Why the Old Republic is my Favorite Star Wars era.

Long ago, I Joseph Huff, autistic master of star wars lore, devoured all content from the galaxy far far away. Then an arrogant mouse wielding immense cash stepped forth to mangle what millions already enjoyed. After many decisive blows had been struck, I tore myself from the current star wars media, I mean, besides Andor and The Jedi Fallen Order games. Those are pretty cool. But besides that, I have flung myself into past star wars content, where Nostalgia and my eventual crash out is law. Now I plumb the depths of old content, foolishly hoping to change the present that is THE MOUSE.

Cough-cough. Welcome to Retrospective Rants, with me, Joey Huff as your host. If you haven’t figured it out, I’m going to talk about Star Wars. Specifically the Old Republic Era of Star Wars. The best Star Wars. Yes, including the mmo. Darth Marr is THE MAN. But there are few reasons for my love of The Old Republic era, which takes place many thousands of years before the movies. And I figured I’d talk about my top 5 right here. Let’s go!

1st reason: It’s the most Space Fantasy era of this space fantasy. The Jedi and the Sith are all out in force instead of just being figures obscurity and rumors. They’re treated like the heroes in Trojan War. An uncommon sight, but a very real and dangerous one. And while that does wonders for the action in our stories, it also lets us have many wonderful opportunities to explore The Force itself. What it can do as a source of power, what it’s wielders go through as they interact with all the other facets of the galaxy (and each other) and of course the nature of the force itself. Some of the stories, Knights of the Old Republic 2, all praise Chris Avellone, take a philosophical look at the force, but that’s for another episode. And with the force and it’s wielders getting more of a focus, the normie characters are pressed to use every trick they must suppress or even surpass force users. Crazy droids, personal shields, mutant monsters, and more are present in spades. And they’re all made with loyalty to the Star Wars aesthetic and mythos. The Old Republic really drives up both the fantasy and sci-fi elements and that’s always wonderful for the eye to see and the mind to wonder at.

2nd reason: The Aesthetics of the Old Republic. The Star Wars aesthetic is preserved and enhanced throughout the Old Republic era. You can look at what key figures are wearing, even if the outfit is crazy, and instantly recognize them as Jedi or Sith. You can see space ships and guess at the faction while enjoying the scale and role of each craft. There’s also a distinction between the ancient vs the developing/evolving technologies. In comics depicting events a thousand years even before the video games ships look kinda boxy and some lightsabers require battery packs depicting the origin of popular star wars facets and how they develop or stall. Soldiers and weapons from aliens that are forgotten or diminished by the time of the original trilogy are varied and unnerving. Giving a visual confirmation on why they were so feared and why the powers that be within the movies wanted these out worlders were vanquished. And frankly, everything is just cooler. Battle armors for soldiers both conventional and force driven are refined because this is a time of war and strife. Everything is familiar, but also amped up to keep up with the theme of epic conflict and exotic scenery. Our Heroes and Villains are out to kill and look damn good while doing it. Which leads me to my third reason for loving the old republic.

3rd reason: The old republic is a perfect marriage between the Prequels and Classics. The scale of the prequels is paired perfectly with the adventure of the original movies. All the cultures that were cased or at least hinted at in the Prequels are present and because they are developing and even fighting against one another, well times are quite eventful. New factions are rising and falling, worlds are being discovered, colonized or perhaps just stripped. And as reader of the novels and comics or protagonist in the games we get thrown into the frontlines of both frontier exploration and state intrigue of every level. Stories might focus on a group of families trying to settle on an outer rim world, reminiscent of the old west. Archaeologists might un-earth ancient technology from a lost civilization that bent the force to it’s will. And of course a group of misfits might fly across the galaxy in hopes of defying uncovering the Sith’s latest grand plans. Mysteries and Adventure of every scale can be found in the time of the old republic.

4th reason: My 4th reason for liking the Old Republic era is simple: It was unapologetically for nerds. Video games, comics, some table top, and books were the main mediums of the Old Republic. And the only people who delved into those, really delved into them, were people with a passion for science fiction, fantasy, and love for adventurous stories and epic lore. I won’t say there wasn’t pandering, people want to make money after all. But there was a focus on who they were catering to. The old republic embraced new markets by catering to fans of all nerdy genres and interests. Gamers, comic nerd, and book junkies could all transport themselves to the Galaxy Far Far away through whatever immersive way they liked. And these stories brought new characters, mysterious worlds, and terrifying force powers. Yes, we ate well. But there was never a need to twist Star Wars in order to cater to a demographic that never liked it in the first place. There was never a need to simplify the lore bend into something unrecognizable so that they could snag an audience that never liked Star Wars to begin with. Which I suppose brings me to my final reason for Loving the Old Republic.

5th reason: So what is it? The Old Republic era actually expanded on Star Wars. And What I mean by that, is it gave us more original star wars content without simply dredging up a mangled version of old ideas and without trying to twist Star Wars into something it isn’t. That isn’t to say that there aren’t some crazy stories in the old republic. The Sith create all kinds of mutant abominations, The Republic Senate proves that they’ve always been allergic to success, The Qel-Dromas need to calm down, and droids are used in many ways that horrible and not safe for work. And yet it’s all done with respect for the Star Wars identity. The Old Republic stories and it’s continuity were all made with a respect for the original movies and the core story and narrative elements that made Star Wars what it once was. For a long time, we got more star wars content, without the need to just build off old stories and certainly no need to diminish old stories in order to make new ones. “Are you saying all of the Old Republic stories were good?” Amidst decades worth of content, from many different writers and mediums across a whole bunch of cultural upheavals happening all at once? Yeah there will be some bad stories. And people admitted those stories were bad instead of trying to force them on us like they were something good. And since the stories that were awesome were the ones that stuck around and got further expanded upon, the fans had a good time and the mythos was enriched. It was Star Wars, pure and simple.

And those are my reasons for Loving The Old Republic, and the stories it brought to Star Wars. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings. Thank you so much for listening to this Retrospective Rants, and have a good one.

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