Should I play KOTORI before I play KOTORII

[excession]

I was looking at playing an obsidian game before Project Eternity comes out and was thinking about giving KOTORII a go.

 

I was wondering if I would miss out on significant plot elements if I bypass KOTORI and go straight to KOTORII.

 

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

[The Nexus]

I finished KotOR 2 before 1 and I must say, it is confusing as all hell if you don't have the wiki to help you. To be safe, play KotOR 1 first. I think you'll be able to appreciate the plot points better then. That said, KotOR 2 has some amazing writing in it's own right, especially if you listen to Kreia.

[Jedi Guardian Nivek]

I played Kotor 1 Before I played Kotor 2.as far as missing some plot,in kotor 1 you will have certain characters that you will not have in kotor 2.however there is mention of some characters that were in kotor 1.i dont want to spoil anything for you,so have fun in your decision

[excession]

Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I should start at the start.

 

Cheers,

 

Excession

[LadyCrimson]

I played Kotor2 without knowing anything about Kotor1. I managed just fine. There were a few references here and there that I'm sure I didn't "get", but didn't stop me from loving the game and characters in Kotor2. I never felt "lost" or anything like that.

 

I still haven't finished Kotor1. heh.

[The Nexus]

I played Kotor2 without knowing anything about Kotor1. I managed just fine. There were a few references here and there that I'm sure I didn't "get", but didn't stop me from loving the game and characters in Kotor2. I never felt "lost" or anything like that.

 

I still haven't finished Kotor1. heh.

The experience is very much enhanced by having played the original though. When you go into KotOR 2 without knowing who HK-47 is, you're missing out.

[LadyCrimson]

The experience is very much enhanced by having played the original though. When you go into KotOR 2 without knowing who HK-47 is, you're missing out.

Meh...I'd disagree. If you don't read the wiki's (there wasn't any when I played it) you won't know you're missing anything and can enjoy it on its own. I still don't feel like I missed anything important, outside of a few chr. references. It stands on its own fine enough.

 

...does depend a little on what you're looking for tho. Not understanding a few references doesn't bother me at all - I just keep on going and forget about it. I suppose it might bug some people a lot tho.

[Hassat Hunter]

It's definitely advised yes.

 

It adds a lot to KOTOR1's story, characters, and makes it even more prominent how much better OE's writing is than BioWare, with them making their own character that far more interesting...

[kalimeeri]

Kotor I was a fairly shallow, straightforward game. But what it did, and did well, was develop characters you grew attached to and learned to care about. I nearly didn't play Kotor II when I learned they were starting over with a new lead character, and the companions from the first game may or not be absent. The brilliance of Kotor II is that it played on the love players had developed for Kotor I's characters, and that same love proved to be the underlying motivation for and within the second game. Kotor II went on to be deep and involving, of course, with far more complex characters... but without having played Kotor I, there's a whole emotional level of player involvement you're missing. As npc's from the first game show up one by one, you're with old friends--you can't fully grasp what they're up to, but you sure as hell know why. Pity there was never a third game to end the story--I really wanted to see Kotor I's (anti)hero again, and see how Kotor II's fit in.

[Gorth]

It doesn't hurt to play Kotor 1 first. It's not essential, but you might (or might not, depending on some choice in the beginning of Kotor 2) run into more familiar faces besides a few unavoidable ones.