Amy Henning is the best. Niel Cuckman got her fired, I hope she lands on her feet. I hope that the Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remaster shows Grouper that she's needed to finish the series. I'd love to see "Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun" and "Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy"
Compared to the other games which came out around the time of Soul Reaver, it had fantastic voice acting. Hell, it's even better than a lot of modern games.
"I would choose integrity" And in the end, Raziel did indeed choose Integrity. To arm the scion of balance with the purified Soul Reaver for his true endeavor Playing Blood Omen 1, and then seeing the Soul Reaver shatter on Raziel, I was forever intrigued
Oh yeah, especially since Raziel was used so well by the Elder God and Mobius, unaware of his true fate until it was too late, and yet he chose integrity to be willing to purify Kain's soul from Nupraptor's madness, and to cleanse his heart after centuries of emptiness and nihilism and fatalism.
Plus Raziel KNEW what _COULD_ happen to him, even if things might turn out different once he purified the Wraith Reaver to be able to arm Kain for his true endeavor as the Scion of Balance, but it's very likely things will be different because of his purifying the Wraith Blade before he fused the two Soul Reavers into one, even as he knew what would happen to him when he was absorbed into the Soul Reaver, since he also had purified and healed Kain in the process.
@@BryonYoungblood What I find sad, yet intriguing is that Raziel perfecting Soul Reaver and allowing Kain to see things as they are left one more dilemma: Hylden would return with Kain's death and if Kain would not die Nosgoth would continue to decay. Coin would need to land on it's edge to allow vampires and Pillars to exist. In a sense Kain would need to create new guardians for Pillars.
@@vksasdgaming9472 I imagine when Raziel purified Kain’s soul with the curse of Nupraptor that drove him mad and led him to corrupt the Pillar of Balance, so that just means finding a way to make new vampire Guardians for the other pillars to seal the Hylden away forever.
@@BryonYoungblood I personally feel that method of making new vampire guardians would not work. Natural vampires like Janos Audron are extinct and even before that they were made infertile so new vampires to inherit position as guardians were not born - hence less powerful humans were made guardians. Humans made into new vampires like Kain are corrupted by their more base human nature so just making human guardians into vampires might not work. ALL Pillars were ruined when Kain visited them so he was as corrupt as all of Nosgoth itself and Ariel herself was misleading, though Kain being so angry for being deceived might just be case of arrogantly not listening that "there is no cure for death, Kain, only release" and latter might just mean that Kain dies fully and goes to whatever afterlife there is. There are so many unanswered questions and continuity weirdness that it is impossible to plausibly guess what could have been proper way to continue. What happened to restored Pillars when Kain refused to restore Pillar of Balance? Had he become guardian of all Pillars or had those duties transferred to someone else nobody mentioned? Kain's destiny is to restore Balance and as Raziel used his free will to help him out it seems that Kain now only has ability to influence HOW he fulfills his destiny - not how to break it. Unless destruction of Elder God broke everyone's destiny in Nosgoth.
Conscience...? You DARE speak to me of CONSCIENCE? Only when you have felt the full gravity of choice should you dare to question my judgment! Your life’s span is a flicker compared to the mass of doubt and regret that I have borne since Mortanius first turned me from the light... To know that the fate of the world hangs dependent on the advisedness of my every deed -- can you even BEGIN to conceive what action you would take, in my position? Raziel: I would choose integrity, Kain.... Just... beautiful dialogue.
Ironically Kain's plan succeeds ultimately because Raziel does "choose integrity" when sacrificing himself is the only way to secure the win. God damn.
@@ohno5378 Oh yeah. Kain took a chance when he did what he did to cast Raziel into the Abyss because of knowing his true destiny, but he also had to try, to be able to help achieve his original destiny as Scion of Balance, even if hew knew he couldn't give Nosgoth back her innocence after what he had done due to Nupraptor's madness and his drive to form his failed empire.
I think Raziel's response was humorous to Kain. Raziel was naive to the game being played, and Kain caught himself being oblivious to this fact, being worked up over Raziel's supposed arrogance, when infact, was (unintentional) ignorance. Raziel was there to kill him, to take vengeance, caught in Mobius's supposed net. Kain's sudden shift in tone is not him laughing at Raziel, but himself.
The most remarkable thing here is, when you finally play out the whole story, how childish and naive Raziel seems in hindsight. When you finally see the full scope of everything, you actually come to sort of empathize with Kain. It is rare for a fiction to make me go from loathing an antagonist to rooting for them as easily as this game series did.
We can understand Raziel's motives when he first resurrected. After that he manipulated by everyone. Naive yes but bro they literally threw him off the cliff. Imagine like someone throw you to pool of acid. Ofc he would want revenge.
Yes, even from moment one, Raziel's intro monologue. He says he "had the honor of surpassing" Kain and that wasn't it at all. "Do you believe for a moment that our Lord would risk his empire upon an upstart inheritance?" Though Melchiah probably didn't know the scope of the situation, he was right to call out Raziel's arrogance.
'Your lifespan...is a flicker" to this day, the most savage line of dialog between two characters. Kain always belittles Raziel whenever they engage in dialog lol
"What are you, little soul? Another of Kain's creatures come to taunt this bound spectre?" The diaolgue resonates with the same power as the words of Shakespeare and Dante.
Michael Berry The writing is wonderful! “From the shards of tattered dreams I rose, unwilling. Tossed upon tides of pain that flowed and ebbed and left me searingly awake and more revoltingly... alive.”
I, myself, am now now but a forlorn bound spectre What I wouldn't give for a chronoplast chamber to go back and free myself from the chains of a terrible fate that I myself bound my will to
“From this moment and ever afterwards, you and this blade are inextricably bound. Soul Reaver, and reaver of souls. Your destinies are intertwined.” You can say that again.
"What are you little soul...?" Just imagine how the Blood Omen veterans must have felt when they saw Ariel back in that moment and just try to understand how Kain basically told Raziel about his deeds from BO EXCEPT the very existence of Ariel. That little encounter said so much with just a few hints.
@@SamuelBlack84 My guess is Raziel now being connected to the Spectral Realm allowed him to actually meet Ariel, even if she had been bound there because of Kain refusing the sacrifice, even if she had NO idea that even if he did, it would only weaken the Binding enough to allow the Hylden to break free and conquer Nosgoth.
@@BryonYoungblood Perhaps Ariel as Balance Guardian was bound to Pillars as ghost until Pillar of Balance is restored and completely new, uncorrupted set of Guardians are chosen by Pillars.
@ Potentially. She also was probably bound due to her grief when the Hylden Lord controlled Mortanius and killed her, all as part of their plans to corrupt the Pillars and weaken the Binding to get free.
I'll never get over the voice acting of this series. Especially between Kain and Raziel, and especially this scene. There are other great interactions in the series, but these two are amazing actors, portraying an inspirational saga. I have so much respect for them.
The voice director for this game, Kris Zimmerman, was also the voice director for the Metal Gear series. So if you're wondering why the delivery is so superb, there's your answer.
favorite quote outta any video game. "For all our bravado we knew what it meant when kain drew the soul reaver out of anger.... it meant you were dead" pacing, delivery and gravity all perfect.
Despite all his skill, speed and strength -and naivete, Raziel was smart enough to know that Kain was not something to just fight like anything else in the game. Something about how Raziel's normally rather eloquent speech suddenly ending with a purely simple and blunt "It meant you were dead" makes it so much more effective. There's no two ways about it, no need for flowery language or prose -it really was just that simple.
God, I miss Tony Jay so much... his voice was so unique and he was such a prolific actor in the 90’s. Frolo from Hunchback, Megabyte from Reboot, the list goes on.
Wait.. the elder god was the voice of frolo, megabyte, and even Shere Khan? NO WONDER he was such a great villain!! he had a legend behind his voice owo
Hope Corey Burton will voice the Elder God in a Pentalogy collection of Legacy of Kain, While Alistair Duncan will voice Mortanius and Tony Jay will be a memorial Easter Egg for the fans to remember him.
I'm currently in university studying creative writing and can safely say that this game got me into writing as a kid. "From this moment and ever afterward, you and this blade are inextricably bound" I mean YES literature!
The story of soul reaver has resonated within my mind for as long as i first watched this epic saga, the lessons within it teach more than just a story it resonates the truth of alliances and of the truth of power being neither a force for absolute good or evil only that power can depreciate or restore things. someone once pointed out on youtube that soul reaver at the throne room there is upside down hebrew written on the walls this game i swear is all about layers within layers its a masterpiece that leaves a man questioning his own goodness and in doing so enables him to become more by realising that all is never as it seems. kain and raziel both go through hard knocks before they discover the location of their true enemy and its a great analogy the only true enemy is the one you never see.
max facts yeah i don't like jews but i don't like muslims either to another extent i don't like christianity either so really I'm not anti semite just anti cult
@Grim Reaper I mean he died twice. he died first as an human and then when Raziel rip out Jano's heart out he came back alive as an true guardian and immortal.
I remember having dreams and nightmares about this game. I once had a dream I fell into the abyss and sinked into the spirit realm. So many memories, this game was just so good!
God now that I've played the entire series there was sooooo much foreshadowing in this one scene. Kain already knew the blade would shatter and knew Raziel would merge with his trapped soul. And the elder god. It was so obvious back then that he knew. He INSTANTLY knew Raziel would be eternally bound to the reaver and knew it would sustain his material body. I never questioned any of this as a kid but knowing the whole story now, all of this was so obvious right in our faces
It's funny, I think he realised exactly who Raziel was the moment he saw him emerge from the chamber with his wings. You can see it in his face before he says "Cast him in" he doesn't really want to, but if he doesn't, Nosgoth doesn't stand a chance
I don't think Kain knew about the Elder God, because when Kain first comes face to face with it, he does the biggest WTF ever. I think he knew that there was a manipulator above Mobius, someone or something powerful enough to use him as a proxy, but I don't think he was ever able to find out anything specific. He had an incomplete set of data points, and did the best he could to make a play for a better future.
To think so much story could be crafted around what honestly felt like a minor part of Blood Omen (at least it felt like that when I finally visited it.) This franchise was nuts.
if the LoK series' gameplay had matched the voice over work and story this would be the best series ever. BO1 & SR1 are still two of my Top 5 all time faves.
You're right. The gameplay in retrospect was bound by it's time. Playing the games now feels a little like a chore, but the story is up there. As one of the best.
The general setting of this game left a great impact on me as a child, but I never got to this point of the game. Later as a teen I came back to this game and by the time I got to this part everything started to make sense and the whole dynamic of what you think is going on changes. It was really cool to come back to this game at a later date when this game had seemed so mystical before and get to really appreciate the narrative structure from a new lens.
To be fair, would we even want a remake at this point? I mean, Tony Jay is back in the Spirit Realm, Michael Bell can't be long behind him with his age, which means that only Simon Templeman will remain. Would we really want a remake without those voices? I know that I would have to give it some thought...
@@jeremiahbristow7609 How much i love those voice actors in VO, the french actors also made it their own. I thoroughly enjoyed the french version. The BEST part is writing, the dialogue is out of this world and never seen again. It's quite reasonnable to believe some other actors could pull it off, taking what came before them into account, of course. I would just love a remaster , an update to this whole saga, and an END to it ! With some many millions wasted in doomed productions, it's quite the wonder that noone has bothered to pick to pick this one up. This story is a moneymaking machine waiting to be properly exploited.
It might only be a mere action adventure game series but the quality of writing both dialogue and plot as well as the superb voice acting performances are as worthy of those in some of the best RPGs. No surprise some of the LOK voice talent also worked on Fallout series, Baldurs Gate series, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment.
there is something really funny when going to the throne room. If you look there will be pillars with the clan symbols, however, melchia isn't there. It's like Kain didn't consider his clan.
It's impressive that until the very end, Raziels biggest flaw is automatically assuming that whatever current knowledge he has gives him a kind of moral superiority to whoever is against him. When he was human, he believed all vampires to be evil simply because they opposed him. As a vampire, any who weren't "blessed" as he was, were little better then vermin. Now as a wraith, he has to witness the world from multiple viewpoints and eras in time to finally see the truth. One that has an unfortunate end for him, but that he comes to accept as the best possible outcome.
It's a hint of Kain's true plans. He saw how Raziel could be used, because of his plans to set the world right after his selfish choice, one that didn't involve his own death. He learned how one could alter time if a paradox was induced, which could only be brought about by the Soul Reaver trying to eat its own soul. 😁
@@Xalmuster Soul Reaver 2 wasn't planned yet. It is to assume that Kain planned suicide and mass vampire genocide by the hands of Raziel in order to set Things right that spiraled out of Control. I guess he thought to that the worlds decay came from him and every Soul that has his gift and corruption. There is reconstructed dialog from cut content
@@DundG I'm not sure exactly at what point they scrapped the content they cut, but when they did, Hennig and the team wrote out the stuff in SR2 well before they even started development on it and changed gears to lead the story down that path, and some of the original stuff is shown to the player as visions of alternate realities and futures in the Chronoplast too
@@Xalmuster we never saw an encounter of Kain and Raziel in a place with Kains Emblem on the ground. Raziel never received the Ariel reaver. And Raziel definetly never received the black and Red Kain Reaver. There are theories that these Visions Show in order Kain and Raziel fight in the cathedral in defiance, raziel getting the Spirit Reaver, and raziel Standing on top of Janos's retreat with the fire reaver. First These Visions where then out of order, as the fire reaver was before the Fight and the Spirit reaver. Secondly defiance is an alternate timeline cause originally Kain should have been dead when they meet at Williams grave and Raziel consumed by the reaver after killing his human self. It only diverged because of the paradox of the two souls of the reaver. And it is not confirmed that the visions can show alternate timelines, as all Visions before happened exactly as shown and Kain wouldn't be as shocked about the Hylden cause he could see the alternate Timeline he would creat where he would be beaten by the Hylden Lord. These visions ultimately lead to nowhere and are not important in later installments.
Kains response to the question of conscience is interesting. Hes usually quite snarky and calculating but its a sincere outburst and hes very defensive. On some level hes burdened by at least some of the horrible things hes done and the lives he's ruined. Its also worth noting kain was corrupted by the pillars so is possible more conflicted than he lets on.
The Legacy of Kain games go far beyond the simple meaning of the word epic! They grab you tightly by the throat, pull you into the depths of Hell and never let go until you are safely on the other side, forever changed!
I've commented on this video before but hell, I always find myself coming back. I would absolutely love to see this game remade, but find myself at a loss as to who could do the voice acting anywhere near as good!
"Now I understood why the Soul Reaver shattered when Kain struck me, for it could not devour its own soul." - Raziel Watching this knowing that Kain literally have the Soul Reaver to Raziel knowing full well that his destiny was to become the possessor of the blade in all context and usage of the word and that he did it for the coin to land on its edge brings new light to this scene entirely.
DanteSnake92 you think that's confusing? In soul reaver 2 the blade tries to absorb Raziel but because he's imprisoned in it in the future it can't absorb him in the past, so he's carrying his own soul from the future, and he can't get imprisoned because he leads *stroke*
Kain must have timed everything PERFECTLY to make it to the Sanctuary of the Clans before Raziel, and knowing he'd be there thanks to Moebius's time streaming devices, as well as using the right words to taunt Raziel to battle him so he could begin to move the pieces to help them achieve their destinies. Especially since we learn it wasn't Kain who had Raziel's clan slaughtered, but his brothers doing it after Kain had disappeared once he had Raziel cast into the Abyss as part of his machinations.
Even in SR1 its not an error. Kain had his HQ at the pillars and Ariel can switch between material and spectral realm. She probably overheard their conversation earlier.
Many years after this I thought it would have been cool if Adventure Time parodied this. Finn fights the Ice King. The Ice King gets a hold of the Finn Sword and tries to strike Finn down with it. It shatters and Finn momentarily slips into the low-level Dead World from "Ghost Fly." there he is bound to the soul of his broken Finn Sword. Finn then goes on a quest to find the souls of his other lost swords, the Golden Sword, the Root Sword, The Demon Blood Sword, and so on. Each one changes the physical sword Finn now carries until in its final state it looks like the sword from the title card.
So theatric, so melodramatic, way too good for the same generation that gave us “Gill Sandwich” and Dr Light flubbing his lines and calling Dr Wiley “Dr Wiwey”
If this game ever gets remade, they need to start it with a recap, and then make the game that soul reaver was originally meant to be inder the pretense that the tineline was restored by the events of defiance
So let me get this straight: since this moment, Raziel started using not just the "Soul of a blade" but more like a replica of his own soul from another time, am I right? That's why the Soul Reaver shattered, because it was a paradox. But in which moment in history the Reaver blade got possessed by Raziel's soul, I wonder.
You should watch soul reaver 2, When Janos gives Raziel the blood reaver the blade it is not possesed, that happens shortly after he attacks the sarafan stronghold, or shpuld have happened if Kain had not postponed it. From what I can tell when the possesion of the blade occurs both Raziel the wraith, and Raziel the Reaver merge into one, memories and cpncience and all.
"For all our bravado, we knew what it meant when Kain drew the Soul Reaver in anger. It meant, you were dead."
this fucking quote still give me chills TWENTY YEARS LATER
they are all already dead, undead vampires. the older i get this falls apart into pure mind expansion like a sick joke.
as the name might suggest, the Soul Reaver is a soul-drinking weapon. Not even undead are immune to it
Makes me wonder who in the past was foolish enough to anger Kain for him to kill them with it.
Genuinely the most badass quote ever.
Whoever wrote the script for Soul Reaver needs some sort of medal.
On this day, October 23rd, 2021, I give you your 50th like.
@@madcat789 On this day, December 9, 2021, I give you your fourth like.
On this day, January 12, 2022, I give you your first Like.
On this day, March 12, 2022, I give you your first like.
@@Salamanca56-i8j All of you people are crazy.
"I am your creation Kain, now, as before, you criticize your own work."
Hennig please, I just want this kind of writing. I miss it so bad.
Amy Henning is the best. Niel Cuckman got her fired, I hope she lands on her feet. I hope that the Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remaster shows Grouper that she's needed to finish the series. I'd love to see "Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun" and "Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy"
The dialog in this game is so perfect
CthulhuDarkLord Yes, indeed!
It's amazing, an underrated series
Compared to the other games which came out around the time of Soul Reaver, it had fantastic voice acting. Hell, it's even better than a lot of modern games.
Mr Rieper Yep, I totally agree with you, mate!
Metal Gear Solid
A lot? No. Not ONE game bested the voice acting in LoK. But I'm happy to be wrong if you have names.
And still is in 2022.
@@jeanlundi2141 Thief had great voice acting. LoK is one of the all time greats, but there was good voice acting in some late 90s games
"I would choose integrity"
And in the end, Raziel did indeed choose Integrity. To arm the scion of balance with the purified Soul Reaver for his true endeavor
Playing Blood Omen 1, and then seeing the Soul Reaver shatter on Raziel, I was forever intrigued
Oh yeah, especially since Raziel was used so well by the Elder God and Mobius, unaware of his true fate until it was too late, and yet he chose integrity to be willing to purify Kain's soul from Nupraptor's madness, and to cleanse his heart after centuries of emptiness and nihilism and fatalism.
Plus Raziel KNEW what _COULD_ happen to him, even if things might turn out different once he purified the Wraith Reaver to be able to arm Kain for his true endeavor as the Scion of Balance, but it's very likely things will be different because of his purifying the Wraith Blade before he fused the two Soul Reavers into one, even as he knew what would happen to him when he was absorbed into the Soul Reaver, since he also had purified and healed Kain in the process.
@@BryonYoungblood What I find sad, yet intriguing is that Raziel perfecting Soul Reaver and allowing Kain to see things as they are left one more dilemma: Hylden would return with Kain's death and if Kain would not die Nosgoth would continue to decay.
Coin would need to land on it's edge to allow vampires and Pillars to exist. In a sense Kain would need to create new guardians for Pillars.
@@vksasdgaming9472 I imagine when Raziel purified Kain’s soul with the curse of Nupraptor that drove him mad and led him to corrupt the Pillar of Balance, so that just means finding a way to make new vampire Guardians for the other pillars to seal the Hylden away forever.
@@BryonYoungblood I personally feel that method of making new vampire guardians would not work. Natural vampires like Janos Audron are extinct and even before that they were made infertile so new vampires to inherit position as guardians were not born - hence less powerful humans were made guardians. Humans made into new vampires like Kain are corrupted by their more base human nature so just making human guardians into vampires might not work. ALL Pillars were ruined when Kain visited them so he was as corrupt as all of Nosgoth itself and Ariel herself was misleading, though Kain being so angry for being deceived might just be case of arrogantly not listening that "there is no cure for death, Kain, only release" and latter might just mean that Kain dies fully and goes to whatever afterlife there is.
There are so many unanswered questions and continuity weirdness that it is impossible to plausibly guess what could have been proper way to continue. What happened to restored Pillars when Kain refused to restore Pillar of Balance? Had he become guardian of all Pillars or had those duties transferred to someone else nobody mentioned?
Kain's destiny is to restore Balance and as Raziel used his free will to help him out it seems that Kain now only has ability to influence HOW he fulfills his destiny - not how to break it. Unless destruction of Elder God broke everyone's destiny in Nosgoth.
Conscience...? You DARE speak to me of CONSCIENCE? Only when you have felt the full gravity of choice should you dare to question my judgment!
Your life’s span is a flicker compared to the mass of doubt and regret that I have borne since Mortanius first turned me from the light... To know that the fate of the world hangs dependent on the advisedness of my every deed -- can you even BEGIN to conceive what action you would take, in my position?
Raziel: I would choose integrity, Kain....
Just... beautiful dialogue.
Ironically Kain's plan succeeds ultimately because Raziel does "choose integrity" when sacrificing himself is the only way to secure the win. God damn.
This entire scene was Not only the best dialogue in the entire series, but in almost any game I’ve ever played.
I'm happy you recorded it. It is epic writing.
@@ohno5378 Oh yeah. Kain took a chance when he did what he did to cast Raziel into the Abyss because of knowing his true destiny, but he also had to try, to be able to help achieve his original destiny as Scion of Balance, even if hew knew he couldn't give Nosgoth back her innocence after what he had done due to Nupraptor's madness and his drive to form his failed empire.
I think Raziel's response was humorous to Kain. Raziel was naive to the game being played, and Kain caught himself being oblivious to this fact, being worked up over Raziel's supposed arrogance, when infact, was (unintentional) ignorance. Raziel was there to kill him, to take vengeance, caught in Mobius's supposed net. Kain's sudden shift in tone is not him laughing at Raziel, but himself.
"the abyss has been unkind" How magnanimous XD
The most remarkable thing here is, when you finally play out the whole story, how childish and naive Raziel seems in hindsight. When you finally see the full scope of everything, you actually come to sort of empathize with Kain. It is rare for a fiction to make me go from loathing an antagonist to rooting for them as easily as this game series did.
Can you fly raziel??
We can understand Raziel's motives when he first resurrected. After that he manipulated by everyone. Naive yes but bro they literally threw him off the cliff. Imagine like someone throw you to pool of acid. Ofc he would want revenge.
Yes, even from moment one, Raziel's intro monologue. He says he "had the honor of surpassing" Kain and that wasn't it at all.
"Do you believe for a moment that our Lord would risk his empire upon an upstart inheritance?" Though Melchiah probably didn't know the scope of the situation, he was right to call out Raziel's arrogance.
@@leonardoflorentin no
@@KingLich451 for better context read OP nickname.
'Your lifespan...is a flicker" to this day, the most savage line of dialog between two characters. Kain always belittles Raziel whenever they engage in dialog lol
One of the best character dynamics and dialogue I've seen/heard in gaming. You rarely see a relationship as provoking as Kain and Raziel's.
"What are you, little soul? Another of Kain's creatures come to taunt this bound spectre?" The diaolgue resonates with the same power as the words of Shakespeare and Dante.
Michael Berry
The writing is wonderful!
“From the shards of tattered dreams I rose, unwilling. Tossed upon tides of pain that flowed and ebbed and left me searingly awake and more revoltingly... alive.”
John Hein What is that quote from?
I, myself, am now now but a forlorn bound spectre
What I wouldn't give for a chronoplast chamber to go back and free myself from the chains of a terrible fate that I myself bound my will to
“From this moment and ever afterwards, you and this blade are inextricably bound. Soul Reaver, and reaver of souls. Your destinies are intertwined.”
You can say that again.
what that is, Elder God, is a great bloody spoiler.
@@AzguardMikeEspecially since he *KNEW.*
"What are you little soul...?"
Just imagine how the Blood Omen veterans must have felt when they saw Ariel back in that moment and just try to understand how Kain basically told Raziel about his deeds from BO EXCEPT the very existence of Ariel.
That little encounter said so much with just a few hints.
Considering how often Raziel visited the sanctuary over the millenia I'm surprised he didn't see her before
@@SamuelBlack84 My guess is Raziel now being connected to the Spectral Realm allowed him to actually meet Ariel, even if she had been bound there because of Kain refusing the sacrifice, even if she had NO idea that even if he did, it would only weaken the Binding enough to allow the Hylden to break free and conquer Nosgoth.
@@BryonYoungblood Perhaps Ariel as Balance Guardian was bound to Pillars as ghost until Pillar of Balance is restored and completely new, uncorrupted set of Guardians are chosen by Pillars.
@ Potentially. She also was probably bound due to her grief when the Hylden Lord controlled Mortanius and killed her, all as part of their plans to corrupt the Pillars and weaken the Binding to get free.
I'll never get over the voice acting of this series. Especially between Kain and Raziel, and especially this scene. There are other great interactions in the series, but these two are amazing actors, portraying an inspirational saga. I have so much respect for them.
Totally agree with you.
Their chemistry is unparalleled. Sublime artistry at its finest.
The voice director for this game, Kris Zimmerman, was also the voice director for the Metal Gear series. So if you're wondering why the delivery is so superb, there's your answer.
favorite quote outta any video game.
"For all our bravado we knew what it meant when kain drew the soul reaver out of anger.... it meant you were dead"
pacing, delivery and gravity all perfect.
Despite all his skill, speed and strength -and naivete, Raziel was smart enough to know that Kain was not something to just fight like anything else in the game.
Something about how Raziel's normally rather eloquent speech suddenly ending with a purely simple and blunt "It meant you were dead" makes it so much more effective. There's no two ways about it, no need for flowery language or prose -it really was just that simple.
God, I miss Tony Jay so much... his voice was so unique and he was such a prolific actor in the 90’s. Frolo from Hunchback, Megabyte from Reboot, the list goes on.
Wait.. the elder god was the voice of frolo, megabyte, and even Shere Khan? NO WONDER he was such a great villain!! he had a legend behind his voice owo
He also voiced the Transcendent One in Planescape: Torment, a character in a game that I feel shares some spiritual connections to Soul Reaver
@@Xalmuster Mega spoiler, but yeah, he is the one! :D
Hope Corey Burton will voice the Elder God in a Pentalogy collection of Legacy of Kain,
While Alistair Duncan will voice Mortanius and Tony Jay will be a memorial Easter Egg for the fans to remember him.
"That bastard can claim no allegiance from me."
The delivery of that line gets me every time.
I'm currently in university studying creative writing and can safely say that this game got me into writing as a kid. "From this moment and ever afterward, you and this blade are inextricably bound" I mean YES literature!
The story of soul reaver has resonated within my mind for as long as i first watched this epic saga, the lessons within it teach more than just a story it resonates the truth of alliances and of the truth of power being neither a force for absolute good or evil only that power can depreciate or restore things.
someone once pointed out on youtube that soul reaver at the throne room there is upside down hebrew written on the walls this game i swear is all about layers within layers its a masterpiece that leaves a man questioning his own goodness and in doing so enables him to become more by realising that all is never as it seems.
kain and raziel both go through hard knocks before they discover the location of their true enemy and its a great analogy the only true enemy is the one you never see.
max facts yeah i don't like jews but i don't like muslims either to another extent i don't like christianity either so really I'm not anti semite just anti cult
max facts and i wouldn't mention soul reaver as your source material as the cultists will judge you and there will be a mark down
Best video game storyline ever!
"This place has outlasted it's usefulness, as have you."
He was talking to the sword.
Damn you Kain, you are not God! That giant squid is!
Aldaron lol
Not even the Elder God was a "true God". He was, as Raziel put it, the biggest parasite in History
@@Death_Korps_Officer turns out Kain is an God cause he's the Scion of balance.
@Grim Reaper YUP. and he face death twice
@Grim Reaper I mean he died twice. he died first as an human and then when Raziel rip out Jano's heart out he came back alive as an true guardian and immortal.
I remember having dreams and nightmares about this game. I once had a dream I fell into the abyss and sinked into the spirit realm. So many memories, this game was just so good!
God now that I've played the entire series there was sooooo much foreshadowing in this one scene. Kain already knew the blade would shatter and knew Raziel would merge with his trapped soul. And the elder god. It was so obvious back then that he knew. He INSTANTLY knew Raziel would be eternally bound to the reaver and knew it would sustain his material body. I never questioned any of this as a kid but knowing the whole story now, all of this was so obvious right in our faces
It's funny, I think he realised exactly who Raziel was the moment he saw him emerge from the chamber with his wings. You can see it in his face before he says "Cast him in" he doesn't really want to, but if he doesn't, Nosgoth doesn't stand a chance
@@monkeyman767 That was because Kain had seen both the future and the distant past using the Chronoplast
@@Synthonym Had he at that stage? he hadn't I don't think?
I don't think Kain knew about the Elder God, because when Kain first comes face to face with it, he does the biggest WTF ever. I think he knew that there was a manipulator above Mobius, someone or something powerful enough to use him as a proxy, but I don't think he was ever able to find out anything specific.
He had an incomplete set of data points, and did the best he could to make a play for a better future.
@@LabTech41 I was pointing out how the Elder God knew right away what the soul reaver would do for Raziel, showing he knew most of the events himself
"DAMN YOU KAIN! YOU ARE NOT GOD!!!"
Ignacio Elías Rosner I came.
The dramatic fist clench makes that line all the more awesome!
Ignacio Elías Rosner Conscious? You DARE speak to me of course?
This act of genocide is unconscionable!
I honestly think that this game (and this scene) displays some of the best voice acting in history.
That conversation at the start between Raz and Kain is just glorious.
The soundtrack is phenomenal- also, I love how Kain’s laugh is identical to how he laughed in Blood Omen - VIE VICTUS!
The dialogue, music, story and characters are amazing. This probably would've made a great late 90's movie.
When I come into the room and see a spider: 0:00.
To think so much story could be crafted around what honestly felt like a minor part of Blood Omen (at least it felt like that when I finally visited it.) This franchise was nuts.
It’s pretty awesome that an entire story and set of sequels all came from just one weapon in the original
@@MaestroSpartan Heart of Darkness (just HP-restoring cosumable) supposedly used to resurrect Kain as vampire became very important plot item as well.
Some of the best voice acting and script writing I've had the pleasure of listening to
4:40 even on PS1 low f graphics 😂😂😂😂 YET the pose, the silent standing, then the movement to grasp the sword
EPIC!!!
I want to say a personal thank you for uploading a version with the correct music. You've done a good thing, have a like.
Thanks, mate! Glad you like it. :)
if the LoK series' gameplay had matched the voice over work and story this would be the best series ever. BO1 & SR1 are still two of my Top 5 all time faves.
You're right. The gameplay in retrospect was bound by it's time. Playing the games now feels a little like a chore, but the story is up there. As one of the best.
The general setting of this game left a great impact on me as a child, but I never got to this point of the game. Later as a teen I came back to this game and by the time I got to this part everything started to make sense and the whole dynamic of what you think is going on changes. It was really cool to come back to this game at a later date when this game had seemed so mystical before and get to really appreciate the narrative structure from a new lens.
Same here, man. 🙂👌
"This act of genocide is unconscionable!" Kain then proceeded to roast Raziel. 💀💀💀💀
When it feels like everything is getting a remake but this amazing series always gets overlooked
To be fair, would we even want a remake at this point? I mean, Tony Jay is back in the Spirit Realm, Michael Bell can't be long behind him with his age, which means that only Simon Templeman will remain. Would we really want a remake without those voices? I know that I would have to give it some thought...
@@jeremiahbristow7609 they already have the audio for the voices, just redo the gameplay and graphics
@@jeremiahbristow7609 How much i love those voice actors in VO, the french actors also made it their own. I thoroughly enjoyed the french version. The BEST part is writing, the dialogue is out of this world and never seen again.
It's quite reasonnable to believe some other actors could pull it off, taking what came before them into account, of course.
I would just love a remaster , an update to this whole saga, and an END to it ! With some many millions wasted in doomed productions, it's quite the wonder that noone has bothered to pick to pick this one up. This story is a moneymaking machine waiting to be properly exploited.
Oh shiii they really doin jt
yorokobe shounen, rejoice, for the coin has landed on its edge, and we will have another chance, a better shot, at destiny.
It might only be a mere action adventure game series but the quality of writing both dialogue and plot as well as the superb voice acting performances are as worthy of those in some of the best RPGs. No surprise some of the LOK voice talent also worked on Fallout series, Baldurs Gate series, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment.
I’m so happy this game is getting a remaster I’ll definitely buy it on PS5! December can’t come soon enough!
The script and dialogue is on point. Love it. Also I think Kain has one of the coolest character designs in all of video games
there is something really funny when going to the throne room. If you look there will be pillars with the clan symbols, however, melchia isn't there. It's like Kain didn't consider his clan.
*your lifespan is a flicker*
Kain always destroys Raziel in these dialog exchanges lmao.
It's impressive that until the very end, Raziels biggest flaw is automatically assuming that whatever current knowledge he has gives him a kind of moral superiority to whoever is against him. When he was human, he believed all vampires to be evil simply because they opposed him. As a vampire, any who weren't "blessed" as he was, were little better then vermin. Now as a wraith, he has to witness the world from multiple viewpoints and eras in time to finally see the truth. One that has an unfortunate end for him, but that he comes to accept as the best possible outcome.
Raziel: I swore I saw a flicker of satisfaction in Kane's eye when the blade was broken
Kane: Deafening manic laughter
You're probably right mate
It's a hint of Kain's true plans. He saw how Raziel could be used, because of his plans to set the world right after his selfish choice, one that didn't involve his own death. He learned how one could alter time if a paradox was induced, which could only be brought about by the Soul Reaver trying to eat its own soul. 😁
@@Xalmuster Soul Reaver 2 wasn't planned yet. It is to assume that Kain planned suicide and mass vampire genocide by the hands of Raziel in order to set Things right that spiraled out of Control. I guess he thought to that the worlds decay came from him and every Soul that has his gift and corruption.
There is reconstructed dialog from cut content
@@DundG I'm not sure exactly at what point they scrapped the content they cut, but when they did, Hennig and the team wrote out the stuff in SR2 well before they even started development on it and changed gears to lead the story down that path, and some of the original stuff is shown to the player as visions of alternate realities and futures in the Chronoplast too
@@Xalmuster we never saw an encounter of Kain and Raziel in a place with Kains Emblem on the ground.
Raziel never received the Ariel reaver.
And Raziel definetly never received the black and Red Kain Reaver.
There are theories that these Visions Show in order Kain and Raziel fight in the cathedral in defiance, raziel getting the Spirit Reaver, and raziel Standing on top of Janos's retreat with the fire reaver.
First These Visions where then out of order, as the fire reaver was before the Fight and the Spirit reaver.
Secondly defiance is an alternate timeline cause originally Kain should have been dead when they meet at Williams grave and Raziel consumed by the reaver after killing his human self. It only diverged because of the paradox of the two souls of the reaver.
And it is not confirmed that the visions can show alternate timelines, as all Visions before happened exactly as shown and Kain wouldn't be as shocked about the Hylden cause he could see the alternate Timeline he would creat where he would be beaten by the Hylden Lord.
These visions ultimately lead to nowhere and are not important in later installments.
I like how you're pointing out how obvious it was, and people don't get the joke.
The legacy of kain series has some of the best voice acting in gaming, i'm looking forward to the remasters this december.
Kain's laugh though...
"i swear i saw a flicker of satisfaction...."
The music has stayed with me all this time. It perfectly suited Nosgoth.
Same here! :)
1:29 godlike laugh
Kains response to the question of conscience is interesting. Hes usually quite snarky and calculating but its a sincere outburst and hes very defensive. On some level hes burdened by at least some of the horrible things hes done and the lives he's ruined. Its also worth noting kain was corrupted by the pillars so is possible more conflicted than he lets on.
The Legacy of Kain games go far beyond the simple meaning of the word epic! They grab you tightly by the throat, pull you into the depths of Hell and never let go until you are safely on the other side, forever changed!
The voice acting is so on point- and still holds up today
I've commented on this video before but hell, I always find myself coming back.
I would absolutely love to see this game remade, but find myself at a loss as to who could do the voice acting anywhere near as good!
Bill Nighy could do Kain. Hes sounds a lot like him in Underworld
@@villear has the laugh for sure
"Now I understood why the Soul Reaver shattered when Kain struck me, for it could not devour its own soul." - Raziel
Watching this knowing that Kain literally have the Soul Reaver to Raziel knowing full well that his destiny was to become the possessor of the blade in all context and usage of the word and that he did it for the coin to land on its edge brings new light to this scene entirely.
0:40 Raziel said Damn... Wooooo Hoooo! I wish Blood Omen was said the bad word
I can still play this game about a billion times & the conversation between Raziel & Kain is awesomeness.
This might be the only time Kain truly flips out in unbridled rage at The mention of concience
Damn, that laughing at 1:29 is identical with the one in the blood omen LOK when you swing the sword, :O
Raziel:"DAMN YOU KAIN! YOU ARE NOT GOD!"
Kain: "I might as well be. I rule this fucking world
Man, the actor doing the elder-god voice reminds me to Richard Burton's voice, it's veeeery good
That Kain idle animation is something to behold
Like I commented on another video, I can feel my lexicon evolving every time I watch a scene from this franchise.
We need a this game to be remastered or remade for ps5
Just an HD upgrade, a remastered would require them to rerecord the voices and we lost Tony jay.
That's my dream game honestly but same voice dialog not re dubbed fuck that just the graphics. Long as they keep the same exact dialogue then its fine
Hope you're enjoying the Remaster.
Seems like when the Soul Reaver shattered it turned into a blade of...pure energy...
DanteSnake92 you think that's confusing? In soul reaver 2 the blade tries to absorb Raziel but because he's imprisoned in it in the future it can't absorb him in the past, so he's carrying his own soul from the future, and he can't get imprisoned because he leads *stroke*
This was actually a musical reference, not a case of confusion :)
I love this game!!!! Just now picking the game up again on dreamcast after 10 years! Amazingly Epic!
4:27 that laught
Kain must have timed everything PERFECTLY to make it to the Sanctuary of the Clans before Raziel, and knowing he'd be there thanks to Moebius's time streaming devices, as well as using the right words to taunt Raziel to battle him so he could begin to move the pieces to help them achieve their destinies. Especially since we learn it wasn't Kain who had Raziel's clan slaughtered, but his brothers doing it after Kain had disappeared once he had Raziel cast into the Abyss as part of his machinations.
"DAMN YOU KAIN! YOU ARE NOT GOD"
Came hard at this.
Isikien lmao
Considering how you left the comment eight years ago, I wonder how much you have matured lol
hi
The moment Raziel bonded with the Soul Reaver, his fate was ultimately sealed. We just didn’t know it yet.
"conscience? You dare speak to me of conscience?! Only when you have felt the full gravity of choice, should you dare question my judgement"
I read that in Kain’s voice. ❤️
3:53 me every Sunday morning
.............Raziel.
Kain!...
4:55 Chills. Tony Jay the GOAT.
The blade broke because Raziel's soul couldn't kill himself.
kain has the most contagious laugh ever*
1:24 - 1:27 I can relate to that, because I would choose integrity too
Kain: *Long-Prophetic Speech*
Raizel: 🕺🕺🕺🕺
"the abyss has been unkind"
"you criticize your own work"
That shit is by far top 5 gaming moments of all time
The remaster is here! hurray!
Conscience? What is conscience? A miserable little pile of secrets!
Roses are red
Violets are blue
But enough talk
Have at you!!!
The casting director: "Dude, I think you read the script of the wrong vampire game!"
Netflix please, you've given me Castlevania, now give me Legacy of Kain too.
I never realized that she called him Raziel, but he never told her his name. At first you would think it's a continuity error, until later....
Even in SR1 its not an error.
Kain had his HQ at the pillars and Ariel can switch between material and spectral realm. She probably overheard their conversation earlier.
I need that laugh in a video. Kain's laugh as Raziel fades. 4:27
MASTERPIECE
raziel just saying choosing integrity is both amazing and tragic
0:39 Looking back from defiance, this is too cute. Kain is a great daddy :3
That loading at the begining made me look behind as if Kain was actually behind me °0°
Many years after this I thought it would have been cool if Adventure Time parodied this. Finn fights the Ice King. The Ice King gets a hold of the Finn Sword and tries to strike Finn down with it. It shatters and Finn momentarily slips into the low-level Dead World from "Ghost Fly." there he is bound to the soul of his broken Finn Sword. Finn then goes on a quest to find the souls of his other lost swords, the Golden Sword, the Root Sword, The Demon Blood Sword, and so on. Each one changes the physical sword Finn now carries until in its final state it looks like the sword from the title card.
So theatric, so melodramatic, way too good for the same generation that gave us “Gill Sandwich” and Dr Light flubbing his lines and calling Dr Wiley “Dr Wiwey”
@SamuraiGhost63 the voice actor for Kain is Simon Templeman.
"DAMN YOU KAIN!"
Needs unnecesarry censorship
SR would choose integrity, Ongansan
gosto de jogo e toda linhagem que foi feito, estou procurando o jogo que já tive do play 1 e esta dificil encontrar
If this game ever gets remade, they need to start it with a recap, and then make the game that soul reaver was originally meant to be inder the pretense that the tineline was restored by the events of defiance
I would love a ground up remake of this series definitely my favourite story game
I would love that too, man.
Modern devs would most certainly destroy it with their shitty woke propaganda. Some things should remain untouched, unfortunately.
This part of the game is where things got real.
@lynx09 it's behind hat weird haze crap, but you can see the banner at 1:40
Top 10 rap battles in history.
😂
YOu should switch on the automatic translation, boy I had a good laugh !!!
So let me get this straight: since this moment, Raziel started using not just the "Soul of a blade" but more like a replica of his own soul from another time, am I right? That's why the Soul Reaver shattered, because it was a paradox. But in which moment in history the Reaver blade got possessed by Raziel's soul, I wonder.
You should watch soul reaver 2,
When Janos gives Raziel the blood reaver the blade it is not possesed, that happens shortly after he attacks the sarafan stronghold, or shpuld have happened if Kain had not postponed it. From what I can tell when the possesion of the blade occurs both Raziel the wraith, and Raziel the Reaver merge into one, memories and cpncience and all.
@@solesurvivor5 hmm