Among the many Star Wars games that have come out over the years, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the most beloved by fans. It was a role-playing game developed by Bioware that highlighted an era of Star Wars set 4,000 years prior to the movies, which became popular when it first released for the original Xbox in 2003. It was critically praised by many outlets at the time, despite a few things about the game that were criticized in reviews. But Star Wars fans still view it as one of the best Star Wars games ever released, and arguably one of the best role-playing games of all-time to be released on consoles.

Much to the delight of everyone, Knights of the Old Republic is getting a full remake for modern consoles. But what about the original game should be improved upon to make the experience even better? Not everything about this Star Wars game has aged gracefully, which may prevent it from being a hit with newer players who didn't experience the original Xbox release. Here is how Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake should be different from the original game, and why it would make a galaxy-sized difference for everyone.

Of Lightsabers and Good Combat

The battle system needs an update

The combat of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has not grown better with age. While at the time of its release, the battle system in Knights of the Old Republic felt different from other role-playing games released in that era. Battles were fought in round-based exchanges, with stats determining the outcome of actions, similar to the Dungeons & Dragons D20 system. This made combat deeper with how skirmishes can lead to different outcomes, but it didn't make the battles look exciting. Players only had so much control over their actions while in combat, allowing for light movement and interruptions of actions within the flow of the rounds taking place, but far from that of a traditional action game.

For the remake, the combat of the original will need to be completely overhauled. While some players enjoy turn-based combat in role-playing games, the vast majority of people prefer to play games with real-time combat. One approach to this done right for another remake of a classic game recently was Final Fantasy VII Remake, which incorporated real-time battles and direct control for players into its battle system, along with a few nods to the Active-Time Battle system from the original Final Fantasy VII. This is something that the Knights of the Old Republic Remake should do as well, to the benefit of everyone.

Letting players wield a lightsaber and fight enemies in real-time is a perfect match for any Star Wars game. It will not only make combat more exciting and interesting, but would also allow for the key battles against major enemies to stand out more often. Clashing lightsabers with Darth Malak or any Sith lord can look and feel more special within the experience, as opposed to watching two character models go through generic combat animations while in battle. However, this would also allow the difficulty of the game to become adjusted and be dependent on the skills of players, not solely on the stats of their character or simple luck.

A Denser Galaxy Far, Far Away

Planets shouldn't feel empty

One of the best aspects of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is the different planets that players get to visit. Locations within planets like Taris, Korriban, and Telos IV were interesting to explore as the main quest of the story continued to unfold. However, the planets you visited in Knights of the Old Republic often felt empty, even with various characters lingering in different areas. Tatooine was still vast and detailed, but didn't have the bustling vibe that it has always been known for. This needs to be adjusted in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake in a big way for every planet.

Luckily, due to the better hardware for the game to release on, Knights of the Old Republic Remake can have more detailed environments that are filled with more characters and events. Aliens and people interacting with one-another as you walk by, key locations to pick up more side quests or discover secrets, and even spots you can visit to just take in the surroundings. All of these adjustments will help make the planets you visit in the game feel more lived-in, with their own history and routines for their inhabitants. This doesn't mean that the original game didn't have good locations to explore, but with a remake comes the chance to further enhance parts of the game, allowing them to become great locations to visit.

Bigger Backstories for Everyone

More details for each character

But what about the characters we know from the original game? A highly-praised part of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was the writing, which had interesting backstories and dialogue for all of its characters. The allies you meet throughout the story have their own distinct personalities and quirks, as well as history that fleshes them out as relatable characters. More than anything else in the original game, this should definitely be retained in Knights of the Old Republic Remake, as it's part of what made the game so great. But all of it can be expanded upon, giving fans of Knights of the Old Republic more details about their favorite characters and key players in the plot.

The original game on the Xbox had multiple side quests that you could go on which give details about your allies, and help change your relationship and alignment with them. But there was only so much to do before moving on. The upcoming remake could open this up by having more side quests or interactions with various characters, as well as giving you the chance to pair up different combinations of allies for additional exchanges. Something like this can play well into how you build up your party when visiting planets, as well as allow players to explore more details about allies who they spend the most time with.

But the party of the Ebon Hawk shouldn't be the only ones getting more backstory. Inhabitants of the planets you visit should get the same treatment, especially those you interact with for quests you encounter. Whether it's more dialogue options to gather information or side stories to witness between characters in passing, this would vastly build out the worlds in Knights of the Old Republic. Players loved spending time on the different planets that were there, so giving them even more reasons to get lost in them would be a very good idea.

A Revan of Our Own

Customization can be vast

And finally, there's Revan, the legendary Jedi or Sith from the Old Republic. This was the avatar character that players controlled in the story, which had multiple paths to be taken. Choices in dialogue and actions in quests not only changed the force alignment of Revan, but had effects on those around him. It was the biggest part of playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, letting players feel like their choices affected the galaxy in a big way. This also had an influence on how their own personal Revan looked, which could garner reactions from characters they encountered and change options in the dialogue.

The customization of Revan should be further expanded upon in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake, letting us truly create a personalized Revan that can look and feel unique. More equipment and weapon options can be added to find on planets or in shops, as well as rewards for different quests and challenges. Having an abundance of them can allow for a wider range of visuals for how Revan can appear, whether he is aligned with the light side or the dark side of the Force. The same could be said for how weapons appear when Revan wields them, giving a range of visuals or animations that vary between light and dark side alignments.

Characters you interact with should have more diverse reactions to how Revan appears as well, letting even the choices of what you equip to him affect how Revan interacts with others. Ideally, exchanges that Revan has with different beings should never feel the same, especially when they're in different locations. The original game had repeated spoken dialogue with characters you encounter while exploring, even if Revan looked different in each instance. With the chance to broaden this part of how Revan can be customized in the remake, this would be a welcome change that would further the role-playing aspect of the experience, and enable Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake to be greater than the original.

Remaking a legendary tale

Fans of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic are eagerly awaiting how the remake will reimagine the legendary role-playing game. It's one of the most anticipated Star Wars games to date, with many hoping that it won't be just another lackluster release for new consoles. While development has undergone a number of changes and shifts between different developers, there isn't a clear timeframe for when we'll finally see Knights of the Old Republic Remake released on consoles. Hopefully, when the game does finally come out, it'll take the best aspects of the original and offer an experience that lives up to the legacy of this beloved Star Wars game.