Revisiting a Classic: "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" - Part 4 of 11 - Kashykk
Published on HivePostify by @shortshots · Wed Apr 26 2023
Revisiting a Classic: "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" - Part 4 of 11 - Kashyyyk
Hey fellow Hivers! Here we are again with the fifth installment of my "Revisiting a Classic" series on 2003's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic , also known as KOTOR .
For anyone reading this "Revisiting a Classic" series for the first time, here are links to my previous KOTOR Hive Gaming posts:
Part 1 of 11 - Endar Spine Part 1.5 of 11 - Steam's KOTOR Mods Part 2 of 11 - Taris
Part 3 of 11 - Dantooine
On the last post my Scout-Consular character Varen Thard became a Jedi again (Jedi From the Start mod) on the planet Dantooine after reciting Jedi mantra , making a few spare lightsabers , saving a cat Jedi-woman from the Dark Side, exterminating local Mandalorian Raiders , semi-settling a feud between the two rich Sandral and Matale families , and discovering a piece of the Star Forge Map Sith-Lord Darth Revan and his friend apprentice Darth Malak visited in the past. Once that was done, the Jedi Council asked me to look for other pieces of the Star Forge Map on the worlds Revan and Malak were rumored to have visited: Kashyyyk , Tattooine , Manaan , and Korriban -- so off we went!
https://media.giphy.com/media/R5oxnOJTEiDQqQU0QA/giphy.gif > And it wouldn't really feel like Star Wars game without a light-speed hyperdrive scene from the cockpit of a spaceship.
> I liked that bounty-hunter Calo Nord survived the Sith's bombardment of the planet Taris. Calo's character felt like a running gag that would've ended too early if we didn't see him again.
Once a cut-scene revealing bounty-hunter Calo Nord's survival finishes, I picked the planet Kashyyyk as my next destination because there's a Jedi character there that I really wanted to add to my team but also because he triggers an interesting quest on a future destination, the planet Manaan , later. Plus, it's the Wookie planet and in the past I've played Dark Side and helped teh Czerka Corporation ruin their lives but this time--I'm the good guy and I'm going to do good guy stuff!
https://media.giphy.com/media/MYKalrPJjUDIR8fyBY/giphy.gif > One of the interesting things about the adventure in Kashyyyk is that it appears to always be nighttime due to our quests taking place beneath their planet's dense canopy of colossal trees.
https://media.giphy.com/media/OU3R8rCFziOkZUZkfv/giphy.gif > Even when it comes time for the Ebon Hawk spaceship to land at the Czerka Company landing-bay, the vessel must descend through what looks like a tangled nest of branches.
Without spoiling too much, I have to say that Kashyyyk is my favorite planet so far and that I enjoyed the side quests and the main quests here a lot more than the previous adventures.
After landing on Kashyyyk, I found out we had a stowaway onboard the Ebon Hawk from Dantooine: a little girl who spoke another language . It was really strange to see her since, unlike Taris, there had been no children on Dantooine but I did remember a Twi'lek man asking about his master's missing child so I made a mental note to fly back to Dantooine and drop her off once I was finished with Kashyyyk .
But that's for another time -- let's dive in to my Scout-Consular Varen's adventures in Wookie Land!
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o84szeXW4qV9iy9YA/giphy.gif > Wookies from Star Wars Legos.
Side Quests on Kashykk
Honest Debt - Eli & Matton
> Here we have standing at the bridge to the Czerka Office on Kashyyyk: Matton, Eli, and my Scout-Consular Varen.
At the docking bay Kashyyyk, I used Force Persuade to avoid paying the docking fee which didn't penalize me with Dark Side Points this time, which was odd. Asking for a free droid on Taris is bad, but asking for free spaceship-parking is okay? Anyway, I talked to some nearby Czerka workers about Taris being scorched by the Sith, and then after ran into a pair of dudes up the ramp from the Czerka Office. It appears Matton owes Eli money because supposedly Matton's friends skipped out on paying Eli and abandoned him on Kashyyyk, which sound very not cool. But Eli was a bit of a shifty character so we got a quest to keep our eyes peeled for anything related to his and Matton's situation.
> Voice records on a damaged droid revealing Eli lied about Matton's crew mates stranding on Kashyyyk with their unpaid debt.
It wasn't a surprise to find out that Eli had double-crossed Matton and his crew by killing them and lying about it to Matton , so he could basically get a free human slave . After bringing back his crew's droid-head so Matton could learn the truth, I was very tempted to pick the dialogue option that encouraged Eli to avenge his friends right then and there and kill him but I did the good guy thing and basically told Matton that two wrongs don't make a right . Perhaps I chose this option because the wording for slaying Eli didn't feel subtle enough and I was surprised Matton wasn't smart enough to figure out this information by himself. Silver lining: I still had access to their store but by that time there was nothing there that I needed.
> I wanted to tell Matton to avenge his friends by taking out Eli but it just didn't feel right in the moment and I couldn't see my character Varen encouraging that type of behavior from a stranger.
Lena - Mission's brother Griff's Girlfriend
> My character Varen and Lena -- Mission's brother Griff's ex-girlfriend.
While running around on the wooden walkways of Kashyyyk, I had Zaalbar and and Mission in my party because we were on a Wookie planet and Zaalbar's a Wookie but also I included Mission because they're buddies. Anyway, we ran into a yellow Twi'lek woman who happened to be Mission's brother's ex-girlfriend . Apparently, Mission thinks Lena persuaded her brother Griff to abandon her on Taris but Lena -- the ex girlfriend -- claims she asked Griff to bring Mission but he thought his sister would hold him back and left her . While Mission is a part of my crew, I also felt like Griff wasn't here to defend himself so I tried to stay neutral . Lena tells us that last time she saw Griff, he blamed her for his gambling debts, broke up with her, and ran off to try scam money out of the Czerka Company on Tattooine . So I got a new side quest to help Mission find her brother on Tattooine later. You know what they say about family: if they ditch you on Taris, you end up looking for them on Tattooine lol.
The Lost Wookie - Find Rorworr for Woorwill
> Varen learning of Rorworr's disappearance from Woorwill
This wasn't the most engaging quest and I feel like it could've been expanded a bit. Basically, it's about a popular Wookie named Rorworr who was secretly selling other Wookies to the Czerka Company. I'm not sure if he was doing this before or after Zaalbar's brother Chundar was doing it, or whether or not he was also getting machines and weapons in exchange. It felt like a missed opportunity to show how Chundar's example had corrupted certain members of the tribe, into selling out their own out of fear, or for exotic goods. Anyway, when I found Rorrworr's dead body and evidence of his crimes , another Wookie tried to take the blame because he said it would be bad if a Wookie so many others looked up to was ,b>revealed as a traitor but I stood firm and had him reveal the truth: that even the most respected of the Wookies was capable of secret treachery.
> My character Varen stopping Jarak from sacrificing himself to protect the truth about the respected Rrowrr's crimes being revealed: he was selling his own kind to the Czerka Company, just like Chundar.
Mandalorians in the Shadows - Grrrwahrr's Plea for Justice
https://media.giphy.com/media/ebbxeqKslg0SHesAfD/giphy.gif > Wookie Grrwahhr defeating a Mandalorian
This is probably my favorite side quest so far in the game, even more so than the side quests on Taris and Dantooine. This starts with you finding some Mandalorians surrounding a Wookie that's dueling one of the Mandos. The Wookie, named Grrwahr , wins but the other Mandalorians try to avenge their friend by ganging up on the Wookie . Without hesitation, my Scout-Consular character Varen and his crew went to the Wookie's aid : force-choking, sniping, light-sabering, and tossing grenades at those cowardly Mandalorians .
https://media.giphy.com/media/gfyA79SuVAPn5JGTBl/giphy.gif > Mobbing the last Mandalorian from the first group with my crew's three lightsaber-wielding Jedi.
After rescuing the Wookie Grwahhr , he asks us to heal him which I do and then asks that we avenge his fallen comrades who were ambushed by the Mandalorians who only attacked when the Wookies had disarmed themselves and stopped to make camp. In order, to hunt down these Mandalorians, you have to find the dead bodies of each of Grwahhr's friends and then remove every party-member's weapons . This activates a cut scene in which the Mandalorians ambush you by switching off their invisibility-devices to reveal themselves for attack.
https://media.giphy.com/media/ExFjvHtZTAYcwnWInY/giphy.gif > One of the reasons I was a big fan of Kashyyyk was that I liked how the Mandalorians I was fighting were an upgrade to those on Dantooine: having the invisibility gear and a much more cinematic entrance.
I also liked how after defeating each group you get a data pad that shows some of the Mandalorians in this hunting party disagreed with their own tactics , finding them dishonorable and unfair , but the leader bullies them all into obeying -- which was a little funny. I guess even Mandalorians aren't immune to peer pressure .
https://media.giphy.com/media/ZV7Yowovr5j74MPhWh/giphy.gif > Since these Mandalorians couldn't rise above peer-pressure, Jolee and Varen aided these bounty-hunters with the power of the Force.
But since these Mandalorians had decided to keep ambushing these helpless Wookies , the Force itself had called my character Varen and his party to Kashyyyk to punish the armored evil-doers ... because this is the way .
https://media.giphy.com/media/9ltIGefAwKF1av4nEA/giphy.gif > The Mandalorian hunting-party leader shows up.
https://media.giphy.com/media/uuj8M09wwnZOKAM5fQ/giphy.gif > Just when we thought it'd be an easy fight ... he calls back up.
https://media.giphy.com/media/hLWVfiqwg6UbFgUxu2/giphy.gif > Jolee & Juhani mad I stole their kill haha
Main Quests on Kashykk
Wookie Chief - Chundar
> Before we see Chundar we go to the Czerka Office on Kashyyyk. If you look to the right of the Ithorian (green flat-headed alien) you'll see a Wookie in a ground cage.
Upon arriving on Kashyyyk, Mission's Wookie friend Zaalbar explains that he's been exiled from his home for twenty years for attacking his brother who was selling their species to the Czerka company . Labeled a " mad-claw ," because he committed the taboo of using his claws as weapons , Zaalbar was forsaken by his own father and hasn't been home since. Returning to Kashyyyk is painful for him because of the shame he feels, but also the pain of seeing the continued enslavement of his brothers and sisters .
Ever the optimist, my character Varen Thard tells Zaalbar that it's been a long time and maybe the Wookie people will welcome him home with open arms. So we set out to go find Zaalbar's Wookie village but run into a Dark Jedi and some Sith Assassins who claim Darth Malak was very upset to learn that we'd survived Taris's bombardment -- and that there was a great reward for our capture or death .
https://media.giphy.com/media/k28nj5uolavKVqvZ5G/giphy.gif > In this play-through, this is the first time my character Varen's been thrown back on his butt by an enemy Force-push, which was a bit of a surprise. My current wisdom stat level should prevent this ... but I guess it's still not high enough yet haha.
After defeating the Dark Jedi and Sith Assassins , my Scout-Consular Varen Thard met the guard to Zaalbar's Wookie Village. Zaalbar was apprehended as a Wookie criminal and my crew is taken to meet their leader, Zaalbar's brother Chundar .
https://media.giphy.com/media/gCsbcwQ3EiEYajoAz0/giphy.gif
Chundar explains that, while he can't yet attack my crew , he can do whatever he wants to his brother Zaalbar since he is both a Wookie and a criminal. Hoping to prove his innocence, we try to appeal to their father Freyyr but learn that he has been labeled insane and left to wander the dangerous Shadowlands below: the forest floor of Kashykk . Varen and his crew ask for Zaalbar's freedom but Chundar says he will only discuss things further if we perform a task for him -- finding and killing their father Freyyr . With nothing else to do, we tell Zaalbar not to worry and pretend to leave to do as Chundar has asked.
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