The above video teases the return of (a possibly Darth) Revan, a part of the much beloved character we haven’t seen in Legends canon since flashbacks in the original Knights of the Old Republic game. While maybe this fits better with some of your multiple playthroughs of the game, his story has come a long, long way since then. Below contains heavy spoilers for The Old Republic MMO, Revan the novel, and the KotOR series, as I look at how Revan’s story has evolved and similarly become constrained over the decade since his first appearance.
(Note: The Old Republic is currently the only Legends story still on-going. How much longer that’ll last, remains to be seen)
While I haven’t played The Old Republic MMO, I did watch videos regarding Revan’s fate since I’ve been interested in his (or her if you still wish) story after the events of KotOR and the Revan novel. Revan and Malak encountered the Sith Emperor while trying to locate the Sith influence behind the Mandalorian Wars, who promptly turned them to the dark side and sent them after the Republic, bringing about the events of the 1st KotOR. At the end of the 1st game, Revan marries Bastilla and lives below the radar, until he starts remembering the Emperor and wanders off into unknown space to counter the threat he poses. The Sith Emperor is a pure-evil villain who, among many other horrible things, consumed an entire world to keep his near immortality. At the end of the Revan novel we find out Revan lost his battle with the Emperor, but was put in stasis for the Emperor to feed off of, something Revan uses to his advantage: he manipulates the two way connection to convince the Emperor not to attack the Republic, letting his wife Bastilla and still unborn child live in peace. Meetra Surik, the main character of KotOR2, attempts to rescue Revan, but dies, though her spirit remains to help maintain Revan’s sanity for the years to come. It’s a downer situation for both much beloved characters and it takes a very long time to get resolved.
By a long time, I mean 300 years. Yes, Revan lives on for 300 years, long after his wife Bastilla passes and his children have grandchildren and so forth. But he’s been keeping the Emperor from attacking the Republic, playing up the threat it presents, so his sacrifice isn’t really in vain until TOR begins, bringing with it a cold war between the Republic and the Empire. The two way connection Revan is under has its drawbacks though, convincing him the Empire and anyone or anything associated with it needs to be wiped off the face of the galaxy at any costs. So when Revan is freed from his imprisonment, he’s more than happy to begin his plans to ensure the Empire’s genocidal destruction.
This new mindset is of course against both the Sith and Jedi’s plans, so the players are sent to stop him. After the demise of HK-47, who had been patiently awaiting the return of his master and had begun to construct an army for Revan, and losing a personal duel against the players, Revan disappears to rally his forces. From the video above, it looks like he’s finally ready to return, but will this bring about the end of Revan’s story for good? And did Meetra Surik’s spirit finally become one with the Force, or will she intervene for one last time?
This lengthy story I’ve recounted for you highlights an interesting and somewhat disappointing, but overly necessary, change in how Revan’s story was told first by the players and then taken away. To think of Revan living another three centuries and becoming obsessed with wiping out the entirety of the Sith Empire and anyone with Sith ancestry (no matter their current stance) definitely doesn’t sound like the Revan(s) I crafted from multiple playthroughs of KotOR (minus some dark side ones). In fact, I can bet many people are surprised by this turn of events for his story, as it has come a far way in over a decade. But, as I discussed in my look at lack of choice-based gaming going forward for Star Wars, this storyteller takeover is necessary for a narrative to successfully live across several mediums, as reconciling multi-path stories is going to frustrate nearly every fan no matter the outcome (which was part of the reception to the Revan novel).
But the name Revan will always draw a crowd, thanks to the goodwill borne from a memorable experience a decade old, and the developers know that no matter what they do with him, fans will turn out to see Revan’s story unfold. I know I’m going to be joining TOR finally just to see this one through to the end. And that’s exactly why they’ll keep Revan going for as long as they can.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
SEE ALSO:
Video Game Review: Knights of the Old Republic
Video Game Review: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
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Choice Isn’t an Option: The Future of Star Wars Video Games
Lead Uncharted Writer Joins Visceral Games Star Wars Project
Execution vs Ideas: Another Cancelled LucasArts Game Surfaces
New Star Wars: Battlefront Trailer Shown at E3
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