Never played JS, though I know the story better than I probably should. Bummer too, a Soulslike is right up my alley, all the videogames I do own are Soulslikes.

From a storytelling perspective, Bode's betrayal was necessary, if utterly heartbreaking. The story was moving too well, if you get my drift, Cal was getting things too easily. It makes sense to have some twist, some betrayal, some broken trust to bring the emotional stakes back into the story.

We know, as the audience, that the Jedi never find that homeworld of peace, we know that the Empire will win - that's the beauty of the interbellum, there's so much room for dramatic irony - we know the big picture, so the only way to hook us in is through individual character journeys - I may not care for the galaxy as a whole, but I can get fully invested in the crew of the Stinger Mantis.

That's the beauty of the games, isn't it? They invest you in the characters much more than the world. Through that lens, Bode's betrayal was perfect.

At least we know what turns you to the dark side Infantry old buddy, amiright lol?

Jokes aside, the fact that you got so emotionally invested in Bode’s betrayal proves that Jedi Survivor did a fantastic job of making you feel invested in the story. It also proves what a great villain Bode is. Dude played the nice guy/team guy clean up until the last minute. After the story was completed, going around the planets and collecting those force echoes sheds even more light on how he manipulated Cal every step of the way and it makes you hate the guy even more. I’ve always said that some of the best villains are the ones you hate with a passion. I fully agree with you that despite his claims that he was doing all of it for Kata, sympathy be damned, he still put her in harms way and attacked her using the force. Not cool Bode, not cool at all!

@Mandalorian19 You’re right. There’s no doubt about Bode’s uniqueness as a character both in his background and how he impacts the protagonist. There is a dimension in which you could say I appreciate Bode. He added a lot to my enjoyment and emotion in my play through, so for that I am grateful. It’s just that he didn’t that in a harmless way like Vader did for instance. Without him betraying Cal, I wouldn’t have thought twice about him, and now, here I am. I just can’t say I like him at face value, though! Thanks for the comment, Mando.

————————————————————

@Shreekomandar

That is a bummer, man. I’m so glad I didn’t have anything spoiled to me, and that I was able to go into it blind and just enjoy what came.

Shreek, I love how you said that the Bodetrayal was necessary from a story perspective. In retrospect, it was probably more obvious that I thought, but I genuinely thought that Dagan was the final boss, lol! I thought I had a bit of the game left, but, I never suspected any of what happened to happen. However, as you imply, without that change of direction, the game would have felt a whole lot less important if that makes sense. Bose added stakes, I’ll give him that, and I love me some stake.

I also like your point about how connecting the audience to stories isn’t done by having the empire and rebels fight, it is through the characters, and how video games specialize in this. I’m always conscious of what I am doing by enabling the character I am playing as. It’s a pretty interesting dynamic, and certainly an evolution of storytelling.

————————————————————

@Swatteam123

As much as I want to disagree with you, Swat, m’boy, Bode really was a great villain, lol, but that’s partially because I felt like he shouldn't have been. Not in terms of storytelling and making him an antagonist, but just that there was no way Bode of all people should have betrayed me and as angry as I was, lol! He was a nothing burger the whole time, and now you’re telling me he is the mumbojumbo of the game? He played the side character too well, man. Too well. You’re right though, Bode is probably the only villain I can remember who I actually have something against.

Bro, sensing those force echoes just made me angry, man. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of interesting that Cal was only able to see them after finding out Bode was a traitor-tater. It kind of implies he was blind to it to some degree. Anyways, those echoes do a great job of reinforcing the Bodester’s true self. It’s kind of satisfying getting to know the real thoughts going the his head instead of the dialogue he said to your face. In retrospect, it gives a whole different perspective on him throughout the game.

Wow, you knew my nickname (Mando) without me telling you. This is the way.

^I can more or less see things before they happen. (It's a Jedi trait)

@Infantry31st Yeah it was pretty interesting getting to know more about Bode’s mindset through the echoes post game but I’m pretty sure that just made you more furious with him. Even his advice about Merrin was all apart of his deception.

^^^^Eh, I don't particularly mind spoilers. I don't go out of my way looking for them, but don't care if I get them either, it just turns the first time into a second viewing. I did go out of my way for JS, but that's because I know I'm not getting the game any time soon, so it doesn't particularly matter.

Bode being a Jedi shocked me more than the Bodetrayal - I didn't think the game would play that card the second time around. They did that one with Cere, so I was expecting a different twist with Bode. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't Jedi.

You can make an argument that it cheapens Order 66 to some extent, you can't possibly have a complete purge if you introduce a survivor every new bit. I don't buy it, most O66 deaths were during combat, inherently when you're less focussed on your own troops but the enemy. I'm relative peace, it might be much easier to avoid getting killed.

Kata was an interesting person to throw into the mix - it's the first time I'm seeing a villain as vile as Bode pull the "I have a family" card sincerely, and do it well.

I'd find his character much more compelling if everything he said was genuinely true, with the slight betrayal caveat.

^^ You needn’t be pretty sure, @Swatteam123 , they definitely did, lol. Yooo I totally forgot about Bode talking to Cal about Merrin. In all honesty, I forget what he said, but I remember it happening. Maybe I’ll invest in replaying it over my spring break and relive it. (Mostly just to get another opportunity to take a few good swings at Bode, heh heh)!

————————————————————

@Shreekomandar Ya, I feel you. I didn’t know when I was going to get the chance to play Survivor, but my parents surprised me on my birthday and got me a PS5, so I got to play it about when it released. I also have had the same obsession as you when it comes to Order 66. There sure are a lot of survivors for it to be called the Jedi extinction. For whatever it’s worth, though, I think it was worth it for Bode. Hopefully you’ll get to play it one day, Shreek!

^You really have a bone to pick with Bode lol. Be weary of revenge my friend. A Jedi craves not these things 😁.

^You are strong and wise, Swatteam123, and I am very proud of you.