Solid Snake's KOTOR Thread

[Solid Snake]

'Cuz I just now started playing KOTOR. Seriously. Until now, I didn't own an X-Box. I had played a few games on the X-Box because I was fortunate enough to occasionally borrow my friend's (he owned KOTOR II, but not KOTOR, and I'll get to KOTOR II in a sec), I mean I've even beaten Gears of War on the 360 despite not owning a 360 (it only took a single playthrough.)

But it's taken me this long to get my grubby little paws on KOTOR. And lemme tell you something, I like it. It's probably my second favorite Star Wars game behind only TIE Fighter. And I've only just gotten off of Taris.

For the record, having played a bit of KOTOR: Sith Lords before, I have to express that despite its inferior graphics, I'm finding KOTOR's plotline far more interesting. And again, I've only just gotten off of Taris. Something's really sketchy about the main character (I mean it's weird that he's been so quickly identified as force-attuned, I thought that was a poor plot-oriented way to have the main character suddenly garner Jedi status.) Also, the main character's complete lack of a coherent past and his "mysterious stranger" (he's literally called that in the Taris fighting ring) shindig is a little annoying, but I guess it's a small price to pay in exchange for being able to actually choose a gender and unique appearance for the character.

Also, Carth Onasi is surprisingly likable for a character I thought I wasn't going to give a damn about at first, and Mission Vao has a very sexy voice (I wish Mission's VA had voiced Bastilla instead, then maybe I'd find her more tolerable.) Zallbar's awesome, but sometimes it annoys me to hear him make the same incoherent grunting noises every time I talk to him, and he's clearly a Chewbacca clone (perhaps a Chewbacca ancestor?)

Anywhoo, my questions to those of you who've played the game and beaten it is thus (and please, keep the spoilers light and tagged in this thread, don't ruin the game for me)

1: I created a male and so far I've been doing goody two-shoes lightside stuff, but I'm curious to know whether you guys enjoyed your playing experiences as females / dark side characters, as well as what the key differences in gameplay and storyline are depending on your gender and your affiliation. (Again, please keep the spoilers light, but I probably won't have the time to replay the game after I've beaten it, so I am curious to know what I'll be missing out on.)

2: What feats and skills are most worth investing into? Should I have been a scout, warrior, or scoundrel? (I chose scout, for the record, and jedi sentinel with the yellow lightsaber for jedi class.) And which feats and skills aren't worth the time?

3: Is there any way I can have my character make romantic advances on any of the women? I'm definitely digging Mission, though she's probably a bit too young for my character. (Damn you LucasArts, making the sexiest character so far underage.) Do I have to make specific decisions during conversations in order to romance them, or will the romance just "happen" automatically?

4: Where is the oft-lauded HK-47? I hope I haven't missed my chance to recruit him.

5: Do I ever actually get to figure out what in the hell that "Promised Land" was everyone in the Taris undercity was gushing about?

6: Also, would many of you agree or disagree with my claim that the first game is better than the second? Mind you, I haven't gotten terribly far in either, so I could be horribly off-base here.

Finally, while I do really enjoy KOTOR I can't help but notice how firmly the game sticks to Star War cliches in allowing you to play what essentially would be any Star Wars fan's "dream lineup." I mean essentially Canderous is Boba Fett, Zalbaar is Chewie, the little robot is just like R2-D2, HK-47 is a badass (and thus infinitely more likable) version of Threepio, Carth Onasi reminds me at times of Han (and also at times of Wedge Antilles), Bastila's like a female Luke with clear Leia overtones...

..and you're basically subsequently roleplaying everyone's fan favorites from the actual series, just in a different time period and with different names.

[Tendronai]

1) Without spoiling the storyline, I can say that some character interactions will change depending on your alignment/gender.

2) Toughness is a great feat to dump points into. Extra hp based on your level, which by the end game can equal 60 extra if you get all the feats. Which even for the fighter classes can be around 20% more health.

I prefer the Flurry and Two-Weapon Fighting feats too, for the multitude of attacks you can unleash for what will, in the end, be only slight penalties.

Unless you want to fight with just one weapon, skip Dueling.
The Weapon Focus Feats are also kind pointless.

As for skills, Persuade is useless if you take the Force Persuades.
I find Demolitions similarily useless.

3) All romance stuff is restricted to one character, and will occur as plot points advance. So... sorry.

4) HK-47 is (Warning, it's his location, very mild spoiler) in a droid shop on Tatooine.

5) No, that was just something the poor people told themselves to keep their hopes alive.

6) I liked 2 better, personally, for the mroal ambiguity of the storyline.

Something's really sketchy about the main character (I mean it's weird that he's been so quickly identified as force-attuned, I thought that was a poor plot-oriented way to have the main character suddenly garner Jedi status.). Also, the main character's complete lack of a coherent past and his "mysterious stranger" (he's literally called that in the Taris fighting ring) shindig is a little annoying, but I guess it's a small price to pay in exchange for being able to actually choose a gender and unique appearance for the character.

I'm not saying anything about this.

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by Tendronai

5) No, that was just something the poor people told themselves to keep their hopes alive.

Well, I thought so too at first, but apparently (Mild Spoilers ensue!)

After I recovered all three journals even the level-headed mayor of the undercity was hellbent convinced that I had found the location to something. I mean the entire town evacuated afterwards and went chasing into rakghoul infested wastelands. So either the Promised Land actually did exist or they're all dead because their mayor and the old man are idealistic idiots. Hard to believe it'd be a "Light Side" event to decieve so many people into dying, wouldn't it?

Edit: You can also be slightly more specific (with spoiler-tags, of course) regarding the differences to the game in being a female or being evil. Particularly with events that've already transpired on Taris. Like, I'm curious as to whether you could have sided with the Vulkans and killed the Beks guy, and if doing so would have prevented that whole Vulkan Base sidequest from ever taking place.

Also, additional question. The party recovers Bastila, and Bastila's bested Darth Revan, who's supposedly stronger than Darth Malak. Why not just fly Bastila on the Ebon Hawk to Malak's Sith capital ship that's right there, infiltrate it like Luke and company infiltrated the Death Star, and finish off Malak then and there before Malak has the opportunity to destroy more worlds? I dunno, when Bastila was like "let's go to Dantooine for some rest and relaxation" I was like, "Well, for the sake of maintaining a fifty-hour RPG storyline I guess that was necessary, but seriously, it could have ended right there." It seemed outright selfish for them to just abandon Taris like that, even if Taris was a shithole planet.

[Mesden]

To your last statement: It becomes painfully obvious later on. It's really story driven, so it's really hard to reveal any reasons why they didn't do 'something'.

[Chipper173]

It's always fun to get it from the perspective of someone who doesn't know the whole story. Dude, if you're having fun at this point, you'll think the game's a blast. It gets so much better after Taris.

EDIT: Also I went Dark Side double-lightsaber guy and kicked an unbelievable amount of ass. I was so awesome by the time the game was over.

[Mr.Bookworm]

1: I created a male and so far I've been doing goody two-shoes lightside stuff, but I'm curious to know whether you guys enjoyed your playing experiences as females / dark side characters, as well as what the key differences in gameplay and storyline are depending on your gender and your affiliation. (Again, please keep the spoilers light, but I probably won't have the time to replay the game after I've beaten it, so I am curious to know what I'll be missing out on.)

I would say Dark Side is much more fun, just because you can be wantonly cruel. There are like six different endings, though, based on alignment and romance choices. You really need to replay the game a few times though, so you can try out all of the classes, and the different story options.

2: What feats and skills are most worth investing into? Should I have been a scout, warrior, or scoundrel? (I chose scout, for the record, and jedi sentinel with the yellow lightsaber for jedi class.) And which feats and skills aren't worth the time?

Definitly Force Lightning. Even with Light Side Force penalty, it is without a doubt the best mass murder weapon in KOTOR. Depending on whether you use two weapons/two-handed weapons or a single weapon, you should either get the maxed out version of Two-Weapon Fighting or Dueling respectivly. TWF reduces the penalties immensly, and Dueling increases the killing power of a single weapon. Also aim for Weapon Focus: Lightsaber, as this greatly enhances your combat ability if you use a lightsaber. Another goody for lightsabers are the Critical Strike, Flurry, and Power Attack feats. Get em' all to the second level at least.

Class just depends on your play-style. If you're an up-close and personal guy, Soldier. If you like shooting stuff and using trickery, Scoundrel. And if you like a mix of the two styles, Scout.

Eh. There are a few, but you can't really generalize, as they can all be useful depending on style. Just don't pick anything that doesn't match your play style. Don't max out your blaster skills if you don't use a lightsaber. Don't pick up Two-Weapon Fighting if you use a single lightsaber. That sort of thing.

3: Is there any way I can have my character make romantic advances on any of the women? I'm definitely digging Mission, though she's probably a bit too young for my character. (Damn you LucasArts, making the sexiest character so far underage.) Do I have to make specific decisions during conversations in order to romance them, or will the romance just "happen" automatically?

You xenopedophiliast, you.

You get Bastila if you're a man, and Carth if you're a woman. Though you don't have to follow the romances. Though it changes the ending depending on whether you do/don't.

4: Where is the oft-lauded HK-47? I hope I haven't missed my chance to recruit him.

Nope. You can buy him on Tattoine. He's actually neccessary to complete the Tattoine area, as he can translate the Sand People language.

5: Do I ever actually get to figure out what in the hell that "Promised Land" was everyone in the Taris undercity was gushing about?

I'm almost 100% positive that it's a real place. Apparently it's a kind of bunker/Paradise, where droids mantain everything.

6: Also, would many of you agree or disagree with my claim that the first game is better than the second? Mind you, I haven't gotten terribly far in either, so I could be horribly off-base here.

It's better in terms of story, but I like the second one's gameplay better. But both are great.

[Sithdarth]

All I can say is pick either the Wookie or the Mandalorean give them the best upgradeable vibroblades (fully upgraded) you can find and they will out damage the Jedi. They also get crazy high HP and Canderous has fast healing 4. (You'll find one for sale on Datoonie and the other as you wander around the Wookie planet.) That right there will pretty much get you through the game. On a side note I prefer to give Canderous the two vibroblades and the Wookie the blade of Ajunta Pall which you'll probably run into along the way just make sure you don't give it away. (You'll know what I mean if you get that far.) Oh and all three levels of toughness for Canderous and the Wookie. Its a must.

[Toast]

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

1: I created a male and so far I've been doing goody two-shoes lightside stuff, but I'm curious to know whether you guys enjoyed your playing experiences as females / dark side characters, as well as what the key differences in gameplay and storyline are depending on your gender and your affiliation. (Again, please keep the spoilers light, but I probably won't have the time to replay the game after I've beaten it, so I am curious to know what I'll be missing out on.)

There are some differences. I haven't played darkside yet, but I found it very fulfilling to be a more neutral force user. When playing a woman, there's some minor differences. As alluded, the romance is with a different person, and I don't think it's as deep as the man's romance (although his isn't very deep, either).

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

2: What feats and skills are most worth investing into? Should I have been a scout, warrior, or scoundrel? (I chose scout, for the record, and jedi sentinel with the yellow lightsaber for jedi class.) And which feats and skills aren't worth the time?

As said before. Two weapon and flurry are best. The force push series is also very devastating at its final level, although in a battlefield control way rather than a battlefield massacre way. Scout/ sentinel give you the most skill points and middle of the road feats/ powers/hitpoints. It's what I always go for.

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

3: Is there any way I can have my character make romantic advances on any of the women? I'm definitely digging Mission, though she's probably a bit too young for my character. (Damn you LucasArts, making the sexiest character so far underage.) Do I have to make specific decisions during conversations in order to romance them, or will the romance just "happen" automatically?

As someone said before, the romances are fixed, although dialog choices may trigger it.

Originally Posted by Solid Snake

6: Also, would many of you agree or disagree with my claim that the first game is better than the second? Mind you, I haven't gotten terribly far in either, so I could be horribly off-base here.

I like them both for different things. For instance, in one, the level cap is 20, and there are a few places where there's random spawns. In two, however, the level cap is 50, but there's only one place that respawns enemies, and it's sort of a glitch rather than an actual intended location to do so, so it's essentially impossible to reach the level cap just playing through the game normally. I think I hit lvl 28 on my first playthrough.

Also in 2, there's a lot more interaction between your party members than in 1.

[Darth SS]

Yeah, I'm currently just now playing through KOTOR II on my boot-camped Mac.


Holy shit. It's like....epic game diffused right into the game. The only thing I've quite disliked is how they assume that you have a flying fuck about the main character's backstory.

[Mirai Gen]

Well KOTOR was fantastic but it's like entering a conversation about Fight Club when you've only watched the first half and your sweet Aunt Edna unplugged the TV on accident, so you wanted to ask about it while you had the time.

There's just so much there that you really need to have finished it prior to asking.