The Legacy of Kain

People often go "where are games with GOOD writing? Where is the video game with a story comparable in quality to that of a decent book?"

And any fortunate soul who has played the Legacy of Kain games will instantly reply "you poor, poor man. Not all video games are Metal Gear Solid 4. Why, even back in 1996, there was a game called Blood Omen which featured voice-acting 50x better than most games today. What's more, these superb talents were backed by an equally great script And if that wasn't wondrous enough, the sequels only made it all so much better!"

So yes Legacy of Kain. Would you describe it as a good series or the goodest series?

It was quite the good series (has the whole series, even Blood Omen 2). Just a shame that real life had to interfere with Dark Prohpecy.

.... Did you just imply that the Legacy of Kain has less of a convoluted and confusing story than Metal Gear Sold?

I'm not sure I can agree with that...

edited 10th Jul '11 5:36:26 PM by Swish

There's nothing wrong with a layered and complex story as long as it is competently written.

LOK is an example of such a story. MGS 4...well, isn't.

edited 10th Jul '11 6:02:40 PM by Nikkolas

Yeah... See, the problem with that statement is that you're taking a series and comparing it to a game, whereas I'm taking a series and comparing it to a series...

The Soul Reaver games(and definately Blood Omen 2) certainly compare to MSG 2 and 4 in the convoluted plots and incoherent storyline categories...

Edit: And it doesn't really matter if a story is "competently written" if people playing the game never understand the story.

edited 10th Jul '11 6:20:22 PM by Swish

Great to see someone who appreciates this amazing series here. And this theme is one of my favorite in gaming ever.

"The Soul Reaver games(and definately Blood Omen 2) certainly compare to MSG 2 and 4 in the convoluted plots and incoherent storyline categories..."

Soul Reaver 1 had a pretty simple plot... Find Kain, meet your brothers, have a voice inside your head tell you about how crappy the world is.

Soul Reaver 2 added a lot but in a very good way. i mean, Kain's "Edge of the Coin" speech is just amazing and I can't imagine the series without it. It is complicated sure but it's also very interesting.

And Blood Omen 2....well, it's its own thing. I don't hate it but it's very much not in style with any of the other LOK games.

"Edit: And it doesn't really matter if a story is "competently written" if people playing the game never understand the story. "

Well that's true. But that just means you have to sit and actually think about the story for a bit to understand everything. That's not a bad thing.

That is an awesome theme. However I really liked the forgotten music of Blood Omen 1.

So, favorite characters?

Despite getting PC versions, none of the games are on the major DD channels. What?

VAE VICTUS!

Absolutely.

I only played the original but I thought it was amazing. Never looked into the sequels (and hence: the convoluted storyline), but the 3D jump is kind of a mild turnoff.

It's so hard to sell someone on this series. You can go on about a rather evil guy trying to save the world so he can rule it, the revenge plot, the amazing voice acting, the wall spikes, and they'll be "Oh, yes, that sounds pretty neat!" ... but once you get to "time-travelling vampires", BAM! Loss of sale.

It's a sad fact time time travel plots tend to be awful.

Of course Legacy of Kain did it splendidly.

And really, all they need to know is that your protagonist at the end of the first game goes on to become a badass god-emperor who reigns over the undead for a thousand years.

And that's the good ending.

edited 14th Jul '11 10:39:40 AM by Nikkolas

^Well, in the long-term it was, thanks to deadlines.

Deadlines?

Yeah. Deadlines. Remember how the original version of Soul Reaver had all that content that was teased near the end of the finished game? That was because Silicon Knights ran out of time before they could finish putting it all in.

Well I think the series was better for it. Kain dying iN SR 1 would have been pretty dull compared to all the interesting things added in SR 2 and Defiance.

Is there anywhere you can still buy these games? Or do I have to trawl through second hand bins? :P

Oh! Anna Gunn's in one of them. She's cool. (Skyler form Breaking Bad)

Try hitting up all game stores that still sell stuff earlier than the Dreamcast. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Additionally, both the first Blood Omen and the first Soul Reaver are on PSN.

And, just to put my own word in here, awesome series. And, as noted above, Vae Victus!

Square Enix registering Kain domains.

Also, Gog.com has both Soul Reavers, Blood Omen 2, and Defiance available for $5.99 each as of last year. Currently, all those games are on sale for 50% off each, alongside various other Square Enix/Eidos games.

Are there any ways to get the PC version of Blood Omen 1?

My fangirl heart just gave a squee. I have really great memories of these games. When I was a kid, I'd play video games at my grandparents' house. My grandpa liked to watch the "interesting" ones, and his favorite was Legacy of Kain.

Kain's probably my favorite video game character, and tied with Spike as my favorite vampire. Dude sealed my love with his BO 1 commentary ("But I AM dead!"), and the best moment from the mediocre BO 2 was him killing Umah for betraying him. Or "He was a...touch...stronger than I anticipated."

I'm really curious as to how Dark Prophecy would've turned out. Part of Defiance was seeing how the conditions for Blood Omen 2 were created (POOR Janos!). I want to see what Kain does next.

edited 10th Feb '13 8:23:57 AM by Phoenixflame

Call me what you will, but I sort of had fun with Blood Omen 2.

edited 11th Feb '13 12:22:55 PM by Vertigo_High

The chance of another Legacy of Kain game can only be good news, the end of Defiance left me wanting MOAR.