Revan from theKnights of the Old Republicgames is among the most belovedStar Warscharacters to date. While Disney removed the expanded universe from its main canon when it acquiredStar Warsyears ago, several of the Legends' content has begun being recontextualized into the modern canon, including Revan. His story was considered non-canon until he was referenced in theShadow of the Sithnovel. Now with theKnight of the Old Republicremake on the way, fans will soon see more of the iconic character. This opens up possibilities for the character to take a more active role in the lore, particularly in the gaming world.
Revan was first introduced back during 2003’sStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicwhere his story was expanded in the sequel and in the self-titled novel. The book takes place between and after the twoKOTORgames, which looks to fill the gaps in Revan’s story that were previously unaddressed. While it’s expected thatRevan’sKOTORgame lorewill be reintroduced to the canon, his expanded story is already ripe for his own series of games, particularly in the backdrop ofStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
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How Revan’s Story From the Novel Could Become Its Own Fallen Order
Respawn’sStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderfound success as an original story told through the format of a singleplayer game. Despite having open areas and featuring familiar RPG elements,Fallen Orderretains a simple, straightforward structure while progressing Cal Kestis’s story. A Revan game could follow a similar formula considering the numerous interesting story beats presented in the expanded content. In Drew Karpyshyn’s novel, his story kicks off two years after the events ofKOTORin Coruscant, with Revan is married to Jedi master Bastila Shan and looking to regain his lost memories fromhis time as Darth Revan.
Revan’s quest to regain his lost memories would serve both as the ideal storytelling device and gameplay mechanic, not unlike how Cal Kestis’s past was utilized to build on the narrative and introduce skills and mechanics as the story progressed. This would also act as a bridge to theupcomingKOTORremakethat will help push the story forward in a slightly different form, one which is centered around Revan himself.
Showcasing the Dark Side and Adding Mandalorians
Another interesting aspect is that Revan has embraced both the light side and the dark side, and is a character that believes force users should learn from both sides of the force. This opens opportunities to introduce novel gameplay mechanics through a skill tree likeFallen Order’s, only more expansive since it can include dark side force powers and skills as well. It could allow developers to bring some of the more brutal combat styles ofStar Warsto a modern game, particularly considering howStar Wars Jedi: Survivoritself will include dismemberment.
Revan’s expanded story also sets the stage to incorporate other interesting parts of the lore such as the Mandalorians. In theRevannovel, the character joins the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo in the hunt for the mask of Mandalore, which is denoted as the most important symbol for Mandalorians and marks the leadership of the culture. Of course, in the modern context, it’s likely this mask may be replaced with thedarksaber that’s currently part of theMandalorianseries. Either way, Revan’s role in the Mandalorian wars and his eventual journey to find the mask would make for an intriguing gameplay sequence.
The journey with Canderous, along with other expanded story elements like events from Nathema, Coruscant, and even Dromund Kaas, adds an interesting exploration aspect to a potential Revan-centric game.Fallen Orderutilized exploration uniquely, not only letting players visit various planets but also using each location to build on the story and expand the character’s capabilities. So, it wouldn’t be too far off to assume aFallen Order-style Revan title would thrive with some similar planet-hopping.
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Setting the Stage for Future Star Wars Games
Additionally, a Revan-centric game similar to Respawn’s title gives ample room for futureStar Warsstories considering the massive gap in history between the Old Republic timeline and the prequel trilogy. For instance, Darth Bane, who comes years after Revan’s time, followed Darth Revan’s philosophy to come up withthe rule of two for the Sith. This rule goes on to become a crucial part of the universe for centuries to come. AFallen Order-styled Revan would mean that more Sith-centric games could become a possibility, with Revan acting as the foundation.
Apart from Jedi and Sith, fans have often wondered what a Mandalorian game could look like, and Revan’s hypothetical game could give a taste of what it would be like. After Revan rediscovered the mask of Mandalore, he offered it to Canderous, who ended up becoming Mandalore the Preserver. This would be an interesting jumping point for a potential Mandalorian game. While there are already rumors of aMandalorian MMO in the works for Xbox, a Mandalorian title set in the Old Republic timeline is bound to pique the interest of many fans. This is especially true at a time when theMandalorianseries continues to explore more of the culture and its past.
Nevertheless, it’s possible that Revan’s story might simply unfold in its entirety within the KOTOR games. The remake of the first KOTOR may mean that its sequel could get a similar treatment, as well as other stories from the Legends like2011’sStar Wars: The Old RepublicMMORPG. Yet it easy to see how applyingJedi: Fallen Order’s type of storytelling to Revan’s character would be interesting for both longtime fans and newcomers looking to discover moreStar Warsstories. Respawn’s title has showcased that gamers will continue to embrace single-player narrative storytelling in theStar Warsworld, and more games like it should be prioritized.
As of now, it remains to be seen how Aspyr and Saber Interactive will approach theKOTORremake and what it means for thepossibility ofKOTOR3. While the studios could take cues fromFallen Order’s success, only time will tell how the Old Republic stories take shape in the modern canon. Either way, fans won’t be short ofStar Warsgames for the next few years.
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