile defeats the Sith Lord, but before Traya dies, she delivers a prophetic vision of the future pertaining to the player's companions and the worlds that were visited over the course of the story. If the Exile's alignment is with the light side, they order the destruction of Malachor V, escape before it is destroyed, and travel into the Unknown Regions in search of Revan, who is implied to have left to find the true Sith. If the Exile is with the dark side, they remain on Malachor V as the new Dark Lord of the Sith (dark side).[18]
Knights of the Old Republic II was developed byObsidian Entertainment and published byLucasArts.[22] It is the sequel toBioWare'sKnights of the Old Republic,[22] and it uses the sameOdyssey Engine as the original game.[23] BioWare suggested that Obsidian should be offered theKnights of the Old Republic license due to their familiarity with Obsidian'spast work and the good relationship between the two developers, as well as due to finding LucasArts' development schedule for the sequel to be too tight.[24][25] The game was released inPC andXbox versions, but due to the Xbox version being released two months prior to the PC version, it has multiple unfixed bugs.[26]
Development of the game began in October 2003.[27] The overview of the game's story was originally drafted before the firstKnights of the Old Republic was released, after which it saw many revisions and also some major redrafts.[28] In preparation to writeKnights of the Old Republic II, lead designerChris Avellone tried to learn as much about theStar Wars universe as possible. He read many books, guides, modules, and graphic novels, and the Obsidian team also relied on the firstKnights of the Old Republic and the originalStar Wars films for inspiration.[3] Avellone said that Obsidian recognized one of the things that madeKnights of the Old Republic great was the story and the companions, and that they tried to expand upon this by adding more depth to them.[27]
Knights of the Old Republic II uses the samed20 System as the firstKnights of the Old Republic with some changes, and the level cap has also been removed.[3] For the most part, the team didn't want to redo any of the design elements from the first game, as they felt that there was no need to change anything that had already proved successful; instead, they opted to look for areas that could be improved and expanded upon them in a way that retained the base style ofKnights of the Old Republic.[29] Obsidian put much work into the game's graphics, including the appearances of non-player characters.[3] Other technological improvements include the lighting and weather effects, in addition to increasing the level sizes.[3][30]Knights of the Old Republic II's lead artist was Aaron Meyers; he decided which people would join the art team after looking through "tons of applications, resumes, and demo reels", and he said that he was pleased with the number of people who wanted to work for Obsidian.[31] Meyers also complained about the short deadline the development team had to deal with.[31] Obsidian'sCOO, Chris Parker, said that the schedule set for the development team was "extremely aggressive", and that the team felt a lot of pressure because they were "making a sequel to thegame of the year for 2003".[27]
For the music, the development team felt that symphony orchestra would work best forKnights of the Old Republic II.[32] The musical score was composed byMark Griskey, who developed music and themes for characters and places, including the Jedi's theme,Darth Sion's theme andDarth Nihilus's theme (which both have many similarities with the Emperor's theme fromReturn of the Jedi). He also created a theme for the main character, which is heard occasionally when the player experiences internal conflict. The ~55-minute score was recorded by the Sinfonia Orchestra inSeattle.[33] The opening crawl utilizes the version ofJohn Williams' mainStar Wars theme that was re-recorded for the prequel trilogy.
When Obsidian was preparing to presentKnights of the Old Republic II atE3 2004, they tried to fit as much information as they could, saying that it would need to be a duration of 30 minutes as it was the only E3 event it would be showcased at; however, due to the limited time frame, they would have to cut it down to a five- to ten-minute presentation.[28] During this time, none of thelevels Obsidian designed were ready to be shown, so they picked three levels and put them through a schedule to finish them on time.[28] Thedemo was finished a few days before the event,[28] and the game was presented in May 2004.[34] The firsttrailer forKnights of the Old Republic II was later unveiled in July 2004,[35] and the official website was launched in October.[36]
When looking back atKnights of the Old Republic II in a 2013 interview, Avellone said that because of LucasArts forcing Obsidian to finish the game in a short time frame of 14 to 16 months, the game ended up being in an "unfinished" state.[24] However, Avellone said that Obsidian was at fault for this due to not cutting out enough things; he noted that all minigames should have been removed, and also said that there were too many in-enginecutscenes.[24] Obsidian's co-founder,Feargus Urquhart, said that the game was originally going to be released in 2005, but it was later moved up to December 2004 after E3; according to him, Obsidian had to choose between "get[ting] in trouble or get[ting] it done".[37] Due to this, several cuts had to be made; one of the most major was the droid planet M4-78, which was entirely removed from the game after the 2004 E3 event when the team realized that they wouldn't be able to fit it into the schedule.[38] M4-78's designer, Kevin Saunders, explained that he moved assets from that planet to Nar Shaddaa's yacht level in order to complete it on time, which was prior also likely to be cut from the game.[39]
The Xbox version ofKnights of the Old Republic II wentgold on November 23, 2004;[40] it was later released on December 6, 2004 in the United States,[40][41][42] and the PC version was released on February 8, 2005.[43] In Europe, the game was released simultaneously for both platforms on February 11.[42] The game was later re-released in August 2012 on thedigital distribution platform,Steam,[44] and in January 2015 onGOG.com.[45] On July 21, 2015,OS X andLinux versions were released along with new support forSteam Workshop and other Steamworks features,controller input, and modernwidescreen resolutions up to5K.[46]Backward compatibility for theXbox One was announced in April 2018.[47] An iOS and Android version was released on December 18, 2020.[48] TheNintendo Switch version ofKnights of the Old Republic II was released byAspyr on June 8, 2022. The release was marked with a major bug that rendered the game unbeatable. A hotfix was later released on June 30, 2022.[49]
Along with several officialpatches, a notablefan-mademod calledThe Sith Lords Restored Content Modification or TSLRCM serves as anunofficial patch by fixing around 500 remainingbugs,[50] along with restoring most of the content that was cut from the game.[51] There were also methods found by the community for improving compatibility on modern PC operating systems.[52] The mod was set to be released with the Nintendo Switch version of the game as DLC.[53] However, on June 2023, Aspyr announced that the restored content was cancelled without giving a reason.[54] In December 2025, after a lawsuit involving Aspyr went public, it was revealed that Aspyr was unable to secure permission from all 22 people involved with the original mod and thatDisney preferred to credit the developers' original names rather than their gamertags.[55]
According toThe NPD Group,Knights of the Old Republic II sold 458,000 copies in North America during the month of December 2004. It entered their chart for the month at number 11, and at number 3 on the Xbox-only chart.[56][57] After its North American release on Windows, it debuted at number 2 on the PC chart for the month of February.[58] In the United Kingdom, the game debuted at the top of the weekly chart, beatingBlizzard Entertainment's much-anticipated online gameWorld of Warcraft, which was released in the same week.Eurogamer reported that in the UKKnights of the Old Republic II sold much more in its first week than the first game, which the website speculates was helped by the former's simultaneous release on Windows and Xbox in PAL regions, as opposed to the latter's initial Xbox-only release.[59] During 2005 alone, the Xbox version sold more than 60,000 copies in the region.[60]
By early 2006,Knights of the Old Republic II had sold almost 1.5 million copies.[61] Its sales in the United States alone reached 1.275 million by 2008.[62]
| Aggregator | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| NS | PC | Xbox | |
| GameRankings | N/A | 86%[63] | 86%[64] |
| Metacritic | 76/100[65] | 85/100[66] | 86/100[67] |
| Publication | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| NS | PC | Xbox | |
| 1Up.com | N/A | N/A | B[11] |
| Computer Gaming World | N/A | 90/100[68] | N/A |
| Eurogamer | N/A | N/A | 8/10[69] |
| GamePro | N/A | 4.5/5[9] | 4.5/5[70] |
| GameSpot | N/A | 8.5/10[71] | 8.5/10[2] |
| GameSpy | N/A | 4/5[72] | N/A |
| GameZone | N/A | 8.9/10[8] | 9.3/10[73] |
| Hardcore Gamer | 4/5[74] | N/A | N/A |
| IGN | N/A | 8.7/10[15] | 9.3/10[75] |
| Nintendo Life | 7/10[76] | N/A | N/A |
| Nintendo World Report | 5/10[c] | N/A | N/A |
| RPGamer | 3/5[78] | N/A | N/A |
| TouchArcade | 4/5[79] | N/A | N/A |
Knights of the Old Republic II was met with positive reception upon its release; onMetacritic, it has anaggregate score of 85/100 and 86/100 on the PC and Xbox versions respectively, indicating "generally favorable reviews" according to the site.[66][67]IGN said that there is a bulk of pressure involved with developing the sequel to a game from a different developer which won several "Game of the Year" awards, and that Obsidian delivered.[75] The review also said that it will not disappoint fans of the original game and that it is mostly similar to it in terms of the model.[15][75]GamePro praised both the first and secondKnights of the Old Republic and said that the second game continues the series' tradition of not fixing what is not broken.[70]GameSpot echoed this statement, also saying that both the good things and the shortcomings from the first game are present inKnights of the Old Republic II.[2]
GameSpy compared the game toThe Empire Strikes Back from the originalStar Wars film trilogy in that it is the best of the series in terms of story, and also said that the game has the best story in a video game sincePlanescape: Torment.[72]1UP.com wrote that Obsidian surpassed the originalKnights of the Old Republic in terms of the writing, saying that the plot is more consistent, the dialogue is edgier and the moral choices are more significant;[11]Computer Gaming World agreed, writing, "your decision making, as you pursue a light or dark path, is more ambiguous, with more unexpected consequences".[68]Eurogamer said that compared to the original game,Knights of the Old Republic II's plot is "far more grey".[69] The review also said that planets are "better developed and paced".[69]GameZone wrote that the game is a "Must Buy" for people who like well-written characters and story.[73]
The combat was generally well-received, with some reviewers noting that it is mostly unchanged from the originalKnights of the Old Republic.[7][8][9]GameSpot compared the combat from the firstKnights of the Old Republic to the second, saying that it is not well-balanced in both; however, the reviewer wrote that it helps the combat remain spontaneous.[71]GameZone said that the combat is not changed from the firstKnights of the Old Republic to the second, but that this is a good thing since the combat in the original was enjoyable.[73]IGN praised the game'sAI, saying that it is easy to control the main character alone without controlling the party members.[15] GameSpy's reviewer, on the other hand, said that he encountered problems with the combat AI that were not present in the originalKnights of the Old Republic.[72]
GameSpot criticizedKnights of the Old Republic II's graphics, calling them "lackluster".[2][71]GameSpy's reviewer felt that the game's graphics were disappointing, calling them "a little dated" and "half-baked".[72] The reviewer further criticized the graphics for looking the same as they were in the first game of the series, saying that they could only be considered "good" during the release of that game.[72]GameZone said that the game looks exactly the same as the originalKnights of the Old Republic[73] and that it does not compare to the majority of mainstream games released at the time.[8]GameSpy called the music in the game "excellent"; however, the reviewer noted that some of it is re-used from the first game of the series.[72] TheGameSpy reviewer also said that while the majority of the voice-acting is good, there are "a few more examples of bad voice-acting" than in the firstKnights of the Old Republic.[72]GameZone said that the "top-notch" voice acting complements the game's very well-written dialogue, and also praised the game's sound effects.[73]
The game was criticized for itsglitches; several players reported having problems withpathfinding bugs.[15]1UP.com's reviewer condemnedKnights of the Old Republic II for having the same bugs and technical issues as in the first game, saying that his party "still had a tendency to warp and skip around the map at times", and he also criticized the pathfinding in the game.[11]GameSpy said that the game's bugs are "hard to forgive", and that these issues did not occur in the firstKnights of the Old Republic.[72] In a different article,GameSpy said that the game is incomplete, and attributed this to its rushed deadline.[80]
GameSpy called Kreia the best video game character of 2005, saying that she was "easily the most intriguing, complicated, enigmatic, well-designed and nuanced character in a video game this year".[81] The game received runner-up placements inGameSpot's 2004 "Best Role-playing Game", "Best Voice Acting", "Best New Character" and "Best Game Based on a TV or Film Property" award categories across all platforms.[82] In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.[83]
Footnotes
Citations
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