Saga KOTOR: Should it be canon?

I know a similar question has been asked about The Force Unleashed, but should both KOTOR sequels be canon?

They both take place a long time before the time of the movies, they do not interrupt the current narrative but do include valuable context to the Star Wars universe and creates a 4,000 year time span for writers to "fill in"- utilising collective creativity.

What are the general opinions?

 

I'm going to say "no." Once it was decided that there was going to be a reboot of some kind, I think a full-scale reset was the only fair way to go. Without that, there's a whole can of worms opened as to what materials should be made an exception, what criteria should be used, what about if a better idea comes along, etc. Also, since video games, by nature, have malleable stories (they wouldn't be fun otherwise), it seems kind of silly to try and set them in canon, since the experience is different every time.

 

There have been a few references to KotOR in the new canon already (Rakata Prime on the galaxy map, Kylo's lightsaber is linked to Malachor which will also appear in Rebels).


I love KotOR, but personally I'm happy with them just picking and choosing bits from KotOR as they seem to be doing now. Hopefully it will lead to something new set in that era.

 

I agree. Cherry pic the best from that era.

 

Certain elements sure.

I like many of the character and concepts, I wouldn't mind *a* Darth Revan, Malak, Bastila, Battle of Ruusan, Lord Hoth, etc. Admittedly some stuff I would actually LIKE to be reintroduced. But not everything.

Certain elements such as the Star Forge, Jedi Brain Washing, destroying a boatload of planets, zombie Sith man, crazy over the top force powers, Sith war every week etc. should be dropped.

Even farther I say as long as we have a canon reboot, lets USE it, to create new and interesting stories. Not to completely dismiss the old stories which were entertaining, though I object to certain elements that I thought felt rather unStar Warsy, or simply didn't belong as part of that era of star wars, I wont dismiss that the games and comics (Both of which I do own) are still fun in their own right.

I simply feel this is a splendid opportunity to: 1. create new stories that can be a fun unique part of the new canon. and 2. fix some of the clunky parts of the old canon by simplifying things. Really if they're going to have a reboot, and just bring entire corners of the old continuity back in, then I say why have the reboot at all? This could be a fun way to tell new stories.

 

My issue with the few KOTOR references we have; is they are worthless to the Star Wars narrative. The beauty of KOTOR was the impeccable storyline which required meticulous work and effort to bring it to such a high level. Isolating a single component of that storyline, such as Malachor, doesn't offer anything to the Star Wars galaxy apart from a name. Canon does not have a cascading effect: sadly.

Let us take, Kreia as an example. She was possibly one of the best characters ever created. She was so well designed she even made the player question their own beliefs and philosophy. The only fair way to canonise the character is to include all her philosophies and teachings as well as her whole life, not doing so would be humiliating to the character and the fantastic team that created her.

 

I wouldn't mind if they just teamed up with Bioware and Obsidian to create a modified Knights of the Old Republic that would fit into the canon better. Everyone has been asking for the third game for forever (even if The Old Republic still exists) and both teams are still widely regarded and acclaimed in the industry. Find a happy medium and basically create a remake with it's own original ideas that ties into the new canon.

Plus, I just really want a character like Kreia to be canon again.

 

The story line of KOTOR is both it's biggest strength and greatest weakness in terms of the re-canonising debate. It's a positive in that it was a very well told tale with strong characters and some genuinely interesting ideas and questions. It's a weakness in that it creates a lot of lore and potential baggage to deal with and being set so long ago and not directly influencing the movies (where the money is) it's probably too much hassle to readapt/canonise wholesale. A cherry-picking/broad strokes approach does seem the best and most logical, maybe turning to novels or the comics to explore that part of the GFFA's history.

 

Yes. But nothing after Kotor II. None of the horrible retcons made by EA either.

Zayne Carrick and his Kotor prequel story should recreated too. Live action TV series please!

 

Exactly this, even though I do think the original story is more than good enough to include in the Star Wars narrative, a modern telling of the story would be awesome and a massive hit! Though if I had a choice, I would choose the original KOTOR story rather than a reboot.

And I agree about Kreia...

 

Darth Formidious I don't ever want to see Vitiate or his empire anywhere near canon. I prefer the idea that Palpatine was doing something that had never been done before and used his own titles, symbols, etc. I also like the irony of the Galactic Empire being as much rooted in the Republic as it is in the Sith, and Vitiate's empire ruins that irony.

 

You betcha!

BUT, nothing after KOTOR 2 like Snoke said.
Then after they're re-canonized, they can finally give us a proper KOTOR 3.

 

Don't confuse Kotor with swtor. Vitiate has absolutely nothing to do with original kotor, his retcons tarnish the Kotor story. SWTOR ruined the old republic era in my opinion. I consider it non-legends, and nothing from it should ever be even considered to become canon.

 

To me Kreia is an example of one of those characters who doesn't really work in the Star Wars universe, and would be better if reshaped rather than recanonised wholesale. I love KotOR II, but the idea of killing the Force is a bit much IMO, and doesn't sit at all well with canon.

 

Where's the option for "No, even though I love those games"?

 

Loved both the games, but I don't really see any point in making them canon. Just take the best elements from them and put them in canon.

 

I think that's way too harsh, I find most of the SWTOR lore to be quite good and a worthy continuation of the 2 KOTOR games.

 

I think the biggest thing is that Chris Avellone wrote Kotor II and, ironically, the most interesting parts of Revan even though Drew Karpyshyn wrote the first game's main story

And the Revan novel picks up from Kotor II thanks to the third game being canceled. So anything Avellone had planned wasn't really carried on

Kotor III was going to be Exile-centric, but it seems instead they went Revan-centric

So, for whatever my opinion is worth, it's an equally valid continuation of the two games. It just isn't one of the two likely continuations I wanted to see and I'm not particularly fond of the MMO

 

Careful with ye words. Many sayeth Vitiate was the best thing to come out of SWTOR!

 

I totally agree, Vitiate pales in comparison to Palpatine. Palpatine achieved what had never been done before. I stress that I want KOTOR canon but this does not include SWTOR which is over the top and as you rightfully point out, it interferes with the story. Many KOTOR fans also despise SWTOR; no point making it canon.

Ah... one of the great mysteries of KOTOR II. "Killing the force" is something of a mystery. Some consider it to be a metaphorical death, one in which her teaching could be carried on to reject the ways of the force. Others really do consider it as a severing the force completely. "Killing the force" isn't as simple as you make it out to be: it's actually a complex and deep faceted topic.

Kreia is the perfect Star Wars character!

 

My enjoyment of KOTOR, KOTOR 2, and the Tales of the Jedi era comics is in no way affected by whether or not they have official "canon" status.

But I'll vote yes if it means getting KOTOR 3.

 

Sorry for the double post. Stupid phone

 

The first one was an entertaining RPG in a 'what-if' way, but canon? No, thanks. I don't see swords holding up against lightsabers, nor the technology and visuals being the same thousands of years before the movies, etc, etc...

I won't even talk about the heretic sequel and Avellone's complete misunderstanding of the saga.

 

Swords standing up to lightsabers was part of the gameplay which doesn't always translate to being canon. There is a specific gameplay and story which is canon out of the many possibilities, besides, they are vibroswords anyway.

Well I have discussed the technology and visuals too many times now so I will just copy and paste from another thread:

You must understand that the dynamics of the Star Wars galaxy is very different to our own. We are questioning time which is related to an entire galaxy and not just one planet: like earth. There was definitely a plateau effect, we can even see this in the similarity of the PT and OT backdrop. Yoda's great grandfather was most likely not the equivalent of a caveman on earth.

And what makes you question Avellone's understanding? He made a fantastic story that is in keeping with Star Wars more than the some of the films!

 

Different era so why not a different philosophy for the Force?

Why should the philosophy of the Jedi from 4000 years ago be the same as the philosophy of the Jedi of the movies?

It changed and evolved unlike the technology. Though you could blame a Dark Age or two probably.