Ranking All the Kotor 2 Companions from Star Wars

Kotor 2

Star Wars has had a lot of expanded material. To name some examples, there were a couple of RPGs subtitled Knights of the Old Republic that came out in 2003 and 2004. The first was made by Bioware. It retread well-trod-upon ground. Furthermore, its visuals didn’t have what had already been established about that part of the setting’s timeline.

Still, it was successful enough to ensure a sequel made by Obsidian Entertainment rather than Bioware. Unfortunately, while Knights of the Old Republic II was much more thoughtful, it got hammered by the need to meet the Christmas season of 2004. Something that hurt it in pretty much every single aspect. Still, it was enjoyable in parts, meaning that there are those who remember it with some measure of fondness.

13. The Disciple

This is the easiest choice on this list. After all, there was a broad consensus that the Disciple was the single worst companion in Knights of the Old Republic II. Primarily, this was because he wasn’t very interesting. The Disciple had a very bland personality, which was a real shame because his background meant that he could have been so much more.

For context, he was one of the Force-sensitive children who had been brought to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine to be trained to become a Jedi himself. However, when the time came for him to become an apprentice, the sheer number of Jedi who had left to fight in the Mandalorian Wars meant that there was no one who was both able and willing to take him on.

As a result, the Disciple survived the Jedi Civil War to serve as something of a diplomat for the greviously-wounded Republic. That background meant that there was so much that could have been done with the character. For example, his feelings about the death and destruction visited upon the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine.

Similarly, his interest in Jedi history in a game that put a fair amount of effort into examining what it meant to be a Jedi. Instead, the Disciple tends to be best-remembered because of his romantic feelings for the Jedi Exile, which apparently started when he was a child who had attended a class taught by said individual. Suffice to say that didn’t help an already poor impression.

12. Bao-Dur’s Remote

Bao-Dur’s remote gets a low position on this list. That isn’t meant as a knock against it. Instead, it is an acknowledgement of its much more limited role in the game’s narrative. In short, Bao-Dur built the remote when he was still a child. After which, he was accompanied by it throughout the Mandalorian Wars and beyond. Eventually, the remote was tasked with activating the Mass Shadow Generator on Malachor V. It was hindered by G0-T0, but in the end, it was able to carry out its mission at the cost of its own existence.

11. T3-M4

T3-M4 was one of two droid companions who showed up in both Knights of the Old Republic and Knights of the Old Republic II. Strictly speaking, he is a utility droid. However, it seems safe to say that T3-M4 was created for the purpose of providing the first game with a RD-D2 equivalent. There isn’t much that can be said about the character. He went without memory wipes long enough that he managed to develop a personality of his own. Unfortunately, he never showed much personality in either one of the two games, which to be fair, might have been because of the limited nature of his communications. On the plus side, while T3-M4 was never the most formidable fighter, he did get a lot of skill points.

10. Hanharr

Hanharr didn’t see much use by most players. This is because he was exclusive to a Dark-Sided Jedi Exile, which was the less popular choice. Regardless, Hanharr was a sharp departure from the stereotypical Wookie in Star Wars media, seeing as how he was a murderous madman. To name an example, when he saw that his former village was going to be enslaved by Czerka Corporation, his response was to kill every single one of the villagers in their sleep, taking care to start into their eyes as they died so that they would know that they had to die because of their weakness. As for as Hanharr was concerned, mercy was a weakness, which is how he absolutely hated it when he was ever shown mercy in the game.

9. Visas Marr

Visas Marr was an alright character. However, her narrative as a villain’s subordinate who manages to pull themselves away from their master’s influence by regaining hope as well as self-confidence through their interactions with the protagonist has been done better elsewhere. Apparently, Visas Marr was hard-hit by the cuts that were necessary to get Knights of the Old Republic II done in time.

8. Mira

Since Hanharr was a Dark-Side exclusive, it should come as no surprise to learn that he had a Light-Side counterpart, who would be the bounty hunter Mira. Personality-wise, she was something of a mess. On the one hand, Mira didn’t kill unless she thought it was necessary, which is a very reasonable position. On the other hand, Mira was a bounty hunter on Nar Shaddaa, which is the kind of place where that position was very unusual to say the least. Still, the game did acknowledge the contradiction. Furthermore, Mira had a long-running rivalry with Hanharr. Something that enabled her to stand out.

7. Bao-Dur

Speaking of which, Bao-Dur didn’t stand out that much, which is pretty impressive considering that he is a horned humanoid called a Zabrak with a mechanical arm connected via some kind of blue-colored energy. However, one could say that was the point of the character, seeing as how he is meant to be someone whose life has been cast in shadow by Malachor V as well as the rest of the Mandalorian War in much the same manner as the Jedi Exile.

Indeed, Bao-Dur was a technician who served under said individual, thus providing him with a much more direct connection than any of the other companions. Sadly, he just disappears towards the end of the game. Apparently, Bao-Dur was supposed to sacrifice himself for the sake of ensuring victory at the Battle of Telos IV, which is why he would be replaced by his own remote at Malachor V. Instead, he just disappears after Telos IV with no indication of what happened to him because of the cuts.

6. Mandalore the Preserver

Boba Fett was ridiculously popular, so much so that he inspired the creation an entire culture called the Mandalorians, who went on to become ridiculously popular as well. The Mandalorians aren’t the arch-antagonists in either Knights of the Old Republic or Knights of the Old Republic II.

However, they played an important role in the backstory because their invasion was what prompted a huge number of Jedi to head into war, which would eventually lead to the creation of the Sith factions seen in those two games. As such, Canderous Ordo was important in the first game for providing the Mandalorian perspective on said occurrences. In the second game, he showed up as Mandalore the Preserver, who is acting to gather together the scattered remnants of the Mandalorians in preparation for an enemy that is still to come.

He both succeeded and failed in this regard. On the one hand, Mandalore the Preserver is the reason that the Mandalorians managed to become a faction of note once more after their crushing defeat in the Mandalorian War; on the other hand, well, suffice to say that the Mandalorians sided with the Sith faction that Mandalore the Preserver was preparing them for.

5. The Handmaiden

If the player chose a female Jedi Exile, they would be able to recruit the Disciple; if the player chose a male Jedi Exile instead, they would be able to recruit the Handmaiden. Speaking bluntly, the latter was the much superior choice, if only because she actually had a narrative of her own. There are a couple of other interesting points about the character as well.

One, she can be seen as something of a counterpart to Visas Marr, seeing as how she is also someone who is convinced to break away from her past allegiance through her interactions with the player-character. However, her version is more memorable, not least because she breaks away from the Jedi Master Atris rather than a Sith Lord who was deliberately written as a void.

Two, the Handmaiden is supposed to be the child born of an affair between an Echani general and a Jedi master named Arren Kae. The latter is notable because her life lined up surprisingly well with that Kreia’s, which has prompted much speculation that the two characters are one and the same. There is out-of-setting speculation that this was an unintended consequence, but there has never been any real confirmation on the matter one way or the other.

4. G0-T0

G0-T0 would be the third of the series’s three full-time droid companions. Appearance-wise, he isn’t very impressive, seeing as how he is just a black sphere with certain implements protruding out of it. However, G0-T0’s story is actually pretty interesting, seeing as how he was an administration droid meant to assist in the recovery of the greviously-wounded Republic that chose to prioritze his mission by pursuing illegal means to achieve his aims.

As such, he became a crime lord. Furthermore, while G0-T0 became a companion, he retained his own agenda throughout the game, as shown by his interference with the remote’s mission to destroy Malachor V at the very end. Annoyingly, the cuts meant that G0-70 was another companion whose narrative suffered because it isn’t quite clear what went down in that confrontation.

3. HK-47

HK-47 was a fan-favorite from Knights of the Old Republic. Later, he went on to become a fan-favorite in Knights of the Old Republic II. The reason for this reception isn’t particularly complicated. Simply put, HK-47 is an assassin droid disguised as a protocol droid, who happens to have a very comedic sort of enthusiasm for his raison d’etre. He can be surprisingly insightful or at least insightful-sounding at time. However, he doesn’t go any further than this because he never received a real resolution to his narrative in the second game because of the cuts.

2. Atton

Atton would be Knights of the Old Republic II’s take on the lovable rogue archetype that sees so much use in the Star Wars franchise. Indeed, it is perhaps unsurprising to note that he is one of the potential romantic interests as well. However, Atton is very much not just who he presents himself as being. After all, he was one of the soldiers in Revan’s army who were specifically trained for the purpose of fighting Jedi, who fled from the conflict when one of his prisoners revealed that he himself was Force-sensitive. Unsurprisingly, self-loathing is one of the more notable layers in the metaphorical onion that Atton can be compared to.

1. Kreia

Knights of the Old Republic II has something of a divisive reputation among certain parts of the Star Wars fandom because of its interest in examining the role of the Force within the setting. Kreia is a much-discussed character because she played a major role in this, being so hostile towards the influence of the Force on living beings that she wanted nothing less than the removal of that influence by killing the Force itself.

Plenty of people condemn her position as that of a madwoman. However, plenty of people also believe that she did have one or two decent points about the Jedi as well as the Force. Regardless, what made Kreia memorable is that she combined two important narrative roles. One, she is the old mentor who teaches the player-character everything that she can. Two, she is also the final boss who must be overcome to demonstrate the player-character’s mastery beyond the shadow of a doubt.

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