Final Fantasy-less title: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Totally Square-free developer: BioWare
Why you should ignore Tidus and play this: Hardly an unnoticed gem, KOTOR was met with resounding success and praise from everyone with a pair of functioning lungs. Still, we wonder how many of the Square faithful made the plunge into what we consider the best Star Wars story ever told. No crystals? No summons? Why even bother? Simple: this is more or less Final Fantasy XII.
Yeah there are some obvious discrepancies with that comparison, but overall it's the same experience. Enemies lurk in plain sight. Party members can be told how to act in the presence of monsters. Battles are a mixture of free-roaming action and turn-based grinding. Both took their established franchises and took an enormous chance with such a different play style. If you liked one, you should enjoy the other just as much.
Then there's the matter of story. We already said it's better than anything Lucas has told (short of creating the franchise, of course), but what does that really mean? Developed characters. Comic relief that's funny without being childish. Plot twists that make simultaneously make sense and turn the world upside down. Nuanced performances that convey more depth in voice and dated polygons than most of the prequels do with "live" actors and acres of blue screens. All this plus countless decisions that shape your personality into do-gooder Jedi or power-hungry Sith.
BioWare knows what's up. It's since gone on to create a little game calledMass Effect, heralded far and wide for its ingenious storytelling. Get on it.
