I agree with everything, except for it having worse Dark Side choices. In the first game, only once did I feel tempted to use the Dark side options; the other times the Light side was just less trouble, and when I did get Dark points it felt arbitrary and unpredictable. I knew I could become a Sith lord, but I could see no reason why the player character would take the steps towards it. Like Jade Empire, the story felt like it was written first for the good playthrough and then the evil choices inserted later.
Whenever I play the second game, I end up taking various Dark side choices knowingly, because they fit what I want the PC to be. There is nuance and logic to them, even as the story underlines the arbitrariness of the divide. There is no payoff in the climax, but that\'s a symptom of its unfinished state.
And yes, the dialogue is aggravating. Making it much worse is the game\'s format, there is no way to pause it or scroll back, and if you skip it there is only a very small amount you can read back. I think a third of my frustration came from how on coming back from Peragus I have to endure what feels like quarter of an hour of non-stop dialogue with nothing of interest on the screen. Even cutting the dialogue into parts and allowing the player to save in between would have been a huge help.
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Good, But Frustrating
TSL compared to its predecessor, has better characters, better dialogue/relationship system, better overarching story (kind of), and slightly more customization. Yet at the same time, it has worse side missions, worse planets, worse dark side choices, and the fact that without TSLRCM the game feels unfinished.
Not helping matters is the outdated combat, and while those who love that D20 style find it fun, I think it sucks. Firstly, some abilities are clearly more useful than others that you'll never really change your style on separate playthroughs. You'll start out feeling weak and then the moment you get a certain power or two, you feel unstoppable. I'm either pumping my party full of all my stims, med kits, and spamming grenades praying I don't die, or I'm doing force storm, killing large amounts of enemies with ease. No matter what though, it feels tedious. It's not even like DAO combat where there are at least different abilities and animations.
Despite that, I still like replaying the game. Its saving grace is its characters. Asides from Hanharr and Disciple, every companion is fascinating. Handmaiden and Atton stand out. The former for being badass and having an interesting background. Also helps that her dialogue didn't bore me to death. Atton's essentially a darker Han Solo yet at the same time doesn't feel too edgy. On the other hand, Kreia. Yes, she's incredibly deep. Her whole arc and philosophy are conceptually great. But it's executed in such a boring and annoying manner. She'll nag, criticize, and lecture you for what feels like an eternity. Not helped by her monotonous voice making me yawn. What could've been one of the most enjoyable parts of the game, is now the part I skip completely when I replay it. She's essentially a more preachy and less funny version of Jolee Bindo.
Almost all side missions are fetch quests or some variation.
The planets are a step down from the previous game. Whereas KOTOR 1 had you going undercover on Korriban, doing a court case on Manaan, choosing who to help on Taris and doing the battle arena. I could go on and on, but when I list the memorable planets for TSL, I'm only left with Onderon and the final mission. It's not just the missions and objectives on the planets that were lackluster, it was the design of the maps too. Like on Nar Shadaa, I felt like I was restricted to the least exciting part of the planet.
Lastly, the dark side options. Whereas KOTOR 1's dark side actions were either funny or empowering, TSL's DS choices were too cruel or pointless. The first game enticed you to be bad due to the fact that you could become an Evil Overlord, here there's no external motivation for doing so, only if you want to be a Complete Monster and not a cool one. There's an option to kill all your companions at once without them knowing by poisoning their prison cells.
It was a great game. It just hasn't aged well and is now more of an Enjoy the Story, Skip the Game kind of title.