To be fair, all American politics is owning the libs and saying woke shit. We're still fueling planes that bomb yemini children because democrat or republican, we gotta get that sweet, sweet crude, baby.
@@iluvdawubz It's called a comparison to probe critical thought. If the American Education System did its job, it'd be more apparent. "wHaT dOeS tHaT hAv dEw W Sk3w1 r3t4rd?"
I think that's essentially the biggest failure of Kreia. She's cynical and pessimistic to the point where there really isn't an "up" for anyone or anything, except for the player character.
This game made my taste in games go haywire, before this all I played was Halo, Quake, and Baldur's Gate. RPG's have fully taken over my life since and I don't want to recover.
idk about that, youtube loves recommending long videos these days. Joseph Anderson vids are consistently the next autoplay option and I know that's not just a me thing since many of them have doubled or tripled in views in the last few months
@@RaidsEpicly IGN and other mainstream reviewers putting out 10 minutes at best. Long form youtube reviewers: The ability to speak does not make you intelligent
I know most of this is for comedy's sake, but the "Dantooine Again" segment was genuinely insightful. More than any other aspect of the game, I wish it had gotten more dev time just to expand this moment and help it make more sense from more angles.
@@StratEdgyProductions I just meant it as saying "I don't mean to be a square, but" cause that more serious segment was the highlight of the whole video imo
@@StratEdgyProductions I can see how it's hard to see the video as primarily a joke upon first watch or two, but after listening a few times (I think the pure gameplay sections were well placed by the way) it is starting to sound so obviously a big long joke haha
@@ADogNamedStay Basically. The parts where I am responding to characters is my character responding the way I think she would. That's why I was revan in the first and so on. There are more serious sections, but I think I am bad at making that obvious.
It's more of a meta plot point since it's actually referenced in-game. The RPG leveling system is acknowledged multiple times including by the Jedi Council as the Exile's "sucking up power and experience from their defeated enemies". Surik's giving up of her powers is why we start at level 1 and her regaining them through absorbing Force connection from her enemies is why we level her back up. It's a pretty cool way of doing things, similar to how Planescape: Torment integrated the main character immortality into the plot itself as the main driver of the MC's quest. The Nameless is unable to die because he keeps respawning like a game character would. In fact P:T also had the main character being a vortex of fate explanation for the other party members who are drawn to him in the form of the Mark of Torment which basically did the same thing the Exile's connection to the Force did. And hey look, Chris Avellone worked on both of them as lead designer and lead writer, what a coincidence.
1:54:15 You misunderstand. He wanted A Jedi. However, when he realized it was YOU he caught and looked into your history, he realized YOU were better contained than used.
Am I the only one who finds it weird that the game gives you a few means of detecting danger (Your premonitions, Atton’s “danger sense”) then rarely makes use of it?
@@StratEdgyProductions - Exactly. It could have just been a warning to make a save or backup save for, say, that Nar Shaddaa section. You could have a premonition of you being in a strange place unconscious, and Atton could notice the sisters following the group and make his plan to lead them away.
@Antonio Galio I mean I'm pretty sure one of the biggest blunders Araki ever made was naming two different Stands "Earth, Wind, & Fire" EDIT: One was from Part 4, Diamond is Unbreakable, and the other was from Part 6, Stone Ocean.
3:35:37 That also has an answer... which you can be told by Kreia if you ask her. I'm getting the feeling that you didn't talk to any of the companions 3:49:20 And again she doesn't kill them she locks them up and you can decide whether or not to save them
A lot of things in KOTOR2 can be very easy to miss, especially if you don't take your time or don't know what you're doing, yeah. Learning about who Sion and Nihilus really are and why they do what they do requires having enough reputation with Kreia, which can be easy to miss out on if you mostly make light side choices without thinking or use brute force to solve problems instead of choosing manipulative dialogue options. That's just one example of crucial information that can be glossed over by a new player or someone who hasn't played in a long time, and this is the case with every companion to some degree.
@@cyberninjazero5659 Huh, I didn't know that. I finished the game for the first time a few weeks ago, but I'm already thinking about starting another playthrough to explore the dialogue again. How substantial are the differences between a dark side playthrough and a light side playthrough?
@@medic6792 You get Hanharr as a companion instead of Mira the Council Reunion is just you and Kreia asking you if killing the Jedi was worth it. Onderon has you join the other side and I'm not going to spoil it but there's a reason that only a Darkside player can stay in the academy at the end and that reason is tied to Onderon
KOTOR 1+2: has 2 full soundtracks of music, with different themes and feelings for each area, is incredibly personalized Strat-Edgy: *uses B4-D4's theme every other minute*
Uberdanger just posted a 4 hour long Fallout: New Vegas video a couple of days ago and I was able to watch the whole thing before it got taken down by a copyright strike. Now only 3 days later I'm blessed with another 4 hour video to watch! Hell yeah! (hopefully this one doesn't get taken down for having 12 seconds of copyrighted music...)
95% certain you were supposed to go to Duxen and Onnderon BEFORE Korriban. Also, I can vouch that the thing with the Basilisk cut scene is a glitch caused by the mod.
They must've tweaked it? Or maybe I downloaded a "better" version? IDK, I did a playthrough fairly recently (May of 2020) with the restoration mod. Basilisk cut scene worked fine! A shame Strat didn't get to see it - It's friggin awesome!
@@osets2117 If it was meant to be done in a certain order then the devs should have locked off certain areas until you progress or at least tried harder to steer you in a certain direction. They do neither. And even if they did try to steer the player in a certain direction, they didn't do it enough, because I've played this game through about a dozen times (and fairly recently) and have absolutely no recollection of it.
2:00:19 the main issue is Nihilus is basically an auto-win card against any normal force user, ESPESCIALLY if they travel in groups. Gathering in councils, hunting him down in groups. It would all be a disaster. Nihilus though only ate the one world, and only because it was all force sensitives unready for him.
That's the thing about nihilus, the more Jedi there are the more powerful he is. Just being around him drains your life force passively, when he turns his attention to you he drains all of your life and your force powers. Nihilus devours all life not just force sensitives. The reason he can't defeat the exile is because you yourself are a black hole like he is, there's nothing for him to drain. That's why every time you defeat an enemy (lore wise) you get more powerful, you're literally draining their life and force powers (regardless of how little force powers your opponents have). As stated in the video every time you defeat the Jedi masters in a dark side playthrough you watch your character absorb their power.
KOTOR and KOTOR 2 is what got me into rpg's. Almost have playing nothing else for around a decade or so. Kudos to Bioware and Obisidian for introducing me into this style of games
I love your work Strat-Edgy but I respectfully disagree on a couple key points. But the one in particular I want to address is the Jedi council. When you say their actions don’t make sense, I don’t know where you got that from. From the dialogue through the game it is clear that the protagonist is a living wound in the force. This means they challenge the entire paradigm of the universe (a creature that exists outside of the will of the sentient, religious like energy which exists across all of creation) but they are also incredibly dangerous since they, at best, cause uncontrollable ripples through the force, and, at worse, could cause incredible damage. As is seen by the fact Kreia wants to use the protagonist in order to literally kill the force. Therefore, the exile is not only a existential threat to a universal religion that can clearly manifest itself within the material world but she is a threat to the entire raison d’être of the Sith and Jedi. The Jedi Council clearly recognizes this and so they act to end something that threatens the universe as they know it. (Something that is stated in their speech and throughout the game by others) Kreia knows this too but wants to use you to end existence as people in this universe understand it. P.S. Kreia is actually far closer to Nietzsche than she is to any sort of libertarian philosophy. She believes that as long as the galaxy is subject to the will of the force then mankind will always be under what Nietzsche called slave morality. She wants to destroy the force to free people from the will of the force. There’s a really great video out there on TH-cam which breaks this down. Search for the philosophy of Kreia.
"Kreia is actually far closer to Nietzsche than she is to any sort of libertarian philosophy" no wonder I don't like Kreia. If there was a starter pack for "I want to appear smarter than I actually am by researching surface-level philosophy", Nietzsche would be at the top of the list.
@@comicsans1689 I'll agree that Nietzsche is bastardised as the posterboy for nihilism (which he loathed) and edgy people flock to him like pigeons at a park. But his work had a lot insights into how morality developed across history.
First Salt Factory does KOTOR Series, then Noah Cadwell Gervais does Dark Forces and Jedi night, and now Strat-egy does KOTOR II. Is it Christmas. Now need to get Mandalore Gaming to discover his long lost twin in KOTOR II.
Kreia is hands down the best star wars character ever, her dialogue, her voice and her philosophy is the most interesting thing out of the setting. She(and Kotor 2 as a whole) puts into perspective how horrifying the force and the star wars universe as a whole actually is, having a invisible hand guiding the universe from conflict to conflict. I also love the dynamic between the MC and Kreia, because it's the whole "villain wants to end the world because there is too much suffering" cliche but packaged so well that it doesn't feel like that trope. Kreia is the biggest critic of the Star Wars universe,and the player stands to defend it, both literally and philosophically. What a great game.
Kriea doesn't want to end the universe or the life in it, she simply wants to eliminate the force and the influence it has on the universe nothing more. She plans to do so with a wound in the force, she originally attempted to do it with Nihilus but he was a monster that allowed himself to give into hunger and end both the force and all life so she gave up on him and knows she had to stop him. Then she found the exile and realized he too was a wound in the force and tried to guide him to achieve her goal. She isn't evil or jaded by any means, all she wants is a universe like the one we live in.
A lot of the combat sections where you don't play as the exile are so much easier if you make your companions into jedi. Which almost every non droid can become one if you just influence them a couple times. Nar Shaddaa is nowhere near as bad (other than the mira section) if you do that
Same.. I Always struggle with Mira on Nar Shaddaa because I choose not to level her up until I turn her into a Jedi. That way she has more Force Powers as the leader of my squadron on Dxun
Bao-Dur is the hardest to upgrade. Always takes me till pretty much the end of the game, which feels like a waste when he runs out of force points with one attack. Of course, I'll do crazy shit like just stop leveling him at lvl10 and only bring him out for specific influence gains.
@@matthiasnagorski8411 I normally get Bao-Dur to train as a Jedi by the time we leave Telos and land on Dantooine.. When doing the mission to find the sensors in the kinrath cave, take Bao-Dur with you as he has knowledge and input in that mission that allows two chances to gain more influence with him, which normally turns out to be enough. By the time we split up for Onderon and the Dxun Sith Temple, my entire team are Jedi minus the droids.
@@RantRadio maybe it's just my playthru style. I usually do Nar Shadda or Korriban first. Get Atton turned, then get myself a Visas, then I worry about the other characters. I bought it on my phone recently, so maybe I'll switch it up this time.
The fact that you are complaining about the story not making sense while the characters in the game are explaining it and then your character in the game exclaiming: “That doesn’t make sense!” is very meta
But the game's story is a giant mess. It's honestly just Kreia's nagging campaign with some Star Wars elements as window dressing so that you'll at least stick around so she can nag you to death about her space wizard atheism.
@@comicsans1689 You really do have a bone to pick with Kreia, don't you? For a character you're only forced to have in the party thrice in the entire game, you seek to be awfully angry. How do you feel about Mira? Atton? T3? Mandalore?
@@thomaswillard6267 Keira is the whole story she is the final boss and always injects her self in and is hard to ignore unless you are running around and grinding.
@@nicholasmaniccia1005 "always interjects herself" Aside from the beggar on Nar Shaddaa, she only interrupts for exposition. Do you get similarly angry at Codex entries? "buh she's the final boss" Yeah, that's kind of the point of the game. You can say you don't like the story, that's fine. But making up excuses like "we see too much of a main character" is just bad faith.
@@thomaswillard6267 Kreia is literally the only redeeming quality of this story and even that's not saying much. "The Jedi and the Sith are dumbasses who take extremes on both sides of the Force" gee I've never heard this criticism before (seriously, her entire perspective is nothing new)
"The most satisfying ending is were everyone dies" You know every one (cept the engineer and the wooki) can live right? In fact you can train your companions in every force power you know so Atton should have no trouble winging that fight. I played through 3 times and never had atton die there. Edit: I actually didnt know Atton could betray you. Thats pretty neat.
"I'm going to skip anything not directly related to the main plot" *[skips bunch of stuff relevant to the main plot]* "This main plot doesn't make sense and is bad" Apathy is Death
@@Sightss_ He skipped over a lot of the parts after Kreia kills the Jedi Masters, like A LOOT, he doesn't even mention the white haired snow chick and a handful of great characters, his review isn't wrong though and are valid but there's a lot things of the game that he just isn't giving enough credit.
@@Sightss_ he skipped over basically everything with Atris, skipped the part where it explained why Nihilus feeds on planets, and honestly a ton of important stuff that requires you to get high influence with Kreia. Same with G0-T0, there was some really interesting plot stuff going on with him. The ending is definitely handled badly but plenty of other stuff he says makes no sense is just him passing opportunities for explanations by.
the whole " your a wound in the force and the more people you killed the stronger you get." was supposed to be an in universe explanation on exp. and nhilous gets weaker as he tried to suck your life force but as your both pretty much the same being so it backfires and weakens him.
@@thomaswillard6267 It felt like a horror murder mystery, slowly putting the pieces together of what happened and quickly realizing that whoever did this, they wanted every living thing on this station dead, all for your sake. Kreia and Atton being the first two party members you meet and then later get is great as they are the perfect introduction to the more cynical galaxy that you are now in compared to the first KOTOR game. Honestly, I never fully beat this game and I need to go back and do so. I just always seem to get bad luck at certain parts and can't overcome the challenge in front of me.
Peragus is awesome... The first time. On replays, the mystery is gone and now it's just a 2h tutorial you have to rush through but yeah... First time there blew my teenage mind with how "dark" a Star wars (boy I wasn't ready for the rest of this game)
"Why is he going around feeding on planets?" Kreia LITERALLY says that Nihilus is rapidly starving, due to being more presence than flesh, and must fill an insatiable hunger in order to sustain his fleeting existence. There's a lot of things that I feel you just didn't bother to listen to at all.
It makes sense why the Jedi did what they did totally if that. Just hide. Trying to feed on the souls and minds of non force users is like living on bread and water. They're starving Nihilus from the inside.
The bald Jedi's plan actually makes sense to me, part of it at least. He says that Jedi are easier to find when they gather in numbers, so the remaining Jedi split up and live in heavily populated areas. They're harder to find, but not impossible, so they hope to get the upper hand whenever an assassin comes for them. It's a shit plan. Either they age and die of old age slower than the Sith, or live the rest of their lives on their toes, ready to murder Sith. Neither option includes getting their robes dirty
Honestly, given that Jedi in this age could use the force to extend their lives, it would be entirely possible to wait out the threat-- eventually, Vitiate would have sent another emissary or done SOMETHING
The plan would have worked though. The sith thought the player was the last jedi, so after they took care of you they'd assume they'd won and would likely come out of hiding. Its a bad plan but it's the best they could come up with when they seemingly can't do anything without being completely wiped out for no discernable reason
I remember the first time I played I too thought Peragus was way too long. Now when I replay it, I actually like it. Probably just nostalgia considering KOTOR 1 and 2 are my favorite games of all time.
I think Peragus and Telos -- including the Restoration Zone -- all feel like one long section and it takes about 10 - 15 hours. I don't hate it entirely but the pacing is very bogged down and it feels a bit contrived how you just keep getting imprisoned and shot down over and over in such a short span of time. It feels like you're getting hamfistedly railroaded, and I imagine that is due in part to the fact that it was made in 14 months.
@I am Pagliacci You’re good man. Lol I enjoyed it myself through a few play throughs. It would’ve been interesting if we had a Star Wars game that could almost be in a noir setting in a way. Mysteries, investigations, etc. But with enough action in between to keep you interested.
I only started KOTOR 2 this week for the first time. Judging from what I’ve read online and knowing that there is a mod to skip the mission entirely, I expected to hate it. But it really isn’t as bad as I’ve been led to believe. Not once did I feel like I was banging my head against a wall or anything like that. The breadcrumb trail gives you enough to just rush through it if you’re not paying total attention to the storyline of what happened. And even then, it’s not a bad storyline and sets the tone of the game well.
Force crush is a dark side exclusive power you get after the council confrontation on Dantooine. If your player is dark side aligned. Light side players get force enlightenment. Crush is easily the better option. Deals crazy damage snd has great animation.
@@Raska7 Force enlightenment takes all of your buff powers and allows you to cast them in one cast I'm sure you're already aware of that and it makes guardians the most optimized for combat on the light side Whereas Force crush makes counselors the most optimized for combat on the dark side
I definitely disagree with a lot of what was said here to the point that it would be a real hassle to write it all down but I still appreciate examinations of this game and it's story. I also appreciate the motivation to make this sort of video, because as I just alluded to I'm way too fucking lazy to even write a detailed comment about my own thoughts. Let alone make a video. Anyway, good stuff
@@Funkin_Disher I've played the game through to completion about five or six times, I was just wondering if you meant that Master Li's betrayal was meant to be an allegory for "evil Yoda"
That basilisk war droid cutscene was a glitch not in vanilla version. This mod really fixed already fixed scenes. The actual scene shows you attacking and landing in the city
That Basilisk scene always bothered me because it's not a goddamn basilisk. It's one of Prince Xizor's StarViper fighters, anyone that's played Shadows of the Empire knows that.
@@osets2117 "The Basilisk war droid version presented in K2 was an intentional departure from the ones presented in Tales of the Jedi, and we are happy, because frankly, those look really stupid […] So yes, the Basilisk droid version was an intentional departure from the older models, and we take full responsibility. It is noteworthy that LucasArts and Lucasfilm agreed with our decision on the first pass…" ―Chris Avellone.
@@nawmedia435 That's a bullshit retcon to justify it after the fact and you know it. As for the Avellone quote, that's him admitting it looks nothing like their canon depiction and that doesn't bother him because he doesn't like the canon look.
Honestly kotor2 is the do anything for deathklok intro with Kreia writing the motorcycle like Nathan Explosion and everyone shits on each other as much That droid that's not actually a droid but a schizo drug lord or whatever acting through the droid is Murderface lol
For what it’s worth, the Jedi’s tactic of going to ground does make a bit more sense when you realize that a) there are other ways of gathering information besides using the force (checking up on rumors, paying off informants, etc.), and b) Nihilus and the other Sith Lords were only detecting Jedi who gathered in large groups, so as long as only 1 or 2 were in the same place at any given time the local population wasn’t in any more danger than they would be normally. And when someone did figure out how to strike back against the Sith they could contact Atris (again, not using the Force but with tech or an actual face to face meetup instead) to exchange the info and only then gather all the Jedi to launch an attack
I want to clear up a few things that you or others might find confusing. Firstly, Nihilus is a wound in the force, much like the player, however because of the darkside corruption Nihilus's powers are taken to the extreme. He feeds on death, literally. Every planet he consumes directly fuels his power, but his power is not his own. He's become a conduit for the dark side. He represents decay, whereas the player represents growth. Secondly, what fans don't recognize is just because it's told to you through a authority figure, doesn't necessarily make it true. The whole thing about the force being the thing that empowers you rather than talent and skill is analogous to "gods gifts". It's religious figures and followers who espouse these sayings and phrases. It's meant to diminish your achievements. Thirdly, what revan pursued as is described in swtor, is the destruction of the sith emperor, Vitiate. If you play a Jedi Knight you destroy vitiates physical body in your class quest. In the revan expansion, it's revealed that the emperor shares some of the powers that nihilus had, though he wasn't consumed by the darkside. Vitiate's soul is transfered from host to host, even multiple hosts. These leads to the culmination of the eternal empire, and empire founded by volkarion, who is a meat puppet of Vitiate. Vitiate then uses volkarion, and later the player to try and consume the galaxy. To my knowledge it's never explained how Revan gets incite into the emperor's plans. Overall it's almost a 1:1 of the reapers, with mega doom fleets and having to unite the galaxy to destroy an otherwise impossible threat. It's not explained to you in the game so I, and any sane person wouldn't put it past you, but the expanded material can give anyone who's frustrated with the story overall more explanation and insight in the ideas and concepts that were otherwise not present in game. Even if it's a cursory glance in the legends section of wookiepedia, it can detail immense swaths of cut story elements. This is not a defence of the game, rather an explanation for the curious on what/why/how things are. Also in regards to a previous video you made, where you foolishly gave away that controversial statements drive you insane: The assassination of Lincoln was an inside job by the government. Have fun deconstructing this thought.
What pisses me off is in the novels Revan gets screwed over as well as the Exile. The lore of the previous Eras with Exar Kun and Ulic Qel Droma, The Old Republic with actual Sith Lords was so ripe with promise and lore to be made into a series of video games.
@@MichieHoward True but Bioware wanted to move on after the first game and wanted their do thing which turned into Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Obsidian wanted to continue the series but didn't have the funds to acquire the rights which they tried to get by rushing the game out. I wish we all could have seen the true vision of Kotor 3 and not the mmo let's shoe horn in Revan which Bioware later did. I agree they could have done a lot with the lore they established with the previous eras.
It’s so good and i found t3 very helpful when he had it equipped. I don’t know if there is a way to make that his automatic attack, but if there was, i wish I had found that out during my playthrough. Also, T3 in kotor 2 overall is everything i wanted him to be in kotor 1. They actually gave him personality and the T3-only sections were really great for fleshing them out further.
You must've played some older version of the Restoration mod. In the current version not only no one dies (except Atton, and even then only if he loses his duel with Sion), but Kreia goes on to foretell the future of most members of the team after she is defeated. In fact you can see the Handmaiden, Visas and/or Atton alive with your own eyes as you leave the place. As for your interpretation of what the story means, I think you'd benefit from watching "The philosophy of Kreia: a critical examination of Star Wars" essay here on TH-cam. In a nutshell, if you are truly light side, you are basically supposed to agree with the council. The role of the Jedi is not to use the Force for good - it's to not use the Force at all, except for cases when the Force guides you as a tool to kill the Sith. The "good" Jedi are supposed to imprison their own power within themselves, and become inhuman and dispassionate for the Galaxy's sake. Doing nothing (except killing the Sith) is literally the role of the light side Jedi. If you try to use the Force to enforce your will on the Galaxy, then for all your good intentions, the Force by its very nature will turn your into a sociopath that seeks to get more power for the sake of power. You lose sight of your original goal and become a monster - a defector that the Force will eventually find a way to slay through the hands of those in tune with it. The Force doesn't care that its corrupting nature perpetuates war and suffering cycle after cycle. And that's exactly the reason why Kreia hates the Force, and loves you - because unlike so many other force sensitives who'd rather die (or turn dark) than give up the Force - you did. So you can play a character who's either light or dark and who gave the Force up because they were afraid (just like Kreia says), or you can play the character who refuses to use the Force at all and only relies on strength that is truly their own, and refuses to be the Force's slave. Doesn't change the fact that the plan of the Jedi council in this game in particular is kind of stupid. But the original decision to not participate in the mandalorian wars is still in tune with the light side. So the message that Kreia tries to get across to the council is not that inaction is bad - she tried action herself, and experienced firsthand the fallings of the Sith as well as Jedi. Her message is that they should give up the Force and rely on their own strength instead, as that's the only way they can be free of the will of that malevolent deity that lends them power but in exchange robs them of their freedom. It's a bit hypocritical of her, as she keeps using the Force herself, and even made the exile reconnect with the Force too (which she admits was a mistake), but like a good teacher she hopes that her student will be better than her.
This all assumes that Kreia's observations are all definitively true and not like...observations that have not been proven true and serve better at pointing out the writing issues when it comes to the force in Star Wars. Especially since this effectively goes against how the Foundation(The Films) of Star Wars portrays the force as a "energy field created by all living things, binding the galaxy together" and not as.... you know.... a fucking malevolent deity. Not salty at all about the crappy and conflicting writing that permeates throughout the old EU.
@@Sone01TheFirst That's not actually like, contradictory at all though? The Force is a field generated by all living things, and that means the Force doesn't have a will somehow that it constantly in all the movies guides people by? Like what did you think your point was here? Like you don't even need Kreia or these games or the EU to come to these conclusions about the nature of the Force at all, she simply spells it out.
What you say is an action. In an entire franchise where the central theme is "nothing occurs in a vacuum", you saying something that helps inspire someone to do good is an action of good in itself.
@@thomaswillard6267 right but actions have consequences. In real life, words have consequences. In this game, the choice of words from what I’ve seen tends to have nearly 0 consequences. Ergo, in this game it’s basically a non-action.
@@jhallo1851 I mean you can initiate combat in dialogue by telling some poor fucker that you'll kill them where they stand. This really comes down to what we count as consequences. If I tell a beggar to kill themselves in the game and they do, but that doesn't get its own ending slide at the end did it have rEaL cOnSequEnCes? Dialogue also reveals how your character thinks. And I think we could all agree that someone who thinks some hobo should just end it, even if they don't kill them themselves is an evil guy. Even with something that doesn't lead to immediate action like my two other examples. I can't really come up with an example from the game but if someone says some evil shit that's evil in itself no? IRL if someone denies a warcrime or that's definitely an evil thing to do. The game mechanic just kind of adjusts you towards the alignment you depict your character belongs to. Like imagine if you were a fully Light side guy who always helps out the poor and the innocent in the game, but then you advocated for wookie slavery. That's not something that a goodie two shoes would do. I guess you could argue that the game is bad for not allowing you to be a douchebag and hold terrible opinions ironically while appearing as a good guy but man.
I can recall playing this game way back in the day, on an old, all white computer setup. The PC could barely handle the game, I'm guessing 10-20 fps max, and would always crash on some planets, rendering end game progression impossible. But my god, did my child brain enjoy the stimuli recieved. It was then I fell in love with video games, and have never looked back.
I actually like the MMO. Its honestly got a lot of content that isn't locked behind a subscription. I believe you can play all the pre-level 70 and the First chapter of the Level 70 content for free. The class stories have have some solid writing.
I've only finished a couple class stories so far, but they are actually genuinely good. The only ones I couldn't get into are the Sentinel and Soldier iirc, but Bounty Hunter and Inquisitor are probably my favorites.
A year ago, I saw this video in my inbox, watched it, and thought it was really good and very accurate with its criticisms. Then I watched Warlockracy’s KOTOR 2 review and I realized how much you got BLATANTLY WRONG here. I was gobsmacked that a video less than half the length of your video covered more content and went even more in depth than your ALMOST FOUR HOUR VIDEO. It also inspired me to play through KOTOR 2 myself to see if any of these claims were legitimate so this is all first-hand knowledge. Your point about the house-arrest thing is admittedly minor but it still annoyed me enough to mention it. They aren’t investigating you for murder because they instantly realize that the guy you killed is an assassin (as shown in the parts of the scene you conveniently cut out). And what’s wrong with them keeping you under house arrest exactly? It’s the same as them keeping you in a cell. They only let you go when they’ve finished their investigation and cleared you of any wrongdoing. Nothing about this makes no sense. Your point about Goto doesn’t make any sense. The first thing you did after waking up, was BLOW UP A FUCKING MINING FACILITY. Of course he’s gonna lock you up to keep you from causing trouble in a collapsing nation. And he doesn’t want to kill you because he’s gonna try and find a use for you, like he says when he meets you. And why the hell would Goto support the Jedi just because the Republic supports them? They literally just tore themselves apart in a civil war that brought the Republic to the brink of collapse. He has every reason to not want to support or even trust the Jedi. The Jedi aren’t just “hiding because they’re scared” they’re doing what they literally said they were doing: waiting for the enemy to reveal themselves. Not because they’re cowards, but because it is the only thing they can do. The reason they don’t meet up like you suggest, is because the last time they did that, AN ENTIRE PLANET WAS WIPED OUT ALONG WITH ALL THE JEDI THERE. They are up against an enemy they couldn’t beat back when they were a hundred strong, so they’re just watching from the shadows hoping they’ll reveal themselves and allow the Jedi to find a weakness to exploit. It’s a long shot, I admit, but their options are literally that or die. And your whole point about “dying for something” was just so asinine. If the Jedi banded together against the Sith and died, you think they would’ve “died for something because at least they died fighting.” Which they would die since a hundred Jedi couldn’t win against the Sith so what would a handful be able to do? So no, they would’ve fought AND DIED. Accomplishing nothing. So they would literally have died FOR NOTHING. And it isn’t a contradiction that they’re hiding since by “hunt” they mean investigate from concealment LIKE WHAT ZEZ-KAI ELL SAID “Gather information” AS IN: INVESTIGATE, NOT “feel through the force.” So, they aren’t DOING NOTHING as you like to think. Also, the last time the Jedi tried to use the force to find the Sith, they all died LIKE VROOK SAID. And if they come out of hiding to find each other, they won’t instantly be found, as demonstrated by you playing the game. The Sith aren’t in every dark corner waiting for Jedi to reveal themselves, it’ll take some time for them to find them. Also, how do you know the Masters don’t have some way of communicating with each other? There are ways to communicate other than through the force. The Jedi don’t meet together because you found them, it’s because the Sith revealed themselves, it’s what KAVAR literally said! Why would the Masters ever think you’d kill them or go find Revan? You left the order before Revan fell to the dark side and you just disobeyed their orders, not give in to the dark side. So, why would they assume that? And what doesn’t make sense about Kavar saying Atris went to Katarr? And what didn’t make sense about the stuff he said after? You didn’t explain that, just played clips from Naked Gun. You also have this fundamental misunderstanding of Meetra Surik’s force powers stemming from you not paying attention (a running theme in this review). Meetra can’t use the force after Malachor V, she is deaf to it. The way she uses the force is by leeching it off of her force-sensitive companions through their force bonds. She is a literal force plague. A wound in the force like Nihilius. You literally pointed out dialogue in Peragus where you can say that the force feels distant somehow or that it’s like a sound or echo, foreshadowing the twist. So the council’s reasoning for betraying you “only makes sense if you’ve been sucking souls like the Highlander”, is wrong because it still makes sense whether or not they are alive. Though I admit you are the most effective weapon the Jedi have against the Sith, it still makes sense that they’d want to sever your force bonds because you’re basically a force parasite. And they can be WRONG! The Jedi are fallible characters with their own biases and beliefs. That’s the point of Kreia’s whole speech before she kills them. If you ask, Kreia TELLS you Nihilus is so consumed by hunger he has no body. He is a living hunger. That’s why he destroys planets. To feed on the force. You would’ve gotten an explanation about Nihilus if you’d just spoken to her. ITS ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK HER: “What do you know about the Sith hunting us?” HOW DID YOU MISS THIS!? And “Kreia’s betrayal isn’t set up and comes out of nowhere,” WHAT THE FUCK!? There are scenes THROUGHOUT THE GAME where Kreia is doing shady shit behind your back and making schemes with the other companions. Were you just not paying attention during those bits? Oh, right, you said you were skipping all of Kreia’s dialogue. It is set up that Kreia is not to be trusted and has her own agenda. Revan didn’t leave Canderous for dead, he just parted with him at the edge of the galaxy and told him to rebuild the Mandalorians. He’s just confused as to why Revan left if anything. And by “broken” and “cast down” Kreia meant that his leader AND friend abandoned him. And the ending where everyone dies at the end only happens if you fuck up and get them killed. If you prepare them and keep them alive, they survive to the end, EVEN ATTON. *Edited: Typos, Removed "Canderous isn't trying to prove Revan wrong" because I forgot about that exchange between Canderous and the Blind Girl at the end of the game.
I appreciate you choosing the "faux-Atris" Exile face, as I feel it's a good candidate for being the canon Meetra, mostly for the piercing blue eyes. More than that, like the game's Enclave, your insights are uniquely powerful. I don't entirely agree? I admire your perspective and this video, though.
It’s crazy watching someone else play this after I’ve done it some 50+ times. You make a number of great points but even by the time you left telos you already missed so much, but that’s the greatest thing about this game for me, the replay value is extensive.
What I really love is the "truth lies in between" kinda of philosophy this game has. KotOR 1 was so black and white, while you get to see so much more in this sequel. The useless evil displayed by the Sith, harming other just because they're evil, and the hypocrisy of the Jedi, who are so self absorbed in their own ways in such a way of not understanding that being cautious and apathetic is the worst thing that society can have against, especially considering their vow of protecting the innocent. That being said, KorOR II still remains an unfinished game, but an unfinished masterpiece, in my point of view. What I truly hope is that the remake of KotOR will actually spawn a finished trilogy, so that we can finally have some closure on this wonderful story. Great video, I really enjoyed it. Keep 'em coming.
That moment with all those deaths on Malachor plays just as well for a dark-side character. The weight of all those deaths may have been apathetic to one of the dark-side, however, the personal pain of a sith would experience cutting themselves off from The Force, the very font of their power, their capacity to free themselves. "I chose bondage and life, survival over dying with The Force. What a weakling I am. What an affront to the entire Sith Code, I am. I am less than those that will never know The Force's embrace. What have I become?" -My real thoughts about one of my Sith play-throughs. It is as a father burying their son. It is as a mother weeping upon a bloody shield.
Tbf Kreia doesn't kill your crew but puts them in jail, still it could have been explained better, especially since Mandalore is also in that jail and doesn't make sense.
In retrospect a lot of the trash mobs which were cut from the base game was probably a good idea. I think that the TSLRM creators erred by reintroducing them as they made sections like Nar Shadda more of a slog than they ought to have been.
Also he probably was only able to drain all of the Miraluka colony because everyone on it was force sensitive. Much like the Sith Assassins his power's based on the force power of his victims,
@@cyberninjazero5659 Yeah and you can tell HIM that in the fight at Telos. "There are no jedi here, if you try to use your powers here it will only weaken you" edgy missed it.
@@557deadpool You get that sort of option aeven if you don't click it or do you mean Kreia's dialogue? Which you can unlock by making her love OR hate you.
11:51 I really do like the basic mining droids. They're crabs with the front arms of Marauder Battlemechs/Glaug officer pods. That shit's cool as fuuuuuck.
Awsome seeing you play some kotor 2. Losing influence with kriea, and giving up on your blaster only run yet again is the way of life in kotor 2. Pure pazzak
A bit late, but I don't understand what was difficult about the Jedi's plan... It's simple: 1. The enemy is killing them 2. They have no idea who the enemy is nor how this is being accomplished 3. Jedi are being tracked through the Force 4. Big gatherings of Jedi cause a World Extinction Event -> Hide away and let the enemy think they have won so they stop being so hidey and reveal themselves for whatever it is they needed the Jedi out of the way for. Then, after the enemy reveals themselves, gather up your big army (the Republic's forces) and smash the bad guys. The idiocy of the plan isn't that it couldn't work, because its fundamentals are sound. The idiocy of the plan is that it _only_ involves Jedi, who make up a tiny, tiny portion of the manpower in the Republic. The enemy is destroying the Republic itself... so why isn't the Republic at all involved in fighting it?
Honestly the, relatively and comparatively, low intelligence stat Strat chose actually kind of shocked me. Mostly because of how much more focus on skills there are in KOTOR 2 and also because basically every other let's play I've seen of it has gone for a High Int-Jack of All Trades-Build for the skill points
@@dantethewanderer4989 When I played KOTOR and KOTOR 2 I followed the same basic principles: First, play as a min maxed light side Soldier into Guardian to get to know the mechanics(I have never played a Game based on the D&D system) to ge to know the game. Second play through the game as a dark side force storm spamming scoundrel into consular. What I dislike about the game is that my level of power is tied to my alligment which is tied to the dialog options I take. It is diapointing to be forced to use the goody 2 shoes options when in reallity I completely disagree with the message of these dialog options but since you miss out on power when doing otherwise the autistic parts of my brain force me to keep sing them. Regarding your comment, it is possible to use your companions for nearly everythig skill related besides some dialog options. Therefore you don't need to relly on a high intelgence stat for your main character.
@@mangosteakalignment doesn't really make you more powerful, all it does is make force powers of the same alignment cost less to use, stat's still offer far more of a boost than anything else I'm the game
I literally love your content man, ive only recently (3 or so months) started watching, and plan on donating soon, but your videos and just listening to someone talk about games they way you do really takes my mind off of the shit happening in my life. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to experience your content. Sincerely, Nicky Grey
"We will never truly find out what happened to meetra or reven" Me: well they kinda address it in the mmo "Unless you have 100's of hours to spend clicking buttons in the mmo" Me: ....
@@StratEdgyProductions I will never not be mad about how SWTOR took a dump on the KOTOR lore. At least we got some really excellent cinematic trailers for it.
I think the restored content mod might mess up the basilisk cutscene, because I saw the right cutscene in the vanilla game, although it’s nothing particularly special
It's definitely fair criticism that a lot of the Sith Lords' backstories and motivations, especially Nihilus, can only be gotten by talking to kreia, or that with high enough intelligence/influence you can just get her to explain her whole deal from the first time you get on the ebon hawk
Visas also gives some insight on Nihilus, and you actually get to talk to Sion, so I don't think its *that* fair of a critique. In general I suppose having the biggest source for lore being an abrasive old woman a lot of people will probably not like to talk to is not the best though. You can also just like, look at the fucking guyd and see that they're walking critiques of the Sith (Similar to the Council and Jedi) and thats really all there is to them. Power for powers sake is an empty goal and you end up consuming the entire galaxy. Sion is just a walking example of how fucked up dependancy on the Force can be, he admits to how pointless it all was and if only he could have given up on the force he wouldn't have had to face so much pain. Like I'm not sure if knowing what kind of childhoods they had is all that important, like its nice to know but its not why they are there.
The hallway fight with your party members on Nar Shadaa is the hardest part in the game especially on higher difficulties. Later on you turn Mira into a gunslinger jedi and the game becomes a joke.
Can I say Darth Sion is a GREAT villian? A man who has the powers like Darth Plagus. A man who cannot die, and using that power has negative side effects to his body.
what a sweet, concise, and to the point video more seriously for a ~4 hr video it didnt feel like it dragged and the discussion jumped around different ideas and tones that kept it super engaging.
I see this angle on the force is akin to the difference between a Jain extremist vs a Nietzschean philosophy. Neither is evil. Neither is good. Just different approaches on an extreme. KOTOR 2 has my favourite take on the force in all of Star Wars I've seen.
1:54:37 planting a bomb on a container actually doesn't damage the contents the same way Bash does. Programming oversight. So a hakcer isn't strictly necessary.
I can’t begin to explain the vast amount of joy I felt when I saw you collabed with Salt. You and Salt are the only gaming videos I watch. I discovered Salt after binging your videos.
Kinda pissed this went under my radar for two years 😤 love the both of you . Fantastic collaboration. Would love to see more with you both. LOVE YA SALT!
Finesse: Melee Weapons works on both metal melee weapons and jedi glowstics, so taking Finesse: Glowstick is redundant. It works like this in the OG and in patched restored content version. Also restored content lets you spar with Visas for extra free lightsaber feats (oh, and prestige class also gives some for free, if you didn't take them before). Other than that, lovely as usualy, seen this vid a few times, but I rewatched it now, because I'm replaying this shit again ❤
Strat bro, the experience points is literally people’s souls. That’s what the Jedi are saying. Like literally all of the exp you got from killing is that characters soul
The hilarious part of the fox business clip you used with Kreia is at least there he was in favor of private donations, aka charity. Kreia goes even further saying fuck charity. She's not even a libertarian, she's a social darwinist.
I definitely remember a much better ending when i played it a couple years ago. Kreia talks about how they force was controling everyone and wanted to use the mass shadow generator to permanently destroy the force because she hates it so much. Thats a fucking awesome motivation. I was also playing dark side without the cut content mod so idk whats different
"'The Force has chosen you.' It kind of makes that character not as important to the story." That's pretty shaky Edge. Bastila had a unique power called Battle Meditation that turned the tide of the civil war. Anakin was literally prophesied to bring balance to the Force (nevermind the reasoning why). And they were both instrumental to the end of the Jedi Civil War and the tyranny of the Emperor respectively. Their being chosen made them *pivotal* to the story. What do you really mean here?
It means that the character themselves didn't do it. If the Force had chosen differently Bastila and Anakin would have been left eating their own boogers while someone else did the hero stuff. At least, that's the argument I think. How much of the hero being cool is them actually being cool, vs. space god giving them a break.
@@8xottox8 the force might give some characters the ability to change the course of the galaxy, but the choices they make are still their own. Bastilla has battle meditation, but it's up to her and revan as to whether or not it will be used to help or hinder the Republic. The exile is unique too, but it's still up to her the choices she makes. Both kotor 1 and 2 follow characters that are uniquely influenced by the force but the force doesn't control their actions themselves
Whenever I do a KoTOR2 run, I always make it a point to get through Peragus in one sitting. Sure, it's somewhat long, but I don't find it nearly as tedious as Citadel Station or Taris. And re-solving the mystery of what happened is always enjoyable. However, if I don't make it through in one go, I scrap the playthrough completely as it seems like a bad omen; maybe my heart isn't in it idk.
A+ video despite disagreeing with your analysis of the story. Because even when I disagree, I get new insight into our favorite media. This is why I've been subbed for years
Yeah I don't know man, you told me there'd be at least 3 hours of thrilling Peragus gameplay.
Lol I’m watching your video and his video back to back
Salt happy to see you in this vid. I thought you two would get along
Salt I love your vids
@Critical Cam blasphemy!!!
The best of combinations
Lightside and Darkside being primarily based on what you say rather than do is the most starwars thing ever.
It absolutely does this but you can do just as many evil things as you can say evil things. It's just WAY more so in 2 rather than one.
To be fair, all American politics is owning the libs and saying woke shit. We're still fueling planes that bomb yemini children because democrat or republican, we gotta get that sweet, sweet crude, baby.
@@Sunflowrrunner what the hell are you talking about this isn't about American Politics.
@@iluvdawubz It's called a comparison to probe critical thought. If the American Education System did its job, it'd be more apparent.
"wHaT dOeS tHaT hAv dEw W Sk3w1 r3t4rd?"
@@gweilo2961 this is a star wars video game, not Education, Politics, or any of the sort. Take your sperging to whatever hole you came from.
Kreia: He is a fool and an imbecile. His potential lies down, not up.
Atton: *Becomes Jedi Knight*
To be fair that's a downgrade from her perspective.
I think that's essentially the biggest failure of Kreia. She's cynical and pessimistic to the point where there really isn't an "up" for anyone or anything, except for the player character.
@@Spookyhoobster I think she says good things about The Disciple? Although if so, that would be pretty much it.
@@Akut324 I only played FemExile once and that was a looong time ago, so I might've missed that.
@@Spookyhoobster kreia is kind of just a whiny old nihilist. I get it lady, but ffs...
It can not be overstated what an amazing job Sarah Kestelman did voicing Kreia, probably the best voice over I've ever experienced in a video game
I have no idea what she dud in the game tho, and why. Confusing ramblings, as with the masters
@@Aemond2024 I...I can't.
@@Aemond2024 *did*
@@Aemond2024 No idea what she did? She was the driving force of the entire story!!!
@@teethreeemfore which one is she though?
This game made my taste in games go haywire, before this all I played was Halo, Quake, and Baldur's Gate. RPG's have fully taken over my life since and I don't want to recover.
I just love when people write comments before watching the video.
@@arsenii_yavorskyi Nice trigger bait home slice but I watched before premiere. 😚
@@frogtales1368 so you did, and that's all you had to say? I guess you're not a fan.
@@frogtales1368 yeah how fucking dare you not write a 100000 word comment for this 4hr video. #notarealfan
God, same on an RPG like this ruling over my existence since November 2019 when I first played this, because it's *just...UGH.*
TH-cam: Our analytics show that people prefer to watch 8 to 12 minute videos
Strat Edgy: I am beyond your understanding
So Strat is a bible-accurate angel while You tube prefers little baby cupids?
Although I would love love the version without battles, i know them intimately and had enough x)
idk about that, youtube loves recommending long videos these days. Joseph Anderson vids are consistently the next autoplay option and I know that's not just a me thing since many of them have doubled or tripled in views in the last few months
@@RaidsEpicly IGN and other mainstream reviewers putting out 10 minutes at best.
Long form youtube reviewers: The ability to speak does not make you intelligent
@@RaidsEpicly yeah... it’s just annoying to find his tidbits of thought between all the lets play shit
When I was 5 my older cousin showed me this game, let me try it out for a few minutes, then he hit me with a flip flop and I cried. Dope game.
Star Wars ain’t got shit on the chancla.
Star Wars Revenge of the Chancla
Was the flip-flop related?
I know most of this is for comedy's sake, but the "Dantooine Again" segment was genuinely insightful. More than any other aspect of the game, I wish it had gotten more dev time just to expand this moment and help it make more sense from more angles.
A lot of people didn't get the whole "it's a joke bro" part of this video. Prolly my fault.
@@StratEdgyProductions I just meant it as saying "I don't mean to be a square, but" cause that more serious segment was the highlight of the whole video imo
@@StratEdgyProductions I can see how it's hard to see the video as primarily a joke upon first watch or two, but after listening a few times (I think the pure gameplay sections were well placed by the way) it is starting to sound so obviously a big long joke haha
@@StratEdgyProductions wait, isn't like the whole video a joke at the games expense?
@@ADogNamedStay Basically. The parts where I am responding to characters is my character responding the way I think she would. That's why I was revan in the first and so on. There are more serious sections, but I think I am bad at making that obvious.
1:25:45 The funny thing is, being in an RPG with experience points, Kreia is objectively correct. It's a meta joke that I really like.
It's more of a meta plot point since it's actually referenced in-game. The RPG leveling system is acknowledged multiple times including by the Jedi Council as the Exile's "sucking up power and experience from their defeated enemies". Surik's giving up of her powers is why we start at level 1 and her regaining them through absorbing Force connection from her enemies is why we level her back up.
It's a pretty cool way of doing things, similar to how Planescape: Torment integrated the main character immortality into the plot itself as the main driver of the MC's quest. The Nameless is unable to die because he keeps respawning like a game character would. In fact P:T also had the main character being a vortex of fate explanation for the other party members who are drawn to him in the form of the Mark of Torment which basically did the same thing the Exile's connection to the Force did.
And hey look, Chris Avellone worked on both of them as lead designer and lead writer, what a coincidence.
1:54:15 You misunderstand. He wanted A Jedi. However, when he realized it was YOU he caught and looked into your history, he realized YOU were better contained than used.
Am I the only one who finds it weird that the game gives you a few means of detecting danger (Your premonitions, Atton’s “danger sense”) then rarely makes use of it?
No. It bothered me too.
Well, apparently jedi see is wall hacks. Could've been useful.
@@StratEdgyProductions - Exactly. It could have just been a warning to make a save or backup save for, say, that Nar Shaddaa section. You could have a premonition of you being in a strange place unconscious, and Atton could notice the sisters following the group and make his plan to lead them away.
Obsidian has a major habit of introducing something in their games and then completely forgetting about it.
@Antonio Galio I mean I'm pretty sure one of the biggest blunders Araki ever made was naming two different Stands "Earth, Wind, & Fire"
EDIT: One was from Part 4, Diamond is Unbreakable, and the other was from Part 6, Stone Ocean.
3:35:37 That also has an answer... which you can be told by Kreia if you ask her. I'm getting the feeling that you didn't talk to any of the companions
3:49:20 And again she doesn't kill them she locks them up and you can decide whether or not to save them
A lot of things in KOTOR2 can be very easy to miss, especially if you don't take your time or don't know what you're doing, yeah. Learning about who Sion and Nihilus really are and why they do what they do requires having enough reputation with Kreia, which can be easy to miss out on if you mostly make light side choices without thinking or use brute force to solve problems instead of choosing manipulative dialogue options.
That's just one example of crucial information that can be glossed over by a new player or someone who hasn't played in a long time, and this is the case with every companion to some degree.
@@medic6792 The reputation system works both ways if you get people to bottom out it's the same as maxing them out in unlocking topics to talk about
@@cyberninjazero5659 Huh, I didn't know that. I finished the game for the first time a few weeks ago, but I'm already thinking about starting another playthrough to explore the dialogue again. How substantial are the differences between a dark side playthrough and a light side playthrough?
@@medic6792 You get Hanharr as a companion instead of Mira the Council Reunion is just you and Kreia asking you if killing the Jedi was worth it. Onderon has you join the other side and I'm not going to spoil it but there's a reason that only a Darkside player can stay in the academy at the end and that reason is tied to Onderon
@@cyberninjazero5659 guess Im playing full darkside next time
I agree, Peragus was too abridged in this video for a skit about torture
KOTOR 1+2: has 2 full soundtracks of music, with different themes and feelings for each area, is incredibly personalized
Strat-Edgy: *uses B4-D4's theme every other minute*
I meant was a banger the first four or so times xD
Uberdanger just posted a 4 hour long Fallout: New Vegas video a couple of days ago and I was able to watch the whole thing before it got taken down by a copyright strike. Now only 3 days later I'm blessed with another 4 hour video to watch! Hell yeah!
(hopefully this one doesn't get taken down for having 12 seconds of copyrighted music...)
I see a true _gentleman_ in our ranks, cheers to you!
I saw the fallout vid. watched an hour of it, thought I'll save it for later.
Was too good to watch all at once.
Then it got taken down :)
95% certain you were supposed to go to Duxen and Onnderon BEFORE Korriban.
Also, I can vouch that the thing with the Basilisk cut scene is a glitch caused by the mod.
They must've tweaked it? Or maybe I downloaded a "better" version?
IDK, I did a playthrough fairly recently (May of 2020) with the restoration mod. Basilisk cut scene worked fine! A shame Strat didn't get to see it - It's friggin awesome!
Yeah onderon is definitely not supposed to be done last.
@@osets2117 If it was meant to be done in a certain order then the devs should have locked off certain areas until you progress or at least tried harder to steer you in a certain direction. They do neither. And even if they did try to steer the player in a certain direction, they didn't do it enough, because I've played this game through about a dozen times (and fairly recently) and have absolutely no recollection of it.
i always go to korriban as soon as i get control of the ebon hawk so i can get my lightsaber at level 12
Funny enough, it worked fine for me *with* the mod.
2:00:19 the main issue is Nihilus is basically an auto-win card against any normal force user, ESPESCIALLY if they travel in groups. Gathering in councils, hunting him down in groups. It would all be a disaster. Nihilus though only ate the one world, and only because it was all force sensitives unready for him.
That's the thing about nihilus, the more Jedi there are the more powerful he is. Just being around him drains your life force passively, when he turns his attention to you he drains all of your life and your force powers. Nihilus devours all life not just force sensitives. The reason he can't defeat the exile is because you yourself are a black hole like he is, there's nothing for him to drain. That's why every time you defeat an enemy (lore wise) you get more powerful, you're literally draining their life and force powers (regardless of how little force powers your opponents have). As stated in the video every time you defeat the Jedi masters in a dark side playthrough you watch your character absorb their power.
That is why you play with Meetra Surik. She is anti Nihilus.
KOTOR and KOTOR 2 is what got me into rpg's. Almost have playing nothing else for around a decade or so. Kudos to Bioware and Obisidian for introducing me into this style of games
Same
I love your work Strat-Edgy but I respectfully disagree on a couple key points. But the one in particular I want to address is the Jedi council. When you say their actions don’t make sense, I don’t know where you got that from. From the dialogue through the game it is clear that the protagonist is a living wound in the force. This means they challenge the entire paradigm of the universe (a creature that exists outside of the will of the sentient, religious like energy which exists across all of creation) but they are also incredibly dangerous since they, at best, cause uncontrollable ripples through the force, and, at worse, could cause incredible damage. As is seen by the fact Kreia wants to use the protagonist in order to literally kill the force. Therefore, the exile is not only a existential threat to a universal religion that can clearly manifest itself within the material world but she is a threat to the entire raison d’être of the Sith and Jedi. The Jedi Council clearly recognizes this and so they act to end something that threatens the universe as they know it. (Something that is stated in their speech and throughout the game by others) Kreia knows this too but wants to use you to end existence as people in this universe understand it.
P.S. Kreia is actually far closer to Nietzsche than she is to any sort of libertarian philosophy. She believes that as long as the galaxy is subject to the will of the force then mankind will always be under what Nietzsche called slave morality. She wants to destroy the force to free people from the will of the force. There’s a really great video out there on TH-cam which breaks this down. Search for the philosophy of Kreia.
"Kreia is actually far closer to Nietzsche than she is to any sort of libertarian philosophy" no wonder I don't like Kreia. If there was a starter pack for "I want to appear smarter than I actually am by researching surface-level philosophy", Nietzsche would be at the top of the list.
@@comicsans1689 sorry you don’t like her, she’s one of my favorite fictional characters
@@comicsans1689 dude, it's Star Wars. Chill.
@@comicsans1689 I'll agree that Nietzsche is bastardised as the posterboy for nihilism (which he loathed) and edgy people flock to him like pigeons at a park. But his work had a lot insights into how morality developed across history.
@@comicsans1689 I don't think you know your nietzsche very well
First Salt Factory does KOTOR Series, then Noah Cadwell Gervais does Dark Forces and Jedi night, and now Strat-egy does KOTOR II. Is it Christmas. Now need to get Mandalore Gaming to discover his long lost twin in KOTOR II.
@Heavy Metal Collector Maybe Sseth or Max0r ???
Noah dropped Kotor video too
@@l.e.b.3541 Oooo, I'd pay to see Max0r's reaction to Komari Vosa from Bounty Hunter XD
@@l.e.b.3541 an incorrect summary of KOTOR II would be great.
@@TheNord06 Yeah, and it's flippin brilliant. Love that guy.
Kreia is hands down the best star wars character ever, her dialogue, her voice and her philosophy is the most interesting thing out of the setting.
She(and Kotor 2 as a whole) puts into perspective how horrifying the force and the star wars universe as a whole actually is, having a invisible hand guiding the universe from conflict to conflict.
I also love the dynamic between the MC and Kreia, because it's the whole "villain wants to end the world because there is too much suffering" cliche but packaged so well that it doesn't feel like that trope.
Kreia is the biggest critic of the Star Wars universe,and the player stands to defend it, both literally and philosophically.
What a great game.
Kriea doesn't want to end the universe or the life in it, she simply wants to eliminate the force and the influence it has on the universe nothing more. She plans to do so with a wound in the force, she originally attempted to do it with Nihilus but he was a monster that allowed himself to give into hunger and end both the force and all life so she gave up on him and knows she had to stop him. Then she found the exile and realized he too was a wound in the force and tried to guide him to achieve her goal. She isn't evil or jaded by any means, all she wants is a universe like the one we live in.
You mean "hand down", right?
I know that was bad, not even gonna pretend I'm sorry.
no
@@A_Black_Sheep94 >implying we aren't guided by the holy spirit
@@zm1786 Does the HS let you push people with the force or shoot lightning out of your fingertips? That's not at all the same thing.
A lot of the combat sections where you don't play as the exile are so much easier if you make your companions into jedi. Which almost every non droid can become one if you just influence them a couple times. Nar Shaddaa is nowhere near as bad (other than the mira section) if you do that
Same.. I Always struggle with Mira on Nar Shaddaa because I choose not to level her up until I turn her into a Jedi.
That way she has more Force Powers as the leader of my squadron on Dxun
Bao-Dur is the hardest to upgrade. Always takes me till pretty much the end of the game, which feels like a waste when he runs out of force points with one attack.
Of course, I'll do crazy shit like just stop leveling him at lvl10 and only bring him out for specific influence gains.
@@matthiasnagorski8411 I normally get Bao-Dur to train as a Jedi by the time we leave Telos and land on Dantooine..
When doing the mission to find the sensors in the kinrath cave, take Bao-Dur with you as he has knowledge and input in that mission that allows two chances to gain more influence with him, which normally turns out to be enough.
By the time we split up for Onderon and the Dxun Sith Temple, my entire team are Jedi minus the droids.
@@RantRadio maybe it's just my playthru style. I usually do Nar Shadda or Korriban first. Get Atton turned, then get myself a Visas, then I worry about the other characters.
I bought it on my phone recently, so maybe I'll switch it up this time.
Even the Mira section gets easier if you give her some stealth and just have her sneak out.
The fact that you are complaining about the story not making sense while the characters in the game are explaining it and then your character in the game exclaiming: “That doesn’t make sense!” is very meta
But the game's story is a giant mess. It's honestly just Kreia's nagging campaign with some Star Wars elements as window dressing so that you'll at least stick around so she can nag you to death about her space wizard atheism.
@@comicsans1689 You really do have a bone to pick with Kreia, don't you?
For a character you're only forced to have in the party thrice in the entire game, you seek to be awfully angry.
How do you feel about Mira? Atton? T3? Mandalore?
@@thomaswillard6267 Keira is the whole story she is the final boss and always injects her self in and is hard to ignore unless you are running around and grinding.
@@nicholasmaniccia1005 "always interjects herself"
Aside from the beggar on Nar Shaddaa, she only interrupts for exposition.
Do you get similarly angry at Codex entries?
"buh she's the final boss"
Yeah, that's kind of the point of the game.
You can say you don't like the story, that's fine. But making up excuses like "we see too much of a main character" is just bad faith.
@@thomaswillard6267 Kreia is literally the only redeeming quality of this story and even that's not saying much.
"The Jedi and the Sith are dumbasses who take extremes on both sides of the Force" gee I've never heard this criticism before (seriously, her entire perspective is nothing new)
"The most satisfying ending is were everyone dies" You know every one (cept the engineer and the wooki) can live right? In fact you can train your companions in every force power you know so Atton should have no trouble winging that fight. I played through 3 times and never had atton die there.
Edit: I actually didnt know Atton could betray you. Thats pretty neat.
"I'm going to skip anything not directly related to the main plot"
*[skips bunch of stuff relevant to the main plot]*
"This main plot doesn't make sense and is bad"
Apathy is Death
I'm.. confused? What did he skip?
@@Sightss_ He skipped over a lot of the parts after Kreia kills the Jedi Masters, like A LOOT, he doesn't even mention the white haired snow chick and a handful of great characters, his review isn't wrong though and are valid but there's a lot things of the game that he just isn't giving enough credit.
@@Raska7 If you mean the Handmaiden, she will only be a follower if the Protagonist is male.
@@jimmydieschraube3351 probably talking about Atris
@@Sightss_ he skipped over basically everything with Atris, skipped the part where it explained why Nihilus feeds on planets, and honestly a ton of important stuff that requires you to get high influence with Kreia. Same with G0-T0, there was some really interesting plot stuff going on with him. The ending is definitely handled badly but plenty of other stuff he says makes no sense is just him passing opportunities for explanations by.
the whole " your a wound in the force and the more people you killed the stronger you get." was supposed to be an in universe explanation on exp.
and nhilous gets weaker as he tried to suck your life force but as your both pretty much the same being so it backfires and weakens him.
I'm so confused, I found the beginnings of Kotor 2 to be one the most memorable moments in my gaming life, even among the Star Wars games.
I also found Peragus oddly satisfying as a kid, Telos was like a movie, and then the adventure.
But as modern gameplay, they're a bit of a slog.
@@thomaswillard6267 It felt like a horror murder mystery, slowly putting the pieces together of what happened and quickly realizing that whoever did this, they wanted every living thing on this station dead, all for your sake. Kreia and Atton being the first two party members you meet and then later get is great as they are the perfect introduction to the more cynical galaxy that you are now in compared to the first KOTOR game. Honestly, I never fully beat this game and I need to go back and do so. I just always seem to get bad luck at certain parts and can't overcome the challenge in front of me.
Peragus is awesome... The first time. On replays, the mystery is gone and now it's just a 2h tutorial you have to rush through but yeah... First time there blew my teenage mind with how "dark" a Star wars (boy I wasn't ready for the rest of this game)
God forbid you have your own opinion on a piece and not have it conform to the views of someone with more internet numbers
@@TheXehanorto Really? Kotor game are pretty easy and became easier as you progess the story, at the end you are steamrolling everything
"Why is he going around feeding on planets?"
Kreia LITERALLY says that Nihilus is rapidly starving, due to being more presence than flesh, and must fill an insatiable hunger in order to sustain his fleeting existence. There's a lot of things that I feel you just didn't bother to listen to at all.
he was too focused on adding in all that cringe humour, like that fucking voice he does.
It makes sense why the Jedi did what they did totally if that. Just hide. Trying to feed on the souls and minds of non force users is like living on bread and water. They're starving Nihilus from the inside.
@@ifound15min I thought that was just his normal speaking voice
@@ArvelDreth no i mean the nick character which was just cringe as hell, i skipped forward every time it showed up
@@ifound15min oh THAT. Yeah I gotcha.
The bald Jedi's plan actually makes sense to me, part of it at least. He says that Jedi are easier to find when they gather in numbers, so the remaining Jedi split up and live in heavily populated areas. They're harder to find, but not impossible, so they hope to get the upper hand whenever an assassin comes for them.
It's a shit plan. Either they age and die of old age slower than the Sith, or live the rest of their lives on their toes, ready to murder Sith. Neither option includes getting their robes dirty
Honestly, given that Jedi in this age could use the force to extend their lives, it would be entirely possible to wait out the threat-- eventually, Vitiate would have sent another emissary or done SOMETHING
The plan would have worked though. The sith thought the player was the last jedi, so after they took care of you they'd assume they'd won and would likely come out of hiding.
Its a bad plan but it's the best they could come up with when they seemingly can't do anything without being completely wiped out for no discernable reason
I remember the first time I played I too thought Peragus was way too long. Now when I replay it, I actually like it. Probably just nostalgia considering KOTOR 1 and 2 are my favorite games of all time.
I think Peragus and Telos -- including the Restoration Zone -- all feel like one long section and it takes about 10 - 15 hours. I don't hate it entirely but the pacing is very bogged down and it feels a bit contrived how you just keep getting imprisoned and shot down over and over in such a short span of time.
It feels like you're getting hamfistedly railroaded, and I imagine that is due in part to the fact that it was made in 14 months.
I've played Kotor II so much I dont even mind Peragus anymore. I know, I've lost my mind.
I feel you but it's prolly cuz I speedrun it and skip all dialogue
stockholm
I've been having fun with Peragus mystery on every replay. Something must be fundamentally wrong with me.
@I am Pagliacci You’re good man. Lol
I enjoyed it myself through a few play throughs. It would’ve been interesting if we had a Star Wars game that could almost be in a noir setting in a way. Mysteries, investigations, etc. But with enough action in between to keep you interested.
I only started KOTOR 2 this week for the first time. Judging from what I’ve read online and knowing that there is a mod to skip the mission entirely, I expected to hate it. But it really isn’t as bad as I’ve been led to believe.
Not once did I feel like I was banging my head against a wall or anything like that. The breadcrumb trail gives you enough to just rush through it if you’re not paying total attention to the storyline of what happened. And even then, it’s not a bad storyline and sets the tone of the game well.
But....but Darkside gets force crush...the greatest thing ever
Wait, there are Dark Side exclusive powers? I thought Kotor just ignored light/dark side boundaries all together
Force crush is a dark side exclusive power you get after the council confrontation on Dantooine. If your player is dark side aligned. Light side players get force enlightenment. Crush is easily the better option. Deals crazy damage snd has great animation.
@@bradcarver8127 ah I see that's awesome now I gotta play KOTOR 2 again!
@@Raska7 Force enlightenment takes all of your buff powers and allows you to cast them in one cast
I'm sure you're already aware of that and it makes guardians the most optimized for combat on the light side
Whereas Force crush makes counselors the most optimized for combat on the dark side
Force crush is broken, it trivializes everything in this game
I definitely disagree with a lot of what was said here to the point that it would be a real hassle to write it all down but I still appreciate examinations of this game and it's story.
I also appreciate the motivation to make this sort of video, because as I just alluded to I'm way too fucking lazy to even write a detailed comment about my own thoughts. Let alone make a video.
Anyway, good stuff
Bioware's evil Yoda concept was returned to in Jade Empire, which you should totally cover by the way.
With Master Li, right?
@@ArvelDreth i think a few decades is safe enough for spoiler territory
Yeah.
@@Funkin_Disher I've played the game through to completion about five or six times, I was just wondering if you meant that Master Li's betrayal was meant to be an allegory for "evil Yoda"
It was a really good twist in Jade Empire. It completely caught me off guard.
Never got to finish the game due to romance conflict bug, but the twist was so awesome it's giving me chills even all these years later.
That basilisk war droid cutscene was a glitch not in vanilla version. This mod really fixed already fixed scenes. The actual scene shows you attacking and landing in the city
That Basilisk scene always bothered me because it's not a goddamn basilisk. It's one of Prince Xizor's StarViper fighters, anyone that's played Shadows of the Empire knows that.
@@SeruraRenge11 yeah that bothered me a lot. Those war droids were bad ass
@@SeruraRenge11 Actually, the StarViper is of mandalorian design, and the basilisk in KOTOR2 is supposed to be a precursor of sorts.
@@osets2117 "The Basilisk war droid version presented in K2 was an intentional departure from the ones presented in Tales of the Jedi, and we are happy, because frankly, those look really stupid […] So yes, the Basilisk droid version was an intentional departure from the older models, and we take full responsibility. It is noteworthy that LucasArts and Lucasfilm agreed with our decision on the first pass…"
―Chris Avellone.
@@nawmedia435 That's a bullshit retcon to justify it after the fact and you know it. As for the Avellone quote, that's him admitting it looks nothing like their canon depiction and that doesn't bother him because he doesn't like the canon look.
“The most satisfying ending... is the one where everyone DIES.”
Nathan Explosion-“Wow, y’know that’s pretty fucking metal.”
Honestly kotor2 is the do anything for deathklok intro with Kreia writing the motorcycle like Nathan Explosion and everyone shits on each other as much
That droid that's not actually a droid but a schizo drug lord or whatever acting through the droid is Murderface lol
IS IT METAL TO HAVE YOUR EMPLOYEES DYING OF A FLESH EATING VIRUS?
Yeah, it's very metal
Huh I did not know that was metal alright let's carry on
For what it’s worth, the Jedi’s tactic of going to ground does make a bit more sense when you realize that a) there are other ways of gathering information besides using the force (checking up on rumors, paying off informants, etc.), and b) Nihilus and the other Sith Lords were only detecting Jedi who gathered in large groups, so as long as only 1 or 2 were in the same place at any given time the local population wasn’t in any more danger than they would be normally.
And when someone did figure out how to strike back against the Sith they could contact Atris (again, not using the Force but with tech or an actual face to face meetup instead) to exchange the info and only then gather all the Jedi to launch an attack
Yes, thet ARE talking about experience points. This game was super obsessed with being a deconstruction.
I want to clear up a few things that you or others might find confusing.
Firstly, Nihilus is a wound in the force, much like the player, however because of the darkside corruption Nihilus's powers are taken to the extreme. He feeds on death, literally. Every planet he consumes directly fuels his power, but his power is not his own. He's become a conduit for the dark side. He represents decay, whereas the player represents growth.
Secondly, what fans don't recognize is just because it's told to you through a authority figure, doesn't necessarily make it true. The whole thing about the force being the thing that empowers you rather than talent and skill is analogous to "gods gifts". It's religious figures and followers who espouse these sayings and phrases. It's meant to diminish your achievements.
Thirdly, what revan pursued as is described in swtor, is the destruction of the sith emperor, Vitiate. If you play a Jedi Knight you destroy vitiates physical body in your class quest. In the revan expansion, it's revealed that the emperor shares some of the powers that nihilus had, though he wasn't consumed by the darkside. Vitiate's soul is transfered from host to host, even multiple hosts. These leads to the culmination of the eternal empire, and empire founded by volkarion, who is a meat puppet of Vitiate. Vitiate then uses volkarion, and later the player to try and consume the galaxy. To my knowledge it's never explained how Revan gets incite into the emperor's plans. Overall it's almost a 1:1 of the reapers, with mega doom fleets and having to unite the galaxy to destroy an otherwise impossible threat.
It's not explained to you in the game so I, and any sane person wouldn't put it past you, but the expanded material can give anyone who's frustrated with the story overall more explanation and insight in the ideas and concepts that were otherwise not present in game. Even if it's a cursory glance in the legends section of wookiepedia, it can detail immense swaths of cut story elements.
This is not a defence of the game, rather an explanation for the curious on what/why/how things are.
Also in regards to a previous video you made, where you foolishly gave away that controversial statements drive you insane: The assassination of Lincoln was an inside job by the government. Have fun deconstructing this thought.
What pisses me off is in the novels Revan gets screwed over as well as the Exile. The lore of the previous Eras with Exar Kun and Ulic Qel Droma, The Old Republic with actual Sith Lords was so ripe with promise and lore to be made into a series of video games.
@@MichieHoward True but Bioware wanted to move on after the first game and wanted their do thing which turned into Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Obsidian wanted to continue the series but didn't have the funds to acquire the rights which they tried to get by rushing the game out. I wish we all could have seen the true vision of Kotor 3 and not the mmo let's shoe horn in Revan which Bioware later did. I agree they could have done a lot with the lore they established with the previous eras.
What alot of people don't realise Is that shock arm T3 gets in the beginning of the game is infinite use.
It’s so good and i found t3 very helpful when he had it equipped. I don’t know if there is a way to make that his automatic attack, but if there was, i wish I had found that out during my playthrough. Also, T3 in kotor 2 overall is everything i wanted him to be in kotor 1. They actually gave him personality and the T3-only sections were really great for fleshing them out further.
Alotta stuff, especially about nihilus, is explained and talked about through companion dialogue check
Not even that Kreia tells you about both Sion and Nihulus. A lot of info is given to the player, but a lot of it told to you and not shown
You must've played some older version of the Restoration mod. In the current version not only no one dies (except Atton, and even then only if he loses his duel with Sion), but Kreia goes on to foretell the future of most members of the team after she is defeated. In fact you can see the Handmaiden, Visas and/or Atton alive with your own eyes as you leave the place.
As for your interpretation of what the story means, I think you'd benefit from watching "The philosophy of Kreia: a critical examination of Star Wars" essay here on TH-cam. In a nutshell, if you are truly light side, you are basically supposed to agree with the council. The role of the Jedi is not to use the Force for good - it's to not use the Force at all, except for cases when the Force guides you as a tool to kill the Sith. The "good" Jedi are supposed to imprison their own power within themselves, and become inhuman and dispassionate for the Galaxy's sake. Doing nothing (except killing the Sith) is literally the role of the light side Jedi. If you try to use the Force to enforce your will on the Galaxy, then for all your good intentions, the Force by its very nature will turn your into a sociopath that seeks to get more power for the sake of power. You lose sight of your original goal and become a monster - a defector that the Force will eventually find a way to slay through the hands of those in tune with it. The Force doesn't care that its corrupting nature perpetuates war and suffering cycle after cycle. And that's exactly the reason why Kreia hates the Force, and loves you - because unlike so many other force sensitives who'd rather die (or turn dark) than give up the Force - you did. So you can play a character who's either light or dark and who gave the Force up because they were afraid (just like Kreia says), or you can play the character who refuses to use the Force at all and only relies on strength that is truly their own, and refuses to be the Force's slave.
Doesn't change the fact that the plan of the Jedi council in this game in particular is kind of stupid. But the original decision to not participate in the mandalorian wars is still in tune with the light side. So the message that Kreia tries to get across to the council is not that inaction is bad - she tried action herself, and experienced firsthand the fallings of the Sith as well as Jedi. Her message is that they should give up the Force and rely on their own strength instead, as that's the only way they can be free of the will of that malevolent deity that lends them power but in exchange robs them of their freedom. It's a bit hypocritical of her, as she keeps using the Force herself, and even made the exile reconnect with the Force too (which she admits was a mistake), but like a good teacher she hopes that her student will be better than her.
This comment sums it all up nicely. Love this game.
This all assumes that Kreia's observations are all definitively true and not like...observations that have not been proven true and serve better at pointing out the writing issues when it comes to the force in Star Wars. Especially since this effectively goes against how the Foundation(The Films) of Star Wars portrays the force as a "energy field created by all living things, binding the galaxy together" and not as.... you know.... a fucking malevolent deity.
Not salty at all about the crappy and conflicting writing that permeates throughout the old EU.
The guy who wrote the Philosophy of Kreia video also made a video in defense of lolicon, so take it with a grain of salt.
@@bootyspoon4675 t. guy that didn't watch or wasn't paying attention to the video at all
@@Sone01TheFirst That's not actually like, contradictory at all though? The Force is a field generated by all living things, and that means the Force doesn't have a will somehow that it constantly in all the movies guides people by? Like what did you think your point was here? Like you don't even need Kreia or these games or the EU to come to these conclusions about the nature of the Force at all, she simply spells it out.
I agree with you 100%. Unless dialogue has a direct consequence, it shouldn't impact the PC's alignment/morality. Actions speak louder than words.
What you say is an action.
In an entire franchise where the central theme is "nothing occurs in a vacuum", you saying something that helps inspire someone to do good is an action of good in itself.
@@thomaswillard6267 right but actions have consequences. In real life, words have consequences.
In this game, the choice of words from what I’ve seen tends to have nearly 0 consequences.
Ergo, in this game it’s basically a non-action.
@@jhallo1851 I mean you can initiate combat in dialogue by telling some poor fucker that you'll kill them where they stand. This really comes down to what we count as consequences. If I tell a beggar to kill themselves in the game and they do, but that doesn't get its own ending slide at the end did it have rEaL cOnSequEnCes?
Dialogue also reveals how your character thinks. And I think we could all agree that someone who thinks some hobo should just end it, even if they don't kill them themselves is an evil guy. Even with something that doesn't lead to immediate action like my two other examples. I can't really come up with an example from the game but if someone says some evil shit that's evil in itself no? IRL if someone denies a warcrime or that's definitely an evil thing to do. The game mechanic just kind of adjusts you towards the alignment you depict your character belongs to. Like imagine if you were a fully Light side guy who always helps out the poor and the innocent in the game, but then you advocated for wookie slavery. That's not something that a goodie two shoes would do.
I guess you could argue that the game is bad for not allowing you to be a douchebag and hold terrible opinions ironically while appearing as a good guy but man.
I can recall playing this game way back in the day, on an old, all white computer setup. The PC could barely handle the game, I'm guessing 10-20 fps max, and would always crash on some planets, rendering end game progression impossible. But my god, did my child brain enjoy the stimuli recieved. It was then I fell in love with video games, and have never looked back.
Strat, I know the TH-cam algorithm and shit can suck ass. But I love your content man. 10 min or 10 hrs, I'm there for it all. 💜
I actually like the MMO. Its honestly got a lot of content that isn't locked behind a subscription. I believe you can play all the pre-level 70 and the First chapter of the Level 70 content for free. The class stories have have some solid writing.
I've only finished a couple class stories so far, but they are actually genuinely good. The only ones I couldn't get into are the Sentinel and Soldier iirc, but Bounty Hunter and Inquisitor are probably my favorites.
A year ago, I saw this video in my inbox, watched it, and thought it was really good and very accurate with its criticisms. Then I watched Warlockracy’s KOTOR 2 review and I realized how much you got BLATANTLY WRONG here. I was gobsmacked that a video less than half the length of your video covered more content and went even more in depth than your ALMOST FOUR HOUR VIDEO. It also inspired me to play through KOTOR 2 myself to see if any of these claims were legitimate so this is all first-hand knowledge.
Your point about the house-arrest thing is admittedly minor but it still annoyed me enough to mention it. They aren’t investigating you for murder because they instantly realize that the guy you killed is an assassin (as shown in the parts of the scene you conveniently cut out). And what’s wrong with them keeping you under house arrest exactly? It’s the same as them keeping you in a cell. They only let you go when they’ve finished their investigation and cleared you of any wrongdoing. Nothing about this makes no sense.
Your point about Goto doesn’t make any sense. The first thing you did after waking up, was BLOW UP A FUCKING MINING FACILITY. Of course he’s gonna lock you up to keep you from causing trouble in a collapsing nation. And he doesn’t want to kill you because he’s gonna try and find a use for you, like he says when he meets you. And why the hell would Goto support the Jedi just because the Republic supports them? They literally just tore themselves apart in a civil war that brought the Republic to the brink of collapse. He has every reason to not want to support or even trust the Jedi.
The Jedi aren’t just “hiding because they’re scared” they’re doing what they literally said they were doing: waiting for the enemy to reveal themselves. Not because they’re cowards, but because it is the only thing they can do. The reason they don’t meet up like you suggest, is because the last time they did that, AN ENTIRE PLANET WAS WIPED OUT ALONG WITH ALL THE JEDI THERE. They are up against an enemy they couldn’t beat back when they were a hundred strong, so they’re just watching from the shadows hoping they’ll reveal themselves and allow the Jedi to find a weakness to exploit. It’s a long shot, I admit, but their options are literally that or die. And your whole point about “dying for something” was just so asinine. If the Jedi banded together against the Sith and died, you think they would’ve “died for something because at least they died fighting.” Which they would die since a hundred Jedi couldn’t win against the Sith so what would a handful be able to do? So no, they would’ve fought AND DIED. Accomplishing nothing. So they would literally have died FOR NOTHING. And it isn’t a contradiction that they’re hiding since by “hunt” they mean investigate from concealment LIKE WHAT ZEZ-KAI ELL SAID “Gather information” AS IN: INVESTIGATE, NOT “feel through the force.” So, they aren’t DOING NOTHING as you like to think. Also, the last time the Jedi tried to use the force to find the Sith, they all died LIKE VROOK SAID. And if they come out of hiding to find each other, they won’t instantly be found, as demonstrated by you playing the game. The Sith aren’t in every dark corner waiting for Jedi to reveal themselves, it’ll take some time for them to find them. Also, how do you know the Masters don’t have some way of communicating with each other? There are ways to communicate other than through the force.
The Jedi don’t meet together because you found them, it’s because the Sith revealed themselves, it’s what KAVAR literally said! Why would the Masters ever think you’d kill them or go find Revan? You left the order before Revan fell to the dark side and you just disobeyed their orders, not give in to the dark side. So, why would they assume that? And what doesn’t make sense about Kavar saying Atris went to Katarr? And what didn’t make sense about the stuff he said after? You didn’t explain that, just played clips from Naked Gun.
You also have this fundamental misunderstanding of Meetra Surik’s force powers stemming from you not paying attention (a running theme in this review). Meetra can’t use the force after Malachor V, she is deaf to it. The way she uses the force is by leeching it off of her force-sensitive companions through their force bonds. She is a literal force plague. A wound in the force like Nihilius. You literally pointed out dialogue in Peragus where you can say that the force feels distant somehow or that it’s like a sound or echo, foreshadowing the twist. So the council’s reasoning for betraying you “only makes sense if you’ve been sucking souls like the Highlander”, is wrong because it still makes sense whether or not they are alive. Though I admit you are the most effective weapon the Jedi have against the Sith, it still makes sense that they’d want to sever your force bonds because you’re basically a force parasite. And they can be WRONG! The Jedi are fallible characters with their own biases and beliefs. That’s the point of Kreia’s whole speech before she kills them.
If you ask, Kreia TELLS you Nihilus is so consumed by hunger he has no body. He is a living hunger. That’s why he destroys planets. To feed on the force. You would’ve gotten an explanation about Nihilus if you’d just spoken to her. ITS ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK HER: “What do you know about the Sith hunting us?” HOW DID YOU MISS THIS!?
And “Kreia’s betrayal isn’t set up and comes out of nowhere,” WHAT THE FUCK!? There are scenes THROUGHOUT THE GAME where Kreia is doing shady shit behind your back and making schemes with the other companions. Were you just not paying attention during those bits? Oh, right, you said you were skipping all of Kreia’s dialogue. It is set up that Kreia is not to be trusted and has her own agenda.
Revan didn’t leave Canderous for dead, he just parted with him at the edge of the galaxy and told him to rebuild the Mandalorians. He’s just confused as to why Revan left if anything. And by “broken” and “cast down” Kreia meant that his leader AND friend abandoned him.
And the ending where everyone dies at the end only happens if you fuck up and get them killed. If you prepare them and keep them alive, they survive to the end, EVEN ATTON.
*Edited: Typos, Removed "Canderous isn't trying to prove Revan wrong" because I forgot about that exchange between Canderous and the Blind Girl at the end of the game.
Nick sounds like the type of person i could never get tired of listening to...
...if they were being constantly pushed down a flight of stairs
Nick is better to listen to than someone mindlessly praising a game
@@557deadpool not his skits
@@californiansniper2133 yes his skits
Was so surprised when you claimed that Perseus and Telos are your favorite levels in all of gaming. Bold take. Much respect.
All rise for the pinnacle of Star Wars
Almost 4 hours long, sheesh. Hats off good connoisseur.
I appreciate you choosing the "faux-Atris" Exile face, as I feel it's a good candidate for being the canon Meetra, mostly for the piercing blue eyes. More than that, like the game's Enclave, your insights are uniquely powerful. I don't entirely agree? I admire your perspective and this video, though.
But you did suck up the souls of all the things you killed. That's what the Experience Points WERE.
Strat failed an Awareness check
It’s crazy watching someone else play this after I’ve done it some 50+ times.
You make a number of great points but even by the time you left telos you already missed so much, but that’s the greatest thing about this game for me, the replay value is extensive.
Damn, you seem to have hit every single weird glitch possible. I've never even _seen_ half of these!
What I really love is the "truth lies in between" kinda of philosophy this game has. KotOR 1 was so black and white, while you get to see so much more in this sequel. The useless evil displayed by the Sith, harming other just because they're evil, and the hypocrisy of the Jedi, who are so self absorbed in their own ways in such a way of not understanding that being cautious and apathetic is the worst thing that society can have against, especially considering their vow of protecting the innocent. That being said, KorOR II still remains an unfinished game, but an unfinished masterpiece, in my point of view. What I truly hope is that the remake of KotOR will actually spawn a finished trilogy, so that we can finally have some closure on this wonderful story.
Great video, I really enjoyed it. Keep 'em coming.
Ah, my thanks to you Strat-Edgy. A long video about one of my favorite games of all time to listen to during my shift tonight.
That moment with all those deaths on Malachor plays just as well for a dark-side character. The weight of all those deaths may have been apathetic to one of the dark-side, however, the personal pain of a sith would experience cutting themselves off from The Force, the very font of their power, their capacity to free themselves.
"I chose bondage and life, survival over dying with The Force. What a weakling I am. What an affront to the entire Sith Code, I am. I am less than those that will never know The Force's embrace. What have I become?" -My real thoughts about one of my Sith play-throughs.
It is as a father burying their son. It is as a mother weeping upon a bloody shield.
Tbf Kreia doesn't kill your crew but puts them in jail, still it could have been explained better, especially since Mandalore is also in that jail and doesn't make sense.
In retrospect a lot of the trash mobs which were cut from the base game was probably a good idea. I think that the TSLRM creators erred by reintroducing them as they made sections like Nar Shadda more of a slog than they ought to have been.
if you talk to Kreya, she tells you that Nihilus drains planets because he is a hungry boi. HIS TITTLE IS THE LORD OF HUNGER!!
Also he probably was only able to drain all of the Miraluka colony because everyone on it was force sensitive. Much like the Sith Assassins his power's based on the force power of his victims,
@@DIEGhostfish Not probably. He is Visas tells you that outright
@@cyberninjazero5659 Yeah and you can tell HIM that in the fight at Telos. "There are no jedi here, if you try to use your powers here it will only weaken you" edgy missed it.
Yeah but you shouldn't NEED to do optional content to understand the story, that's inherently shitty storytelling
@@557deadpool You get that sort of option aeven if you don't click it or do you mean Kreia's dialogue? Which you can unlock by making her love OR hate you.
11:51 I really do like the basic mining droids. They're crabs with the front arms of Marauder Battlemechs/Glaug officer pods. That shit's cool as fuuuuuck.
Awsome seeing you play some kotor 2. Losing influence with kriea, and giving up on your blaster only run yet again is the way of life in kotor 2. Pure pazzak
Personally I love that you can make all your companions sith including Meera if you're dark side and you get their disposition high enough
A bit late, but I don't understand what was difficult about the Jedi's plan... It's simple:
1. The enemy is killing them
2. They have no idea who the enemy is nor how this is being accomplished
3. Jedi are being tracked through the Force
4. Big gatherings of Jedi cause a World Extinction Event
->
Hide away and let the enemy think they have won so they stop being so hidey and reveal themselves for whatever it is they needed the Jedi out of the way for. Then, after the enemy reveals themselves, gather up your big army (the Republic's forces) and smash the bad guys.
The idiocy of the plan isn't that it couldn't work, because its fundamentals are sound. The idiocy of the plan is that it _only_ involves Jedi, who make up a tiny, tiny portion of the manpower in the Republic. The enemy is destroying the Republic itself... so why isn't the Republic at all involved in fighting it?
I'll be honest.
I didn't realize there were two people talking until the transition to the Malachor segment.
You and salty are just so similar.
Wait what? Can you give me a time stamp I'm having a real mind fuck right now
damn, that gotta be the most scuffed playthrough of KOTOR 2 i have ever seen.
Honestly the, relatively and comparatively, low intelligence stat Strat chose actually kind of shocked me. Mostly because of how much more focus on skills there are in KOTOR 2 and also because basically every other let's play I've seen of it has gone for a High Int-Jack of All Trades-Build for the skill points
@@dantethewanderer4989 When I played KOTOR and KOTOR 2
I followed the same basic principles:
First, play as a min maxed light side Soldier into Guardian to get to know the mechanics(I have never played a Game based on the D&D system) to ge to know the game.
Second play through the game as a dark side force storm spamming scoundrel into consular.
What I dislike about the game is that my level of power is tied to my alligment which is tied to the dialog options I take.
It is diapointing to be forced to use the goody 2 shoes options when in reallity I completely disagree with the message of these dialog options but since you miss out on power when doing otherwise the autistic parts of my brain force me to keep sing them.
Regarding your comment,
it is possible to use your companions for nearly everythig skill related besides some dialog options.
Therefore you don't need to relly on a high intelgence stat for your main character.
No it’s not. In my first playthrough I wasn’t aware I could turn companions into Jedi.
@@mangosteakalignment doesn't really make you more powerful, all it does is make force powers of the same alignment cost less to use, stat's still offer far more of a boost than anything else I'm the game
@@JJJBunney001
If you fullx comit to one alligment U gain some pretty dope boosts that depend on your class
Wow this was the first time I've ever seen anything from you, Loved it, thanks.
I literally love your content man, ive only recently (3 or so months) started watching, and plan on donating soon, but your videos and just listening to someone talk about games they way you do really takes my mind off of the shit happening in my life. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to experience your content.
Sincerely,
Nicky Grey
"We will never truly find out what happened to meetra or reven"
Me: well they kinda address it in the mmo
"Unless you have 100's of hours to spend clicking buttons in the mmo"
Me: ....
I played the MMO too, so don't feel bad. I just disregard the canon of the MMO to be honest because I hated it. The canon, not the game.
@@StratEdgyProductions yeah the story was weird but honestly the only mmo I acually liked
@@StratEdgyProductions with the remake it will soon happen
@@TheReZisTLust The remake will ruin KOTOR, I guarantee it.
@@StratEdgyProductions I will never not be mad about how SWTOR took a dump on the KOTOR lore. At least we got some really excellent cinematic trailers for it.
I think the restored content mod might mess up the basilisk cutscene, because I saw the right cutscene in the vanilla game, although it’s nothing particularly special
Idk, I played with restored content last year and the basilisk cutscene worked fine. I also thought it was pretty bad-ass, but I'm a bit of a dweeb.
It's definitely fair criticism that a lot of the Sith Lords' backstories and motivations, especially Nihilus, can only be gotten by talking to kreia, or that with high enough intelligence/influence you can just get her to explain her whole deal from the first time you get on the ebon hawk
Visas also gives some insight on Nihilus, and you actually get to talk to Sion, so I don't think its *that* fair of a critique. In general I suppose having the biggest source for lore being an abrasive old woman a lot of people will probably not like to talk to is not the best though.
You can also just like, look at the fucking guyd and see that they're walking critiques of the Sith (Similar to the Council and Jedi) and thats really all there is to them. Power for powers sake is an empty goal and you end up consuming the entire galaxy. Sion is just a walking example of how fucked up dependancy on the Force can be, he admits to how pointless it all was and if only he could have given up on the force he wouldn't have had to face so much pain. Like I'm not sure if knowing what kind of childhoods they had is all that important, like its nice to know but its not why they are there.
The hallway fight with your party members on Nar Shadaa is the hardest part in the game especially on higher difficulties. Later on you turn Mira into a gunslinger jedi and the game becomes a joke.
When you had to fight the Twi'lek twins as Atton was the first part of this game where I had to bump the difficulty down.
Two of my favorite content creators. I'll be making some popcorn for this one.
KOTOR got me into gaming in the first place.
This was my favorite star wars series.
Kotor 1 & 2 were the best memories of my early childhood
Can I say Darth Sion is a GREAT villian? A man who has the powers like Darth Plagus. A man who cannot die, and using that power has negative side effects to his body.
Eh, he's just an edgy "literally too angry to die" character.
@@comicsans1689 Wrong
what a sweet, concise, and to the point video
more seriously for a ~4 hr video it didnt feel like it dragged and the discussion jumped around different ideas and tones that kept it super engaging.
I see this angle on the force is akin to the difference between a Jain extremist vs a Nietzschean philosophy. Neither is evil. Neither is good. Just different approaches on an extreme. KOTOR 2 has my favourite take on the force in all of Star Wars I've seen.
Thank goodness there are still TH-camr out there with the balls to make great videos, no matter the length or how it affects the algorithm!
1:54:37 planting a bomb on a container actually doesn't damage the contents the same way Bash does. Programming oversight. So a hakcer isn't strictly necessary.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Just found both of your channels yesterday and starting binging both, now I find you guys have a video together, amazing.
He forgets to mention the ending where you and Atton walk away like friends
Great job as always. The dope hardcore in the outro suggests you're a man of culture 🤘
Finally a Tutorial Island story that isn't that bad.
It's not that bad until it is lol
I can’t begin to explain the vast amount of joy I felt when I saw you collabed with Salt. You and Salt are the only gaming videos I watch. I discovered Salt after binging your videos.
I played the entire game Unarmed, so satisfying
Hand to hand is so damn fun
I left youtube playing when I fell asleep, and when I came back, it was at 3:50:00 playing metal. LOVE IT!
I gotta say, your side character in this line of videos has grown on me. It kind of reminds me of playing games with my younger brothers at home.
Kinda pissed this went under my radar for two years 😤 love the both of you . Fantastic collaboration. Would love to see more with you both. LOVE YA SALT!
but i got an ending that was lightside yet everyone lived. theres more than 2 endings.
Finesse: Melee Weapons works on both metal melee weapons and jedi glowstics, so taking Finesse: Glowstick is redundant. It works like this in the OG and in patched restored content version. Also restored content lets you spar with Visas for extra free lightsaber feats (oh, and prestige class also gives some for free, if you didn't take them before). Other than that, lovely as usualy, seen this vid a few times, but I rewatched it now, because I'm replaying this shit again ❤
Strat bro, the experience points is literally people’s souls. That’s what the Jedi are saying. Like literally all of the exp you got from killing is that characters soul
Strat I’ve fallen asleep to this video about 6 times now. I hope you enjoy the ad revenue!
The hilarious part of the fox business clip you used with Kreia is at least there he was in favor of private donations, aka charity. Kreia goes even further saying fuck charity. She's not even a libertarian, she's a social darwinist.
I definitely remember a much better ending when i played it a couple years ago. Kreia talks about how they force was controling everyone and wanted to use the mass shadow generator to permanently destroy the force because she hates it so much. Thats a fucking awesome motivation. I was also playing dark side without the cut content mod so idk whats different
"'The Force has chosen you.' It kind of makes that character not as important to the story."
That's pretty shaky Edge. Bastila had a unique power called Battle Meditation that turned the tide of the civil war. Anakin was literally prophesied to bring balance to the Force (nevermind the reasoning why). And they were both instrumental to the end of the Jedi Civil War and the tyranny of the Emperor respectively. Their being chosen made them *pivotal* to the story. What do you really mean here?
It means that the character themselves didn't do it. If the Force had chosen differently Bastila and Anakin would have been left eating their own boogers while someone else did the hero stuff. At least, that's the argument I think. How much of the hero being cool is them actually being cool, vs. space god giving them a break.
The Force makes those people pivotal, they are not pivotal based on their own skills. And that's what Kreia hates about the Force.
@@8xottox8 the force might give some characters the ability to change the course of the galaxy, but the choices they make are still their own.
Bastilla has battle meditation, but it's up to her and revan as to whether or not it will be used to help or hinder the Republic.
The exile is unique too, but it's still up to her the choices she makes. Both kotor 1 and 2 follow characters that are uniquely influenced by the force but the force doesn't control their actions themselves
Whenever I do a KoTOR2 run, I always make it a point to get through Peragus in one sitting. Sure, it's somewhat long, but I don't find it nearly as tedious as Citadel Station or Taris. And re-solving the mystery of what happened is always enjoyable. However, if I don't make it through in one go, I scrap the playthrough completely as it seems like a bad omen; maybe my heart isn't in it idk.
The whole beginning of Kreia, the libertarian bit had me dying. I'm at work almost crying lmao
A+ video despite disagreeing with your analysis of the story. Because even when I disagree, I get new insight into our favorite media. This is why I've been subbed for years