BioWare has a long history of developing RPGs with added romance. Fans of the developer can almost see how these have changed over time, with romances in Mass Effect: Andromeda and Dragon Age: Inquisition having better scenes and story implications than, say, Knights of the Old Republic. While Knights of the Old Republic 3, from any developer, would be wise to take notes from BioWare’s recent games, the KOTOR Remake might as well too.
WARNING: Minor Spoilers for KOTOR AheadThe thing to keep in mind is that the KOTOR Remake is just that: a remake. It’s not a remaster, and that’s a good thing. As beloved as the original KOTOR is, its age shows everywhere including its romance. While some are worried about potential changes to things like Knights of the Old Republic Remake’s combat, its romance options (and depth) need a serious facelift.
Love in the Original Knights of the Old Republic
First, it’s worth looking at the romances as they stand. It’s incredibly limited when it comes to choices in Knights of the Old Republic: Carth, Bastila, or Juhani. Carth can only be romanced by a light side female Revan, Bastila can only be romanced by a Light or Dark Side male character, and Juhani can only be romanced by a Light Side female character. This means that Dark Side male characters only have Bastila, while Dark Side female characters get no love whatsoever.
Mechanic-wise, KOTOR essentially just requires players to be nice to their chosen companion and complete a personal quest. For Bastila, players have to help with her mother on Tatooine and kiss her before the Leviathan sequence. Then, on the Unknown Planet, players just need either embrace the dark side or talk her down from it, and seal the deal on the romance.
For Carth, there’s really not even a personal quest. Players just have to speak with him, be kind and patient with him, and after they kill Saul aboard the Leviathan, they just need to choose the light side on the Unknown Planet. This results in Carth and Revan sharing a kiss; if players romance him but turn to the dark, they will have to kill him.
When players meet Juhani, they will need to bring her back from the Dark Side on Dantooine. Doing so brings her aboard the Ebon Hawk, and as players learn of her backstory, they’ll eventually face a Slaver who was going to buy her before she was saved. Xor, the slaver, will eventually ambush the party and players can let Juhani kill him or just let him die. He’s dead either way. Then, on the Unknown Planet, simply choose the light side and Juhani will later confess her feelings.
How The KOTOR Remake Could Improve Its Romance Options
In terms of romance options, there are a couple of ways to improve the choices here. First and foremost, it would really need to introduce an option for Dark Side female Revans. Carth trying to redeem her makes perfect sense, so another option would be to make Canderous Ordo a romance option. Many have always wanted him to be, and it feels quite strange that he isn’t. His personality would mesh well with a Sith Empire, and it would likely add some nice variety to the quests and choices related to KOTOR Romance.
Unfortunately, the other companions don’t really seem all that romanceable, as that would just leave Mission, Zaalbar, and Jolee. Mission is far too young, Zaalbar is a Wookiee, and Jolee is on the older end. Some ambiguity means Jolee could be an option, but his story would need some tweaking and it wouldn’t really mesh well.
It could also be possible for the KOTOR Remake to introduce new NPCs who could be romance options, but a new party member in KOTOR Remake is unlikely. Still, these can be rich ways to interact with the world, and they could still be on the serious end. While KOTOR itself is admittedly limited on solid options, if it has something for everyone and can offer quality over quantity, many KOTOR fans would be happy.
KOTOR Remake Should Make The Romances Deeper
Whatever it does in terms of options, that quality should be pushed to the foreground. Many of the romances rely on the Unknown Planet for their conclusion and that’s fine, but improved cutscenes throughout, new questlines to really help cement the romance, and a few other mechanics (potentially gifts, even if that is rudimentary) could all help makes these romances feel more genuine.
There are a lot of options here, and it remains to be seen how Aspyr handles this remake of Knights of the Old Republic. All that’s known is how excited fans are for this, after begging for a KOTOR Remake for several years.
Knights of the Old Republic Remake is in development for PS5.