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Open Letter to Square-Enix Montreal for Legacy of Kain GO

Hello everyone!
I just wanted to take some time out of my day to do one of these "open letters" that seem to be all the rage nowadays. This isn't something I typically do, so hopefully - that gets across just how strongly I feel about the potential in this.

In short, I would like to express my interest in a possible Legacy of Kain GO game. Now I know what you're all thinking. "What about Deus Ex?" and yes, that too would make an excellent game I'm sure. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that like Hitman GO and Lara Croft GO, Square-Enix Montreal would pull it off wonderfully. However, those who know me will tell you that I'm a huge Legacy of Kain fan. It's a series that I truly feel hasn't met the potential it deserved and through some lackluster sequels, has tragically died off. Fans of the franchise will know about "Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun" that, to best of my understanding, was the cancelled game thats ideas would eventually come to light in Shadows of Mordor. Ideally, I would of course love to see a full 3D game on home consoles. I'm also fully realize that this would be the favored choice among most fans out there, but more realistically speaking, a mobile game is where, if at all, we'd see a future in this series. Square-Enix aren't going to throw down money for a full fledged console release. A mobile game to begin with is far more realistic. If it eventually becomes a thing, catches on, and does well, then who knows? In any case, I felt there no harm in at least putting forth my wishes for a new game in the franchise.

I tweeted to the team earlier, and for those who feel similarly - I would encourage you retweet and share your interest also. I really want to get the word out there. So for fans of the series, share this link around. Tweet this to Square-Enix Montreal and maybe we might just get the dialog started. Start small, think big. GO!

My letter to Square-Enix Montreal is as follows:

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To the team at SQUARE-ENIX MONTRÉAL,

I would like to firstly take the opportunity to begin this letter by congratulating you on the launch of LARA CROFT GO. The reception to this game has been very warm and appreciated by both critics and fans alike; and I hope proves to be yet another successful game for your team. Coming from someone who’s been playing TOMB RAIDER games since Lara shot onto the scene in 1996, I can wholeheartedly say that LARA CROFT GO is truly captures and encapsulates everything I like about the series. Like HITMAN GO, you’ve managed to successfully capture the spirit, exploration, puzzle solving, and sense of adventure that TOMB RAIDER fans have come to know and love. Not only that, but you’ve managed to translate the experience to the mobile platform. A feat that very few developers are successfully able to do, and one that you appear to pull off effortlessly thanks to a wonderful art style and design that not only caters to the platform, but compliments it.

I have no doubt that ideas for possible future “GO” games have been talked about across boardroom tables, the most obvious candidate being DEUS EX. A game that would in itself hold incredible potential and would no doubt make the transition to mobile very successfully, as you’ve proved twice before. However, I would like to personally express interest in a franchise that I personally feel has a wealth of untapped potential yet to be realized. LEGACY OF KAIN.

This series has, I think, been tragically forgotten in recent years, leaving with it one of the most realized and well developed worlds the industry has seen. These games were incredibly rich with story, brimming with smartly written characters and all set to an incredible gothic backdrop that gave these games a very dark, moody, and atmospheric tone that in many ways remains unparalleled to this day. The first entry in the LEGACY OF KAIN saga was BLOOD OMEN, released in 1996. It was a top down action adventure role playing game with a strong narrative focus. A novelty for the time. The ability to change into various creatures in order to solve puzzles, move around the large game world, and dispatch enemies with powerful weapons were all wonderful, but it was the games story and setting that stood this game out from the crowd. It was a marvelous game that set the stage for the story, as well as lay the foundation for the saga that would follow. Debatably the most popular entry in the LEGACY OF KAIN saga was the second game, SOUL REAVER. The jump to 3D allowed Crystal Dynamics to come up with a world that encouraged platforming and puzzle solving in a way that simply wasn’t an option in BLOOD OMEN. Most notably, SOUL REAVER introduced a revolutionary mechanic that allowed players to shift realms, causing the world around them to warp and distort. This was cleverly employed when it came to the games puzzles, forcing players to think about not only the puzzle itself, but the environment in which it sat. Throw all this in with the new ability to use the environment to take out enemies (burn enemies, drown enemies, etc.) and you have a game that not only expanded upon the world of LEGACY OF KAIN, but improved upon it. It was a massive success with critics and gamers alike, once again heavily praising the story, voice acting, and gameplay. Opinions of the later games in the series continue to divide fans, but most would agree that they didn’t seem to do the story justice, which remained a constant brilliance throughout.

I would love to see this franchise make a glorious return, emphasizing what made the games great. That is, an incredibly dark and gothic world bought to live with creative artistry and a vision. Given SQUARE-ENIX MONTREAL’s proven track record of adapting these games to the mobile platform, I feel that you would truly do this wonderful series justice and give it the level of care and detail you have two times before and introduce the world of LEGACY OF KAIN to a whole new audience, as well as giving fans the “LOK” experience we’ve been craving for years. With the fantastic world and lore, the limitless possibilities of puzzles through already established mechanics, it seems like a match made in heaven, and a wonderful opportunity to revive a classic franchise that never seemed to reach the potential or peak that it truly needed or deserved.

Thank you for your time,

-Jack
@TheMadClacker

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Moofers

Member
I'm not settling for a mobile Kain game. I want the full console/pc experience. I want the glorious return of Kain and Raziel. So here's MY open letter to Square/Enix:

Dear Square Enix,

I love your games. Please make a new Legacy of Kain game on PS4/Xbox One/PC so that I can give you money for it. If you are worried it will cost too much money and be a risk, please feel free to re-allocate funds from Mr. Nomura's belt and zipper budget.

Best Regards,

Moofers of NeoGAF
 

Jeremy

Member
An Open Letter from Jeremy to the Members of NeoGAF:

Good day,

Do you think bringing a dead series to mobile could theoretically revive a series?

Jeremy
 
Throwing my support in for any kind of adaptation of Legacy of Kain whether it be Kain GO. Re-exposing this franchise to a new market is always great for reviving this franchise.
 

Garlador

Member
Dear Square Enix...
Square Enix... you are WORTHY.
Given the choice, whether to rule a corrupt and failing empire; or to challenge the fates for another throw - a better throw - against one's destiny... what was a developer to do? But does one even truly have a choice? One can only match, move by move, the machinations of fate... and thus defy the tyrannous stars.
This may throw off your mobile plans. Every movement requires a few martyrs.
The company that you were is forfeit. You were a righteous fiend... we renounce you.
Redeemer and Destroyer... Pawn and Messiah... Welcome to your destiny.
Better to face one's destiny than to cower from it.

Make a new Legacy of Kain game.

You are not destroyed, Square Enix. You are REBORN.
 
Yeah I'm all for tha- on mobile? No.

I'm don't want the potential end to the series be about how you had to suck the wallets of NPCs for Demon money or how you had to wait to let the Soul Reveaver recharge after 20 minutes unless you pay money for "souls top-up" or 'swipe to stab Turel' be how Turel dies.
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
Yeah I'm all for tha- on mobile? No.

I'm don't want the potential end to the series be about how you had to suck the wallets of NPCs for Demon money or how you had to wait to let the Soul Reveaver recharge after 20 minutes unless you pay money for "souls top-up" or 'swipe to stab Turel' be how Turel dies.

That's not how the GO games work. They are 5 dollar full games with no microtransactions.

They are also excellent games.
 

Pastry

Banned
Yeah I'm all for tha- on mobile? No.

I'm don't want the potential end to the series be about how you had to suck the wallets of NPCs for Demon money or how you had to wait to let the Soul Reveaver recharge after 20 minutes unless you pay money for "souls top-up" or 'swipe to stab Turel' be how Turel dies.

It's like you have no idea how the GO games work.
 

Wereroku

Member
I would rather have the Legacy of Kain game they have already partially developed. Why not just finish it and release it on PS4/XBO/PC. Now a good mobile game would also be appreciated.
 
I don't think the qualities of these games would translate well to a quick experience, like the one offered by the GO titles. Perhaps a spin-off, possibly a RTS where you must manage Kain's empire or something like that.
 
Let's put our cards on the table - Square Enix won't fund a full console release. A "GO" game is far more realistic, relatively low-risk and has a far better chance of success. With that success, you've introduced fans back to the series with a new installment, as well as new gamers. With that fanbase - you then entertain the possibility of a larger project.

Of course I'd like a Soul Reaver 3 or something, but it just won't happen. At least not at the moment. Be realistic. Establish a fan base exists, tease them with a safe/non-risky (financially speaking) game - i.e LoK GO, then move onto the bigger things. People seem to assume I just want a mobile game for the sake of it being mobile. Not the case. I want to start a dialog. I'd like any new entry in the Kain series so long as it's not a generic third person hack and slash with QTE events. Give me puzzle solving. Give me platforming. Give me good level design and wrap it up in a solid story. The Square-Enix Montreal guys have proved they can deliver on that. Start small, then go big.

I also feel people write the idea off the moment they see 'mobile'. Have you PLAYED Hitman GO or Lara Croft GO? They're fantastic games that in many ways does a far better job of capturing the spirit of their earlier games better than more recent entries.
 

Taker34

Banned
I'd rather see some kind of barebones Legacy of Kain series remaster. Maybe using the rumored PS2 emulation enhancements like with Star Wars Bounty Hunter. I don't see why they should fund an often cancelled, risky console game with the profits from their F2P and mobile titles?
 
I don't think the qualities of these games would translate well to a quick experience, like the one offered by the GO titles. Perhaps a spin-off, possibly a RTS where you must manage Kain's empire or something like that.
I wouldn't have thought the intricacies of platforming or the fast paced nature of combat on Tomb Raider would have translated, but it did. Very well.


Mobile game? I would rather the series stays dead.
The "GO guys" have done an exceptional job in the past. Lara Croft GO is getting rave reviews, and Hitman GO/Sniper were well received too. It's fair to assume they know what they're doing and deserve the benefit of the doubt and be given the chance. And this is all I'm asking for - a chance. Don't just write it off because it's 'mobile'. As I mentioned earlier, I believe in many ways that Lara Croft GO does a better job of capturing the spirit of Tomb Raider better than the reboot series.

Granted, LoK and TR are different genres, but it's not hard to imagine a sort of isometric dungeon crawler (ala Blood Omen) with the ability to switch between realms (Soul Reaver) in order to solve puzzles. Puzzles that we KNOW Square-Enix Montreal are capable of doing. Cleverly integrate a simple, well told story and you have a game that's already far more ambitious than the last last entry in the game, Defiance. I don't know about you, but to me that sounds far more appealing than a hack and slash chocked full of QTE's, regardless of platform. I just want people to entertain the idea of it and explore possibilities.
 

Warxard

Banned
I'd rather see some kind of barebones Legacy of Kain series remaster. Maybe using the rumored PS2 emulation enhancements like with Star Wars Bounty Hunter. I don't see why they should fund an often cancelled, risky console game with the profits from their F2P and mobile titles?

Yeah I'm all for tha- on mobile? No.

I'm don't want the potential end to the series be about how you had to suck the wallets of NPCs for Demon money or how you had to wait to let the Soul Reveaver recharge after 20 minutes unless you pay money for "souls top-up" or 'swipe to stab Turel' be how Turel dies.


The GO titles have no Microtransactions.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
An Open Letter from Jeremy to the Members of NeoGAF:

Good day,

Do you think bringing a dead series to mobile could theoretically revive a series?

Jeremy

An Open Reply to Jeremy from Square-Enidos via a Member of NeoGAF:

Thank you for your letter.

However, I regret to inform you that no, no indeed, will a mobile game revive a dead series.

Kind regards,

Square-Enidos.
 
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