An incredibly potent Force ability from the Star Wars Legends Knights of the Old Republic video game has finally been confirmed in Star Wars canon.

An immensely powerful Force ability from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has finally been confirmed in the official Star Wars canon. Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) was a video game set in the Star Wars universe, released in 2003. The game is set in the Old Republic era of the title and details the Sith-Jedi war that goes back thousands of years in the Star Wars galaxy.

However, the game’s storyline was dubbed Legends after the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, leading many to wonder if any of the game’s abilities, story or characters would ever be canonised again in the franchise, either through the sequel trilogy or other upcoming Star Wars films.

Since then, elements of the game have been reintroduced into the Star Wars canon. From the way Star Wars KOTOR defined the Sith, to the way the visual lexicon of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker references characters like Darth Revan, many aspects of the Legends story have been canonised with expanded canon material. Another instance of this was made clear at the Lucasfilm publisher’s panel at NYCC 2023. Namely, it confirmed that one of the powerful Force abilities of KOTOR was used in canon by a character named Porter Engle from the High Republic novels of the franchise.

Battle Meditation is one of the most powerful Jedi abilities of the Knights of the Old Republic

The ability in question is the Jedi Battle Meditation. Porter Engle’s biography confirms that he used Battle Meditation during Star Wars: The High Republic – The Rising Storm. He used the ability to allow other Jedi to fly alongside his own ship when the Nihils attacked the planet, Valo.

The canonisation of this ability is significant, primarily because of its pre-legendary status but also because it is one of the most powerful Jedi abilities in Star Wars.

In the Legends, Battle Meditation was described as a Force ability that allowed its user to enter a trance-like state. This was how they reached the people around them who could also use the Force. All who were so connected performed with maximum efficiency. The ability allowed those involved to easily fend off enemy attacks. This means that it was often used as part of large-scale conflicts to win battles and sometimes even entire wars.

Have the Jedi forgotten battle meditation by the time of the Star Wars prequel trilogy?

The ability made canon by Star Wars: High Republic raises the question of why it was not seen in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Given that the former era only predates the latter by about 200 years. The meta answer to this is simply that George Lucas didn’t have the idea when he made the prequel films. It was only an afterthought, born of wider material.

However, in the case of Star Wars, it is necessary to explore the in-universe reason why Battle Meditation was not used at the time of Star Wars: Episode I.

Perhaps the Jedi of the prequel era had simply forgotten the ability by the end of the Republic. Considering that the ability dates back to the Old Republic, thousands of years before the High Republic, it stands to reason that the ability has faded over the centuries. Likewise, the Jedi of the prequels’ connection to the Force has diminished due to the growing shadow of the Sith. This may also have led to them forgetting many of their abilities, such as the ancient art of battle meditation.

Source: Wookieepedia