Star Wars Celebration 2022 approaches fast and the chances of the Knights of the Old Republic Remake being shown there are very high. The remake was first announced last year during a PlayStation State of Play event, featuring the fan-favorite character Darth Revan.
The game is set to make major changes to the original as it can fit the new Star Wars canon. While the original game is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time by many, there are still many parts of the game that would need to be updated for today.
Better NPC Voices
While talking to the NPCs in the game is a great way to get insight into the state of the galaxy, many of the voice actors for the NPCs aren't as expressive or convincing as players are used to today. The line delivery is sometimes a bit awkwardly paced or too overly expressive for the situation.
Luckily, the remake will be completely re-recording the dialogue from the game with Jennifer Hale, voice of Bastila Shan, as the only confirmed returning voice actor, per IGN.
Improved Space Battles
A small feature in the first game included occasional space battles where the player would mount one of the Ebon Hawk's turrets to fend off Sith fighters. With the remake, Aspyr has the opportunity to potentially deliver the best space battles in Star Wars.
Adding full-on flying and space assault similar to Star Wars: Squadrons would really enhance the game and make it more versatile. Upon re-hauling the flight system, it would also be awesome to see a revamped swoop race mode with new features.
Combat System
At the time of its release, Knights of the Old Republic featured a new, strategy-based combat system. While it works great for the game, it hasn't aged as well as other parts of the game's design.
Jedi: Fallen Order implemented a combat system very similar to FromSoft's Souls-Type games. Using this in the KOTOR remake would certainly add more stakes and would require the use of more strategy without being able to pause and queue the attacks like the original.
Gender of Revan
Easily one of the best characters from KOTOR, Revan's gender was something that could be customized in the first game. Since the Legends and Canon timeline have established Revan as male, it would only make sense the remake should follow this to avoid any discrepancies.
Fortunately, Knights of the Old Republic features several strong, interesting women, from fan-favorites like Bastila Shan to the redeemed dark Jedi Juhani and the lovable scoundrel Mission Vao.
New Character Designs
One major problem the original KOTOR games suffered from was that facial assets for characters were reused for multiple NPCs. With so many characters present in the game's epic story, many ended up with the exact same face. Seeing as how much technology has evolved in the nearly two decades since the original, a lot of changes could be made to help diversify the game's cast.
Even with the main characters, everything could be remade from the ground up to better represent each person's unique look and expressions. This, combined with the narrative's already powerful twists, could help the game better sell its emotional beats.
Romance
The original version of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic gave players the opportunity to potentially enter a romantic relationship with some of the female characters, but it was generally done in such a way that the character development felt unrealistic and rushed.
Offering a deeper connection through improved dialogue and more time with the characters is one change that could definitely help the remake make the romance far more believable and as emotionally resonant as the rest of the game's narrative.
More Character Development
One of the oldest rules in storytelling is "show, don't tell," but unfortunately Knights of the Old Republic makes the mistake of giving too many exposition dumps. While learning all the lore is extremely fascinating, it would be way more interesting if the remake showed more of Revan and Malak's fall to the dark side and the events leading up to it.
Although Malak is an extremely intimidating villain, he is not very developed, and the player doesn't really get to know him other than what is told by other characters. Rectifying this mistake could give the game the opportunity to dive into really interesting scenes.
Lightsaber & Costume Customization
Although the original game does give players the opportunity to upgrade armor and weapons, it doesn't do much on the customizing side of things. Allowing the player to change their lightsaber and costume similar to Jedi: Fallen Order would allow the players to have a sense of individuality.
The original game had nearly every character with the same lightsaber hilt and while the player can change the type of armor they wear, there's no customizing it. This feature would definitely make the game more immersive for fans.
Expanded Environments
The planets introduced in the game are some of the coolest in the whole saga. They offer rich backstories and lore and are wholly different than places visited in the films. For the most part, the original game is pretty linear, but it allows the player to visit multiple different locations within each planet.
Giving the remake a more open-world approach with each planet would really enhance the setting and make it feel more lived-in. Also, adding more side-quests would be a great way to include more to do in the game.
One Canon Ending
Knights of the Old Republic easily remains one of the most-wanted Star Wars stories to become canon again. The only problem is that the game offers different endings based on decisions made by the player. A wise creative choice would be to have one definitive ending that remains canon while the others are more "What Ifs."
The Force Unleashed did this really well as the regular ending was canon (at the time), and the alternate dark side ending was non-canon. Some fans may be unhappy with one ending "counting" and the other not, but it would be a small price to pay to bring this beloved story back into the official Star Wars universe.