"The Soul Reaver, Kain's ancient blade - older than any of us, and a thousand times more deadly. The legends claimed that the blade was possessed, and thrived by devouring the souls of its victims. For all our bravado, we knew what it meant when Kain drew the Soul Reaver in anger - it meant you were dead." One of the greatest weapons in all of fiction. You know when a sword is powerful when it has it's own soul. The Wraith Blades variations from Defiance were excellent. One can see how someone can be corrupted with such absolute power in his hand and yet Raziel prevailed, martyring himself and purging the corruption from Kain. I adore Raziel's character arc.
He had a great redemption arc as well. The guy kept succumbing to the wiles and machinations of anyone who could make Raziel lose his temper and then demonstrated that his revenge was not as important as doing the 'right' thing, in the end.
@@tywinders7628 I would gladly take one. Two stories I always take the time to watch discussions about till the end of time are Soul Reaver snd Berserk
@@Gat-Man55 IKR. I bet fans would make a much better job, then the writers we've had for the latest Star Wars movies. They're just pure cash grabs at this point.
Their entire storytelling sent shivers down my spine when I first heard it in English. The German dub is not too shabby, but loses much in translation.
I was checking out the trailer I was like wow I dont have to emulate the old school ps1 version anymore . They added a fresh coat of paint over those old polygon models but man hopefully the controls to move and use the camera is alot easier this time around . Lets hope for blood omen and defiance remastered. I never thought it would happen since the comic got announced.
@@HellGod67But if Defiance does get remastered, I hope Asypr will add in the missing four enhancements that were cut from the original. But they’ll need Amy’s help because I’m not sure what they’ll do officially if they did make it to the final version. The physical Soul Reaver was originally going to have nine enhancements before the final boss battle against the Elder God, But only five made it to the final version. And that’s Dimension🌌, Conflict⚔️, Energy⚡️, Time⌛️, And Balance☯️. Mind🪬, Nature🌳, States⚖️, And Death💀 didn’t make it due to time constraints.
I wish games these days could be made with the same level of care and quality without worrying about trying to appeal to everybody. I supposed the SoulsBorne games do a good job but of course the narrative experience in those games is quite different than here.
Interesting how Raziel is constantly fucked over by his future self. The human is killed by the wraith which is immediately absorbed by the Reaver, so the wraith becomes the blade which will absorb the wraith that was previously the human that was killed by the previous wraith, etc etc etc. "So - this was my terrible destiny - to play out this purgatorial cycle for all eternity... I could not bear it - despair overwhelmed me"
I like to think that, when Kain introduced that last time paradox in SR2 by pulling the Reaver out of Raziel, he allowed Raziel to make peace with his destiny: rather than being forcefully sucked into the Reaver, he was able to choose when and why he became one with the blade, so at least his wraith-blade self is no longer deranged and desperate.
@@Xerazal you know i just commented on how the reaver obtained the soul stealing powers but this thesis is so much better than my own and worded much nicer this one makes more sense to me actually mad hungry for revenge and awakened but how if he smoked his human self did the blade originally obtain the power to seal a soul and imprison it? this leads to more questions and i think the blade went through several cycles in the timelines in one timeline your theory is correct and in another someone else used the blade against either raziel or another wraith maybe dumah? the version that was shattered and attached to raziel then combines with the purely vampiric reaver and imbues it with the power man this is geting confusing but i think you get my point it bought the battlepass
The moment in William's Tomb, when the Reaver restore the physical sword and the soul within awakens, has always made me wonder if the Reaver still had any of his former self awareness. How much of Raziel's "self" was lost in his imprisonment?
@glenngriffon8032 probably all of his sense of self. As Raziel spoke without a lower jaw, it stands to reason his wraith blade self would have been capable of communicating, if it had any sense of identity left. I think after an eternity in that cycle, all that was left of him was the hunger. However! After the purification, he might have been fully restored, but simply chose not to speak for whatever reason.
@@SolarinDay“Raziel! Psst, Raziel.“ „Who is there?“ „Down here, in your hand, it’s me, your blade.“ „Kain, is this your doing? Moebius? Whose trickery…?“ „Guess what!“ „What?“ „Spoilers!“
@@SolarinDayI had a thought for the next game that Kain would have Raziel’s voice coming from the blade and that they’d converse and thus we wouldn’t lose my favourite character. Kain is awesome, but Raziel is the best character in the series for me.
Vorador's and Raziel's exchange in Defiance still has me pondering what he and the oldest vampires knew of Raziel, ""And do these scraps explain why you would forge a weapon to imprison your saviour?" "Ahh well then it seems we have our answer! You've chosen your path" "I HAVE CHOSEN NOTHING! I have been decieved at every turn, You seem to know what I am TELL ME!" "I thought I did once but not all the proficy's have failed the Pillars are corrupted." this exchange always implyed to me that the first Vampire Guardians had plans upon plans upon plans to fix the world and somehow believed in Raziel enough to choose the right path.
It's possible that the original Time Guardian saw through the timelines into the future and knew that that the Vampire Savior would be Raziel and that he would have an important choice to make. As you say, the Ancient Vampires then planned accordingly, creating the murals across the land to enlighten Raziel and forge his path. By the time Raziel consumes the Vampire Guardians' souls, they're clearly deranged at this point and fixated on their god's wheel.
my Q tho ish WTH version of razeil was in the reaver b4 kain shatterd it upon him? cuz if the version we pway as ish the "quote" OG razeil ten how dids tere be 1 of him alrdy in the reaver 🤔....unless its the 1 fwom timeline 1 or w.e were after razeil killd his former self the reaver consumed him bc in tat timeline kain wasnt tere tuu intervein 🤔
@@strictlyfantasythe deranged minds of the vampire guardian liches are stuck in the mistakes they made in life. Spectres with unfinished business, the great unsolved plight of the vampires. They don't recognize Raziel as worthy, as the savior they've been waiting for. Because they expected the intact version, the guy Janos was expecting.
@@strictlyfantasy I could also see how these plans had to be formulated even before the pillars were created. Which makes me ponder more about the Soul Reaver itself. As Janus puts it, "The pillars are the lock, and the Reaver is the key." What if the pillars were not meant to last forever, but to simply buy time. Enough time for the Soul Reaver to be made ready for its true purpose. It's also interesting to see how the vampires used the pillars to seal away the Hilden to a different dimension, while at the same time, the Hilden curses the Ancients to be vampires, both of which are immortal. Both races, whether they knew it or not, managed to effectively cut the elder god's means of sustenance and his so-called "wheel of fate." And so this also makes me think that there were indeed some Hilden and some vampires working together to find a way to destroy their real enemies.
The returning Soul Fragments theory raises some interesting secondary questions, like does he also receive the dark gifts of his sons that Raziel had obtained? What if the reason he could finally see the Elder wasn't simply because of the purification but because he had gained Raziel's wraith sight?
I would say yes, that Kain received the dark gifts of the sons as well (Raziel gained abilities from defeating his brothers, so makes sense Kain would inherit that too). I always thought that Kain finally saw the Elder God because Raziel and Kain became one, and since Raziel could see in the spectral realm, so now too could Kain.
I do like the theory that the parts of Kain's soul were returned when Raziel sacrifices himself to restore the sire of balance. Such a tragic end to Raziel but a beautiful story that comes full circle for him.
"No, Raziel, this can't be the way!" The concern on Kain's face and in his voice is genuine. This is I think the only time we see Kain display empathy and I like to think that is a result of the spirit blade healing him.
he spent the entire plot trying ot find a resolution where both he and Raziel could live(at the potential risk of paradoxing both of themselveso ut of existence) so his concern is justified when he is being tols by the one he was trying ot protect that there is no other way.
May these reboots, remasters, or whatever they call it, *_"STRICTLY STICK TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL"_* and/or add further insight upon the loopholes, concerns, questions, story lore, etc, some of the original fanbase had in the past.
I'm REALLY HOPING that the remake uses the program Toys for Bob made to remaster spyro, so that we get the exact original voice lines but with updated graphics.
"The Soul Reaver -- pure of all corruption -- this is what it is for. This is what I am for -- The two become one - both Soul Reavers - together - and the Scion of Balance is healed. And I -- am not your enemy - not your destroyer - I am, as before, your right hand. Your sword."
Every day with a new Legacy of Kain video is a good day. Severely underrated series. They don't write plots and monologues like this anymore. Shame that it never finished, especially since the voice of the narrator died. Maybe some decades in the future there will be something even remotely similar.
I remember seeing a comment somewhere that shined on just how tragic Raziel's end is that there's a chance that despite how mad he goes inside the reaver, there's a sliver that he remembers his mission Imagine going mad over the course of hundred and hundreds of years but you feel something familiar, your past self and in your own twisted insane logic you realize you need to absorb your past self into the reaver. I like to think that along with history pushing events in the direction they need to go is why Raziel was almost absorbed into the reaver during the beginning and end of Soul Reaver 2 and after his and Kain's battle in Defiance, it was the wraith version of the reaver going "stab my past self stab my past self" not realizing that past Raziel hasn't purified the wraith blade yet.
And the Scion of Balance, Healed. And I am NOT your enemy. I am, as before, your right arm... YOUR SWORD! The idea of Raziel returning the lost fragments of Kain's soul to him makes the speech in this moment all the more powerful.
Always great to hear more LoK talk. It really shows how special this series is that so many subjects of discussion exist in it. Speaking of Legacy of Kain theories, I have the idea that the original version of Soul Reaver before it was cut is actually the Nemesis timeline. To me that explains why Kain is so fatalist in that version, in that timeline he never witnessed that it was possible to change history. He failed to kill William and returned to his present seeing that it was unchanged. Then later, when he discovered the Chronoplast, that would have added to this fatalist view. He could see and travel in time, but never change anything. So seeing no possible way to alter history, he simply accepts this fate instead.
Fascinating as always. To be honest, I've never given much thought to the nature of the Reaver. What that scene in Defiance has always said to me is Kain isn't the complete sociopath he often appears to be, that deep down he genuinely cares at least for Raziel. It has long been my belief that, were it not for all the time-spanning plots and counterplots, Kain's reaction to Raziel growing wings would have been pride, pride that one of HIS line was taking on the nature of the ancients.
Hope he does a character study about the Priestess of Nosgoth. Even though she was cut from the original game, perhaps she'll appear in the new remake!
A detail from Soul Reaver 2 you might've missed is the trade off for allowing the Reaver to devour souls. It does more damage and defeats foes far faster the more that outer ring fills.
I would pretty much just use the Reaver for most mandatory fights and deal with the lack of souls for Raziel - it decimates enemies and even if you “die” and go to the spectral realm and back to the material realm it would often be quicker that trying to fight with physical weapons.
As an addendum concerning your closing thought. Notice how Rziel doesn't devour Ariel's soul. It travels from one hand, through him, into the reaver. That tenderness was what made all the difference. Had he simply shoved the blade through her, yes the reaver itself would be empowered, but Raziel would still retain that corruption and so the infection within kain would only be lessened, not removed. Funny. The ultimate salvation of Nosgoth... depended on an act of kindness.
"The Pillars are the lock, and the Reacer is the key". What if it's not a metafor, and the reaver literally acts as a key, freeing the Hylden from their extradimensional prison?
That theory at the end is quite insightful. It makes sense. Btw what I like to do after I watch your videos is to play V Rising and imagine its part of Nosgoth. :D
@@RazulLD You're still going by someone's head canon. I know it sounds nice, but nothing nice happens in Nosgoth. Besides, if you remember in soul reaver you can feed off people without killing them. They fall on their knees, but eventually they stand back up again. A person's soul regenerates.
The fact that you even have more than even 10 videos, that can be over an hour long, about the lore of the series tells how deep the lore goes. This is possibly the best story of all time.
"By destroying the sword, you have liberated it from its corporal prison, and restored it to its TRUE form: a Wraithblade! Its energy UNBOUND!" Love the heck out of that line. Also love the ending bit about Raziel returning a piece of Kain's soul back to him at the end of Defiance. Just brilliant! Side note: the Spirit Reaver had the best sound effect of all Reaver enhancements. It was like some divine noise whenever Raziel fought with it in Defiance. 😊 If we can continue to get more and more Legacy of Kain content from, please continue to do so. This series needs a major comeback, be it with new characters or even old ones. Keep this series going! Thank you so much for the video. 🙂❤️
Theyd best redo defiance as well. Getting to confront Kain after 2 games. Hearing Ozar Midrashim playing was just beautiful. LOK deserves to be known as the best vampire tale ever
Raziel is the sword. But throughout the series, he was not yet complete. Not yet ready. He needed to be purified, tried, tempered, and quenched. It's as if he was his own blacksmith. Though Vorador only created the physical blade, the wraith blade was made by Raziel. Because it is Raziel. In Defiance, we see that Kain also needed to strengthen the physical blade as well. The blade had to go through both a physical tempering as well as spritual.
The Legacy of Kain series is truly one of the most intricate and compelling stories ever told in gaming. Raziel's journey, filled with betrayal, redemption, and sacrifice, resonates deeply even after all these years. The interplay between free will and destiny, especially through the lens of Raziel wielding the very weapon he becomes, is nothing short of brilliant. The way this series handles complex themes like power, corruption, and the cyclical nature of fate is unmatched. I only hope that any future remasters or continuations stay true to the rich lore and depth that made these games iconic.
When the remaster of Soul reaver 1 and 2 was announced a few days ago, I immediately looked around for Legacy of Kain videos and ended up on your channel. The very first video I saw from you made me curious for something new - I got hooked. I've now binged through all your Lore videos. I hope there will be more output from you soon. Thank you very much for your great work!
I marvel at your videos. This series doesn't get discussed nearly enough, and your research/knowledge of the ins and outs of the entire series is truly incredible. I cannot get enough of these undeniably thoughtful and well-written and edited videos. I can feel your love for this story.
I always assumed that the purpose of dispersing the Wraith Blade into Kain was in part to reunite him with the parts of his soul he dispersed into his lieutenants. That’s why Turel had to be included in the Defiance. Raziel doesn’t consume his brothers’ souls in the way he normally does with enemies. It always struck me as more of a merging. If Kain was going to be whole, he had to have all his disparate pieces united again. One theory I had back in the day about the elemental enhancements was that they were tied to the Hylden in some way. The elementally enhanced wraith blade was the predicted weapon of the Hylden Champion whereas the “Blood Reaver” was enhanced by the pillar themed fragments of the Balance Emblem. In mythologies that evolved from the Proto-Indo-European tradition there’s typically a war between an older group gods representing nature themes which is overcome by a younger pantheon representing elements of human life. Examples include the Aesir-Vanir War in Norse Myth or the Titanomachy in Greek Myth. The war is often ended by the unification of the two pantheons sealed through marriage. Perhaps that’s the ultimate resolution of the Hylden Vampire conflict?
Good stuff. Raziel is the hybrid, the bridge across the divide between these species, doing the work of both, linking their fates, so both are elevated together, creating a future they might both be able to live with. When Raz didn't live long enough to fight Turel, that can also be seen as Elder keeping Kain's soul incomplete. No scion arises. Elemental magics are a vampire thing to start. but when the hylden latched on to the same champion they got access to the elemental magics as part of their knockoff brand. The ghostly echo of the sword, like a faded print.
@@larrymcmacarroon9529 you’re totally right. The elemental reavers are clearly vampiric and not Hylden in nature. My thought was that, in misinterpreting the prophecy of the champions and the scion, the unwittingly created the mechanisms to empower the hylden champion’s weapon. But yeah it’s a stretch to associate the clearly alien Hylden with the Vanir or Titans on this flimsy elemental connection.
The theorie that Kain gets the parts of his soul back that he gave and created his first fletchlings with - is so on point. We shall make it canon if it truly isnt, because Raziel did unite what had been set asunder. In more ways than one apparently. This shall life from now on rent free in my mind. 25 years and there are still new things to learn and uncover. As allways a beautiful job Strictly fantasy, Well done!
I really hope that if we get one more game to cap off the series, Raziel is able to communicate with Kain from inside the Reaver. Maybe even taking the chance to sarcastically sass Kain. I dunno, having the two actually interact without hostility would be nice to see.
Maybe it was obvious, but I want to share it with every fan of this awesome series, that after a long time I realise that the Sword always hint us that a JAWLESS entity recide withing it and it was not a merely lifeless weapon.
I am so very happy whenever you upload Legacy of Kain content. My mood, regardless of how it was before, is always good after finishing a video you made.
It's always a joy to see one of your Legacy of Kain-videoes in my feed. I really hope the new comic will be good. There has been so many dissapointing revivals, and my heart would not be able to bear it if LOK was trashed as well.
@@Ieatpaste23 That is reliant on an untrustworthy source of information. the Elder can't destroy Raziel and the vampires are in his way or otherwise offensive in how their souls don't return to the wheel. Raziel is nothing but a tool for the Elder to get those souls out and cease their spreading to mortals.
@@robinthrush9672 They aren't in his way. They are immortal. That's why they killed themselves so they could return to the wheel. You're following someone's head canon, not stuff stated in game.
@@Ieatpaste23 First talk with the Elder God at the start of Soul Reaver: "The birth of one of Kain’s abominations traps the essence of life. It is this soul that animates the corpse you ‘lived’ in. And that Raziel, is the demise of Nosgoth. There is no balance. The souls of the dead remain trapped. I can not spin them in the wheel of fate. They can not complete their destinies. Redeem yourself. Or if you prefer, avenge yourself. Settle your dispute with Kain. Destroy Him and your brethren. Free their souls and let the wheel of fate churn again." From the first meeting with the Elder God in Soul Reaver 2 (before Kain, but after the Hylden's curse): "These are the fathomless truths, Raziel: The agony of birth and death and rebirth - this is the Wheel of Fate, the purifying cycle which sustains all life. Vampires are an abomination, a plague which leeches this land of its spiritual strength. They obstruct the flow of life and death - their souls stagnate in their wretched corpses. But the Wheel must turn; Death is inexorable and cannot be denied. Your destiny is irresistable, Raziel - you are my soul reaver, the scourge of the vampires, reaper of their apostate souls. Remain steadfast. End the vampires' parasitic curse, and restore Nosgoth. Kain's blood belongs on your hands."
ey thanks for the shout out of my little theory (double thanks for saying my name right) "edit" as well as all the comments that think its good theory and not me read too much into it, thank you
I wonder. This whole "procedure" to cleanse the balad, empower it with spirit and heal Kain from Nupraptors corruption. Hadd the Ancients forseen these events?
I think it's implied that the Ancients had an idea of how things would play out but also went about setting up fail safes. I mean their world had to go through something like 4 timelines, that we know of, where things did not go the way they were 'ordained'
I think that they could have deduced a possible corruption of the pillars both due to their mechanism and the Hylden's ingenuity, so they made a backup plan in case it happens.
i highly doubt the ancients had foreseen all of this because of janos´ chock when he realizes the true form of the reaver. but they were warned through visions as the murals portray.
@Tezca-Coatl the elder god was playing the hylden and vampires against each other. No way janos would have known since the prophecies didn't seem to be foretelling events but advising of the best route to take
Love your videos! Thank you so much for revisiting one of the best video series of all time. Curious if you have any plans / thoughts to do a video about the Dark Prophet?
yeah, that checks out honestly. it's also a great way to make the story come full circle. because it all began with "undoing" but in the end the "undoing" itself was undone and made whole again hahahahah
Who would win in a fight between a bunch of magical swords? The Wraith Blade from Legacy of Kain, the Dragon Buster Sword from Legend of Dragoon, Frostmourne from Warcraft 3, The Blazing Sword from Tales of Arise, the Blade of Orisis from Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy or the Master Sword?
Hash'ak'gik was a cult the Hylden made up to control the humans in Avernus. The Abyss was just a lake that formed over time. As the world fell into corruption, earthquakes and land erosion became more common. So a normal lake eventually became a very deep whirlpool.
15:47 I love the LoK community =) Even decades after their game releases, were still finding awesome and believable theories. Thank you Venkintus, like Strictly, I think I will make this theory a part of my headcannon as well -_^
I love that theory at the end, about Kain getting his pieces of his soul back and those of Raziel and his brothers being purified all at once in Defiance. It's a really nice thought and its fun to theorise on how that could affect Kain not just on a spiritual level. Like would his inhuman features begin to melt away with time, and make him more like what we see with some of the other vampires.
One point that I've always found pulling at my sense of curiosity is that we never find out what happened to Janos after he was cast into the Hylden dimension. From here I can't help but note how, when Kain awakens in the same dimension after Raziel rips out the heart, that the deformed and half insane demons strongly hint that they are indeed and in fact Hylden. They even tell Kain that over time in this world both his mind and his body will steadily deform in such a way that he will not notice until he hardly resembles himself anymore, and from this standpoint it's interesting to note how Raziel's brothers followed a similar degradation with their de-evolution and obvious failing mental capacities. Because it is not stated whether Janos escaped or was destroyed by the Hylden in this prison dimension I am very curious about what became of him, and furthermore there is really no telling if time even works the same way there. What I've always felt to be at least mildly possible was that Janos spent the equivalent of thousands of years in this place, and possibly by complete accident slipped through a dimensional crack in the barrier. However, following this logic I believe that he landed not on the physical plane but on the spectral one, and we saw what this spiritual world does to the un-consumed souls of vampires over time. What if Janos fell into the extremely distant past, like before the Great War even started between the two ancient races, but being stuck in the spectral realm meant that souls were his only available food source. From there his insanity due to deformation would have driven his knowledge of his original time to take up the mantle of the Vampire God, a.k.a. the Hub of the Wheel of Fate, and thus sparked all the conflict throughout time (as Raziel mentioned at the end of Defiance) simply to feed his own hunger. I find the potential that if they had created a true final installment that Kain would have found the true heart of the so called 'God' to be a horrific version of Janos somewhere either incredibly deep underground or even perhaps still in the Hylden dimension seeping through back into Nosgoth through some method I can't even imagine. I think that this sort of thing would have made a better overall ending, especially if the final battle would have purified not just all of Nosgoth back to a pure state of being, but maybe also the vampires of their immortality curse, thus allowing new and honestly legitimate Pillar Guardians to be born once more.
I was watching the video, thinking about how Kain actually give a part of his soul to raise his lieutenants so maybe there is something there, and bam you go there at the end and make the connection for me. GGs I can't believe after all this years reading and watching about Blood omen/Soul reaver lore we can still find more and more deep even if it's all just fans teories going wild. What a masterpiece this series was. Amy Hennig and all those people involved cant get enough praise and they sadly don't.
Some things to think about: 1. The Soul Reaver is Raziel 2. Temporal Distortion happens when the 2 Soul Reaver blades meet (spiritual and physical) 3. When Raziel is absorbed into the Blood Reaver, him AND the soul reaver bound to him become one. Given that we know Raziel is the Soul Reaver, it is strange that there was no Temporal Distortion when Raziel first met his Spiritual Blade self, but only happened when the spiritual and physical met or came near each other. Plus, when you think about it, the Raziels (yes, plural) that combined each time must have further enhanced it, added together with the fact that Raziel had consumed the souls of his brothers, it should also be assumed that the brothers' souls also stacked each time. AND finally, the original timeline, where Raziel was suppose to kill Elder Kain. Think of that. The Soul Reaver then would have devoured Elder Kain's soul as well. So... If Raziel in Defiance REALLY DID give Elder Kain the souls back, it could be assumed that Kain received a huge amount at once. Imagine: Multiple Reavers stacked and combined each time, Raziel's Brothers' souls stacked and combined each time, AND the soul of the Elder Kain that WAS killed in the original destined timeline, all purified by the now Purified Soul Reaver. If all that was given to Kain, how powerful do you think that would make him after that?
The fandom is sorta split on whether Wraith Blade was absorbed into the Soul Reaver or whether it was just dissolved. Personally, I'm of the view that at the end of Soul Reaver 2, the Wraith Blade fades into nothingness after if forces the physical blade to impale Raziel, thus making Raziel's sacrifice meaningless. However in Defiance, Raziel dissolves the Wraith Blade (his future self) into Kain to heal him, uniting what has been set asunder. If we consider the alternative theory that you have suggested and that the Wraith Blade continues to be reabsorbed into the physical blade for all eternity, then the implications of that are quite disturbing to say the least. As that would mean there are countless of Raziel's trapped in this loop for all time. I don't think this is what Amy Hennig intended but I cannot say for sure.
I think there is a very important aspect to Kain's "Hate me, but do it honestly" speech. Raziel would have pursued vengeance against Kain even if Nosgoth had not been rendered a wasteland in Soul Reaver, as Kain's betrayal was enough motivation. Because of this, even if the pillars destruction is prevented by the current Kain having been purified, it will not alter Raziel's decisions and create a paradox. If there was a new game to wrap up the story, I could see current Kain interupting the point when his past self had to choose to sacrifice himself or let the pillars shatter and either: 1) Take his past self's place as Balance Guardian and brining the new Guardians in as vampires, allowing his past self to build his empire. 2) Purify his past self with the Spirt Reaver, preventing the need for the sacrifice.
Really hoping that a remaster uses the original voice recordings (maybe just edit them using software to clean them up for a modern title?). I can't imagine any other voice actors for Kain, Raziel, or Mobius.
The ending of Defiance is what caused the Blood omen 2 timeline to be created. Old Kain changed the past for young Kain. Instead of the timeline that preceded soul reaver 1, 2, as well as defiance, it was reset and bifurcated to a new timeline which was blood omen 2 with the Hylden.
If that's true, did raziel never exist physically in this new rendition of the world? or rather, never became a vampire or a wraith? thus, kain never having any attachment to him?
Just have to say, wow, I always wondered what was up in the chamber beneath the Pillars. I remember stairing at the diagram several times trying to figure what it was all meant. Glad to finally have an answer.
Heres an interesting question if Raziel dispersed the wraith blade into Kain, purifying Kain and freeing his future self from looping eternally through time, what becomes of Raziel’s future self? When they we developing the cancelled Legacy of Kain: dark prophecy game they tried to include Raziel in the story by giving Kain the ability to summon him from the Reaver which was shot down (rightfully) because it undermined his sacrifice and that his story was effectively over. I think a better way to do it is to have Raziel’s future self now bound within Kain? It would make for an interesting story of an “Elder Raziel” who has seen the history of Nosgoth through the Reaver blade (including parts kain isnt aware of like his time with the Hylden lord while kain was in a coma) act as a guide for Kain’s final journey. Maybe take inspiration from dead sun where only Kain can see and hear this version of Raziel. Have his appearance restored to his vampire look as a result of being purified in th spirit forge but retaining the blue coloration and without wings or replacing his bat wings with the black wings of ancient vampires. Nothing more than fan fiction on my part lol
![ค้างคืนโรงเก็บกระสวยอวกาศร้างกลางทะเลทราย [Around The World Ep. 3]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E5bWZQhABJE/mqdefault.jpg)
"The Soul Reaver, Kain's ancient blade - older than any of us, and a thousand times more deadly.
The legends claimed that the blade was possessed, and thrived by devouring the souls of its victims.
For all our bravado, we knew what it meant when Kain drew the Soul Reaver in anger - it meant you were dead."
One of the greatest weapons in all of fiction. You know when a sword is powerful when it has it's own soul. The Wraith Blades variations from Defiance were excellent. One can see how someone can be corrupted with such absolute power in his hand and yet Raziel prevailed, martyring himself and purging the corruption from Kain. I adore Raziel's character arc.
One of the best stories ever told in ANY medium.
He had a great redemption arc as well. The guy kept succumbing to the wiles and machinations of anyone who could make Raziel lose his temper and then demonstrated that his revenge was not as important as doing the 'right' thing, in the end.
I love that line. "It meant you were dead." If drawn, no matter how strong or terrible you are, your fucked. Bad.
@@Lyvarious He chose integrity
Credit where it is due: Amy Hennig is an absolute genius writer.
"Kindred, this blade and I."
Ur icon is from Forever Knight, loooved that show, so few people even remember that! 😎👍
Kindred, Amy Hennig and good writing
What a foreshadow!
The storytelling is outstanding
Love it
The delicious irony that the Reaver was enchanted to both aid and destroy it's intended wielder... a paradox in itself.
25 years later and we still discuss Soul Reaver. Thats how dope the story was.
I tell my kids about the story. If one game ever needed a television series or a trilogy of movies this is the one.
@@tywinders7628 I would gladly take one. Two stories I always take the time to watch discussions about till the end of time are Soul Reaver snd Berserk
Stuff written by Michael Moorcock or inspired by Michael Moorcock has a way of outlasting time.
The gods had graced us with the mythical voice of strictly fantasy and legacy of Kain on TH-cam
I am always happy to hear of him
I’d like for him to have a cameo in a remaster. Him and @theparappa , the German expert.
I appreciate how thorough he is. It’s been helping me understand the parts of the lore I was lacking in!
Amen
Amen to that brother
I swear u can find literally anything from this series to make an analysis on. A testament to how packed this story is with cool shit
I'm surprised I have over 30 videos on this series now tbh. Never thought I'd talk so much about Legacy of Kian, but here we are XD
@@strictlyfantasy if only Disney could figure out how to make such rich stories with Star Wars
@@Gat-Man55 IKR. I bet fans would make a much better job, then the writers we've had for the latest Star Wars movies. They're just pure cash grabs at this point.
@@strictlyfantasy But sadly I grew out of Disney and I’m not into new Disney stuff anymore.
Everytime Raziel speaks I get shivers.
I get shivers when Kain speaks.
@@JabamiLain Yes, the Elder God too!
Perfect voice actors.
@@azazelnindeed.
Their entire storytelling sent shivers down my spine when I first heard it in English. The German dub is not too shabby, but loses much in translation.
He's a elegant idiot 😂. Talking so wise yet outsmarted by everyone 😂
It’s officially happening! Soul Reaver 1 and 2 REMASTERED!!!!!!
I was checking out the trailer I was like wow I dont have to emulate the old school ps1 version anymore . They added a fresh coat of paint over those old polygon models but man hopefully the controls to move and use the camera is alot easier this time around . Lets hope for blood omen and defiance remastered. I never thought it would happen since the comic got announced.
I’m gonna go stir ma pudding now 😒
Not sure why Defiance is exempt.
@@Broken_Savior because it's literally defiance graphics, just upped a generation. This remaster is 10 years overdue.
@@HellGod67But if Defiance does get remastered,
I hope Asypr will add in the missing four enhancements that were cut from the original.
But they’ll need Amy’s help because I’m not sure what they’ll do officially if they did make it to the final version.
The physical Soul Reaver was originally going to have nine enhancements before the final boss battle against the Elder God,
But only five made it to the final version.
And that’s Dimension🌌, Conflict⚔️, Energy⚡️, Time⌛️, And Balance☯️.
Mind🪬, Nature🌳, States⚖️, And Death💀 didn’t make it due to time constraints.
Oh man the voice acting of this videogame was just epic. Love the old god, Kain, Raziel. The whole thing about free will and destiny is crazy.
I wish games these days could be made with the same level of care and quality without worrying about trying to appeal to everybody. I supposed the SoulsBorne games do a good job but of course the narrative experience in those games is quite different than here.
Interesting how Raziel is constantly fucked over by his future self. The human is killed by the wraith which is immediately absorbed by the Reaver, so the wraith becomes the blade which will absorb the wraith that was previously the human that was killed by the previous wraith, etc etc etc.
"So - this was my terrible destiny - to play out this purgatorial cycle for all eternity...
I could not bear it - despair overwhelmed me"
Yeah it's insanely f*cked up. But that's what makes it a compelling tragedy I guess.
I like to think that, when Kain introduced that last time paradox in SR2 by pulling the Reaver out of Raziel, he allowed Raziel to make peace with his destiny: rather than being forcefully sucked into the Reaver, he was able to choose when and why he became one with the blade, so at least his wraith-blade self is no longer deranged and desperate.
It's "stop hitting yourself" taken to the absurd
@@Xerazal you know i just commented on how the reaver obtained the soul stealing powers
but this thesis is so much better than my own and worded much nicer
this one makes more sense to me actually mad hungry for revenge and awakened but how if he smoked his human self did the blade originally obtain the power to seal a soul and imprison it?
this leads to more questions and i think the blade went through several cycles in the timelines in one timeline your theory is correct and in another someone else used the blade against either raziel or another wraith maybe dumah? the version that was shattered and attached to raziel then combines with the purely vampiric reaver and imbues it with the power
man this is geting confusing but i think you get my point it bought the battlepass
The moment in William's Tomb, when the Reaver restore the physical sword and the soul within awakens, has always made me wonder if the Reaver still had any of his former self awareness. How much of Raziel's "self" was lost in his imprisonment?
Most of Raziel's self awareness was likely lost in the transfer; at least, that's my personal interpretation of it.
@glenngriffon8032 probably all of his sense of self. As Raziel spoke without a lower jaw, it stands to reason his wraith blade self would have been capable of communicating, if it had any sense of identity left. I think after an eternity in that cycle, all that was left of him was the hunger.
However! After the purification, he might have been fully restored, but simply chose not to speak for whatever reason.
@@SolarinDay“Raziel! Psst, Raziel.“
„Who is there?“
„Down here, in your hand, it’s me, your blade.“
„Kain, is this your doing? Moebius? Whose trickery…?“
„Guess what!“
„What?“
„Spoilers!“
@@Executator123 basically
@@SolarinDayI had a thought for the next game that Kain would have Raziel’s voice coming from the blade and that they’d converse and thus we wouldn’t lose my favourite character. Kain is awesome, but Raziel is the best character in the series for me.
The Kain's soul pieces theory is really cool and I for one am implementing it into my headcanon of "things that aren't explicit but just make sense"
Yes, it makes absolute sense.
"things that aren't explicit but just make sense" is basically like half the official canon.
Vorador's and Raziel's exchange in Defiance still has me pondering what he and the oldest vampires knew of Raziel, ""And do these scraps explain why you would forge a weapon to imprison your saviour?" "Ahh well then it seems we have our answer! You've chosen your path" "I HAVE CHOSEN NOTHING! I have been decieved at every turn, You seem to know what I am TELL ME!" "I thought I did once but not all the proficy's have failed the Pillars are corrupted." this exchange always implyed to me that the first Vampire Guardians had plans upon plans upon plans to fix the world and somehow believed in Raziel enough to choose the right path.
It's possible that the original Time Guardian saw through the timelines into the future and knew that that the Vampire Savior would be Raziel and that he would have an important choice to make. As you say, the Ancient Vampires then planned accordingly, creating the murals across the land to enlighten Raziel and forge his path. By the time Raziel consumes the Vampire Guardians' souls, they're clearly deranged at this point and fixated on their god's wheel.
my Q tho ish WTH version of razeil was in the reaver b4 kain shatterd it upon him? cuz if the version we pway as ish the "quote" OG razeil ten how dids tere be 1 of him alrdy in the reaver 🤔....unless its the 1 fwom timeline 1 or w.e were after razeil killd his former self the reaver consumed him bc in tat timeline kain wasnt tere tuu intervein 🤔
@@shadowdragonx07 this felt unpleasant to read to me.
@@strictlyfantasythe deranged minds of the vampire guardian liches are stuck in the mistakes they made in life. Spectres with unfinished business, the great unsolved plight of the vampires. They don't recognize Raziel as worthy, as the savior they've been waiting for. Because they expected the intact version, the guy Janos was expecting.
@@strictlyfantasy I could also see how these plans had to be formulated even before the pillars were created. Which makes me ponder more about the Soul Reaver itself. As Janus puts it, "The pillars are the lock, and the Reaver is the key." What if the pillars were not meant to last forever, but to simply buy time. Enough time for the Soul Reaver to be made ready for its true purpose. It's also interesting to see how the vampires used the pillars to seal away the Hilden to a different dimension, while at the same time, the Hilden curses the Ancients to be vampires, both of which are immortal. Both races, whether they knew it or not, managed to effectively cut the elder god's means of sustenance and his so-called "wheel of fate." And so this also makes me think that there were indeed some Hilden and some vampires working together to find a way to destroy their real enemies.
The returning Soul Fragments theory raises some interesting secondary questions, like does he also receive the dark gifts of his sons that Raziel had obtained? What if the reason he could finally see the Elder wasn't simply because of the purification but because he had gained Raziel's wraith sight?
I had always thought it was because he was purified by the spirit reaver… but… this would actually make way more sense in lore.
Also Kain was corrupted from the womb. That's way before he ever raised his sons. Don't think that explanation works.
I would say yes, that Kain received the dark gifts of the sons as well (Raziel gained abilities from defeating his brothers, so makes sense Kain would inherit that too). I always thought that Kain finally saw the Elder God because Raziel and Kain became one, and since Raziel could see in the spectral realm, so now too could Kain.
I do like the theory that the parts of Kain's soul were returned when Raziel sacrifices himself to restore the sire of balance. Such a tragic end to Raziel but a beautiful story that comes full circle for him.
Damn, the writing in this game was fucking immaculate. I understand why they made a book, but goddamnit I want another game or remake.
soul reaver 1 and 2 are coming
Thanks for this. It warms my old heart to see all the love for this wonderful series.
"No, Raziel, this can't be the way!"
The concern on Kain's face and in his voice is genuine. This is I think the only time we see Kain display empathy and I like to think that is a result of the spirit blade healing him.
he spent the entire plot trying ot find a resolution where both he and Raziel could live(at the potential risk of paradoxing both of themselveso ut of existence) so his concern is justified when he is being tols by the one he was trying ot protect that there is no other way.
May these reboots, remasters, or whatever they call it,
*_"STRICTLY STICK TO THE SOURCE MATERIAL"_* and/or add further insight upon the loopholes, concerns, questions, story lore, etc, some of the original fanbase had in the past.
Only one person might have the right to touch the plotline:
Amy Hennig
I'm REALLY HOPING that the remake uses the program Toys for Bob made to remaster spyro, so that we get the exact original voice lines but with updated graphics.
"The Soul Reaver -- pure of all corruption -- this is what it is for. This is what I am for --
The two become one - both Soul Reavers - together - and the Scion of Balance is healed.
And I -- am not your enemy - not your destroyer - I am, as before, your right hand. Your sword."
Such powerful words. In the actual game, I wish we had some accompanying music to emphasise the importance of the scene.
Every day with a new Legacy of Kain video is a good day. Severely underrated series. They don't write plots and monologues like this anymore. Shame that it never finished, especially since the voice of the narrator died. Maybe some decades in the future there will be something even remotely similar.
We can only hope for a remaster treatment like how Crystal Dynamics did with the original Tomb Raider Trilogy.
I remember seeing a comment somewhere that shined on just how tragic Raziel's end is that there's a chance that despite how mad he goes inside the reaver, there's a sliver that he remembers his mission
Imagine going mad over the course of hundred and hundreds of years but you feel something familiar, your past self and in your own twisted insane logic you realize you need to absorb your past self into the reaver.
I like to think that along with history pushing events in the direction they need to go is why Raziel was almost absorbed into the reaver during the beginning and end of Soul Reaver 2 and after his and Kain's battle in Defiance, it was the wraith version of the reaver going "stab my past self stab my past self" not realizing that past Raziel hasn't purified the wraith blade yet.
And the Scion of Balance, Healed. And I am NOT your enemy. I am, as before, your right arm... YOUR SWORD!
The idea of Raziel returning the lost fragments of Kain's soul to him makes the speech in this moment all the more powerful.
Always great to hear more LoK talk. It really shows how special this series is that so many subjects of discussion exist in it.
Speaking of Legacy of Kain theories, I have the idea that the original version of Soul Reaver before it was cut is actually the Nemesis timeline. To me that explains why Kain is so fatalist in that version, in that timeline he never witnessed that it was possible to change history. He failed to kill William and returned to his present seeing that it was unchanged. Then later, when he discovered the Chronoplast, that would have added to this fatalist view. He could see and travel in time, but never change anything. So seeing no possible way to alter history, he simply accepts this fate instead.
We just don't have enough information on that first timeline (at least the first established by the series), but it's interesting to speculate on.
Fascinating as always. To be honest, I've never given much thought to the nature of the Reaver. What that scene in Defiance has always said to me is Kain isn't the complete sociopath he often appears to be, that deep down he genuinely cares at least for Raziel. It has long been my belief that, were it not for all the time-spanning plots and counterplots, Kain's reaction to Raziel growing wings would have been pride, pride that one of HIS line was taking on the nature of the ancients.
I came here as soon as I found out! It’s creators like you that helped make this all possible!
This guy kept my interest going after so many years .
Hope he does a character study about the Priestess of Nosgoth. Even though she was cut from the original game, perhaps she'll appear in the new remake!
The theory about Kain's soul returning to him, or purifying itself in some way through Raziel is beautiful. ❤
Love your content!
A detail from Soul Reaver 2 you might've missed is the trade off for allowing the Reaver to devour souls. It does more damage and defeats foes far faster the more that outer ring fills.
I would pretty much just use the Reaver for most mandatory fights and deal with the lack of souls for Raziel - it decimates enemies and even if you “die” and go to the spectral realm and back to the material realm it would often be quicker that trying to fight with physical weapons.
As an addendum concerning your closing thought. Notice how Rziel doesn't devour Ariel's soul. It travels from one hand, through him, into the reaver. That tenderness was what made all the difference. Had he simply shoved the blade through her, yes the reaver itself would be empowered, but Raziel would still retain that corruption and so the infection within kain would only be lessened, not removed.
Funny. The ultimate salvation of Nosgoth... depended on an act of kindness.
I like to believe this page helped the remaster that got announced today happen
"The Pillars are the lock, and the Reacer is the key". What if it's not a metafor, and the reaver literally acts as a key, freeing the Hylden from their extradimensional prison?
It was the key used to close the lock, but in theory could be used to open it again
That theory at the end is quite insightful. It makes sense. Btw what I like to do after I watch your videos is to play V Rising and imagine its part of Nosgoth. :D
Except that the game states that he is feeding the Elder. His brothers' souls have been spun in the wheel of fate.
@@Ieatpaste23 don't forget he lied to him about a lot of things.
@@RazulLD You're still going by someone's head canon. I know it sounds nice, but nothing nice happens in Nosgoth. Besides, if you remember in soul reaver you can feed off people without killing them. They fall on their knees, but eventually they stand back up again. A person's soul regenerates.
I am a simple man I see Legacy of Kain contents I click like a maniac. Thanks a lot man
We've been blessed with another LoK video! What a wonderful day!
The fact that you even have more than even 10 videos, that can be over an hour long, about the lore of the series tells how deep the lore goes.
This is possibly the best story of all time.
"By destroying the sword, you have liberated it from its corporal prison, and restored it to its TRUE form: a Wraithblade! Its energy UNBOUND!"
Love the heck out of that line. Also love the ending bit about Raziel returning a piece of Kain's soul back to him at the end of Defiance. Just brilliant!
Side note: the Spirit Reaver had the best sound effect of all Reaver enhancements. It was like some divine noise whenever Raziel fought with it in Defiance. 😊
If we can continue to get more and more Legacy of Kain content from, please continue to do so. This series needs a major comeback, be it with new characters or even old ones. Keep this series going! Thank you so much for the video. 🙂❤️
The drawing [or summoning] sound of the wraith blade in SR2 is still one of my all time favorite sound effects ever
Theyd best redo defiance as well. Getting to confront Kain after 2 games. Hearing Ozar Midrashim playing was just beautiful. LOK deserves to be known as the best vampire tale ever
Binge watching all your videos in celebration of soul reaver 1&2 remasters ! So glad it’s getting attention
That is a beautiful headcannon. And it absolutely makes sense that the pieces of Kain's soul would be returned to him in that process.
But the brothers' souls have been spun in the wheel of fate.
@@Ieatpaste23 If you believe the Old One. I think he's full of shit and is just a parasite feeding off of the residence of Nosgoth
It’s amazing how much it makes my day when I see this channel upload a video
Raziel is the sword. But throughout the series, he was not yet complete. Not yet ready. He needed to be purified, tried, tempered, and quenched. It's as if he was his own blacksmith. Though Vorador only created the physical blade, the wraith blade was made by Raziel. Because it is Raziel. In Defiance, we see that Kain also needed to strengthen the physical blade as well. The blade had to go through both a physical tempering as well as spritual.
The Legacy of Kain series is truly one of the most intricate and compelling stories ever told in gaming. Raziel's journey, filled with betrayal, redemption, and sacrifice, resonates deeply even after all these years. The interplay between free will and destiny, especially through the lens of Raziel wielding the very weapon he becomes, is nothing short of brilliant. The way this series handles complex themes like power, corruption, and the cyclical nature of fate is unmatched. I only hope that any future remasters or continuations stay true to the rich lore and depth that made these games iconic.
When the remaster of Soul reaver 1 and 2 was announced a few days ago, I immediately looked around for Legacy of Kain videos and ended up on your channel.
The very first video I saw from you made me curious for something new - I got hooked. I've now binged through all your Lore videos. I hope there will be more output from you soon. Thank you very much for your great work!
Always a pleasure when a new video from strictly fantasy appears on my feed. That ending with the soul pieces theory gave me goosebumps.
I marvel at your videos. This series doesn't get discussed nearly enough, and your research/knowledge of the ins and outs of the entire series is truly incredible. I cannot get enough of these undeniably thoughtful and well-written and edited videos. I can feel your love for this story.
Please don't stop uploading these gems!!!
I always thought that the light and dark elements represented the balance guardian as light and dark together would create an equilibrium.
Oooooo more soul reaver to listen to while at work, much love for making my day better
I always assumed that the purpose of dispersing the Wraith Blade into Kain was in part to reunite him with the parts of his soul he dispersed into his lieutenants. That’s why Turel had to be included in the Defiance. Raziel doesn’t consume his brothers’ souls in the way he normally does with enemies. It always struck me as more of a merging. If Kain was going to be whole, he had to have all his disparate pieces united again.
One theory I had back in the day about the elemental enhancements was that they were tied to the Hylden in some way. The elementally enhanced wraith blade was the predicted weapon of the Hylden Champion whereas the “Blood Reaver” was enhanced by the pillar themed fragments of the Balance Emblem.
In mythologies that evolved from the Proto-Indo-European tradition there’s typically a war between an older group gods representing nature themes which is overcome by a younger pantheon representing elements of human life. Examples include the Aesir-Vanir War in Norse Myth or the Titanomachy in Greek Myth. The war is often ended by the unification of the two pantheons sealed through marriage. Perhaps that’s the ultimate resolution of the Hylden Vampire conflict?
Good stuff. Raziel is the hybrid, the bridge across the divide between these species, doing the work of both, linking their fates, so both are elevated together, creating a future they might both be able to live with.
When Raz didn't live long enough to fight Turel, that can also be seen as Elder keeping Kain's soul incomplete. No scion arises.
Elemental magics are a vampire thing to start. but when the hylden latched on to the same champion they got access to the elemental magics as part of their knockoff brand. The ghostly echo of the sword, like a faded print.
@@larrymcmacarroon9529 you’re totally right. The elemental reavers are clearly vampiric and not Hylden in nature. My thought was that, in misinterpreting the prophecy of the champions and the scion, the unwittingly created the mechanisms to empower the hylden champion’s weapon. But yeah it’s a stretch to associate the clearly alien Hylden with the Vanir or Titans on this flimsy elemental connection.
The theorie that Kain gets the parts of his soul back that he gave and created his first fletchlings with - is so on point. We shall make it canon if it truly isnt, because Raziel did unite what had been set asunder. In more ways than one apparently. This shall life from now on rent free in my mind. 25 years and there are still new things to learn and uncover. As allways a beautiful job Strictly fantasy, Well done!
It's been a long time, Strictly Fantasy. I've always wanted to say that. The prodigal TH-camr returns once again.
I've been going deep into that LoK Lore rabbit hole due to the recent news and now we get a new StrictlyFantasy lore video, blessed⚡
I really hope that if we get one more game to cap off the series, Raziel is able to communicate with Kain from inside the Reaver.
Maybe even taking the chance to sarcastically sass Kain. I dunno, having the two actually interact without hostility would be nice to see.
Maybe it was obvious, but I want to share it with every fan of this awesome series, that after a long time I realise that the Sword always hint us that a JAWLESS entity recide withing it and it was not a merely lifeless weapon.
We got the Remaster!
I am so very happy whenever you upload Legacy of Kain content. My mood, regardless of how it was before, is always good after finishing a video you made.
I love these games…whose hyped for the remasters that are all but confirmed at this point?!
You are worthy!
It's always a joy to see one of your Legacy of Kain-videoes in my feed. I really hope the new comic will be good. There has been so many dissapointing revivals, and my heart would not be able to bear it if LOK was trashed as well.
Venkintus had a really profound and insightful thought there. Glad it was shared.
But it's wrong. The game states he is feeding the Elder. His brothers' souls have been spun in the wheel of fate.
@@Ieatpaste23 That is reliant on an untrustworthy source of information. the Elder can't destroy Raziel and the vampires are in his way or otherwise offensive in how their souls don't return to the wheel. Raziel is nothing but a tool for the Elder to get those souls out and cease their spreading to mortals.
@@Ieatpaste23 You would take the words of the Elder at face value? Truly a fool you must be.
@@robinthrush9672 They aren't in his way. They are immortal. That's why they killed themselves so they could return to the wheel. You're following someone's head canon, not stuff stated in game.
@@Ieatpaste23 First talk with the Elder God at the start of Soul Reaver:
"The birth of one of Kain’s abominations traps the essence of life. It is this soul that animates the corpse you ‘lived’ in.
And that Raziel, is the demise of Nosgoth. There is no balance. The souls of the dead remain trapped. I can not spin them in the wheel of fate. They can not complete their destinies.
Redeem yourself. Or if you prefer, avenge yourself.
Settle your dispute with Kain.
Destroy Him and your brethren. Free their souls and let the wheel of fate churn again."
From the first meeting with the Elder God in Soul Reaver 2 (before Kain, but after the Hylden's curse):
"These are the fathomless truths, Raziel:
The agony of birth and death and rebirth - this is the Wheel of Fate, the purifying cycle which sustains all life.
Vampires are an abomination, a plague which leeches this land of its spiritual strength.
They obstruct the flow of life and death - their souls stagnate in their wretched corpses.
But the Wheel must turn; Death is inexorable and cannot be denied.
Your destiny is irresistable, Raziel - you are my soul reaver, the scourge of the vampires, reaper of their apostate souls.
Remain steadfast. End the vampires' parasitic curse, and restore Nosgoth.
Kain's blood belongs on your hands."
ey thanks for the shout out of my little theory (double thanks for saying my name right)
"edit" as well as all the comments that think its good theory and not me read too much into it, thank you
Dude. Make more videos! You've got a great channel.
Thanks man.
bro still analysing this work and still finding more to say. what a legend
the kickstarter AND a new strictly fantasy video? I'm eating good this week
I wonder. This whole "procedure" to cleanse the balad, empower it with spirit and heal Kain from Nupraptors corruption. Hadd the Ancients forseen these events?
I think it's implied that the Ancients had an idea of how things would play out but also went about setting up fail safes. I mean their world had to go through something like 4 timelines, that we know of, where things did not go the way they were 'ordained'
I think that they could have deduced a possible corruption of the pillars both due to their mechanism and the Hylden's ingenuity, so they made a backup plan in case it happens.
i highly doubt the ancients had foreseen all of this because of janos´ chock when he realizes the true form of the reaver.
but they were warned through visions as the murals portray.
@Tezca-Coatl the elder god was playing the hylden and vampires against each other. No way janos would have known since the prophecies didn't seem to be foretelling events but advising of the best route to take
I love every video about legacy of kain that this person drops. So we'll thought out and we'll done
Love your videos! Thank you so much for revisiting one of the best video series of all time. Curious if you have any plans / thoughts to do a video about the Dark Prophet?
You mean the cancelled Legacy of Kain game - Dark Prophecy? Yeah I was planning to do a video on that at some point.
@@strictlyfantasy I do, thank you! Awesome, looking forward to it!!
yeah, that checks out honestly. it's also a great way to make the story come full circle. because it all began with "undoing" but in the end the "undoing" itself was undone and made whole again hahahahah
Soul reaver blew me away so long ago, what a crazy story line.
Never can get over how epic this entire story turned out to be, even with how much ended up being cut or altered on release.
Video idea: talk about the events that happen during the nosgoth Video game and any lore it has added.
Who would win in a fight between a bunch of magical swords? The Wraith Blade from Legacy of Kain, the Dragon Buster Sword from Legend of Dragoon, Frostmourne from Warcraft 3, The Blazing Sword from Tales of Arise, the Blade of Orisis from Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy or the Master Sword?
A video explaining about Hask'ak'gik would be great and also what is the abyss, where it comes from?
Hash'ak'gik was a cult the Hylden made up to control the humans in Avernus.
The Abyss was just a lake that formed over time. As the world fell into corruption, earthquakes and land erosion became more common.
So a normal lake eventually became a very deep whirlpool.
It's finally happening! I can't wait for your next video Strictly Fantasy. 💪
I personally want a remake of blood omen 2, it was the firsst game in the series i played and I think they could make it so much better
".... soul reaver and reaver of soul..." MAAAAAAN that line IS DOPE
Ty for the video as always your voice makes everything perfect
Yet another fantastic video. Not much else to say without repeating myself. Keep up the good work mate.^^
15:47 I love the LoK community =)
Even decades after their game releases, were still finding awesome and believable theories. Thank you Venkintus, like Strictly, I think I will make this theory a part of my headcannon as well -_^
Fantastic video many thanks for another outstanding video! 😎
I love every time you post one of these videos. Please keep it up
I love that theory at the end, about Kain getting his pieces of his soul back and those of Raziel and his brothers being purified all at once in Defiance. It's a really nice thought and its fun to theorise on how that could affect Kain not just on a spiritual level. Like would his inhuman features begin to melt away with time, and make him more like what we see with some of the other vampires.
One point that I've always found pulling at my sense of curiosity is that we never find out what happened to Janos after he was cast into the Hylden dimension. From here I can't help but note how, when Kain awakens in the same dimension after Raziel rips out the heart, that the deformed and half insane demons strongly hint that they are indeed and in fact Hylden. They even tell Kain that over time in this world both his mind and his body will steadily deform in such a way that he will not notice until he hardly resembles himself anymore, and from this standpoint it's interesting to note how Raziel's brothers followed a similar degradation with their de-evolution and obvious failing mental capacities. Because it is not stated whether Janos escaped or was destroyed by the Hylden in this prison dimension I am very curious about what became of him, and furthermore there is really no telling if time even works the same way there. What I've always felt to be at least mildly possible was that Janos spent the equivalent of thousands of years in this place, and possibly by complete accident slipped through a dimensional crack in the barrier. However, following this logic I believe that he landed not on the physical plane but on the spectral one, and we saw what this spiritual world does to the un-consumed souls of vampires over time. What if Janos fell into the extremely distant past, like before the Great War even started between the two ancient races, but being stuck in the spectral realm meant that souls were his only available food source. From there his insanity due to deformation would have driven his knowledge of his original time to take up the mantle of the Vampire God, a.k.a. the Hub of the Wheel of Fate, and thus sparked all the conflict throughout time (as Raziel mentioned at the end of Defiance) simply to feed his own hunger. I find the potential that if they had created a true final installment that Kain would have found the true heart of the so called 'God' to be a horrific version of Janos somewhere either incredibly deep underground or even perhaps still in the Hylden dimension seeping through back into Nosgoth through some method I can't even imagine. I think that this sort of thing would have made a better overall ending, especially if the final battle would have purified not just all of Nosgoth back to a pure state of being, but maybe also the vampires of their immortality curse, thus allowing new and honestly legitimate Pillar Guardians to be born once more.
I was watching the video, thinking about how Kain actually give a part of his soul to raise his lieutenants so maybe there is something there, and bam you go there at the end and make the connection for me. GGs
I can't believe after all this years reading and watching about Blood omen/Soul reaver lore we can still find more and more deep even if it's all just fans teories going wild. What a masterpiece this series was. Amy Hennig and all those people involved cant get enough praise and they sadly don't.
Some things to think about:
1. The Soul Reaver is Raziel
2. Temporal Distortion happens when the 2 Soul Reaver blades meet (spiritual and physical)
3. When Raziel is absorbed into the Blood Reaver, him AND the soul reaver bound to him become one.
Given that we know Raziel is the Soul Reaver, it is strange that there was no Temporal Distortion when Raziel first met his Spiritual Blade self, but only happened when the spiritual and physical met or came near each other.
Plus, when you think about it, the Raziels (yes, plural) that combined each time must have further enhanced it, added together with the fact that Raziel had consumed the souls of his brothers, it should also be assumed that the brothers' souls also stacked each time.
AND finally, the original timeline, where Raziel was suppose to kill Elder Kain. Think of that. The Soul Reaver then would have devoured Elder Kain's soul as well.
So... If Raziel in Defiance REALLY DID give Elder Kain the souls back, it could be assumed that Kain received a huge amount at once. Imagine: Multiple Reavers stacked and combined each time, Raziel's Brothers' souls stacked and combined each time, AND the soul of the Elder Kain that WAS killed in the original destined timeline, all purified by the now Purified Soul Reaver.
If all that was given to Kain, how powerful do you think that would make him after that?
The fandom is sorta split on whether Wraith Blade was absorbed into the Soul Reaver or whether it was just dissolved. Personally, I'm of the view that at the end of Soul Reaver 2, the Wraith Blade fades into nothingness after if forces the physical blade to impale Raziel, thus making Raziel's sacrifice meaningless. However in Defiance, Raziel dissolves the Wraith Blade (his future self) into Kain to heal him, uniting what has been set asunder. If we consider the alternative theory that you have suggested and that the Wraith Blade continues to be reabsorbed into the physical blade for all eternity, then the implications of that are quite disturbing to say the least. As that would mean there are countless of Raziel's trapped in this loop for all time. I don't think this is what Amy Hennig intended but I cannot say for sure.
Long have I waited for this moment , another amazing video these are always so perfect
I think there is a very important aspect to Kain's "Hate me, but do it honestly" speech.
Raziel would have pursued vengeance against Kain even if Nosgoth had not been rendered a wasteland in Soul Reaver, as Kain's betrayal was enough motivation.
Because of this, even if the pillars destruction is prevented by the current Kain having been purified, it will not alter Raziel's decisions and create a paradox.
If there was a new game to wrap up the story, I could see current Kain interupting the point when his past self had to choose to sacrifice himself or let the pillars shatter and either:
1) Take his past self's place as Balance Guardian and brining the new Guardians in as vampires, allowing his past self to build his empire.
2) Purify his past self with the Spirt Reaver, preventing the need for the sacrifice.
Best game story ever!
wow the last bit of fan theory is very nice ! I hope they make it canon !
So hype for new Legacy of Kain content
I love that theory at the end!!
14:24 Oh hey they fixed her face
Fantastic video,
Could you maybe do one exploring the ancient forges or glyph magic and there role in history
Really hoping that a remaster uses the original voice recordings (maybe just edit them using software to clean them up for a modern title?). I can't imagine any other voice actors for Kain, Raziel, or Mobius.
Yeah, and also no one can replace Tony Jay as the Elder God. I cannot imagine anyone else's voice except him for the Great Old One.
@@strictlyfantasyWhy not get Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear? Bro sounds identical to Tony Jay 😂
@@WeedShaggy the ememes will bury it :V
i can imagine the scenes in Sr2 where the EG is being despondent already going " so anyway..."
So very interesting. I like all your videos on the game.
The ending of Defiance is what caused the Blood omen 2 timeline to be created. Old Kain changed the past for young Kain. Instead of the timeline that preceded soul reaver 1, 2, as well as defiance, it was reset and bifurcated to a new timeline which was blood omen 2 with the Hylden.
If that's true, did raziel never exist physically in this new rendition of the world? or rather, never became a vampire or a wraith? thus, kain never having any attachment to him?
@@Knux5577 We wouldn't know yet, for it was too early in the timeline still. Who knows what came after the defeat of the hylden lord.
Just have to say, wow, I always wondered what was up in the chamber beneath the Pillars. I remember stairing at the diagram several times trying to figure what it was all meant. Glad to finally have an answer.
Awesome video, thank you for making this!
Heres an interesting question if Raziel dispersed the wraith blade into Kain, purifying Kain and freeing his future self from looping eternally through time, what becomes of Raziel’s future self?
When they we developing the cancelled Legacy of Kain: dark prophecy game they tried to include Raziel in the story by giving Kain the ability to summon him from the Reaver which was shot down (rightfully) because it undermined his sacrifice and that his story was effectively over.
I think a better way to do it is to have Raziel’s future self now bound within Kain? It would make for an interesting story of an “Elder Raziel” who has seen the history of Nosgoth through the Reaver blade (including parts kain isnt aware of like his time with the Hylden lord while kain was in a coma) act as a guide for Kain’s final journey.
Maybe take inspiration from dead sun where only Kain can see and hear this version of Raziel. Have his appearance restored to his vampire look as a result of being purified in th spirit forge but retaining the blue coloration and without wings or replacing his bat wings with the black wings of ancient vampires.
Nothing more than fan fiction on my part lol
Awesome as always!👏👏👏