Legacy of Kain

Overview

Originally created by Silicon Knights in association with Crystal Dynamics, Legacy of Kain is an action-adventure series known for its outstanding narrative and involving puzzle-based gameplay. The series broke new ground with its high quality of voice-acting and engaging storyline featuring complex and often dark characters. Crystal Dynamics took over development after the release of the first game and went on to add four sequels.

The series is set in the mythical realm of Nosgoth where the land's two dominant races, the Ancient Vampires and the Hylden, are locked in an ageless war for its control. Much of the story revolves around the vampire Kain and his destiny as Nosgoth's savior. The franchise was unique at the time for its choice of an anti-hero as a protagonist. The other main protagonist introduced later in Soul Reaver is Raziel, Kain's former first lieutenant and now his mortal enemy. The storyline features a variety of dark, manipulative characters with betrayal and deception as common themes throughout the series. The game's story is non-linear with Kain and Raziel frequently traveling back in history to change Nosgoth's fate.

Development

The first game in the franchise, Blood Omen, was the brain child of Denis Dyack. He wanted to create an action adventure game for a more mature audience which would require good puzzle solving skills and test a players mental and physical dexterity. Silicon Knights filed a lawsuit over the Legacy of Kain IP in 1998 after they discovered that a Blood Omen game was in development exclusively by Crystal Dynamics. After a private settlement, Crystal Dynamics continued with the development. The remaining games in the series were directed by Amy Hennig and continued with Dyack's vision of videos game set in a morbid world.

Games

There have been five games in the series so far.

Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - Released in 1996 on the PC and the Playstation, this Silicon Knights action adventure game laid down the groundwork for the rest of the series to build on. Blood Omen introduces us to Kain, once a nobleman but now a bitter and vengeful vampire, as he struggles to come to terms with his "dark gift". We follow his story as he is manipulated and betrayed at every turn and used as a pawn for much of the game. The storyline is dark,complex and tells a tragic tale about the dying world of Nosgoth. Played from an isometric perspective, the gameplay involved traditional action adventure elements with a good amount of puzzle solving. The game received good reviews and was generally praised for its great voice work and story.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - After a legal battle with Silicon Knights, Crystal Dynamics took over development of the franchise and their first addition was 1999's Soul Reaver on the PC and the Playstation. The gameplay switched to a third person action adventure and added a great deal to the puzzle solving element of the first game. It also let players explore the world freely, thus leading to a non-linear experience. The biggest change however was that players now took control of Kain's first lieutenant, Raziel as he is banished at the very start of the game. The game tells his story as he seeks vengeance by killing his former brothers. Kain, the hero from the first game is portrayed as an antagonist here. Soul Reaver is known for its infamous cliffhanger ending, leaving the players wanting more. The game earned some great reviews, with an average rating of 88% on gamerankings.com. The game was also significant for its data streaming engine which took away the need for constant loading screens, something prevalent in all PS games until that point.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 - Crystal Dynamics continued Raziel's tale with 2001's Soul Reaver 2. The game was released on the PC and the Playstation 2. The story picks up right where Soul Reaver left. Players take up the role of the anti-hero, Raziel as he continues to pursue Kain across different timelines and discovers his true destiny. The game also explores the history of Nosgoth and in particular, the blade Soul Reaver . The combat was more involved than the previous game and the enemy AI was also revamped. Players can also use the wraith blade, Soul Reaver, at any time and much of the gameplay revolves around its different forms. The graphics got a significant boost, having switched from the PS to PS2. The puzzle structure also moved away from the block-puzzles used in the previous game. Soul Reaver answered many questions raised in previous games but also left some mysteries of its own.

Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 - Blood Omen 2 was released in 2002 by Crystal Dynamics. The game was released on the PC and all three consoles available at the time – PS2, Xbox and Gamecube. It was developed in parallel to Soul Reaver 2 by another team and actually takes place as a result of events in that game. Blood Omen 2 follows the story of a young and ambitious Kain in his quest to establish his empire in Nosgoth. The world has a weird sort of industrial feel to it as technology mixed with magic. We find out early on that Kain failed in his earlier crusade and was basically out cold for 200 years. Players spend much of the game trying to gain back Kain's powers and gather a big enough army to lead another assault. The gameplay involves straightforward combat and simple puzzles. It continued the tradition of great voice acting and storytelling in the series.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance - The final game in the series so far, Defiance was developed and released by Crystal Dynamics in 2003. For the first time, the player takes control of both Kain and Raziel in the same game as the story is told from their different perspectives. Released on the Xbox, PS2 and PC, the game used a new camera setting to give it a more cinematic look. The gameplay builds up on the more action oriented Soul Reaver 2 with simple puzzle solving sections. The plot picks up where Soul Reaver 2 left as Kain and Raziel seek to defy their destinies and save themselves and Nosgoth. The game resolved all the questions created by the previous games and ended on a somewhat hopeful and open ended note, leaving the possibility of a future sequel.

Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy (Canceled) - A string of leaked screenshots indicated that Crystal Dynamics were working on a sixth game in the series. But , according to rumors, the game was canceled sixth months into production by Eidos.

Themes

All the games in the series are story driven, with the emphasis always on the characters and narrative. Fatalism and predestined futures are major themes in all the games with Kain and Raziel continuously seeking to defy their fate and write their own futures. The existence (or lack ) of free will is another important component in all the games. Raziel and Kain present the opposite sides on this debate, with Raziel being the champion of free will and Kain being a fatalistic character.

Betrayal is another common theme in all the games, with almost every character seeking to manipulate the two main protagonists in the series. Moebius and the Elder God can be seen as examples of unreliable narrators as they try to influence Raziel. Time travel is also used quite often in the series, as Kain goes back in time to change history in an attempt to repair the future.

Characters & Voice Credits

A run down of the voice actors behind the major characters in the series:

• Kain - Simon Templeman
• Raziel - Michael Bell
• Elder God & Mortanius (in Blood Omen) - Tony Jay
• Janos Audron - Rene Auberjonois
• Ariel - Anna Gunn
• Moebius - Richard Doyle
• Vorador - Paul Lukather

Races

The three main speices featured in the games are Humans, Vampires and Hylden. The Vampires are further divided into separate clans.

Ancients

The Ancients were once the dominant species in Nosgoth's past and are responsible for many of its architectures.They are blue skinned,human like in form and had angelic wings which give them the power of flight. They believed in the teachings of the Elder God and fatalism, that every being is bound to the "Wheel of Fate" - a purifying cycle of death, birth and rebirth. They were cursed by the Hylden which turned them into Vampires and made them immortal, thus releasing their souls from the "Wheel of Fate". The most prominent ancient is Janos Audron , the Reaver Guardian and the last surviving Ancient.

Vampires

The vampires are an immortal race who suffer from a predatory bloodthirst. These vampires are very similar to the the vampires in other mythos and have similar strengths and weaknesses like exposure to sunlight, impalement, fire and water.These vampires have the ability to evolve over time and sometimes go into a stage of accelerated metamorphosis where they develop new features. For example, Raziel was the first vampire to develop wings. Due to this rapid evolution, they are different from the humans in characteristics. Sadly, one of the side effects of vampirism is sterility, so they had to resort to necromancy to create new members of their race.

Vampires are divided into separate clans and their characteristics depend on their leaders. Two of the most prominent vampire clans are:

• Kain and his six lieutenants ( Raziel, Dumah, Turel, Rahab, Zephon and Melchiah)
• Vorador and his clan, the Cabal

Humans and the Sarafan

The humans are the newest race in the Legacy of Kain series and have slowly taken over as the most dominant species in the land. The humans created a clan of zealot warrior priests, The Sarafan, to fight the "vampire plague". Their crusade lead to the demise of Janos Audron and nearly wiped out the vampires. They succeded in capturing the "Heart of Darkness" and the famed blade " Soul Reaver". All of Kain's six lieutenants were once Sarafan priests until their crusade was stopped by a mysterious wraith who killed them in their own stronghold.

About 500 years later (during the events of Blood Omen), Moebius The Timestreamer lead another genocidal crusade against the vampires in the name of the Sarafan. Kain was the only survivor of Moebius's crusade. Another 200 years after the original crusade, the clan was reformed by a self-proclaimed "Sarafan Lord". Only this time, their aim was the total conquest of all Nosgoth. With a hint of irony, it was the Vampire Kain who ended their rule and freed Nosgoth.

Hylden

The Hylden are an ancient race in the world of Nosgoth and play an antagonistic role in the series. They have the ability to posses other creatures and bend them to their will.They waged war against the Ancients for centuries before being banished to a realm populated with demons. But in a final act of vengeance, they cursed their enemies with sterility, bloodthirst and immortality thus turning them into Vampires. Trapped for eternity in the demon realm, they plotted their comeback by infiltrating the Circle of Nine thus leading to the events of Blood Omen and Kain's fateful choice. During the events of Blood Omen 2, a Hylden under the name of " Sarafan Lord" tried to conquer Nosgoth. They continue to play an important role in the series, by manipulating and controlling key characters.

Other Beings

The Elder God

A mysterious being worshiped by the Ancients, believing it to be the master of the 'Wheel of Fate' and the architect of destiny. Its titanic form is a mass eyes with hour-glass pupils set amidst a thicket of octopus-like tentacles. While occupying both the material and astral planes, it is invisible to everyone save for Raziel, though its disembodied voice could be heard over great distances by both Raziel, Kain, and Moebius. After the Hylden's curse turned the Ancients into vampires, the Elder God turned from them rather than attempting to help it's stricken followers. It helped to manipulate events by resurrecting Raziel and making him into it's own personal Soul Reaver. Aside from cajoling Raziel to take vengeance upon Kain, it also demands its defiant servant to 'liberate' the stagnating souls in vampires and the creatures of the astral plane in order to return them to 'the Wheel'.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack throughout the series maintains a moody feel and constantly changes with the ingame context. The Blood Omen soundtrack was composed by Steve Henifin, the lead music composer at Silicon Knights. After Crystal Dynamics took over development, Amy Hennig hired Kurt Harland to work with their lead audio engineer, Jim Hedges, for the soundtrack on Soul Reaver. According to Kurt, the producers were impressed with his track "Ozar Midrashim" from the Information Society album "Don't be Afraid" (this very track was used the as Opening theme in Soul Reaver). In an interview with IAsig, the team explains the adaptive soundtrack which fades in/out depending on the combat state of the player. The music incorporates many environmental sounds and foley techniques.

Later on the series, Jim Hedges took over composition as well and provided the music for Blood Omen 2 and Defiance.

Legacy of Kain Timeline

The games feature an extensive amount of time traveling, making it hard to follow some of the events. Here is a timeline to make things a little bit simpler. The events in italics were altered later on and the events in bold text indicate major points of deviation from an established or intended history.