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The 1999 video game Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver once received a comic book adaptation that was both an original story and a strategy guide.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver was a dramatic and bold direction for the Legacy of Kain video game series. Released in 1999 by Crystal Dynamics, it served as a direct sequel to 1996’s Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, showing players that the canonical ending to Blood Omen was one of utter ruination for its world of Nosgoth. To further increase the hype for the next chapter in the Legacy of Kain series, Top Cow Productions released a Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver one-shot by Matt Hawkins, David Boller, and Matt Nelson that further detailed Soul Reaver‘s world.
The story of Soul Reaver begins at the very end of Blood Omen. Kain, once a human noble, was murdered one night and rather than having his soul pass on, was transformed into a vampire. His tale was one of vengeance and murder as he sought to seek out those who had killed him. His journey culminated with a single decision: sacrifice himself to restore the Pillars of Balance, the physical constructs that held his world of Nosgoth intact, or destroy them and gain their power, damning Nosgoth forever. Even though players were able to make that decision for Kain, Soul Reaver confirmed that the fate of Nosgoth was one of destruction.
The comic begins much like the opening cinematic of its game. The vampire, Raziel, narrates the origins of his vampiric clan and their ruler, Kain. The comic takes a twist from the game as it features a still human-looking Raziel attempting to feast on a woman. Tasting her blood, Raziel spits it out, claiming that she isn’t human. The woman eyes glow gold and she states that she is an oracle sent by the Elder Gods to warn Raziel of the future that awaits him.
She chronicles Raziel’s evolution past that of Kain and how the jealous tyrant has Raziel cast into The Lake of the Dead. Miraculously, Raziel is reborn as a spectral wraith, his thirst for blood replaced by a thirst for souls. Raziel’s vampire kin will all mutate horrifically and it will be up to Raziel to destroy them to help restore balance to Nosgoth. Refuting the woman’s warnings, Raziel violently removes her head from her body. The decapitated head of the oracle laughs moments before Raziel casts it into a roaring brazier. The comic ends with Raziel repeating his origins, resolute in his bravery.
From here the comic becomes a mini walkthrough for its namesake game, offering a multitude of tips and hints for each section of the game. Soul Reaver can be a pretty tough game so the extra help is incredibly useful, but the space used in the issue for the walkthrough could have been better served in the production of additional story. The events in the comic aren’t canon to any of the games as the woman never appears again. Her origins are also a contradiction to the games as it is the singular Elder God that manipulates the events surrounding Raziel, not a collective of Elder Gods. While the comic was nothing more than promotional material meant to pique player’s interest in the game, it’s still a bit disappointing.
An original story chonicling Raziel’s life as a Sarafan warrior before his transformation, or as the comic explored, a story set within Raziel’s days as a humanoid vampire before his death at Kain’s hand would have arguably been much better. The world of Nosgoth is bursting at the seams with history and lore; it could be entirely possible to weave a compelling story of Raziel’s life as he lived alongside his vampire brethren. As the Legacy of Kain series never received a conclusive ending, however, it’s highly unlikely the series will ever see a new entry of any kind to its name.
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