KOTOR VS Movies

Yesterday I was a a Bioaware forum and there was an argument of Star Wars VS Mass Effect. Some of the Mass Effect fans stated not only is gaming the BEST medium for storytelling and blows away film storytelling for miles away. some went as far as saying the KOTOR games have surpassed the movies.

I notice in the video game camp so many people seem to think the Knights of the Old Republic game series is superior to the Star Wars hexology including the original trilogy. Unless they were Star Wars fans prior to playing some of the games, most gamers I met who loved Knights of the Old Republic often find the movies boring or at best cliched but outdated.

I admit I once fell into the same camp too and felt the Star Wars movies as a whole are outdated and by today's standards run-of-the-mill Sci Fi stories but I loved the KOTOR games as hell and thought they were among the BEST STORIES ever published in all mediums. This was for years until I recently rewatched the original trilogy just before Christmas and I fell back in love with the movies.

The reasoning many KOTOR fans believe its superior to the movies is because of the amount of shocking twists (I still admit I am dubgounded by who Revan is by the end of KOTOR and the complex shades of grey plot of KOTOR 2) are superior tot he movie and the story felt less cliched.

I know its not even an appropriate comparison because of the differences of the nature of storytelling across the mediums but I thought this would make a good thread. Even without the superb plot, KOTOR manages to excel as video games which just makes the comparison muddier.

But I am curious KOTOR fans who are gamers what do you think? From specifically gaming forums you've been to have you noticed the same proportion of non-SW fan gamers prefering KOTOR over the movies?

 

I voted for KOTOR, primarily because I like the settings and storylines of the game series better than I like the settings and stories of the movies. I tend to agree that playing through a videogame is a better medium for storytelling, but only if you can actually involve yourself in the development of the character you're playing. In the case of KOTOR I/II, I find that to be true, more so than other games where you are just given a character, play 5 hours of story and then it ends.

I wouldn't have thought you'd find too many people who actually prefer the game over the movie series, but I'm sure there are some. Having said all of the above I still enjoy both the movies and the games and definitely don't fall into the camp of liking one and not the other.

 

I haven't played the games as 1. not a gamer 2. not really interested overly much in pre-Saga content.

I think comparisons can be made basically between anything but what makes something 'better' or 'more worthy' is down to personal preference not solely linked to medium used.

 

The games are great, but Star Wars is a film franchise, and the films are where SW does its thing best.

 

Moved to the Games forum from Saga

 

Well, regardless of whether or not the KotOR games are better stories compared to the SW movies, "lots of shocking twists" is a really dumb reason to think something is good.

And I think it's a bit silly to compare the two mediums because there are inherent differences that that make the way the stories are told different. It's the same reason why adaptations from one medium to another have to change things to make things work for the new medium. As a lover of storytelling in general, be it in the form of books, films, television shows, games, theatre, comics, etc., I don't think it makes any sense to call any one medium "better". They're just different, and there are great stories that I love in all of them, as well as really awful ones that I cringe at. It's like comparing different story genres to one another and saying one is better. No. Westerns can be good. Sci-fi can be good. Tragedy can be good. Period dramas can be good. All of them can be good. There is no best or even better.

As for Star Wars itself, I don't worry about whether or not the films or games are better. To be honest I don't think of Star Wars as a film saga first (as in in terms of importance), but simply as a saga that started on film (in terms of chronology). I like the EU (sometimes), and I like exploring the history and mythology behind all of it. To me Star Wars is a 5,000+ year old history (mostly), the sum of all of the parts. That said I love the films (well, mostly the OT), and the KotOR games. I suppose the films stick in my mind more, but there are a lot of interesting aspects about the stories of Revan and the Exile, so whatever.

 

I prefer the Old Republic era and thus voted for the games over canon. Canon has contributed some great moments, it has made many of us fans. But the Old Republic Era of KOTOR is when there were numerous Jedi and Sith. It was when the conflict between Light and Dark was intense. After Darth Bane and the Rule of Two, it ruined the option of having hundreds or thousands of Sith invading the Jedi Temple or the Outer Rim.

 

You want the endless conflict?

 

Haven't played the KOTOR games since I don't have a X-Box and am not sure if it works on my computer. Want to play it eventually though.
Have read the comics and those are awesome.
Books, comics, games, tv are as SW to me as the movies are. The NJO book series is my ST equivalent continuation and the Legacy comics are my FT equivalent continuation of the PT-OT saga.
I'd love to see movies in the era so we could see armies of Sith and Jedi waging war on each other. The TOR cinematic trailers have wetted my appetite for that.

 

Cushing's Admirer, I enjoy the contest. The duel between light and dark. Without an enemy, the Jedi lose their vigilance.

 

I grieve for you.

 

Pacifism is good, but when the Sith come for you, give me a call. Then my desire to fight will not be so repulsive.

 

Simple classic battle of good vs evil works for us. Nothing wrong with that.

 

I just feel once the Rule of Two was instituted the balance broke. When there were numerous Jedi and Sith there was more balance. The Canon films are great, without them I would not be a fan. But the Old Republic.. that is what keeps me a fan.

 

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Why do you call me wrong? Are we not permitted different points of view? Have I not honored your perspective, though debated it?

 

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I was using a hypothetical, the Sith being my prop for my argument. The Sith could be representative of any evil person that should seek to harm you.

 

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Am I missing something?

 

Cushing obviously likes the idea of the "good" actually prevailing, but I agree with Kato, it's much more interesting - and dare I say it - more realistic for conflicts to keep on happening. The Jedi and the Sith Orders are, in reality, ideologies. As long as there are people born Force-sensitive that want to help others, the Jedi will continue to exist. As long as there are people born Force-sensitive that want to seize power, the Sith will continue to exist.

In terms of addressing the topic, I think that video games have the unique potential to allow you to be an active participant in the story, rather than a passive viewer. Does that make gaming a stronger medium? Maybe? How important is that direct connection to the characters and events? It all seems subjective to me.

There's also the fact that the KOTOR games can take about 120 hours to complete, whereas the film saga will take just 13.

I myself find it hard to compare the two. I've watched the films many more times than I've played the KOTOR games through, if that speaks to anything.

 

I would go with this:

1 - Original Trilogy
2 - KOTOR games
3 - Prequels

 

I think this is the sticking point for a few people -- which movies do you mean?

KotOR was excellent commentary on the movies but especially on the Prequels, see Bastila and Jolee's discussions on the Jedi code, and Kreia's discussions on the Force and the Sith. The Prequels really needed to be explored like that. On the other hand, KotOR doesn't do so well without the movies as context. So it's quite hard for me to vote on this. They are indeed different mediums and difficult to compare, though I wouldn't say it's completely moot.

 

Games and movies are different but I can compare how much I've enjoyed them and I honestly think it is tied. I have enjoyed both for many years and they are classic to me.