As space fantasy, Star Wars is the perfect setting for the medium of video games. There have been some fantastic Star Wars games made over the decades. Some of the most beloved characters in Star Wars only appear in the games, and some from the games which were released decades ago.
While many of these characters are known and loved by older fans, new or younger fans may never have heard of them. None of these characters are in Disney's canon, but many fans are hopeful they will be one day.
10 Kyle Katarn
Kyle Katarn is a protege and friend of Luke Skywalker. His first appearance was in the 1995 game Star Wars: Dark Forces, but it was in the Jedi Knight series where he became a major character, being the playable protagonist in Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and a major NPC in Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.Â
Kyle has a long and varied history as an Empire defector who becomes a Jedi Knight trained by Luke Skywalker. When he nearly falls to the dark side, he turns away from the Force and makes a living as a mercenary. The Jedi Knight series was popular in its time, and Kyle was the face of it.
9 Jaden Korr
Jaden is the customisable protagonist of Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. The player could customise Jaden's gender, lightsaber, clothes, race, and could even choose to follow the light or dark side.
The freedom of choice players had for Jaden puts them on this list. While many Star Wars games at the time were shooters or racing games, Jaden gave the player story agency and allowed them some control over the path of their character.
8 Canderous Ordo
Canderous was the first glimpse of the Mandalorians in Star Wars. His first appearance was in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. He tells the player about the Mandalorian Wars and Mandalorian culture, which would later be adapted into the canon Clone Wars, Rebels and The Mandalorian TV series.
Canderous appears again in Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords as Mandalore, the leader of the Mandalorians. He's first and foremost loyal, following his orders to the end. While Mandalorians are popular now, it all started with Canderous of Clan Ordo.
7 The Sith Warrior
The Sith Warrior is appears in Star Wars: The Old Republic, an MMO. Despite this, the game's protagonists across multiple storylines are, for the most part, fun, and even experience development across their various storylines.
The Sith Warrior faces their challenges with dry wit that makes SWTOR all the more interesting. The Sith Warrior is presented with interesting role-playing decisions, and the player has the opportunity to truly mold them into someone unique.
6 The Jedi Consular
The Jedi Consular has been criticized for being dull and, if you're hoping for a protagonist with the same levels of humor present across the other SWTOR protagonists, you're going to be disappointed.
That said, the Jedi Consular is underrated because of their role in their story and the relationships they form with not only their crew, but visiting dignitaries, Jedi Masters, and other friends they make across the galaxy. Rather than limiting the Jedi Consular to the six or so companions that join them, the variety of the people you meet make the galaxy feel that much bigger. On top of that, the Jedi Consular allows you to explore parts of the Force that you don't get to see anywhere else in Star Wars.
5 Bastila Shan
Bastila, while popular amongst KotOR communities, is largely unknown outside of them unlike Revan.
Bastila is a Jedi who forms a Force Bond with the Sith Lord Darth Revan. Revan's memory is erased, and her relationship with the Sith Lord forms the crux of KotOR. When first meeting her, she's impulsive, brash, and arrogant: everything we're told a Jedi shouldn't be. She falls to the dark side, and is ultimately redeemed not because of the Jedi code, but because of the relationships and bonds she has with the people she loves.
Bastila threw open the doors of what a Jedi should be long before The Last Jedi happened, and that people don't know her is a massive pity.
4 The Imperial Agent
The Imperial Agent's story is one of the most unique of this list. It's a story of identity, free will, and freedom, both personal and on a galactic scale. It also has nothing to do with Jedi or the Force.
The Imperial Agent is one of the protagonists of SWTOR. They're an agent fresh out of training who gets promoted to Cipher Nine after a state of emergency is declared. As Cipher Nine, their identity is wiped. As they progress through the story, they discover a control chip which forces them to obey anyone who gives them a trigger word.
Breaking free from the brainwashing and hunting down the leaders of a secretive organization that controls the galaxy from the shadows makes for the bulk of the story, and one that is totally unique in Star Wars.
3 Kreia
Kreia appears in Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. She takes on the role as the Jedi Exile's mentor and teacher, and trains the Exile not only in the Force, but in lightsaber forms and in morality. She has a complicated past involving betrayal from both the Sith and the Jedi.
Kreia's branch of morality is dividing. Whether or not you agree with her, she's a well-written and fascinating character who asked us all to question the nature of the Force and the role people play in the motions of the Star Wars galaxy.
2 The Jedi Exile
The Jedi Exile appears in TSL and had the difficult task of being the sequel protagonist to Revan, one of the most popular Star Wars characters in Legends. While the Exile doesn't have the shocking plot twist, their complicated past is revealed to the player in pieces until the entire tragic whole comes together.
The Exile is a Jedi who betrayed the Jedi Council and followed Revan during the Mandalorian Wars. Of all the Jedi who did so, the Exile was the only one to return the the Council to face judgement. In committing atrocious acts during the Wars, the Exile became a wound in the Force. Their connection lost, they instead use Force Sensitives around them, becoming more powerful with more Sensitives. Like Kreia and Bastila, the Exile is a completely new perspective on Jedi and their relationship with the Force.
1 Atton Rand
Atton also appears in TSL, and is a subversion of the Han Solo lovable-rogue type character so popular in Star Wars. He's a smuggler, and you appropriately meet him in jail.
As you journey with him, you discover parts of his story doesn't add up, and you eventually discover he used to be a Sith assassin who specialized in hunting, converting, and killing Jedi. Atton's confession of his past is pretty damning, and would be hard to accept if the Exile didn't have a list of war crimes under their name.
Atton's story stands apart, though, because the game never asks you to forgive him, and he isn't asking for it. Instead, he accepts what he did and moves forward to do better in the future. He's broken by his experiences, and you can either help him heal, or drive him further down the path of no return.