Mama Robotnik
Member
I know the Legacy of Kain games have a small but passionate fanbase on GAF, so lets look back at this wonderful series, and consider what future the games could have, if indeed any.
For those unfamiliar: the Legacy spans five action-adventure games with role-play elements. The series boasts fun gameplay, great graphics, the best voice acting the industry has to offer, and possibly the best-written and complex story you can find in the medium.
To aid discussion, I'm going to remind us of the series strengths and weaknesses.
Blood Omen - Legacy of Kain
1996, Silicon Knights / Crystal Dynamics, Playstation/PC
Blood Omen is a tremendous game. Made in a similar style to A Link to the Past, this game took the overhead-action-adventure genre to a dark and distant place. We play as Kain, a selfish newly-turned vampire, out to avenge his own unimportant death. The journey brings us to a world of secret wars, insane sorcerers, demon-invaders, ghost-soldiers and plague-ridden villagers. Kain tears his way through villages, kingdoms, parallel dimensions and alternate timeless, to save the world for all the wrong reasons.
The game is an exploration-driven, non-linear, plot heavy epic with a vast array of secrets, weapons, magic and abilities (the werewolf transformation was particularly fun). The game engine was unfortunately unable to keep up with the ambition, and as a result the game is afflicted with appaling load times. These were later fixed in the superior PC release.
Soul Reaver
1999 - Crystal Dynamics / Eidos, Playstation, PC, Dreamcast
The most popular and acclaimed of the series, Soul Reaver is a polished masterpiece, introducing technical innovations that put many present-generation games to shame.
Set a millenia after Blood Omen, the power vacuum left in Nosgoth has been filled by Kain, Dark-God of the Vampires. The protagonist Raziel is a vengeful wraith, executed by Kain on a whim of power, and resurrected centuries later by an unknown force. Raziel wakes to a dying Empire filled with devolved vampiric beasts, and slaughters his way through their numbers to seek revenge on Kain. As the game reaches its close, Raziel tracks Kain down to a buried facility constructed aeons ago: an ancient Time-Machine.
Soul Reaver was a marvel, creating a non-linear world of exploration, secrets, and upgrade-based progression well in advance of Metroid Prime. The game introduced puzzle-specific combat, real-time shifting between the worlds of life-and-death, and abolished loading-times. These advances coupled with the series' strong art, sound and plot, formed a stellar experience. The only flaw in the production is the cliffhanger ending, blatantly attached to an unfinished game.
Soul Reaver 2
2001 - Crystal Dynamics / Eidos, Playstation 2, PC
Soul Reaver 2 was a cinematic triumph, using the new technology of the PS2 to depict a beautiful world as it grows and dies. Using the narrative-device of time-travel, Raziel leaps from past-to-future and back again, exploring a historic Nosgoth filled with life and witnessing its future as a demon-infested death-world.
Raziel begins to understand that Kain planned his brutal execution and resurrection, and has been training him as a soldier in a war against time itself. In one of the most complex time-travel stories gaming has produced, Kain triggers paradoxes at key moments in history in a futile attempt to alter the future. The result is the darkest twist of the series, in which Raziel discovers what he really is.
Soul Reaver 2 provides the strongest story in the series, being intelligently written and exceptionally acted. Unfortunately, the game feels less varied and more linear than its predecessors, and the dual-world mechanic is relegated to more of a punishment than a puzzle. Despite the apparent flaws, the game is highly enjoyable and a strong entry for the series.
Blood Omen 2
2002 - Crystal Dynamics / Eidos, Playstation 2, XBox, Gamecube, PC
Blood Omen 2 was a dramatic shift in tone and quality for the series, and is universally regarded as the weak link. Set in a steampunk-fashioned oppressed city, Kain fights his way through human armies now mysteriously armed with otherworldly technology. Kain discovers that, following the wake of the primitive demonic invasions, another dimensional force has found Nosgoth ripe for the taking.
The game lacks the depth of the others, with the young Kain depcited as a hollow tyrant. The themes and conventions of the series are disregarded, replaced with a black-and-white quest to beat the last boss and conquer the world. The dialogue and animation is clumsy compared to series' standards, and the utterly linear level-structure is uninspired.
The game has its moments, in particular the bosses are challenging and fun, the combat is visceral if repetitive, and some of the more interesting levels (the Eternal Prison, the Canyons, the Sarafan Keep) are a fun adventure. Nonetheless, this is a sub-par if playable entry.
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
2003 - Crystal Dynamics / Eidos, Playstation 2, XBox, PC
The final game of the series thus far, Defiance weaves a satisfying web of questions and answers. The game is a return to some of the series strengths, though makes a significant shift from puzzle-solving adventure to a more combat-focused design.
Playing through two different sides of the same story, the game alternates between the Vampire-God Kain and the Sentient Time-Paradox Raziel. Outside of time, our protagonists witness the events of the original Blood Omen firsthand, and fight as history moves to the apocalypse that triggered the franchise. The chain of character-manipulation is finally revealed, and the puppet-masters of aeons of wars are exposed. Kain and Raziel both intend to change history, but become aware they have very different futures in mind.
Defiance introduces graphical and combat improvements to the series, and the result is a beautiful game filled with interesting enemies and stunning environments. Combat is redesigned with a focus on telekinesis, realised as a tremendously-fun rag-doll mechanic. The games has a number of flaws: puzzles have been reduced to fetch-quests, there is significant environmental repitition and the dual-world mechanic is all-but ignored. Exploration emphasised in earlier games is replaced with a linear path, and there are some significant camera issues.
Despite the flaws, the game is a satisfying, compelling visit to Nosgoth, and brings closure and answers to many of the series threads.
So there they are. A fun, sometimes-flawed, but very compelling series and one of the best gaming stories ever made. The lack of a Legacy of Kain title is a sore point for this generation, especially with as some of the new issues raised in Defiance remain unanswered.
Now ownership of the IP is firmly in the hands of Square-Enix, I ask GAF, does the Legacy of Kain have a future? The fanbase is no longer as big as it was, and though the last few titles have been successful, they haven't been blockbusters. The series has only once achieved massive mainstream success with the first Soul Reaver, which wisely made itself accesible by establishing its own identity before exploring the previous mythos.
Crystal Dynamics clearly has a passion for the series, placing numerous easter-egg references in their Tomb-Raider games. This infers to me that they'd like to make more, even after Eidos cancelled the intended sixth game.
My suggestion for the series future: repeat the Soul Reaver approach. Set a new game distant from the current mythos, far into Nosgoth's past and/or future. Make it accessible to new players and craft a world of new characters and places. Only then link it to the previous games. On a personal note, the Metroid Prime gameplay style of Soul Reaver was the series strongest I feel, and would like to see a return to this.
So, I turn the topic to GAF. Can the Legacy of Kain be brought back in a way that is financially successful, and as compelling as previous entries? How would you like to see if realised?
For those unfamiliar: the Legacy spans five action-adventure games with role-play elements. The series boasts fun gameplay, great graphics, the best voice acting the industry has to offer, and possibly the best-written and complex story you can find in the medium.
To aid discussion, I'm going to remind us of the series strengths and weaknesses.
Blood Omen - Legacy of Kain
1996, Silicon Knights / Crystal Dynamics, Playstation/PC
Blood Omen is a tremendous game. Made in a similar style to A Link to the Past, this game took the overhead-action-adventure genre to a dark and distant place. We play as Kain, a selfish newly-turned vampire, out to avenge his own unimportant death. The journey brings us to a world of secret wars, insane sorcerers, demon-invaders, ghost-soldiers and plague-ridden villagers. Kain tears his way through villages, kingdoms, parallel dimensions and alternate timeless, to save the world for all the wrong reasons.
The game is an exploration-driven, non-linear, plot heavy epic with a vast array of secrets, weapons, magic and abilities (the werewolf transformation was particularly fun). The game engine was unfortunately unable to keep up with the ambition, and as a result the game is afflicted with appaling load times. These were later fixed in the superior PC release.
Soul Reaver
1999 - Crystal Dynamics / Eidos, Playstation, PC, Dreamcast
The most popular and acclaimed of the series, Soul Reaver is a polished masterpiece, introducing technical innovations that put many present-generation games to shame.
Set a millenia after Blood Omen, the power vacuum left in Nosgoth has been filled by Kain, Dark-God of the Vampires. The protagonist Raziel is a vengeful wraith, executed by Kain on a whim of power, and resurrected centuries later by an unknown force. Raziel wakes to a dying Empire filled with devolved vampiric beasts, and slaughters his way through their numbers to seek revenge on Kain. As the game reaches its close, Raziel tracks Kain down to a buried facility constructed aeons ago: an ancient Time-Machine.
Soul Reaver was a marvel, creating a non-linear world of exploration, secrets, and upgrade-based progression well in advance of Metroid Prime. The game introduced puzzle-specific combat, real-time shifting between the worlds of life-and-death, and abolished loading-times. These advances coupled with the series' strong art, sound and plot, formed a stellar experience. The only flaw in the production is the cliffhanger ending, blatantly attached to an unfinished game.
Soul Reaver 2
2001 - Crystal Dynamics / Eidos, Playstation 2, PC
Soul Reaver 2 was a cinematic triumph, using the new technology of the PS2 to depict a beautiful world as it grows and dies. Using the narrative-device of time-travel, Raziel leaps from past-to-future and back again, exploring a historic Nosgoth filled with life and witnessing its future as a demon-infested death-world.
Raziel begins to understand that Kain planned his brutal execution and resurrection, and has been training him as a soldier in a war against time itself. In one of the most complex time-travel stories gaming has produced, Kain triggers paradoxes at key moments in history in a futile attempt to alter the future. The result is the darkest twist of the series, in which Raziel discovers what he really is.
Soul Reaver 2 provides the strongest story in the series, being intelligently written and exceptionally acted. Unfortunately, the game feels less varied and more linear than its predecessors, and the dual-world mechanic is relegated to more of a punishment than a puzzle. Despite the apparent flaws, the game is highly enjoyable and a strong entry for the series.
Blood Omen 2
2002 - Crystal Dynamics / Eidos, Playstation 2, XBox, Gamecube, PC
Blood Omen 2 was a dramatic shift in tone and quality for the series, and is universally regarded as the weak link. Set in a steampunk-fashioned oppressed city, Kain fights his way through human armies now mysteriously armed with otherworldly technology. Kain discovers that, following the wake of the primitive demonic invasions, another dimensional force has found Nosgoth ripe for the taking.
The game lacks the depth of the others, with the young Kain depcited as a hollow tyrant. The themes and conventions of the series are disregarded, replaced with a black-and-white quest to beat the last boss and conquer the world. The dialogue and animation is clumsy compared to series' standards, and the utterly linear level-structure is uninspired.
The game has its moments, in particular the bosses are challenging and fun, the combat is visceral if repetitive, and some of the more interesting levels (the Eternal Prison, the Canyons, the Sarafan Keep) are a fun adventure. Nonetheless, this is a sub-par if playable entry.
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
2003 - Crystal Dynamics / Eidos, Playstation 2, XBox, PC
The final game of the series thus far, Defiance weaves a satisfying web of questions and answers. The game is a return to some of the series strengths, though makes a significant shift from puzzle-solving adventure to a more combat-focused design.
Playing through two different sides of the same story, the game alternates between the Vampire-God Kain and the Sentient Time-Paradox Raziel. Outside of time, our protagonists witness the events of the original Blood Omen firsthand, and fight as history moves to the apocalypse that triggered the franchise. The chain of character-manipulation is finally revealed, and the puppet-masters of aeons of wars are exposed. Kain and Raziel both intend to change history, but become aware they have very different futures in mind.
Defiance introduces graphical and combat improvements to the series, and the result is a beautiful game filled with interesting enemies and stunning environments. Combat is redesigned with a focus on telekinesis, realised as a tremendously-fun rag-doll mechanic. The games has a number of flaws: puzzles have been reduced to fetch-quests, there is significant environmental repitition and the dual-world mechanic is all-but ignored. Exploration emphasised in earlier games is replaced with a linear path, and there are some significant camera issues.
Despite the flaws, the game is a satisfying, compelling visit to Nosgoth, and brings closure and answers to many of the series threads.
So there they are. A fun, sometimes-flawed, but very compelling series and one of the best gaming stories ever made. The lack of a Legacy of Kain title is a sore point for this generation, especially with as some of the new issues raised in Defiance remain unanswered.
Now ownership of the IP is firmly in the hands of Square-Enix, I ask GAF, does the Legacy of Kain have a future? The fanbase is no longer as big as it was, and though the last few titles have been successful, they haven't been blockbusters. The series has only once achieved massive mainstream success with the first Soul Reaver, which wisely made itself accesible by establishing its own identity before exploring the previous mythos.
Crystal Dynamics clearly has a passion for the series, placing numerous easter-egg references in their Tomb-Raider games. This infers to me that they'd like to make more, even after Eidos cancelled the intended sixth game.
My suggestion for the series future: repeat the Soul Reaver approach. Set a new game distant from the current mythos, far into Nosgoth's past and/or future. Make it accessible to new players and craft a world of new characters and places. Only then link it to the previous games. On a personal note, the Metroid Prime gameplay style of Soul Reaver was the series strongest I feel, and would like to see a return to this.
So, I turn the topic to GAF. Can the Legacy of Kain be brought back in a way that is financially successful, and as compelling as previous entries? How would you like to see if realised?