Grant Dempsey

Of course. Neither was Kreia's existence, or the Exile's existence, or the Mass Shadow Generator, or any of that. It's all already a given. Am I supposed to just ignore everything new that the sequel revealed about the backstory just because those particular plot points weren't thought up for the original?

The revelation was really more based around the idea that he was never particularly a "Sith Lord". Well, not fully...or at least an unconventional one. Kreia's suggestion was that Revan had not fallen to the Dark Side of the Force so much as sacrificed himself to it (let himself fall knowingly). He wasn't "a Sith Lord who decided to fight other Sith" at random. He simply felt he needed to "become a Sith Lord to fight other Sith". The implication being he saw it as necessary for the sake of fighting this other, even greater threat which he alone perceived, or at least for the sake of preparing the galaxy for defending itself against said threat should the need arise. I wouldn't declare Revan completely "heroic", of course. There were several implications of his character being more complex than that, indeed possessing a personal lust for power (and, perhaps more so, for knowledge). Plus, either way, regardless of whether or not he let himself fall to the Dark Side of the Force knowingly, I'm sure it still had a major effect on his personality and philosophies. (Otherwise, had he been in complete control the entire time, it wouldn't've even been a "sacrifice", for what would he have lost?) However, I wouldn't regard him as any ordinary Sith Lord. This game elevated Revan beyond Sith Lords who were simply out for their own gain. Unique motives weren't particularly odd for a character such as Revan's. I thought it was an incredibly interesting revelation, myself, as I've said.

Such is the problem when you let people play a pre created character and try to fool them into thinking it is theirs. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> How did that particular revelation affect how effectively the character belonged to the player? It simply dealt more with Revan's original fall to the Dark Side of the Force, not his actions in the original game itself. It didn't really make Revan's backstory any more or less preset than the original game already had. For instance, even in the original game, no matter which alignment your character became, it was always "Revan, former Sith Lord and Jedi Knight". Revan never really belonged to the player all that much in the first place, in regard to his backstory and whatnot. Personally, I absolutely loved the role and presence Revan had in this game, through how he was mentioned and explored in so many characters' dialogue. One of the most memorable and interesting parts of the game for me. Revan had so much presence, even though he was never physically even there. The fact that his actions and philosophies had so much impact and effect on people throughout the galaxy just really elevated Revan's significance, I thought. It made him feel more mysterious (and realistically so in relation to his differing alignments), yet also more real in a sense. Characters truly had varying opinions of what he accomplished and sought to achieve. They didn't just all say the same thing. The revelation that there was more to his motives and his original fall to the Dark Side of the Force than being just that (a fall) was incredible icing on the cake.

Guess you're not taking requests.

Well, as I (and many others) would argue, it wasn't entirely true that Kreia was "evil". She truly did abandon her identity as a Sith Lord ("Darth Traya") after she was betrayed and exiled by Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus. She found a new identity for herself and with that new identity came new philosophies and ideals, born from her experiences with and thoughts about both "sides" of the Force and the Force itself as a whole. She realigned herself with her former "Sith" identity as the game's climax rolled around (around the time of the final confrontation with Atris), but it wasn't necessarily as though she had truly been a Sith Lord in secret the entire time. As a matter of fact, I'm sure many (heck, including me) would argue that Kreia realigned herself with that identity and reforged her flimsy "alliance" with Darth Sion only for the sake of completing the Exile's training (to "teach" him about betrayal, to guide him directly into the final confrontation with Atris, and to force him to have to kill her at the Trayus Core on Malachor V). Very few of her beliefs and ideals seem to fit in accordance with any teachings or philosophies of the Sith Order, so it would be difficult to consider her a Sith Lord. She seemed to be a Sith Lord in name only.

Well, really, the game didn't seem to truly put forth a great deal of effort to keep the fact that Kreia was manipulating the Exile and his companions a secret, what with her reviving Hanharr and Colonel Tobin, literally blackmailing Atton, and tormenting Disciple and Bao-Dur. I don't really feel as though it was even supposed to be that big a surprise for the player, actually. I don't even see it as a "flaw" in the storyline; I see it as just an aspect of the storytelling. Anyway, even then, that flashback sequence revealed little about Kreia actually being a Sith Lord. All it revealed was that she was formerly a Sith Lord, which was a fairly important fact for the player to know either way, considering a lot of Kreia's other dialogue, such as her indepth explanations as to the nature of the threat posed by Darth Nihilus and her interaction with Darth Sion. Moving that flashback sequence back toward the ending wouldn't've made much sense, and it would've just made Kreia's dialogue throughout the game unnecessarily confusing.

Not really. That movie sequence was quite obviously a flashback, showing the player how Darth Traya was betrayed and exiled by Darth Sion and Darth Nihilus back when she was actually a Sith Lord. Kreia's narration, as well as the dialogue that occured before and after the actual movie sequence, should've already made that clear.

Bah...I'd just go with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic III: The Jedi Masters. It may not be the most "poetic" subtitle in the world, but it'd fit in line with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Besides, surely with , the idea of "true Jedi Masters" and whatnot could be worked into the storyline decently enough. "

Well, no. It might seem that way, I suppose. I appreciate the thoughts and ideas that went into this game's storyline and I do at least slightly prefer this game's storyline to the original's because I think it'll stick with me more (mainly due to its complexity). I'm more quick to defend this game during debates and whatnot than I am to defend the original, however, simply because the original already has enough people defending it. Heck, usually the ones "defending" the original are doing so by being the ones to start criticizing the sequel. But no, I enjoyed both games very much, quite possibly around the same level. I appreciated their differences, too. I just don't at all see how it hurt anything for the sequel to take a different (and fresh) approach in exploring the Star Wars universe and mythology, rather than simply reproducing the exact same sort of situation that the original offered. I'm also just getting so turned off by the generally-negative reaction complex stories in videogames always seem to run into nowadays and the fact that so many people constantly express that they would prefer another story about "the battle between good and evil", where the villains are clearly "evil" and whatnot. I'm really enjoying how a lot of videogames lately offer stories where the villains are morally ambiguous, are sympathetic and even relatable (in certain cases), and so on, where the lines of "good and evil" are more blurred. Yet, so many people who play those kinds of games seem to complain that the villains in question were "pointless and boring" because they didn't automatically "act badass and evil" or something. I don't understand why gamers just can't seem to handle some complexity now and again.

Ehhh... I read your entire post, but you really lost me on that sentence. Kreia's story was a lot more outstandingly interesting to me than another plain ol' "good and evil" story would've been. Replacing the game's theme of moral ambiguity with nothing more than just another so-called "epic battle" between Jedi and Sith would mean taking out a lot of what appealed to me so much about the story.

I don't know if you're taking requests exactly, but, if you are, I'd like to request an audio clip that would include some of Darth Nihilus' "dialogue" (or rather, his grunting and moaning). Maybe the "movie" with he and Visas Marr? Or perhaps the cut scene with he and Darth Sion?

Darth Sion said, to a female Exile, something along the lines of, "She will break you...as she did me," as I recall. He even said, "You know nothing of her teachings! Nothing of the pain!" in another dialogue tree. It seemed like his "breaking" was inflicted, at least partially, by her hands. Though, I also liked that idea that he was once a Jedi Knight who was somehow caught up in the Mass Shadow Generator's range once it was activated, but was kept alive against his will by the dark energies of Malachor V itself, even with his flesh seared and scarred, and with his bones completely compressed and shattered. Maybe a combination of the two. Perhaps he survived the Mass Shadow Generator and the pain he suffered from it, but only to experience even more pain and agony at the hands of Darth Traya later.

I'm fairly certain I saw a statement on one of the loading screens on Malachor V which stated he was on the surface at the time, channeling the dark energies of the Trayus Academy to manipulate the space battle overhead. I could be remembering wrong, so I'll have to check again later, but that's what I thought I saw. I agree, though, it would seem strange that Revan managed to survive the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator if he was still on its surface at the time. Then again, I think it was suggested that there were others who somehow managed to avoid death in the clutches of the Mass Shadow Generator. The Exile, of course. His flagship -- or whatever it was that he was in -- may not have gotten caught up in its range, but he was certianly present at the space battle nonetheless. Bao-Dur, too. It seemed fairly clear that Darth Nihilus was a survivor of the Mass Shadow Generator, too. Even moreso in his case, since, if he was truly there during the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars, he was most likely caught up right in the Mass Shadow Generator's range, seeing as he ended up at the Trayus Academy and whatnot. Kreia seemed to suggest that Darth Sion -- along with possibly several of his followers and Darth Nihilus' followers -- were present at the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars. (She said they were "born from the Mandalorian Wars".) Heck, if Kreia herself was truly Master Arren Kae, as others on this forum have theorized, she was there as well, and, if so, was quite obviously caught up in the Mass Shadow Generator, since she must've ended up at the Trayus Academy. It seemed to me that it was implied that everyone present at the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars was either killed by the Mass Shadow Generator or engulfed by the dark energies of Malachor V itself, either of which occuring at nearly the same time. Meaning that if there were any survivors of the Mass Shadow Generator, they were almost immediately converted to the Dark Side of the Force. That was the impression I got anyway. I mentioned in another thread that Revan may have planned the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator (or at least expected it or prepared for it), suggesting that Revan may have even manipulated the starfleet he sent to Malachor V and using a variation of "Battle Meditation" for the sake of creating a difficult standstill that would force the Exile to fall back on activating the Mass Shadow Generator. It would make sense that Bao-Dur would've told a different story, in that case, since Revan most likely would not have admitted to being on the surface at the time (at least not until after the Mandalorian Wars were over). I mean, how would he explain it? I imagine he would've preferred to keep the existence of the Trayus Academy itself a secret, particularly since it seemed like he wasn't at all confident in the loyalties of those present, and presumably there would've been no other reason whatsoever for him to be on the planet's surface. Maybe Revan was on the surface during the space battle, then simply fled the planet's surface in a private shuttle and left before the Mass Shadow Generator was activated. Anyway, I'll have to check out Malachor V again and see if that loading screen I remember was really there.

Wait...if that was so, what about the loading screen on Malachor V that stated Revan was on the planet's surface at the time, channeling the dark energies of the Trayus Academy to manipulate the space battle as it happened overhead (sort of like a forced Battle Meditation)?

Actually, it seemed like he went to fight them either way, whether he was a Jedi or not. It didn't seem like the implication was that he joined them if he was a Sith. (After all, Kreia said Revan may need to accept the help of Jedi and Sith without discrimination if he hoped to win, so it didn't necessarily seem like Revan himself would be naturaly predisposed toward joining them if he was a Sith.) Well, okay, the next game might reveal otherwise in some sort of plot twist, like Revan was eventually corrupted by them and brought to their side, or infiltrated their "ranks" to try and defeat them from within, or something. The implication in this game, however, was that his intentions when he left were to fight them, regardless of his alignment.

Well, really, I think it could still be argued to some extent that Revan's intention wasn't to save the Galactic Republic specifically, but instead just to save the galaxy. He very well could have been planning to conquer the galaxy and forge some sort of empire, if he believed it would've made for a stronger, more durable organization. After all, while Revan may have been working for what he saw as the greater good (and while his fall to the Dark Side of the Force may have been more of a sacrifice with an ulterior motive than simply a fall), he wasn't exactly above cruelty and slaughter if he saw it as necessary. Plus, regardless of how he "fell" to the Dark Side of the Force, he still seemed corrupted by it thereafter nonetheless (hence why it was a sacrifice since it took something from him), even if he was strong-willed enough to prevent himself from falling so far that he may have forgotten his actual goals in favor of seeking power like any ol' Dark Lord of the Sith. Then again, he could've indeed been trying to use the Jedi Civil War to strengthen the Galactic Republic itself ("through conflict" as Kreia said) without intending to replace it with any sort of empire. Heck, to an extent, maybe Revan even saw the Jedi Civil War as a win-win situation for his purposes; he may have intended it as a test of strength in itself, his having two intentions (alternative to one another) with it instead of just one: Replacing or reforging the Galactic Republic if it ultimately lost the Jedi Civil War, or ending up strengthening the Galactic Republic and its defenses by providing it with conflict if it ultimately won the Jedi Civil War. Ah, I'm just playing devil's advocate here. It's just that Revan's ultimate goal wasn't made particularly clear beyond the fact that his basic intent was to strengthen the galaxy one way or another in order to best "prepare" it for defending itself against the "true" Sith Empire should it ever need to. By the way, Drakron, it was pretty clear that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords was trying to imply that there was more to Revan's fall to the Dark Side of the Force (and his reasons for starting the Jedi Civil War) than simply because he became evil. Yes, I would say it wasn't the original intention; in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, I'll admit Revan seemed to be intended as pretty much just a Jedi Knight who fell to the Dark Side of the Force without any ulterior motive beyond simply seeking power and whatnot. The sequel simply added to Revan's story with this new information, because there was still room to plausibly introduce it. If you feel it was simply "fan service" or whatever, feel free to disregard what was said and implied about his character for yourself, but don't try to argue that it wasn't the writers' intention unless you have more reason for saying so beyond just, "It was fan service," and, "The original didn't say anything about it, so it's not true at all."

What's your point? I never said Darth Sidious was immortal; I said he was extremely powerful. I don't see how you can say "Palpatine DIED" as though it's somehow proof that Kreia was undeniably above him. Kreia died, too, y'know. Besides, it all depends on whether you're examining this in the context of the Expanded Universe or purely in the context of the films (in which case there wouldn't be much to compare to since Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords obviously was not one of them). In the context of the Expanded Universe, I would say it's generally accepted that Emperor Palpatine managed to return from death thanks to his clone bodies, just as it's generally accepeted that Boba Fett managed to climb out of the Sarlaac Pit even though it was pretty clear that George Lucas' intention in throwing Boba Fett into the Sarlaac Pit in the first place was to kill off the character. Emperor Palpatine coming back from the dead certainly detracted from Anakin Skywalker's redemption and sacrifice to some degree, in my opinion, but it's still generally accepted as a part of the Expanded Universe's timeline nonetheless. Anyway, I don't really see why I'm even debating that. Emperor Palpatine's death or return from death doesn't have much to do with the subject at hand... Yeah, but, as I said, Darth Sidious was said to possess countless ancient holocrons and artifacts, and to have learned from them. It wasn't necessarily true that he had less experience or less proper training than Kreia. I mean, heck, remember, Kreia was only a Sith Lord for more than a decade at the most. She learned much from the experience -- contributing to her eventual philosophy apart from both extremes (Jedi and Sith) -- and learned several clearly-devastating techniques from the Trayus Academy (at least harmful enough to slaughter three of the most powerful Jedi Masters of the time period all at once with a single blow), there's no doubt about that. Yet, at the same time, Darth Sidious had trained presumably all his life as a Dark Lord of the Sith. In terms of raw power, striking more of a balance of neutrality (as Kreia did) wouldn't necessarily make one more powerful than if one had exclusively mastered an extreme (Light Side or Dark Side). That is to say, even if Kreia had actually mastered both extremes (Light Side and Dark Side) to some degree during the time she spent as a Jedi Master and as a Sith Lord, respectively (which I admit she most likely did), it wouldn't necessarily make her more powerful or more "properly trained" than someone who truly held more raw power in their being, but had only mastered one side of the Force. It might've made her more learned and experienced in philosophy and belief, but not necessarily in power and combat. As a character, I think I prefer Kreia, but I still believe Darth Sidious was simply more powerful, even if at least slightly so.

Erm... Didn't Darth Sidious unleash a "Force Storm" utterly massive enough to decimate an entire starfleet in one of the Dark Empire comic books? I'd have to give it to Darth Sidious. No matter how much knowledge "Darth Traya" may have gained throughout her life, no matter how many teachings and techniques she learned and studied in the Trayus Academy, I hardly think she could match Darth Sidious in raw power. Darth Sidious was portrayed as the ultimate Dark Lord of the Sith in terms of his complete mastery of the Dark Side of the Force, a "black hole" within the Force in his own right, possibly second only to Marka Ragnos himself (if not above even him), both in the context of the films and in the broader context of history according to the Expanded Universe. It made sense, too, I suppose, as that era was really the "highlight" of the overall saga's history to some degree -- particularly since that era's story was the one told by the films themselves -- and the most powerful and threatening adversaries in any broad-spanning story like Star Wars (Expanded Universe included here) would, of course, generally fit into the most major "point of interest" on the timeline. Besides, it was said (or so I've heard) that Darth Sidious somehow gathered, collected, and learned from countless ancient holocrons and artifacts containing teachings and techniques of the Sith Order, so he wasn't necessarily less learned than any Sith Lord prior.

Actually, I believe it was mentioned at certain points throughout the game (most notably by "Mandalore" a few times) that the Exile was indeed at least given command of a starfleet at some point. Since Canderous actually mentioned that the Exile commanded the starfleet "that defeated ours", I would be inclined to believe that the Exile had direct command of the starfleet that was at Malachor V. Anyway, regarding the issue of whether or not Revan was actually present during the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars at Malachor V, I recall that one of the loading screens on Malachor V actually stated that Revan was on the planet's surface at the time, channeling the dark energies of the Trayus Academy to turn the tide of the space battle overhead and manipulate its outcome, like a more external (and probably darker) version of Bastila's Battle Meditation to some degree. Also, regarding the issue of whether or not Revan intended to destroy Malachor V in a "last ditch effort" from the moment the space battle began there, I would say there was a reasonable amount of evidence supporting that idea. Remember, Malachor V itself was a living entity in some sense, akin to how Malak described the Star Forge in the previous game. Malachor V hungered and "fed" its dark energies on war and death, rejuvenating its power, pretty much the same as the Exile, Darth Nihilus, and the other Sith that "trained" at the Trayus Academy. Now, it was heavily implied that Malachor V was even Revan's main base (or at least a major one) during the Jedi Civil War, before Kreia even came along, and that it was there where Revan converted so many Jedi into Sith and even so many soldiers of the Galactic Republic into soldiers of the newly-revived Sith Order. Now, during the confrontation with the three Jedi Masters in the rebuilt Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, Kreia said something along the lines of, "There are dark places in this galaxy, where the power of the very ground you walk upon eat at you, slowly eroding what you are and changing you. Did you not ever wonder how Revan was able to convert so many Jedi, so many remnants of the Republic? Revan knew the value in such places, and the value in creating them." That final part was the one of interest. "...and the value in creating them." Well, "creating" Malachor V as such a center of dark corruption and whatnot would've most likely required that its power be fed and vastly restored, its hunger sustained, which, of course, would've, in turn, required that there be "war and death" on a relatively massive scale. So, no, I don't agree with HK-47's explanation, really... HK-47 said Revan was killing two birds with one stone: Defeating the Mandalorians and "cleaning house" with those of the men and women serving under him whose loyalty to him was in doubt. I would wager that Revan was actually killing three birds with one stone: Defeating the Mandalorians, "cleaning house" as HK-47 suggested, and using that final battle -- the defeat of the Mandalorians and the "sacrifice" who were doubtful of their loyalties -- to bring about death on enough of a scale that it could feed Malachor V. To that extent, I don't think I would put it past Revan to have not only known about the Mass Shadow Generator, but planned for its use. Obviously, the Exile and Bao-Dur were the ones most directly involved in its activation (the Exile for most likely giving the order; Bao-Dur for building it in the first place and for quite possibly being the one to press the button himself), but Revan still could have planned for it in some way. Actually, seeing as he was apparently "manipulating" the space battle by channeling the dark energies of the Trayus Academy on Malachor V's surface, maybe what he truly did was turn the tide of the battle in such a way that both the Mandalorians and his own starfleet were taking heavy losses (yes -- working against his own starfleet to some extent there), for the purpose of setting up a situation in which the Exile would've been unknowingly manipulated into having no choice but to fall back on giving the order to activate the Mass Shadow Generator as their "last resort". In effect, it ended the Mandalorian Wars, rid Revan of those whom weren't entirely loyal to him (either by death at the hands of the Mandalorians and the Mass Shadow Generator's activation combined or by conversion at the mercy of Malachor V's corruptive energies), and fed Malachor V's power to set it up as a base for corrupting captured soldiers and Jedi later, all in one fell swoop. I can't really imagine Revan passing up such an opportunity, since, even that early on, it seemed he was already making plans for initializing the Jedi Civil War. Besides, this idea has a relatively good amount of evidence to support it.

Well, Revan couldn't've kept the whole "the strong must rule the weak" philosophy a secret from Malak, seeing as it was practically the whole underlying mentality upon which all other teachings of the Sith grew and upon which the Sith all seemed to operate. Keeping such a thing a secret from someone, while still hoping that person would become a Sith, would be like trying to train them as a Jedi, but refusing to teach them about the Light Side of the Force. I don't see how Revan could've kept that a secret, especially so since his ulterior motive and his whole plan seemed to be one of strengthening the galaxy to begin with. Unless you're referring specifically to the idea of betraying one's master when one learns one is more powerful, but, really, if Revan's goal was to instill a very strict sense of focus on strength and power into the galaxy, I bet he just saw it as a necessary risk. He was probably just confident enough (and obviously overconfident in the long-run) in his ability to keep Malak under his control. The problem between Revan and Malak was that Revan actually had an ulterior motive for falling to the Dark Side of the Force in the first place and a very specific plan for how to go about "conquering" the galaxy, whereas Malak really was just a Sith for the sake of it. In sacrificing himself to the darkness, Revan led Malak into a true fall, since he never shared the truth of his own. And so, like a good little Sith, Malak "followed the rules" and betrayed Revan. Unfortunately, that didn't fit in line with Revan's plans... Revan's plans for using the Sith as just a means to an end backfired when it ended up being a fundamental teaching of the Sith Order -- which he himself had spread -- that ultimately led him to his initial downfall.

Based on what was revealed about Revan's character in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Revan seemed to be the type who was confident enough in his own ability to control, manipulate, and steer events in the direction he wanted them to go, to the point that he would've felt that sharing his true motives at the time was simply unnecessary. The less people one has to trust for no reason, the better, I suppose. I assume Revan was a lot like Kreia, in that (during his time as the Dark Lord of the Sith) he valued his "allies" more as tools and pawns that could be used than as friends. Besides, it seemed like his ulterior motive for "falling" (sacrificing himself) to the Dark Side of the Force and leading his new legions of Sith into waging war against the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, seemed to be for the sake of actually strengthening the galaxy somehow, should it find itself needing the strength to defend itself against the "true" Sith Empire, whenever it actually struck. That was most likely why he actually chose to become and use the Sith specifically, given the Sith Order's strict mentality of "the strong should rule the weak" and whatnot. So, I bet Revan recognized the brutality and ruthlessness inside Malak, and actually valued it to some degree, if it could be sort of "kept in check" and controlled (since Revan was portrayed as having been much more precise and practical than Malak). Assuming Malak fell pretty much around the same time Revan fell (although Revan still obviously would've been keeping certain ancient teachings and knowledge he came across -- as well as the truth of his own "fall" -- to himself), maybe Revan recognized Malak's growing bloodlust from the very start and decided not to reveal the truth to him in favor of using him as a "trained attack dog" of sorts. Unfortunately for Revan, the brutality and ruthlessness inside Malak ultimately led Malak to betray him and usurp his rule and control over the Sith Order. Of course, with Malak leading their legions of Sith at that point, his brutality and ruthlessness obviously couldn't be "kept in check" by Revan any longer and so all of the Sith probably began to follow Malak's example, never really thinking ahead beyond simply crushing all opposition and whatnot. Revan's plans and uses for his legions of Sith were effectively ruined when Malak betrayed him, ignorant of Revan's true motives the entire time.

Yeah, I would. If it were rereleased, this time as the developers truly envisioned it, I'd be indeed willing to pay for it again. As it is, it's one of my favorite games, and with all that sort of content worked back into the game, it could be incredible.

Whoops. Sorry. :"> I third that. Actually, that idea about having two player-created characters (Revan and the Exile) going on separate adventures and such specifically appeals to me. I was thinking about something like that the other day, only the way I was thinking of it was that there would actually be a new main character for the third game with a new cast of supporting NPCs, but that the player would control Revan and the Exile separately various times throughout for whatever reasons.

Actually, I would like to add one point, regarding Malachor V's significance. Not only was it a rather important entity within the storyline and an unresolved piece of the past that haunted the Exile, but it was a lingering part of the past that was significant to several of the other main characters as well (aside from even just Kreia -- to whom Malachor V was also personally significant). Atton Rand was most likely present as a soldier at the final battle of Malachor V since he served in the Mandalorian Wars, and it was, after all, supposedly (according to one of his lines from the cut content) where he tortured and killed several Jedi during the Jedi Civil War. It could certainly serve as a reminder of the atrocities he committed that he was either struggling to atone for or slowly coming to continue. Quite obviously, Malachor V haunted Bao-Dur very much, given that the Mass Shadow Generator was his creation, and it was apparently he who actually "pressed the button" and personally activated it. The Mandalorian Wars altogether haunted him through how they seemed to change him into an angry living weapon. Yusanis' (Handmaiden's father) choice to join the Mandalorian Wars and fight alongside Arren Kae (Handmaiden's mother) was an ultimate representation of disloyalty, a trait which the other Handmaiden Sisters feared would appear in Handmaiden as well. To "add insult to injury" if you will, the final battle of Malachor V was the culmination of the Mandalorian Wars, and it was there that Handmaiden's mother was presumed dead and from there that Handmaiden's father returned seeming like a defeated and broken shell of a man, haunted by what had happened there. I would say Malachor V was significant to her as well. The final battle of Malachor V was where Mira lost all that remained of her family. The tragedy of Malachor V altogether actually seemed to be one that hit her hard, given her relationship with Mandalorians in general. Malachor V also quite obviously carried much personal significance to "Mandalore" ( ) as well, since it was there that the Mandalorians were finally and utterly beaten by Revan and the forces under his command. It was quite possibly even where he last saw Revan, where Revan "abandoned him" and/or "cast him down" before departing for the Unknown Regions, since that event was said to have occured somewhere along the edges of known space, along the edges of the Outer Rim, which was where Malachor V seemed to be located. Malachor V held no personal connection to Visas Marr, aside from possibly how familiar it may have become to her through her time with Darth Nihilus and the Exile (since she claimed to have "seen" Malachor V through both of them). That was alright, though, because the confrontation with Darth Nihilus was truly the climax of Visas Marr's character development. Even then, she still had a role to play on Malachor V (which was unfortunately cut). Malachor V held no personal connection to Disciple either, aside from possibly how the Exile's choice to join the Mandalorian Wars changed his life. Still, that wouldn't make Malachor V itself personally significant to him at all, I suppose, really. Like Visas Marr, though, he still had a role to play on Malachor V nonetheless (which was also unfortunately cut). And, of course, Malachor V held no personal connection to Hanharr (other than how it may have reminded him of the Shadowlands) or to any of the droids. However, G0-T0 and Bao-Dur's Remote clearly had a role to play on Malachor V nonetheless (as did HK-47 in the cut content). So, too, did Hanharr...well, if Mira was the one that joined the Exile's group, not Hanharr himself, anyway. T3-M4's role to play on Malachor V had much less to do with Malachor V (or even any of the events that occured on Malachor V) and more to do with the cliffhanger ending itself, since he was the one who had to unlock the Ebon Hawk's navicomputer to "open the door" for the Exile following Revan into the Unknown Regions. Anyway, combining all that -- the personal significance Malachor V had to most of the other main characters, the roles that they all played (or would have played in content that was ultimately cut) on Malachor V, the fact that several of them might have died there (in cut content), and so on -- with the personal connection Malachor V (and Kreia) held with the Exile and the significance that the planet itself as an entity carried within the storyline, I think it was truly the right choice to set Malachor V as the storyline's climax (or if you prefer, the lengthy falling action). It was (or could have been) the massive culmination of not just the storyline's main conflict and the Exile's character development, but of so many of the other main characters' individual sidestories and character development as well (along with the culmination of one of the storyline's other major conflicts: Darth Sion and his hunt for the Exile). In comparison, the confrontation with Darth Nihilus only involved the Exile, Visas Marr, and Mandalore, and was really only the culmination of one of the storyline's major conflicts (Darth Nihilus and his rampaging) and of Visas Marr's individual sidestory and character development (and was possibly going to be the culmination of Mandalore's individual sidestory and character development as well in the cut content, although there was potential for his to continue onto Malachor V). None of the other main characters really even could have gotten involved, since Darth Nihilus would've been prone to feeding on (and immediately killing in the process) any other Force Sensitives that were there (as only the Exile and Visas Marr were "immune" since the Exile had already severed his ties to the Force and since Visas Marr was bonded to Darth Nihilus in such a way that feeding on her would've apparently harmed him somehow). Again, though, I'm not saying the events on Malachor V were all handled perfectly. With all the content that was cut (which most likely might include scenes that may not have even made it onto the disc for us to discover), there was much room for improvement as to how the events of Malachor V were presented in the final version of the game, particularly considering all the potential. Those are just my thoughts, though...

Well, possibly, I suppose... I guess it's really just that I'm a big fan of stories that offer a lot of twists, turns, surprises, mysteries, and so on, so the way in which these first two installments of the series sort of blended linearity and nonlinearity with the main characters, for the sake of intriguing plot twists and engaging character development, really appealed to me. (And, personally, I slightly preferred Obsidian Entertainment's work with the Exile.) If it came down to this new third main character embodying either pure nonlinearity or another such combination, I myself would encourage Obsidian Entertainment (assuming they're going to be the ones to make it) to try the latter again. I can't really imagine playing as just some Force Sensitive guy being as satisfying or as interesting as playing as the Exile was to me. I would agree that, this time, the main character's backstory or identity shouldn't entirely drive the storyline's main conflict as the Exile's had, but I would still enjoy it affecting the character's role and purpose in the storyline to a satisfying extent, and being some kind of a factor in their character development. That's just my opinion, though.