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LTTP: Soul Reaver 1

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Novum_Veritas

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Just started Soul Reaver 1 today, never finished it back in the day, always got stuck at the beginning of the game.
Defeated the 2nd brother, and got the ability to climb walls now.
I really miss those kind of third person games, without real handholding, no arrow above your head or a giant map like in today's games.
The voice acting is still good in my opinion even if the game is from 1999.
Amazed how Crystal Dynamics could fit so much on one CD at that time.
I really like the music of the game especially Ozar Midrashim (intro music) and the music in general when you are in the spectral world or in the "living" world.
Really sad that the whole Kain legacy died after Defiance, and we will probably never see Kain or Raziel anymore in this gen.
The story of LoK in general was really great too, and Vampires looked fierce and scary in those games, nothing like in today's movies and games.
Some points I've noticed where the jumping can be a bit annoying, and the controls are sometimes slow, and have some latency in it.
Also liked that you get the Soul Reaver pretty early and can use it mostly the whole rest of the game, well you need full health for that but yeah that is neglibile.


What were your impressions when you first played Soul Reaver or one of the Legacy of Kain series?
 
I played it when it came out. It was my most anticipated game ever at the time, being a huge fan of Blood Omen. I overcame my initial disappointment that the game would be 3D and would not feature Kain as protagonist, and really enjoyed it. The ending made me go a bit "wuh?" but I didn't mind it as much as the internet did back then, haha. (There was some mild outrage at the time, but I greatly preferred the direction they took over the initial plans they had for the ending.)

I replayed it recently and it's amazing how well it holds up. Controls/camera are a bit dated and the combat is only servibeable, but the level design is exquisite and the puzzles are pretty clever, even if many of them are block puzzles, they are used in pretty neat ways.

Souls games have eventually replaced LoK as my favourite franchise, but LoK will always be forever dear to me. Kain <3
 
Awesome game! During the PS1 era, I would use the buy one, get one half off and similar sales to try games that I wasn't entirely sold on. I would purchase one must buy and gamble on another. Soul Reaver was a gamble game that I got about a year after its original release and it absolutely blew me away. As I recall the only lull in the entire playthrough was some push the blocks around puzzle, but beyond that I couldn't get enough.

Enjoy it, OP! It's a classic!

Edit: I recall the sequel also being quite good.
 
It's still my favorite game of all time.

The level design blew me away. Voice acting, story, music and visuals are phenomenal. And Raziel looks so iconic.

But that ending tho...
 
This was probably the first game that angered me and made me feel ripped off. I loved the demo that came on one of those PSone demo discs. The back of the game case promised like 65 hours worth of gameplay. I think I completely finished it in less than 20. Like 15 or so. And just when it starts to get good, you get lame cliffhanger ending.
 
Morrigan Stark said:
I played it when it came out. It was my most anticipated game ever at the time, being a huge fan of Blood Omen. I overcame my initial disappointment that the game would be 3D and would not feature Kain as protagonist, and really enjoyed it. The ending made me go a bit "wuh?" but I didn't mind it as much as the internet did back then, haha. (There was some mild outrage at the time, but I greatly preferred the direction they took over the initial plans they had for the ending.)

I replayed it recently and it's amazing how well it holds up. Controls/camera are a bit dated and the combat is only servibeable, but the level design is exquisite and the puzzles are pretty clever, even if many of them are block puzzles, they are used in pretty neat ways.

Souls games have eventually replaced LoK as my favourite franchise, but LoK will always be forever dear to me. Kain <3
Click to expand...

Yeah, I still remember how magazines were reacting to the ending of Soul Reaver, also the thread by Mama Robotnik has shown this game has a lot of stuff canned,at the time of the PSX.
I guess it was hard to realize most things because of lack of space on the CD or VRAM.
I wonder how Soul Reaver 1 had would played out if the game would've came out later. O
h yeah a lot of block puzzles especially in the 2nd level with Raziels 2nd brother, they are a little bit annoying but I know games worse.

Beysus said:
It's still my favorite game of all time.

The level design blew me away. Voice acting, music and visuals are phenomenal.

That ending tho...
Click to expand...

Agreed on that, the voice acting is top notch especially in this time. The music has the right mood to fut to the whole Nosgoth atmosphere.

Is the ending a cliffhanger?
 
Do you all think this still holds up? I've been interested in the series since playing the demo as a little kid, and the series is on sale through GOG at the moment. Worth the $10 for all 4 games? (Seems the answer will be "yes", I'm just curious how the PC versions hold up)
 
Sadly I'm on mobile and can't type up a novel like I want to.....But Soul Reaver is one of my all time favorites. Absolutely amazing. Love that ending too. Gets you hyped for next one.
 
As I said in the PSX thread a while ago, this game blew me away when I first played it on PSone when it came out. Seamlessly switching between realms, with no loading screens at all, was just unreal back in the day.

So technically this was a marvel. Add to that the great gothic atmosphere and top notch voice acting, plus the level design... I played this when I was like 14 years old and it's experiences like this that make you want to play games for the rest of your life. Few games have had an impact like this on me. It also has one of the best intros of all time. I would rewatch that time and time again. Hell, if I rewatch it now I still get goosebumps.

Strangely enough, I've never played any of the sequels or Blood Omen. I just didn't think the sequels could live up to the original I guess.

I have this on Steam, really should replay it at some point.
 
dcassell said:
Do you all think this still holds up? I've been interested in the series since playing the demo as a little kid, and the series is on sale through GOG at the moment. Worth the $10 for all 4 games? (Seems the answer will be "yes", I'm just curious how the PC versions hold up)
Click to expand...

Well you should give it a try cannot make something wrong with the GOG cheap sales.
I think for the PC version you need XPadder to use your GamePad.
But it is worth it. Blood Omen 2 is the least favorable of the series games.
 
Words cant describe how much I loved this game, I dont think I realised how special it was at the time and now, man it hurts to think about this game and indeed all the lore thats just gathering dust.

ps3ud0 8)
 
Creamium said:
As I said in the PSX thread a while ago, this game blew me away when I first played it on PSone when it came out. Seamlessly switching between realms, with no loading screens at all, was just unreal back in the day.

So technically this was a marvel. Add to that the great gothic atmosphere and top notch voice acting, plus the level design... I played this when I was like 14 years old and it's experiences like this that make you want to play games for the rest of your life. Few games have had an impact like this on me. It also has one of the best intros of all time. I would rewatch that time and time again. Hell, if I rewatch it now I still get goosebumps.

Strangely enough, I've never played any of the sequels or Blood Omen. I just didn't think the sequels could live up to the original I guess.

I have this on Steam, really should replay it at some point.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, this is pretty remarkable, the whole switching between realms without loading times at all.
Pretty amazing for that time. The intro is still one of my favorites in SR.

Beysus said:
They should put the cover of this game to describe the word "cliffhanger" in the dictionary.
Click to expand...

Lol well said :P

ps3ud0 said:
Words cant describe how much I loved this game, I dont think I realised how special it was at the time and now, man it hurts to think about this game and indeed all the lore thats just gathering dust.

ps3ud0 8)
Click to expand...

Yes, it is really sad, the LoK series had really deep lore, and now everything is forgotten, because Square-Enix or today's Eidos doesn't know what to do know with the franchise. So sad really.
 
Novum_Veritas said:
Well you should give it a try cannot make something wrong with the GOG cheap sales.
I think for the PC version you need XPadder to use your GamePad.
But it is worth it. Blood Omen 2 is the least favorable of the series games.
Click to expand...

I'll keep that in mind. Reading some stuff that Blood Omen 2 doesn't work if your PC has more than 4 GB of ram, but I enjoy fiddling and making that all work. Thanks! Made the purchase.
 
dcassell said:
I'll keep that in mind. Reading some stuff that Blood Omen 2 doesn't work if your PC has more than 4 GB of ram, but I enjoy fiddling and making that all work. Thanks! Made the purchase.
Click to expand...

You're welcome :)
If you start the series, keep us updated about your experiences in the LoK realm.
 
I thought the puzzles were so clever, and the world felt huge.
It was the same kind of feeing I got when I played a Zelda game for the first time.
 
I appreciated the game when I bought it but it was hard as fuck. I felt if you fuck up it punishes you quite harshly making you redo sections in the real world. I think I gave up after the boss that came after kain. I was 12 at the time.
 
One of my all time favorites. I still prefer Blood Omen but damn did I ever love this game so much. I used to have to hide my LoK games from my mom and play them when she went to bed. She would have flipped on me saying I brought demons into the house.
 
Michael Bell was phenomenal as Raziel.

That said, the Crystal Dynamics team that created that game no longer exists, it's unrealistic to revive the franchise that is more than a decade old.
 
Beysus said:
Explore this AMAZING THREAD by Mama Robotnik to see how much content they cut off...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, I know about this thread, was amazed how much has been cut off.

DarkConfidant said:
I thought the puzzles were so clever, and the world felt huge.
It was the same kind of feeing I got when I played a Zelda game for the first time.
Click to expand...

I feel the same, it is a Dark Zelda game regarding everything. I really like how Raziels voice actor makes him alive, and you can hear the despise against Kain, how he killed him just being superior.

Thejackburton said:
I appreciated the game when I bought it but it was hard as fuck. I felt if you fuck up it punishes you quite harshly making you redo sections in the real world. I think I gave up after the boss that came after kain. I was 12 at the time.
Click to expand...

Oh you mean the giant spider? Yeah this level was annoying lol. Just completed it today though, this game can be frustrating.

LookAtMeGo said:
One of my all time favorites. I still prefer Blood Omen but damn did I ever love this game so much. I used to have to hide my LoK games from my mom and play them when she went to bed. She would have flipped on me saying I brought demons into the house.
Click to expand...

Lol demons and vampires, that is fitting :P
 
Sorry if my post seems fragmented or nonsensical. Im using a cell to post this
_________________________________

One of my favorite games of all time.
Introduced the new gameplay element of shifting between realms
I think it MAY be the first game I ever played where
the villain made me question whether he truly was a villain. That says a lot since i spent tje entire game disliking the villain and by the end of the game went hmmmmmm he does have a point.

Amazing story that has a plausible view on time travel.
Amazing voice acting and engrossing lore.

They really need to remaster the entire franchise to give the younger gamers who missed out on it a chance to learn about Raziel and Kane's story.
 
One of my favorite games and one of my favorite stories ever. So good.

Can't believe they haven't tried to remake it. It lends itself perfectly to it.
 
Beysus said:
They should put the cover of this game to describe the word "cliffhanger" in the dictionary.
Click to expand...
Indeed

I couldn't believe the game ended with such a harsh cliffhanger. But I loved it because after the cliffhanger I had an unquenchable thirst for more Lok:SR.

LoK: SR is currently my #1 game
 
Game was fantastic, one of the best of its generation. Wish we could have a remaster of this, having lost all hope of a (worthy) sequel.
 
I played this when I was younger on the PS1 and had no idea what the story was about because it was too complex with fancy words. But now that I've revisited it...yeah I still don't really know but damn it was fun to play with all the cheats.
 
One of my top 5 games of all-time. Loved the epic feel, the desolate and mysterious world, the story, characters and voice acting, and the puzzle-like boss battles. The only things I disliked were the abundance of block puzzles and the platforming, especially in the
Drowned Abbey
, and the abrupt ending.
 
Controls feel a bit clunky now but it's still incredible title. The atmosphere and character design is incredible. Have fun!
 
IMO this game still has one of the best opening cinematic of all time, and that really says something judging by how far the medium has come in the last 15 years. It still gives me chills, by how well it was scripted, how convincing it was visually (for the time anyway), how real the characters felt, and how perfectly narrated it was.

Nowadays, whenever I dust off my PSX or DC, I make sure to put in Soul Reaver just to watch that intro.
 
One of my favorite games of all time. Everytime I replay it I feel like I discover something new. So many secrets. Brilliant writing. Probably had the best combat of the 5 games.

I remember having a hard time with it when I was younger because I didn't understand how saving worked.
 
I haven't played this since the PS1 days and then realised I had them all on Steam.

As usual, it doesn't seem to like Win 10 so I'll have to do some scouting around to get it working.

I do remember thoroughly enjoying the game though.
 
clem84 said:
IMO this game still has one of the best opening cinematic of all time,
Click to expand...
so true

the amazing music, narration, voice acting (Kain only said "cast him in" but that line alone was miles ahead of most other video game voice acting I knew at the time), story set up

and that fucking scream as he is thrown into the lake, so fucking good
 
A masterpiece. I have the GOG version but haven't gotten around to replaying it. Still the greatest voice acting in any series in gaming.
 
Still remains one of my most influential games of all time.

The writing, voice acting, graphics and of course gameplay (blocks!) ugh....such a great game. Needs to be rebooted (correctly).
 
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