Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic is seen by many as the best Star Wars video game of all time, and with good reason. The BioWare RPG told a fantastic story with complex characters, and truly felt like a part of the evocative Star Wars universe. Now, Nintendo Switch owners have a chance to pick up the title on their preferred platform thanks to a port from developer Asypr.
First released in 2003 for the Xbox and PC, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is set over 4,000 years before the events of the Star Wars movies, though plot points may feel similar. Following the Mandalorian Wars, conflict has broken out between the Sith and the Galactic Republic, and the player character is caught up in the middle of this war. Collecting an assortment of characters to help in their fight, the player travels from world to world within the Star Wars universe.
One of the main reasons that Knights of the Old Republic is so well regarded is its story, and nothing has changed in that regard since 2003. Even though times have changed, the story beats and plot twists still hit home today, and it’s undoubtedly one of the best Star Wars narratives ever written. Meanwhile, the story is backed up by a cast of characters that remain iconic to this day, and set the template for what BioWare would go on to create in future projects.
It certainly helps that Knights of the Old Republic comes from a golden age for Star Wars video games. Along with the likes of Jedi Outcast and Republic Commando, Star Wars fans were blessed with a series of games that truly understood what Star Wars was, showcasing bold and varied visions for the intellectual property. Knights of the Old Republic may be the best of the bunch, and its story – which shies away from the small scope space eugenics of a couple of powerful families controlling the destiny of the galaxy – definitely understands what Star Wars is about more than the modern movie trilogy.
Knights of the Old Republic was, at the time, something quite bold from a structural perspective, although it may feel quaint for modern players. Its template will be very familiar to Mass Effect fans, with the player gaining party members and conversing with them to gain their trust, while travelling between different planets as they go about their adventure. There’s even an explorable space ship that the player uses, that provides further chances to understand their companions more.
That said, Knights of the Old Republic does feel its age in a couple of places, namely its presentation and gameplay. Its graphical fidelity is understandable for a game nearly 20 years old, but newcomers may find its combat system overly rigid. It doesn’t have the same free-flowing feel of modern BioWare games, reliant on invisible dice rolls more at home in older titles like Baldur’s Gate, although those who have played the original Dragon Age will find it more palatable than those who have only witnessed the gunplay of the later Mass Effect titles.
This is really the only sticking point that players may have with Knights of the Old Republic on Switch. This is a port rather than a remaster or remake, although Aspyr is working on a KOTOR remake at the moment, so players should not expect extra bells and whistles on a 2003 game. There are a few tweaks here and there, most notably larger text boxes that are quite useful when playing in handheld mode, but the overall changes from the original release are negligible.
Overall this means that Knights of the Old Republic is still one of the best games ever made, even if it’s not received any particular improvements on its older versions. The main pull here is that players can finally enjoy the title on the go via the Switch, and for Star Wars fans who have never played the game before it’s another opportunity to enjoy one of the best Star Wars stories ever told. There will no doubt be debates about PC versus Switch for Knights of the Old Republic, and those who already own the game already aren’t missing anything if they ignore this new port, but none of that takes away from one of the true classics of the early 2000s.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is out now for Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a Switch download code for the purposes of this review.
