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Soul Reaver may have been the most overly ambitious game ever. (research thread)

bender

What time is it?
If any game needs an HD remaster its this game. I'm really interested in playing it on PC, but the graphics from that time period have aged horribly.

The problem isn't the graphics, it's the game play. I remember Soul Reaver 2's game play feeling dated when it released, I can't imagine what it would be like today. The voice acting and story are amazing though and worth trudging through the games.
 

Eppy Thatcher

God's had his chance.
Had a hell of a lot of fun with this game back in the day. I remember picking it up thinking I would storm through it in a day or two and then go find something else between rounds of trying to get through Loaded or TM2 or whatever... and then a week later I was still soaking in the atmosphere of Nosgoth.

I remember thinking that it was the most impressive dialogue/Voice acting/animated performance I had ever seen at the time and .. in fact.. it stayed on the top of the heap in that regard for a very... very long time.

Kain is such a bau5.
 
I know this is a bit of a necro bump, but I hadn't read this particular Robotnik research thread. I loved every single research thread and remember being blown away with this game on release. If I remember correctly, you could even open the tray up and still play the game.
 

Ganondorfo

Junior Member
Imagine if everyone were doing Soul Reaver clones, the gaming industry would be more fun and not full of mindless stupid games.
 

BibiMaghoo

Member
The problem isn't the graphics, it's the game play. I remember Soul Reaver 2's game play feeling dated when it released, I can't imagine what it would be like today. The voice acting and story are amazing though and worth trudging through the games.

It's fine really, I played it recently and the game play is still great, it's just that the game is really, really short, and lack of actually being able to die means you never lose any progression, which makes the game go by even faster.

The core gameplay - combat and puzzles are still great imho.
 
This is one of the great games i've ever played and experienced. I wish developers explore these kind of ideas and single player adventures instead of scifi shooting in multiplayer everyday mindlessly.
 
Glad this was bumped. I had never seen all this stuff before, such a shame that so much of the game was cut. But yeah it was extremely ambitious
 

Philippo

Member
God, i remember playing this (or was it 2) and Defiance when i was a kid and they were totally awesome, and got completely caught in the dialogues/atmosphere, even if i didn't understood all. Should totally do a Lttp.
I'd love for a remake/reboot of the LoK universe.
Maybe someone more expert on the series can tell me if there's any change for this?
 

On Demand

Banned
Wow at that OP.

GAF is not a media outlet? I haven't seen this kind of topic with such so much detailed information in game magazines or other sites.
 
Yeah, the amazing OP deserves a bump every now and then. I had read last year and was impressed by the thorough research.

Soul Reaver was an incredible looking game for the PSX, cuts and all. I can't think of a game that pushed the PSX farther off the top of my head.
 

Honome

Member
Fantastic topic!!!!

One of my best games of all times, the thread brought me great memories. I really wanted a remake for NG of the game.

Anyone know if the game is available on PSN?
 
The Dreamcast version is easily the best port of the game. Every other version has lower quality assets. I wish the entire LoK series could get an HD reboot. Fortunately... and unfortunately, Eidos seems to have no interest in touching the IP beyond Nosgoth.
 
Fantastic topic!!!!

One of my best games of all times, the thread brought me great memories. I really wanted a remake for NG of the game.

Anyone know if the game is available on PSN?

Its available in PSN and i'm playing this in my Vita. Its looking and playing great.
 

dlauv

Member
I've been playing this on my Dreamcast off and on. Even compared to contemporary titles, the shifting world, the writing, the world-building, and the voice acting are honestly flooring and in my opinion still very novel. I've gotten past the second big boss and the boss' design was actually very well done and kind of creepy, even in dated 3D. Mechanically, it's still a very playable game. The problems of the game are obviously the amount of block puzzling (albeit uncommonly good block puzzling), the camera (on Dreamcast, controlled with the d-pad), and the combat being fairly clunky. Still, for the time, the Playstation and PC (and Dreamcast) had their own Ocarina of Time, even if it didn't quite snag as much acclaim.

The story of the LoK franchise is so well done. I hope Amy will return for future titles, if only to write, as well as Simon to voice. While I don't enjoy her dialogue quite as much Ken McCulloch's from the first Blood Omen, her world-building and overarching story in games to follow were absolutely brilliant. Just as impressive was the dialogue and cutscene pacing, another incredibly rare quality for a game and may go overlooked: cutscenes and dialogue never outstay their welcome, even when they're verbose. It's brilliant. I can't say enough about the writing in these games.
 

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
Soul Reaver 1 had an interesting scenario, and some rather interesting boss fights; but the core adventure game play with all the block puzzles and clumsy platforming, was a chore to play back then. I can only imagine what it would be like now. Soul Reaver 2 focused much more on the narrative, and it stands as my favorite in the series.

I do want an HD 1,2,Defiance release though.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
Loved this on the Dreamcast back in the day. Never played the sequel.
 
I'd love a remake. I played it not too long ago and it's aged okay, but with some more contemporary refinements I could see it doing really really well as at its core, it's still a fantastic game.
 

Psxphile

Member
No doubt this necro bump was a direct result of the "cut corners" thread. And nothing wrong with that, as this thread is pure gold.


I know this is a bit of a necro bump, but I hadn't read this particular Robotnik research thread. I loved every single research thread and remember being blown away with this game on release. If I remember correctly, you could even open the tray up and still play the game.
Hm? Well, thats true for most PS1 games since they have to load assets into RAM... however Soul Reaver does a lot of streaming when you travel to new areas so the game will probably freeze or crash if you left the tray open when going between them.

∀ Narayan;114259366 said:
The Dreamcast version is easily the best port of the game. Every other version has lower quality assets. I wish the entire LoK series could get an HD reboot. Fortunately... and unfortunately, Eidos seems to have no interest in touching the IP beyond Nosgoth.
The Dreamcast version... there's a quote in the OP where one of the developer's laments the PS1's limited capacity for loading and rendering large rooms, i.e. the cut Undercity. Hence not all cut content was because of time constraints but also because the Playstation just couldn't handle some of their ideas. But the Dreamcast would probably have little to no trouble. The potential for a "Director's Cut" version of Soul Reaver existed as they were clearly going back and redoing textures and models instead of just doing a straight port like the PC version, but Eidos would never have signed off on it I imagine.
 

Salty Hippo

Member
I think Ocarina of Time ruined this game for me. I remember it having terrible controls/mechanics and atrocious level design even for its time. I got the game day one and was incredibly disappointed at how it played. Never managed to go very far, so a few years ago I decided to give it another shot. It was even worse than I remembered. A real shame because the setting is awesome and everyone praises the story so much.
 

Tux

Member
I know this is a bit of a necro bump, but I hadn't read this particular Robotnik research thread. I loved every single research thread and remember being blown away with this game on release. If I remember correctly, you could even open the tray up and still play the game.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance one of my favorite games of all time, a long with FFX and Mark of Kri for the PS2.

Legacy of Kain oozed with an ominous blood tone and lore throughout the game. The stories told a long the way kept me intrigued until the end. I was unaware how much was cut from the final.
 

ChadM

Neo Member
Just wanted to say that this is definitely the most comprehensive account that documents the cut content from Soul Reaver that I've ever seen.

I used to spend a lot of time drooling over at The Lost Worlds so I knew a lot of this but there was also a lot that I didn't know.

Thanks for putting this together. Though now I kind of hate you for making me wish for a new LoK game. (Nosgoth does NOT count)

Then again this is the year that Square Enix actually gave in to the fans and announced the FF7 remake. So if the fans start collectively begging SE now we should see a new Legacy of Kain in about 10 years.

Sorry for the necro bump. (Not sorry)
 

Dsyndrome

Member
Just wanted to say that this is definitely the most comprehensive account that documents the cut content from Soul Reaver that I've ever seen.

I used to spend a lot of time drooling over at The Lost Worlds so I knew a lot of this but there was also a lot that I didn't know.

Thanks for putting this together. Though now I kind of hate you for making me wish for a new LoK game. (Nosgoth does NOT count)

Then again this is the year that Square Enix actually gave in to the fans and announced the FF7 remake. So if the fans start collectively begging SE now we should see a new Legacy of Kain in about 10 years.
Nice necro. Mama Robotnik's the bee's knees for this kind of thing.
 
In honor of this thread, if you have PS+ , Soul Reaver 1 is on sale for around 2 dollars. I actually bought it as a first play through type thing. I know it wont be as ambitious as this thread makes but I am excited to play it.

Thanks again for this OP, I truly wish we wouldve some more.
 
Thanks for the kind comments, I'm glad this thread is still being read three years later.

In honour of the bump, here is a more recent find, one of the earliest concept pieces for Kain, found by Soul Reaver artist Daniel Cabuco

Daniel Cabuco said:
Fresh from a 'lost' sketchbook, I give you some of the early Kain sketches. I was trying to convey Kain as the villain, and how his arrogance might have manifested on him over a millennia of evolution. Some basic words I was given as guidance: Ancient, Arrogant, Powerful.
I wasn't sure yet how the costume or look of Kain would be yet, but I did know in my first stab that I wanted him to manifest a crown in some way (some more subtle, some more overt).
Enjoy

3yPohBV.jpg


I really, really like that Kain's vampire evolution somehow knew of his alpha-vampire status, and manifested a crown of hardened carapace above his head.
 

Moofers

Member
Don't mean to derail but I found out this won't download to the Vita from PSN. Can you directly copy it over with a PS3?
 
Can you imagine if Soul Reaver was conceived in the modern era of gaming? What these guys could have accomplished given the current state of PC gaming and console gaming technology would be fantastic. I mean you could say that about a lot of classic games, but cool to think about.
 

Endo Punk

Member
1999. I played the game, got lost and said 'fuck this game'
2011. I played the game, got lost and said 'fuck this game'

Even FF games of the time didn't confuse me as much as Soul Reaver.
 
Can you imagine if Soul Reaver was conceived in the modern era of gaming? What these guys could have accomplished given the current state of PC gaming and console gaming technology would be fantastic. I mean you could say that about a lot of classic games, but cool to think about.

Did you saw Crystal Dynamics reboot of TR?

Hell no.

Soul Reaver would be a joke of a game if it was made today.
 

Grewitch

Member
If they could get the right people together, this would make for a great remake, allowing for the fact that all the cut content was included.

Magnificent thread, a tremendous amount of content and material.
 
Great OP!

Such a memorable game. I still think it (and the series in general) has by far the best story and voice acting in all of gaming.
 

Garlador

Member
I both want a new Legacy of Kain game SO badly...

... But I don't want a franchise that epic, that lore-filled, that razor-sharply focused on narrative, story, character development, and creativity to ever get saddled with the modern trappings of current gaming.

"Pre-order now to wield Raziel's Soul Reaver. Exclusively at Walmart!"
"Buy the Season Pass - "The Wheel of Fate" - to discover the fate of The Elder God!"
"Buy the Collector's Edition to access bonus story chapter with Mortanius!"
"Play the mobile game tie-in to unlock for exclusive Blood Omen 2 Kain skin!"

The games were far too good for this industry. I'd rather it fester in undeath than be resurrected into an abomination.

Though given the choice - whether to play a corrupt and failing franchise or to challenge the Fates for another throw, a better throw, against one's destiny - what was a player to do?
 
Did you saw Crystal Dynamics reboot of TR?

Hell no.

Soul Reaver would be a joke of a game if it was made today.
I agree, CDynamics is not like the past and they are taking different path which is completely different from what made them great. So I don't want them rebooting but I'm OK with remake.
 

Metzhara

Member
This series was honestly one of my favorite. So wonderful.
I remember playing the sequel on Dreamcast in 2001 at E3...
I was hearbroken when they just didn't release it.
I'm still bitter.
Great lore. Great gameplay. Remarkable voice acting. I'd take an HD Remake of all the games in a bundle ASAP.
(The LOK series did mess up with "aliens")
-Adam
 
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