This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Air Of Mystery: I don't get what the 'amnesia' thing says. I'm pretty sure the Exile does have amnesia; he/she opens the game with no idea what she/he's doing on the space station and has very little force powers.
Sikon: The Exile not having amnesia is the Word of God:
"The player does not have amnesia, does not start the game with amnesia, does not get amnesia over the course of the game, and he/she is quite clear who, what, and where he is at all times. Nor does he/she have any problems with memory, lurking pseudo-personalities, multiple personality disorders, submerged personalities, or any personality problems except what you induce through gameplay by being a nice guy, a jerk, or both."
The Exile doesn't have any Force powers because she (canonically it's a she) was deafened to the Force as a result of the destruction she caused on Malachor V. And she doesn't know what she's doing on Peragus because she was intoxicated and passed out before the Sith attack on the Harbinger. Her memories about the preceding events, however, are completely intact.
Semi-Known Troper: It's a clear example of just why the amnesiac hero trope is so popular.
Air Of Mystery: Bugger. I thought the game worked really well when the Exile had amnesia. Perhaps I was just too used to it, not to mention the fact that being called 'the Exile' is very cool. It's a man, dammit! Screw the canon, I have money!
Seven Seals: The big problem with the Exile not having amnesia is that it puts quite a lot of distance between the player and your supposed character. It wouldn't be a problem if your backstory was clearly spelled out, but it isn't — you find out a lot about it while playing the game. The developers were trying to have their cake and eat it too, but it's hard to make this work. How can you be "a nice guy, a jerk, or both" when your character is already supposed to have a history establishing them as such? The Exile might as well have amnesia with everyone else knowing what's going on, that's why so many people got confused.
Alacron: Well I for one thought it was very well pulled off. For the most part, the questions the Exile asks are about things that he/she was not around to experience, or is just trying to get more perspective on things. His/Her past is largely decided by the player as well, a prime example is when Handmaiden is talking about her father and the player has three dialogue choices, one that implies that the Exile had heard of her father, one that implied that the Exile knew her father personally, and one that implies nothing. Then there's also the cave on Korriban where we see flashbacks of the Exile's life, and the player decides what the Exile's motivations were, whether they were repentant or not and whether they would change anything if they could. Sure the Exile has history, but their character is entirely up to you.
Sikon: Actually, nothing is canonical about Bastila's fate. Revan may well have killed her.
There are very few canonical choices for both games. Everything else is left ambiguous.
KOTOR:
- Revan was male. (NEC)
- The Star Forge was destroyed. (Databank)
TSL:
- The Exile was female. (NEGD)
- Malachor V was destroyed as a result of the HK-50s siding with HK-47 and turning against their master, G0-T0. (NEGD, too)
Nothing else.
Bob: Are you sure? I thought the Power of Love redemption was Word of God canonical. Or am I putting to much trust in the Starwars Wikia
?
Sikon: Word of which god? To my knowledge, nobody official from LFL ever commented on this. And Wookieepedia makes a number of ambiguously-canon light side assumptions - recently they started tagging such instances with a template, though.
Bob: But if you select the canonical Male lightside when playing KOTOR 2 then she shows up alive.
Sikon: Hmm, I didn't think about that. But there's still nothing to indicate that she was redeemed through The Power of Love, as there's another way of redeeming her which works for both genders.
Bob : True, but I think it's at the very least implied that it was The Power of Love, like for example the speech Jolee Bindo gives you:
- "Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled, but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love, that's what they should teach you to beware, but love itself will save you, not condemn you."
Sikon: "Implied" doesn't mean "canon". Especially in Star Wars, where theories based on what's implied and not stated outright are prone to being Jossed.
Bob : Very well. I concede. You, Sikon has bested me in a polite discussion and I admit that I am incapable of locating evidence to prove you wrong and surrender the subject. You have won, fair and square. I shall investigate Kotor 2 at a further date to see if the conversation with Bastila give any further clues with which we can resolve this. Now If You Will Excuse Me I Have Cookies To Eat. We Will Meet Again.
Andrew: Cut out the sub-point under Cool Ship, because it's just pointless Conversation In The Main Page.
Andrew: Any particular reason the quote was deleted? It struck me as a perfectly reasonable and eloquent encapsulation of the main character.
Bob: I cut it because of Spoiler reasons, it being in the middle of The Reveal and all. I forgot to move it here, sorry.
Sikon: What happened to the trope list from the comic?
beetnemesis: What's with the "Eep" after "And while we're at it: the Exile is canonically female, and the first game's player character is male." ?
h_v: Rule 34, I imagine.
Joan Of Arcane: Actually, I'd wager the "eep" is in reference to the roaring, vicious flame wars that followed the revelation of each canon gender. It's been like two years and people are still bitter, on all sides.
Joan Of Arcane: I'm curious - how is Bao-Dur a Chessmaster? HK is kind of pushing it too, if you ask me, but at least I can sort of see it with his elaborate assassination schemes. But Bao-Dur? I feel like I need to go through the game again to refresh my memory. Examples added for each might be a good idea.
codenamehunterwolf: Not so much a chessmaster but for Malachor he planned for the Mass Shadow Generator to be activated by his remote, reversing his actions ten years ago. Some fanon says this was in the event he died, and Bao Dor is speaking as a ghost or program.
As for HK, this has largely to do with cut content. Originally he would go to where the HK-50s were being produced where a member of the Genoharaden would blow it up (you were also meant to meet Lonna Vash here), as well as return to Peragus during the Sith raid to recruit the new HK-51s against GOTO.
Still, no one can hold a candle to the Jedi, to Atris, or Kreia. Or Revan for that matter.
