Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises of all time. Since George Lucas' original trilogy, Star Wars has expanded into TV series, merchandise, novels, comics, and video games. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, KotOR for short, is considered among the best Star Wars games of all time, and some might even say one of the greatest RPGs of all time.
In September 2021, a surprise teaser trailer confirmed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Remake was in the works. While fans of all stripes rejoiced at the news, remakes are generally a source of cautious optimism. After all, there is no shortage of poorly received remakes like Resident Evil 3 and Secret of Mana. As such, concerns loom over how the Knights of the Old Republic remake will be handled, especially for its iconic main character Revan.
Politics In the Star Wars Universe
The story of Star Wars is inherently political. Though the prequel films were initially derided for their heavy political subtext compared to the original trilogy, fans have come to appreciate the way the prequels into the entire saga. Similarly, a lot of Knights of the Old Republic's gameplay involves Revan traveling around different worlds in the Star Wars universe while getting involved in political intrigue from Korriban to Kashyyyk. Even the perennial conflict between the Jedi and the Sith is political at its core. There is already more than enough politics unique to Star Wars for the remake to mess around with.
In its bid to rewrite Revan and his hero's journey for a modern audience, Aspyr could end up erasing the original message of Knights of the Old Republic. There may not be any gameplay footage yet, but a lot of remakes - especially those that change the original games' writing - may be better adhering to the idea of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." For example, Golden Eye 007 (2010), a remake of the legendary 1997 Goldeneye game, completely rewrites Alec Trevelyan's motive for betraying MI6.
The original plot gave Agent 006 a grim backstory as an ethnic Lienz Cossack in the Soviet Union, and his parents' death at the hands of Stalin after the UK denied them asylum. The 2010 remake, perhaps inspired by the 2008 recession, changed that backstory into a vendetta against the banks and the UK government profiting from its banking system. In this instance, the remake misses the intent of the original game by changing the villain's motive for being a villain. At least half of what made Knights of the Old Republic popular was its writing, which is why the returning Star Wars story should remain mostly intact.
Inclusion and Representation in KotOR
One area the remake could stand to improve is in its representation. In Knights of the Old Republic, Revan could be either male or female, but the remake might look into adding a third option to accommodate non-binary players. While it would be a nice gesture to include non-binary pronouns, Aspyr should also make its inclusivity more meaningful with added romance options.
The Star Wars universe already has characters of various races, ethnicities, and species. Yet in the original Knights of the Old Republic, the only romance options were Bastila, Carth, and Juhani. Adding new romance options, starting with Canderous for example, would not only be more inclusive, it would also add depth to the gameplay side of this Star Wars adventure.
Revan Is a Figure Shrouded In Mystery
Ultimately, the reason why Revan is such an iconic protagonist is due to his story being shrouded in mystery. Much of this mystery in Knights of the Old Republic comes from him being a silent protagonist. Silent protagonists account for some of the most iconic characters in games, be it Doomguy, Crash Bandicoot, or Gordon Freeman. The immersion that silent protagonists offer by letting players become the main character has become underrated. For that reason, Revan didn't have the same impact when he was voiced in Star Wars: The Old Republic. It would be wise of Aspyr to keep Revan silent in the Knights of the Old Republic remake, and let the players do the dialoguing in their heads.
Through Knights of the Old Republic 2 and The Old Republic: Revan novel, players can learn that Revan canonically marries Bastila after Darth Malak's forces were destroyed by the Star Forge. They settle for a quiet life on Coruscant until Revan starts having visions of the Sith Empire again, and leaves for the Unknown Regions to counter that threat. This is where Knights of the Old Republic 2 picks up the story, with protagonist Meetra Surik trying to uncover the mystery of Revan's disappearance. Since this information is now known, it would be interesting for Aspyr to add extra details to the remake as an epilogue that ties together Knights of the Old Republic and Knights of the Old Republic2.
There are many parts of the game that have aged poorly, from graphics to the combat. Most of the skills in Knights of the Old Republic were useless, there was a massive imbalance between light and dark side, non-Jedi companions were not viable, and so on. Aspyr should feel free to take as many creative liberties to improve the original, and there are a lot of gameplay elements that need to be fixed. However, Revan does not need fixing, so the developer should just focus on fleshing out what made the original character great.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Remake is in development.
