Legacy of Kain
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Introduction
Kain is the main character of the Legacy of Kain Series, also developed by Crystal Dynamics. His human portrait was included in Lara's Manor in both Legend and Anniversary, and his symbol appears on the belt buckle of the Goth costume in Legend. The other main character is Raziel, whose symbol appears on the Wetsuit outfit in Anniversary and on the Goth outfit in Legend next-gen mode. The Soul Reaver sword, central to the Legacy of Kain story, is a bonus unlockable awarded for 100% completion of Legend.
The general story of the series involves time travel. The Soul Reaver sword is somehow capable of creating paradoxes which can alter the timeline. The characters in the series gradually discover this and then struggle to put it to their own use in order to change the past and shape the future of their land of Nosgoth.
The Legacy of Kain Series presently consists of five games, each one with a very different gameplay style. Kain is the playable character in the Blood Omen games while Raziel is the playable character in the Soul Reaver games. Both characters are playable in Defiance.
Blood Omen
The original game in which the nobleman Kain is murdered and resurrected as a vampire to seek revenge. He is then told that the only way to cure his curse is to cleanse the Pillars of Nosgoth from corruption since the Pillar Guardians have descended into madness.
This game is a side-scrolling 2D game with RPG elements like the inventory and the vast map in which players can go back and forth between towns at will (there are no dialogue choices or any sort of involvement in character development aside from the player being able to make a decision at the very end of the game which determines the ending that will be shown).
Soul Reaver
This game introduces Raziel, who served as Kain's vampiric lieutenant until he grew wings which prompted Kain to have him "killed." He remained alive in a deteriorated wraith form and returned to the material realm of Nosgoth many years after his "death" to find that everything had fallen into ruin. He sets out to kill his former brethren in an attempt to get revenge and restore Nosgoth to its former glory. Along the way, Kain seems to be planning something but will not reveal what it is...
The gameplay of Soul Reaver has the most in common with classic Tomb Raider. The world is extremely vast and full of nooks and crannies to explore. The player gains access to new areas upon receiving a new ability from defeating each boss. At any point the player may run around Nosgoth and return to previously explored areas in order to find new secrets which could not be reached before gaining certain abilities. There are also secret forges which are purely optional and contain additional puzzles that can be solved to gain extra magical attacks.
Soul Reaver 2
The story picks up exactly where Soul Reaver's "To be continued..." ending left off. Indeed, the introduction FMV is a rehash of the ending cutscene from the first Soul Reaver game. Raziel chases Kain across time in an attempt to discover what Kain is really up to, what the purpose of the Soul Reaver is, and, more importantly, what his own existence signifies.
The gameplay focuses on intense puzzles in the form of Reaver Forges. The player has to solve the forges in order to gain new abilities for the Reaver which then allows the player to progress in the game. In between forges, the gameplay is rather linear and combat-intensive.
Blood Omen 2
Blood Omen 2 is a sort of flash-back that Kain has at the end of Soul Reaver 2. The story starts off with a much younger vampiric Kain who awakes from a long coma to discover that a fanatical order of Sarafan Knights are attempting to eliminate all vampires in Nosgoth. The leader had stricken Kain down in battle several centuries earlier but other vampires had saved him in the hopes that he would awaken one day to get revenge. Along the way, Kain discovers a much more sinister plan is in progress...
The gameplay is level-based and features a fairly even balance of exploration, puzzle solving, and combat. Throughout the game, Kain gains new abilities which are then incorporated into the puzzles of the following levels. The puzzles are mainly based upon switches or utilizing Kain's abilities, much like the original Blood Omen game.
Defiance
Defiance attempts to bring together both story arcs. Kain and Raziel are playable in alternating chapters throughout the game. Raziel comes ever closer to discovering his true destiny, meanwhile Kain searches for Raziel in an attempt to explain everything. They are separated by several centuries and confronted with the deceptions of Moebius and the Elder God.
The gameplay is much more action-oriented with a new combat system that features combos and a rudimentary experience meter. The puzzles are much simpler compared to the two Soul Reaver games, although the characters have an inventory for the first time and must find keys or other objects in order to progress.
Gallery
The Soul Reaver sword, also an unlockable in Legend
The Anniversary texture for the portrait of Kain seen in Croft Manor
Kain as he appears in SR1-2 and Defiance
Raziel in his vampiric form, seen only in the intro FMV of SR1, with his symbol partially visible
Kain's symbol
Raziel's symbol
