I remember watching this trailer when it was first released, and it felt at the time like a statement of intent, where the intent was “We will not be Star Wars Galaxies.” The first swing at a Star Wars MMO was notable for supporting roleplay as all kinds of characters within the universe, letting you be a humble Tattooine cupboard maker if you wanted to be, and initially making the role of Jedi difficult to attain. So here was The Old Republic, in which the cupboards are pre-built and opening them causes Jedi to pour out by the dozen. Looking at it today, it feels simultaneously “all Star Wars tropes ever” and also extremely 2009 Star Wars. The fight is taking place in a pointlessly vast hall filled with pillars. The flippy, acrobatic lightsaber fights don’t really exist in the more recent sequel trilogy. The slow-motion lightsaber dodge doesn’t feel like any kind of Star Wars at all, but it’s definitely dated. Main Jedi boy has a very prequels trilogy haircut. BioWare say they’re going to release all their “classic” cinematic trailers in 4K, and there’s another already available, featuring the Duel Of The Fates theme and, honestly, characters that feel like they might be called Darth Moll, Hams Olo, and his ship, the Willenium Falcon.
