An unfulfilled prophecy. Legacy of Kain – will the best series ever return?
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In most cases, this dissonance wouldn't particularly nettle me. There are some games that have made their mark – and then, you have to let them go. But neither the fans scattered around the world, nor me seem to be able to do it. We have to mention Legacy of Kain from time to time because it's an unfinished story. It's stronger than us. The poetic, open-ended conclusion suits some, but let's be honest – there were too many loose ends that begged for a final, concluding chapter.
Unfortunately, Amy Henning left Crystal Dynamics, and Defiance did not sell well. That's why the next project, Legacy of Kain: Dark Prophecy, was put on halt for so long that it was eventually buried. Which is a shame, because it promised to be a capital story in which a young Kain, right after the events of Blood Omen 2, meets an older, slightly more thoughtful and altruistic Kain from Defiance. A reboot of the series was once announced; it was supposed to be called Dead Sun, but was also deleted – not before some footage was released online, though. Eventually, Square came up with the great idea to release a multiplayer-only Nosgoth, which died faster than it was created. The series reached a dead end.
Dead Sun and Dark Prophecy aren't the only Legacy of Kain installments to get the dustbin treatment. The series has undergone many metamorphoses. A huge final location was cut from the first Soul Reaver, and the ending was changed to a more open-ended, with a slightly softer ending (online footage shows a much more nihilistic resolution to the plot). The same thing happened with each subsequent game in the series, especially since they were released year after year (Soul Reaver 2 in 2001, Blood Omen 2 in 2002, and Defiance in 2003). These games are veritable graveyards of abandoned fragments of story, locations, and mechanics solutions, as they were all rushed and underfunded.
Apart from that, the entire series witnessed over a dozen projects in total that were binned. There were some elements of these that made their way into the released games, but there was some sort of doom always hanging over Legacy of Kain anyway. The only offal that fans got after years was the DLC that allowed us to guide Kain and Raziel in Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. It was a nice gesture, a "we remember you" moment, but it didn't add anything to the vampire series, especially since the dialogues turned out to be re-mastered conversations from previous installments, mainly from Defiance and Soul Reaver 2.
The younger generation of players won't ever reach for those games and demand the series to be revived. Why would they if the market is saturated with so many games, quite a few of them excellent? Hell, their pile of shame might be larger than the number of games released in 1996. I regret that this is the case. I'd simply like to see the grand finale of Kain's odyssey. Obviously, it would be difficult for Legacy of Kain to return today, not only because of the average commercial potential, but also because it would lose a bit of the old magic since Tony Jay, the powerful voice of Elder God, is now deceased. It was an iconic character, and recasting him would be risky.
But no one can stop us from dreaming. I guess the best out would be remakes with the original dialogues and voices. First of Blood Omen, then Soul Reaver, and preferably both of them along with Defiance. Both Soul Reavers are fairly short games with similar mechanics. It would be necessary to turn the combat into something meatier and more spectacular, preferably inspired by God of War or Darksiders (or maybe a slightly less demanding variation of Dark Souls?), and to redo some of the more annoying puzzles. After all, Darksiders is a natural extension of Legacy of Kain, only with a lighter, fairy-tale/comic storyline. Why couldn't Raziel – given the chance – learn something from the youngsters?
On the other hand – maybe someone should actually turn this into an animated series? Maybe they could even use some of the original voice acting? Releasing a game with ancient mechanics is just trying to exploit nostalgia, and generally asking for trouble. In contrast, violating the monument of fans' memories may be another death certificate. Well, no matter where you go – there you are. But then again – nobody can stop us from dreaming. Too bad none of those dreams are likely to come true.
FROM THE AUTHOR
I DARE YOU, I DOUBLE DARE YOU, SQUARE ENIX! That's what the punchline is for. I was talking to my colleagues recently about the game and the sad conclusion was "It won't come back. And maybe it's for the best." I myself believe otherwise. Sure, Legacy of Kain is a series from a different era, a time when the scale of sales and what was defined as a "hit" were very different. Kain and Raziel have proved that almost every mistake can be corrected. So maybe Square Enix will finally do something right as well. After all, this isn't the only series of theirs waiting tucked away in the basement because it had to be hidden after the complete failure that the publishing policy proved to be. Yes, I'm looking at Deus Ex. Adam Jensen and JC Denton are probably in the same freezer as Kain and Raziel. Someday, you will run out freezers, Square.
Do you think Legacy of Kain could still stand on its own feet as a game?
