GameEssential
Knights of the Old Republic
The Republic stands against Darth Malak's fleet. The search for ancient Star Maps leads the crew of the Ebon Hawk toward the secret of Sith power. The group is caught between the Order's commands, their own doubts and what the war means for ordinary people on the planets they visit.
- In-universe time
- ~3,956 BBY
- Released
- 2003
- Era
- The Ancient Galaxy
About this story
The Republic after the Mandalorian Wars
KOTOR opens in a galaxy already worn down by a major conflict. Revan and Malak once led Jedi into war against the Mandalorians, then returned as Sith Lords and started a new war against the Republic. Now Malak's fleet threatens the Republic's survival. For the Republic, Bastila Shan is especially valuable: her Battle Meditation can strengthen allies and weaken the enemy. That is why rescuing one Jedi at the start of the game is tied to the fate of an entire military campaign, not just to the squad's own mission.
A journey that changes how you see the galaxy
After escaping Taris, the heroes set out to find the pieces of the Star Map. Each world adds its own conflict to that goal: corporate power and slavery in one place, a fragile neutrality in another, rivalry inside a Sith academy in a third. The crew of the Ebon Hawk do not share a single experience of the war either. The soldier Carth Onasi, the Mandalorian Canderous and the Jedi see the same events differently. Talking to them lets you piece together the past from personal testimony, grudges and things the speaker would rather keep hidden.
The hero's choices and the limits of Jedi judgment
The game lets you take the light or the dark path through concrete actions: help someone defenseless, exploit someone's dependence, negotiate or impose your will. At the same time, it makes you look closely at the decisions of the Order itself, which is acting under the pressure of war. That is an important departure from a simple split into infallible mentors and obvious villains. The story of 3,956 BBY stands on its own apart from the film saga, but it explores recurring Star Wars themes well: the temptation of a quick victory, the possibility of change and responsibility for how peace is actually won.
Route context
Origins of the Force
The galaxy long before the familiar film saga: Rakatan domination, the rise of the Republic and wars that outlasted generations of Jedi and Sith. Ancient technology here is bound up with the Force, and political alliances do not yet look the way they will later. The events and games in this section belong to Legends. They show where Star Wars stories get their lost worlds, powerful relics and arguments about what the Jedi Order is for.
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Transmission decrypted
The protagonist is Revan: after his capture, the Jedi rewrote his memory and built a new identity for him. His bond with Bastila and recurring visions gradually lead him back to his hidden past. Malak reveals the truth during their confrontation aboard the Leviathan, changing the meaning of the entire journey up to that point.
The Star Forge explains where the Sith get the resources for their fleet. The final choices decide whether the hero shuts it down or claims that legacy of power for himself. Later Legends material builds on one particular course of events; that does not erase the alternatives available in the game itself.
Legends This record belongs to the old Expanded Universe. Read its events separately from the current canon.