This isn't really a new idea: let's talk about old video games! But I thought it'd be nice to talk about older games that I'm still passionate about and maybe introduce some people to them.
The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Soul Reaver 2 is obviously the sequel to Soul Reaver. Both are part of the Legacy of Kain series, which started with Silicon Knights' Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen.
The Legacy of Kain games can best be described as a dark counterpart to Zelda. The Soul Reaver games in particular have much in common with Legend of Zelda's 3D outings. You traverse the overworld to find new crypts/dungeons, where you will solve puzzles and eventually unlock new powers which can be used in combat or exploration. The combat is equally simplistic, never really stopping you from progressing the game to find out more about the story. Another trait the series share is that both have names in the title that aren't necessarily belonging to the protagonist, as the Soul Reaver games star Raziel, Kain's betrayed lieutenant, and Defiance sees both Kain and Raziel star.
And the story is why you are (or should be) playing this. Though the dungeons in particular deserve credit for fantastic puzzle design, what really stuck with me (and many more) is the insanely creative and ambitious story for this series. So as mentioned, this is the Legacy of Kain. Kain was a nobleman who was turned into a vampire in Blood Omen and set out for revenge. At the end of that game, he was given the choice: Die, or live but condemn the world to ruin. Seemingly selfishly, he chose to live. But, as players of the series will know, very few things are as they appear in this series.
The plot, which weaves through all of the games (Blood Omen 1 and 2, SR 1 and 2, and Defiance), is very complex and even events from Blood Omen that seemed insignificant at the time can come back to play a major role. No other game series has had such a coherent plot across multiple games that ends in an extremely satisfying way, where truly everything comes together, despite there being time travel fudgery, which rarely (if ever) works out well, but does so spectacularly here. As you may know I am a sucker for epic, elaborate plots that are spun across several titles (hey Phoenix Wright), and also a sucker for tragic characters (hey Raziel, Kain, Max Payne, Godot, Batman), so this story is right up my alley.
The big theme here is free will. The relationship between Kain and Raziel is also really interesting and evolves in unexpected ways. Can Kain and Raziel change their destinies or are they locked into their paths? Kain is a determinist who believes destiny's path is set but Raziel is having none of that. The duo's rivalry changes as they realize they need each other and not everything as it seems. They are different, but turn out to have a lot in common.
It may interest you to know that the story for this game was written by Amy Hennig, who is now working at Naughty Dog and is making the Uncharted games, which many of you will remember for its strong characters. I didn't go too much into detail about the plot of Legacy of Kain, but suffice it to say it's incredibly. Every game feels like a season of a TV show. The story really picks up with Soul Reaver 2 though, so you could do like I did and read a synopsis for the past games on gamefaqs and watch the cut scenes on Youtube.
SR2 intro, which is probably confusing without knowing the back story. It's also kind of the ending to SR1.
It's worth tracking this down for the PS2 or PC, if you haven't played it. Like Zelda? Like epic stories? You'll love this.
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