The 12 BEST things in the EU

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Col. Valerian
Start naming.


Seriously. I'm curious.

The_Tempest
Does this assume the TV series as EU?

Col. Valerian
Yes.

The_Tempest
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
Shatterpoint
Cloak of Deception
Knights of the Old Republic
Thrawn (Thrawn Trilogy only)
"Massacre" (TCW 4.19)
The duel at the end of "The Lawless"
Revan (pre-Revan)
The Unifying Force
Vergere
Traitor
TCW!Anakin

Col. Valerian
The Jedi Academy series wasn't too bad, either.

And the Bane trilogy.

The_Tempest
I disagree. Anderson and Karpyshyn rank among the worst authors in the EU's long, treacherous history. Karpyshyn, in particular, is a weak novelist many respects: weak characterization, weak development, weak pacing, weak dialogue, weak, weak, weak. He spent far too much time trying to glorify Bane and Revan than actually create an interesting story. Revan was even weaker than his Bane outings, but I maintain all along that Revan works better as an enigma and not as a directly portrayed character.

But to each his own. The Jedi Academy game, on the other hand, is awesome.

Q99
Dark Horse comics such as Knights of the Old Republic, Legacy, Knight Errant, Invasion, and Agent of the Empire.

X-Wing, Rogue Squadron *and* Wraith Squadron. Some of the most consistently enjoyable novels.

Mara Jade, Jaina Solo, Kyle Katarn.

Young Jedi Knights.

The Mofference.

I'd say those're my 12.

The_Tempest
I'mma strike Revan from the list (it's implied anyway, with KotOR's inclusion) and replace him with Pellaeon.

-Pr-
For me:

Labyrinth of Evil
The Old Republic Era
The Clone Wars (first series)
The Clone Wars season 4-5 (second series)
Obsession comic series
Republic comic series
Shatterpoint
Asajj Ventress
Ahsoka Tano
James Luceno
Star Wars Battlefront
Jedi Knight game series (particularly JA)

I'm still trying to get through the NJO/Thrawn stuff.

Col. Valerian
Originally posted by The_Tempest
I disagree. Anderson and Karpyshyn rank among the worst authors in the EU's long, treacherous history. Karpyshyn, in particular, is a weak novelist many respects: weak characterization, weak development, weak pacing, weak dialogue, weak, weak, weak. He spent far too much time trying to glorify Bane and Revan than actually create an interesting story. Revan was even weaker than his Bane outings, but I maintain all along that Revan works better as an enigma and not as a directly portrayed character.

But to each his own. The Jedi Academy game, on the other hand, is awesome.

It's kind of ironic that his SW work was so bad overall, when his work with the Mass Effect universe was actually great.

Tzeentch._
1. Mara Jade

Everything else, in no particular order:

The Clone Wars comics
Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars cartoon
The Thrawn Trilogy
Jedi Outcast
Battlefront 1&2
Shatterpoint (the novel itself; the ability was cool when Mace had it, but not so much now that it's been handed out to all the Skywalker's like candy)
Lando's EU appearences
The Legacy comics
Vader's EU appearences
The Empire comics
Palleon
Thrawn

Tzeentch._
edit

Kazenji
Dark Times comics
Agent Of The Empire comics.

Lord Lucien
KotOR I
Battlefront II
Jedi Outcast
Rogue Squadron games
Cloak of Deception
Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader
Death Star (novel)
The Clone Wars (2003 series)
Certain elements of the CGI Clone Wars series from season 4 onward.
The Force Unleashed (but only for the gameplay and Vader saying "I lied!"wink
Trilogy Thrawn
Pellaeon
Exar Kun (because he's an *sshole)
Post-RotJ Lando (because he's pimpin')
JA Daala (because she's a loveable c*nt)
Chewbacca dieing (because he sucks outside the OT)

And if I would get around to reading them, I think I'd like the KotOR comics.

Galan007
In no particular order...

Cinema:
Clone Wars(2003-2005)
Last few seasons of The Clone Wars CGI

Literature:
Shatterpoint
Dark Rendezvous
Legacy(comic series)
Republic(comic series)
KotOR(comic series)

Characters:
Thrawn
Galen Marek
Tag and Bink
Darth Krayt
Durge

Kazenji
Originally posted by Lord Lucien


And if I would get around to reading them, I think I'd like the KotOR comics.

They are good

but it did have a slow start with it.

Arhael
Timothy Zhan. Trilogy, Duology and Quest. I really enjoyed them all. Mara. Thrawn and Pellaeon.

Courtship of Princess Leia

Traitor. Verger, Philosophy.

Deceived. Sith with honor.

Jedi Outcast. Kyle Katarn.

I, Jedi. The Jedi Academy story from point of view of Corran Horn.

Kotor I. Awesome game.

TFU. Great story. Great fights.

Plagueis. Politics.

Edge of Victory I: Conquest. Anakin Solo solos. Tahiri.

Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand. Favorite Force portrayal and epic fight.

Inferno. Mostly for one of my most favorite fights in EU.

Nephthys
Originally posted by The_Tempest
Revan was even weaker than his Bane outings, but I maintain all along that Revan works better as an enigma and not as a directly portrayed character.

Definitely agree with this. Revan was so much cooler as a legendary genius shrouded in mystery. What we got in Revan was an incompetent moron who gets his ass kicked 3 times in a row by Vitiate because he's stupid enough to attack him head-on all 3 times.

However, PoD was actually a great book imo. Seeing Bane's development was actually really cool.

Also KotOR II. **** y'all. estahuh

Q99
Glad to see Legacy gets some love.

Oh, here's one: The Essential Guide to Warfare.

I wouldn't normally mention a guide, but weaves a wide variety of disparate sources into more coherent stories and fill in the blanks on empty areas. Conflicts that were meandering and unfocused in the novels suddenly seem more exciting and interesting, the general flow of wars is expanded on, etc. etc..

The War Dragon
Rogue Planet by Greg Bear
All Timothy Zahn works
Shadows of the Empire
Splinter of the Mind's Eye
X-Wing Series
New Jedi Order Series
Dark Nest Trilogy
Legacy of the Force
Fate of the Jedi
Truce at Bakura
The Courtship of Princess Leia
The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy
Death Star
Millennium Falcon
The New Rebellion
Mortis arc of TCW

The_Tempest
Can't agree on the Plagueis novel. It was a great book and monument to Luceno's skill, but his emphasis on continuity weakened the other elements of the novel. Deception remains the superior political thriller.

The War Dragon
Originally posted by Col. Valerian
It's kind of ironic that his SW work was so bad overall, when his work with the Mass Effect universe was actually great.

Imo Kotor 1 was better than Mass Effect.

ares834
KotOR
The Unifying Force
Genndy's Clone Wars Micro-Series
Yoda: DR
Shatterpoint (Novel)
Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison
KotOR Comics
Republic Commando (Game)
Deceived
Traitor
Revan (The character prior to TOR)
Ganner Rhysode's death

Lord Lucien
Originally posted by ares834
Ganner Rhysode's death Aww that was good.

Col. Valerian
Originally posted by The War Dragon
Imo Kotor 1 was better than Mass Effect.

KOTOR is great, I was actually referring to Revan.

Vensai
Don't know if this counts as EU, but the ROTS novelization by Matthew Stover has always been a favorite of mine.

Based
I'm including KOTOR 2 since it's underrated. Flawed but underrated.

Galan007
Just got around to reading Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison. All I can say is: "Wow!"

It is truly an amazing mini-series. The artwork, coloring, storytelling, and overall plot are absolutely superb. Imho, the only way this series could have been improved upon is by making it longer.

This is undoubtedly my favorite SW comic series to date.

Q99
I haven't picked up that one yet, I probably should.

Meanwhile, I'm digging NewLegacy.

Nephthys
Swtor. estahuh

-Pr-
Originally posted by Nephthys
Swtor. estahuh

thumb up

The_Tempest
Not even close.

I'm sure aspects of the game are good, but it's crippled by the same flaws of Legacy: too much rehash of the films and not enough originality. Except SWTOR is even worse.

Nephthys
I'm sorry, but only one of us punched a Hutt in the face today. Therefore only one of us can have an opinion.

That criticism is true..... but relatively unimportant in terms of quality.

The_Tempest
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/laimelady/emoticons%20and%20such/dramaclassdisbelief.gif

The KotOR/TOR era is in desperate need of quality writers. It's a true shame that the likes of Stover and Luceno are preoccupied writing in eras that people actually care about. I'm sure if Disney invests its resources in other eras, quality works can be produced.

steveholt951
I'm only now finishing the first Edge of Victory book and I gotta say, the books encompassing the Vong War are a breath of fresh air in a universe rife with rehashing plots, jedi/sith, etc. The whole idea of the Vong and the philosophy of the force throughout this book is just great. I know I'm like 15 years behind but damn.

-Pr-
Originally posted by Nephthys
I'm sorry, but only one of us punched a Hutt in the face today. Therefore only one of us can have an opinion.

That criticism is true..... but relatively unimportant in terms of quality.

I think the familiarity is a good thing, imo.

The_Tempest
Familiarity is fine, rip-offs aren't IMHO.

Nephthys
I doubt they did it just to be creatively lazy. Rather its obviously capitalising on the familiarity to sell itself on nostalgia and brand-recognition.

The_Tempest

Nephthys
Thats completely true and valid, but recall that Kotor was aimed towards SW fans while Swtor was designed to be a WoW-killer (snicker). It makes sense for them to milk the brand as much a they can and appeal to as many people as they can with easily-recognisable iconography.

Also recall the Bioware is owed by EA which all about homogenization and playing it safe. If people already like the aesthetic and can recognize it then its a gamble to try something new. I think its bad as well, but there you go.

The_Tempest
Fair enough.

Q99
Originally posted by Q99

The Mofference.


The Mofference was a conference of Moffs.

It took place in the Mofference room.

On the Moffship.


It opened with the Moff in charge saying "I bid you all Dark Greetings!"

Pwned
Originally posted by Nephthys
Also recall the Bioware is owed by EA which all about homogenization and playing it safe. If people already like the aesthetic and can recognize it then its a gamble to try something new. I think its bad as well, but there you go. Except Bioware has some good writers who can make up characters and have a story that you will always love. *cough* Dragon Age Origins *cough*

Q99
If I ever make a SW RPG, it will have a Mofference room *somewhere* in it.

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