The Retrospective 04.05..07: Legacy of Kain (Part 1 of 2)
Posted by Sean McCabe on 04.05.2007
Like a legion of the undead, the Retrospective is back after a two-week vacation in hell to bring you a look back at arguably the greatest story in videogame history...
Over the last two weeks I have learned the answer to the age old question… is doing two Sociology Essays on different subjects in as many weeks fun? The answer is no. Hell No. I was able to take a break from all that to play some KoF XI and provide an in-depth review, but that is because I'm a total KoF fanboy and it empowered me to keep typing… typing…
Sorry, that word doesn't do much for me right now. Lets just move on.
The Introspective
Apart from work, the last two weeks have been pretty eventful. Devil May Cry 4 losing its exclusivity was a major deal to be sure, and I fully expect certain games, that I shall not name in this column because you all know what they are, to follow suite. T'is the era of third party whoring, and glorious it is.
Also this month a small time publisher hit the big time. D3 are a Japanese company known for the Simple series and Simple 2000 series in Japan. A few of these games got released in America (most notably Robot Alchemic Drive) and quite a number were released in Europe through various local publishers such as Game Street, Midas, Essential Games etc. Their games are made on a budget and sold at budget prices, which in itself carries a stigma, but D3 have on many occasions in the past produced some excellent material, and now in the last few weeks have two pretty exceptional games, released internationally by the recently formed D3 International, show the true skill behind the D3 ethos. Those games are Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlord for the DS and PSP, and Earth Defence Force 2017, for the Xbox 360. Both games are excellent and even garnering the reviews to prove it so you don't just need to take my word for it. Hopefully this is just the beginning of something special, as D3 obviously have a lot of talented people and are quite frankly astounding at managing the economics of their budgets. EDF 2017 might be a budget game selling at half the price of a normal Xbox 360 game, but unlike say, Koei's Warriors games, it actually looks like it belongs on the 360.
VG Babe of the Week: Jen
Primal was a tight little game with a very similar feel to the Legacy of Kain games, and Jen is also one of the more inspiring female protagonists in videogames.
Now I think its time we delve into the dark and tragic world of Nosgoth to visit a certain conflicted vampire…
The Breakdown
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
Developer: Silicon Knights
Format: PSX/PC
Release: 1996/1997
Notes: The only game in the series to be 2D, to be developed by Silicon Knights and to have the name "Legacy of Kain" as the subtitle, not the main title, apart from the later Blood Omen 2.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain to date is one of the more compelling games I have ever played. Functionally it played like a dark variation of Link to the Past, in a world which is gloomy and gritty, as opposed to cartoony. The game's interesting in that it puts you in the shoes not as a hero, and not really, at the start at least, a villain, but rather a pawn: someone who is thrust into events seemingly not of his own making. Kain was a nobleman who was murdered outside a tavern; only for a dark sorceror named Mortanius to promise him renewed life and a chance to gain retribution against his murderers, an opportunity that he accepts without hesitation. Now, an eye for an eye never leads to good places, and indeed, this would only mark the start of a long journey for Kain, a journey which will take him and all of Nosgoth to ruin. The game progresses in the tried and true Zelda-like way, with Kain seeking out various temples in order to murder the guardians of the Sacred Pillars of Nosgoth, all who have been corrupted for some reason.
But that really isn't all. In an attempt in some ways to be a hero, Kain follows the advice of the Oracle in order to prevent the Nemesis, a despotic Tyrant and his massive armies from taking over Nosgoth as a result of the fall of the pillars by time travelling to a period 50 years prior when the Nemesis was a benevolent king named William the Just. However, in murdering William, Kain sets off a genocidal wave of violence against the vampire race, leaving him as the only one left in his own time. He had been used. Eventually, and after obtaining The Nemesis's weapon, the legendary Soul Reaver, he discovers Mortanius, murdering the last Pillar Guardian… or should that be third last, as both Mortanius and Kain are revealed to be Pillar Guardians themselves, and as they say in the Highlander movies, there can only be one. Kain kills Mortanius, and is then faced with a choice: To take his own life and restore harmony to the Pillars and thus Nosgoth, or rule Nosgoth as a vampire God.
You know what I said about revenge…
In Retrospect: Blood Omen was a thoroughly solid game, but it was its story and presentation of its story that put it a cut above the average adventure/action game, a trend that would continue for the series. And as awesome as the above sounds… it's really only the beginning of Kain's legacy.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Format: PSX/PC/Dreamcast
Release: 1999/1999/2000
Notes: Crystal Dynamics would win the rights to the Legacy of Kain series, and develop a full continuation to the original Blood Omen story
Soul Reaver, unlike its predecessor, would make the jump into 3D, and become for my money, the best 3D game on the PSX. I never though much of the console's 3D capabilities, but Soul Reaver showed that decent conventional 3D gameplay could be accomplished on the PSX. The game again is worth comparing with Zelda, although there is more platforming involved.
A millennia after the events of Blood Omen and Kain's fateful choice, he and his vampire brethren had taken over all of Nosgoth, and had begun evolving after living for so long. Kain would evolve first and his lieutenants thereafter… until Raziel is gifted with wings. Incensed by this act of impertinence, Kain rends Raziel's wings from him and has him cast down into the Great Abyss of Nosgoth. Wronged in this way, Raziel is offered… yes, you guessed it, a chance of retribution against Kain, by the Elder God of the Netherealm, who claims that the Vampire Empire of Nosgoth is starving the Netherealm of souls. Now a Wraith more than a vampire, Raziel accepts the Elder God's offer, and makes his way to confront Kain, killing all his fellow lieutenant's as he goes. On his first confrontation with Kain early in the game, Kain smashes the Soul Reaver over Raziel's back, an event which surprises him. The Soul Reaver then becomes merged with Raziel, transformed into a Wraith Blade.
When finally confronted by Kain at the end of the game, Kain hints among other things that the Elder God has been less than honest with Raziel, and that he himself is not the true villain but merely playing a role ordained for him by a malevolent power. Then Kain retreats through a time portal, Raziel giving chase. He then encounters Moebious, the Oracle that had tricked Kain in Blood Omen, who proclaimes to Raziel "Welcome to your Destiny!"
It is suggested by various unused content on the game's disk as well as cheats to unlock variations of Raziel's Soul Reaver weapon that there were numerous story events and even an alternate ending that were ultimately left out of the game due to time constraints.
In Retrospect: Great gameplay and cinematics ensured this was a pretty awesome game, however the ending was definitely a cliff-hanger and one that was hell to wait for the resolution of.
It's Plugging Time
Of course, you should be reading everything on 411mania Games, but here's what I particularly found interesting this week
