That awkward moment...

Alrighty so, It's time we address the issue that either many folks already mentioned or have thought of. This of course would be that KOTOR 2 was by no exaggeration an unfinished game. I cannot think of a game that was more gutted than this game to reach its release date. You can easily find lists of all the cut content ranging from different planets, new plot points, VASTLY altering character arches (specifically when dealing with your romance option on who you did or did not pick) and so much more. Seriously though, if you are remotely interested it is worth checking out some of it.

However, many people can point at games that also had lofty ambitions that they did not reach but KOTOR 2 is different in this case. The majority of the cut content are actually still in the files of the game. There have been several "Restoration mods" that have worked to restore these into the game with varying success(I do encourage you to download them if you have it on PC) Here is the dilemma: how should we deal with this? The answer is simple: whatever was on the disk AND PLAYABLE is counted. I am not going to use any cut content as evidence to back up my claim during the following proceedings. Of course it should be known that if Obsidian was allowed to actually finish the game they wanted to, we would not be having this conversation at all as KOTOR 2 would be definitively better as opposed to the underdog that it is. Anyway though, let's kick it off! Also keep it mind there will be spoilers!

Characters

The Good: KOTOR 1

Now let's be fair both games have their share of great characters. I would argue for KOTOR 2 there are only 2 really interesting characters. Yes HK-47 is very funny but he's just a killer droid not much else. Canderous is a personal favorite but I just love listening to his stories and besides, he get a whole lot better in KOTOR 2. No I would say the two best in KOTOR 1 are Juhani and Jolee. Both of them represent something very important to the evolution of not only Star Wars but games in general. Carth and Bastila aren't really worth discussing as they just aren't very interesting. Carth is always go on on about trust and how he doesn't trust you and then Bastila is constantly scolding and lecturing you about the Dark side; it's exhausting. Coupled to that, the two of them supplant you really as the main character as their needs and goals become the driving force of the game, not yours. Also worth noting that Bastila's fall to the Dark side makes NO SENSE.

Jolee though, is an extremely important character in my opinion as he is one of the first times in any Star Wars games that you come across a character who is disillusioned with the Jedi Order and the strict adherence to the "Light Side." It raises interesting questions as his choices then imply the fact that there is so much more to the Force than those two points of view and further accentuating that the Darkside is necessarily "evil but a different point of view that gets twisted. The way of the Gray was a pretty novel idea, even now where most games with moral choices make you either a goody-two-shoes or a complete jerk. You're not evil like Darth Vader, you're a punk robbing people of lunch money. The idea of shades of gray are introduced by Jolee and then expanded upon the second game.

Fun fact: Jade Empire actually did a fairly good job of contextualizing their Dark side or "Way of the Closed Fist" much more as a "standing on your own " ideology that gets twisted.

Juhani is much more interesting as you talk to her more and more and go beyond her whole "falling to the darkside" backstory. How she was born in poverty and how the Jedi brought her in and she describes falling in love with the, as they became her saviors and were seen as almost god like to her because of that. Juhani get even more important if you choose to be a woman. Juhani is a lesbian and over the course of your adventure will fall in love with you. She then feels torn because she to fight not only her guilt for falling in love as the Order says you can't love and that makes her confront her previous fall the darkside over and over again. The only part that ruins this is that her love for you can never be reciprocated. Female Revan can only be with Carth.

The only thing I don't like about this clip is the person modded Juhani to look more stereotypically "beautiful." I don't like it one bit as the mod seems to imply that there is something wrong with how Juhani looks but I'm probably just reading into it too much.

The Good: KOTOR 2

KOTOR 2 on the other hand I would say at the very least three strong characters and at most six. Granted, they are not as "important" in terms of the franchise as Jolee and Juhani but they bring a lot more in terms of character development which ultimately makes them more interesting to listen to and have in the party. These characters would be Atton, Mandalore, Bao Dur, Visas, Handmaiden(Brianna) and of course, Kreia ( who's going to have her own section, she's THAT good). The others are a mixed bag, Hanharr is pretty interesting, especially his relationship with Mira but neither are all that much individually; G0-T0 is lame, interesting premise space gangster attempting to control things through economics but he's boring; Disciple is boring and HK-47 is still HK-47.

I'm not going to go through each of their stories as that would take too long. We can however look at their stories as a group. Each of these characters carry backstories, goals, desires, and weakness that range from more than, "Hey, do my sidequest." Atton's backstory of being a soldier for Revan and Malak and then turning into a torturer of prisoners, especially Jedi. His moment of the Force awakening in him as he killed the Jedi who did opened him to it and how he at first wanted to kill her out of hatred but in the end did it because he loved her. Powerful stuff and I'm really just skimming ONE conversation with Atton. Visas and her relationship with Darth Nihilus; being the last of kind, indoctrinated into the Dark side and trying to kill you and her relationship that develops with you. I mean, it makes a powerful statements on abusive relationships, the Force, the power of redemption, whatever you want.

Okay , okay one more, Bao dur. The strong silent type of the team and the only one to not call you "Exile." He's also the only one who shares with you the sin of Malachor V. It's clear that his respect for you is absolute and how his life has never been the same after that battle and how attempts to atone for his sins by helping the Telos Restoration project, essentially trying to do the opposite of what he did at Malachor V. "Your command echoes still General, and I obey as I did at Malachor." With Bao dur it as much if not more of what he doesn't say that speaks to the true complexities of his character but every now and then he opens up and man... I tell ya.

We can do this with everything single of those characters that I just named for KOTOR 2 (and I easily could). As I said, while Jolee and Juhani are very interesting and important characters, they're kinda it in terms of interesting in KOTOR 1. Everyone else get sort of wrapped up after their sidequest with the exception of those two. Carth and Bastila aren't really that interesting as they don't bring much to the table and actively get in the way of your story. KOTOR 2 is different in that while its characters aren't "game changers" in terms of Jolee and Juhani but the characters have so many layers to their personalities that makes you want to learn more about them and as mentioned before the actually rewards you for it! Between bonuses to skills, bonuses to defense, resistances and perhaps the most important, training them to become Jedi to strengthen your team!

Whew that was the good done and over with. This will probably be the longest section as now we just need the bad and Kreia. Hopefully I can tie up those two in one post but Kreia might need her own. Oh well. Sorry I had to cram a lot into a tiny amount of space, there are just so many characters between the two games. At least in next part we really have only four to really talk about. Alrighty see you folks in...

The Bad