it would not look as dreadful as it looked back then. the reason for that is that the "bad" graphics, which were awesome graphics back in the day, made him look even more grotesque and other-worldly, leaving many things up for interpretation makes the horror games of long gone days way more horrifying than modern games. just think about it, not a single monster or whatever in modern games actually horrifies us anymore, because they are, visually, understandable, you instantly know what part of the monster is supposed to be, but you didnt in those oldschool graphics
@@Manowarrior1992 You are also older and have seen it evolve over time. My kids lose it over silent hill 4 and chuckle at Silent Hill. A game that made me sleep with the lights on when I was young. Silent Hill 4 had no such effect.
I think that perception evolves over time, honestly? They might be going through the same things you did, just like the most modern game in your time was terrifying, and older ones (Or hell, the first) where not at all scary
Just like in bleach the 10 espadas. The weakest is arenniero the only gillian among them and the last of the first generation of espadas and the most monstrous of the 10. He 2 heads with 2 voices inside an capsule with probably inhuman body and his sword is an tentacle with an mouth in the end.
He was the weakest at the start, yes, but the fact that he could enhance himself by basically assimilating others, could suggest that his potential might be the highest of them all. If he hadn't fallen into a suicidal depression, and kept building himself up and optimising his form, he could elevate his strength as far as he wants, given enough victims.
I would actually play this game with my mum as a kid. She got it for me when it came out but being 6 at the time, I struggled with the puzzles so she got me the Walkthrough magazine. When she was reading to me as I was playing it through, she said "go down the corridor and prepare to meet Melchiah" and me being me, paused the game, handed her the controller and said no you do it. This game always has a special place in my childhood memories.
@@Horrorcrusher8312 the rule was; I could play games for older people with a parent. Even my mum found the LoK series a bit tamer compared to Silent Hill or Resident Evil so she didn't supervise me as much on LoK compared to the others lol
Living forever, cursed with endless pain in a body shaped like an oversized parasitic intestinal worm while wrapped up in rotting corpses. No wonder Melchiah sank into an abyss of self loathing and misanthropic thoughts.
i always loved seeing Raziel finding his brothers all mutated and different after so long. It made me want to explore that kind of scenario further, lots of fun to be had there.
Makes me wonder what the full transformation Dumah and Raziel would have looked like had they not become wraiths. Dumah has been described the developers as evolving rhinoceros like features if he wasn’t stopped by humans.
Me too! I also thought it was bittersweet how as mutated as Raziel was after being thrown into the water, and as much as he despised his new self, he got to see that all his brothers were much worse off.
Certainly an interesting theory that Melchiah needed a mechanism to help him grind his food up into a slurry. Of course, we could also assume it was kind of horrid contraption from another civilization, as many of the clans did appear to be squatting in places that likely once belonged to humans. Either way, he was certainly one of the more unnerving bosses, can only imagine what it would be like if the game were remade in this day and age with graphics that could make the fleshy monstrosity even more grotesque.
Taking into account “Everyone is afraid... these times of change are so unsettling.” it seems Melchiah’s knowledge and views were much narrower than the larger story. He is specifically commenting on the decay (“change”) of Nosgoth and its vampiric denizens (likely due to the corruption of the Pillars) and how it has brought about fear and uncertainty in everyone (hinting at even Kain). In other words, he seems to be saying Kain may have acted out of the fear of how the “change” (corruption) would affect him (most importantly his status) and those around him. Seeing Raziel develop wings he couldn’t take the risk of an “upstart inheritance” surpassing him since he didn’t yet know what HIS “evolution” ( or more likely deevolution in his presumely fearful mind) would manifest. Melchiah’s understanding is therefore the same the player has before being given more insight into Kain’s motives. It seems fitting seeing how he’s the lesser of the lieutenants. Therefore “you are the last to die” would necessarily wraith Raziel is the last of his clan as they would have been purged out of the fear and uncertainty mentioned earlier. Raziel’s “what are you saying” throws a wrench in this because it leads us (armed/poisoned with hindsight) to assume there’s more to Melchia’s words in retrospect but I think it’s merely a dramatic setup for the following line of “you are the last to die”.
Raziel's execution at the Abyss must have no doubt sent a powerful message out like a shockwave across Kain's empire Then, when the fledglings and eventually the Lords themselves began to inevitably change many would have sought out the furthest recesses of Nosgoth to escape persecution and potentially execution on keeping the bloodline pure and not to hint at potential risk to Kain's position of power
i always suspected that Melchiah being the weakest made him jealous of Raziel, the "favoured" son of Kain. After they cast Raziel into the Abyss, and the world got worse, I suspect Melchiah began to do his own research. The others would of snubbed him for being the weakest and youngest. Maybe he unearthed enough to realise Kain didn't just kill Raziel on a whim, and set up those kill traps to protect himself (the ones we turn on him)
I'm actually leading a D&D campaign in the Blood Omen Era of Nosgoth, but I do intend to make them go through Soul Reaver ! Learning such details and finding such fine art is a gold mine ! Waiting for Zephon & the others with impatience.
Nosgoth is like a gothic version of Tolkien's Middle Earth. I hope there'll be a remake of Blood Omen 1 so we can further explore and be immersed in that world. I wanna explore all the places Kain visited in 3D, the gypsy camps, the towns and villages, the castle city of Willendorf, the twisted area of Dark Eden, Malek's bastion - Nosgoth is so rich in exploration.
@@TragoudistrosMPH You may want to read the "Grim Hollow" setting by Ghostfire Gaming then. Basically, gives you many tools to play a grim-dark setting. An actually balanced transformation system into Vampire, Werewolf & more can be found in the book/PDF.
@@Rahab111222But It’ll be developed by Aspyr media like the Remastered trilogy of Tomb Raider. But William the Just and Vorador will have new voice actors to take over while I’m thinking Anna Gunn or she and Alistair Duncan’s daughter will voice Ariel, And Alistair will return to voice Mortanius.
First! Watching now. Legacy of Kain is my favorite narrative setting across all media, books, television series, movies, RPGs. It feels like we're entering a new renaissance of rising awareness of this narratively complex and morally nuanced world, and with that rising awareness, the respect it always deserved is rising in time with it, as new generations are exposed to it for the first time. Thanks go out to the other die hard fans, those flame keepers of Nosgoth more talented than myself, who put the effort of their art to keeping the story alive. "Do you not feel, with all your soul, how we have become like gods? And as such, are we not indivisible? As long as a single one of us stands, we are legion." And as long as a single mind remembers their stories, Kain and Raziel will never die. Vae victis! And woe to the conquered.
on a purely appearance level Melchiah is easily my favorite vampire in the series. While I love how all the main vampires get a unique appearance his is truly monstrous while making sense how and why he would become like this. And the all the detail for him is just beautifully grotesque, I just love it.
*"Everyone is afraid, sibling. You awake to a world of fear. These times of change are so...unsettling. Do you think that I have no revulsion for this form? Do you believe, for a moment, that our lord would risk his empire upon an upstart inheritance?"*
The relationship between Melchiah and Raziel is also interesting because Raziel didn't want to kill him which could be because he knew that Melchiah wasn't in the position to help him
He only wanted to kill Turel, Dumah and Kain. The rest of his bethren were on the way. But by the time he reached Turel (both in the OG Soul Reaver game and Defiance) his bloodlust was over, meaning that his rage was solely to Kain and not to his brothers.
@@Death_Korps_Officer Raziels interaction with Zephon and Rahab is totally different than the one between him and Melchiah. Raziel was sad after killing him while he mocked Zephon and Rahab
It's clear that Raziel and Zephon really disliked each other and had a somewhat troubled story. Zephon also seems to like what he became, unlike Melchiah who feels disgust and self-loathing.
Those are my thoughts exactly. In fact, Raziel's dialogue with Melchiah implies some pity, and Melchiah's words do not seem to hold any hostility toward Raziel. Also, the oldest-youngest dynamic might have given the two some kind of special bond during their vampire lifetimes. Speculation, I know, but it's a feeling I always got from their encounter.
@@wandererg5117 I can somewhat relate as the youngest brother of the team (though we are not mutated murderous vampires). At some level you will always be a kid brother to him. Similar dynamic is indeed present here, as Raziel refers to Melchiah as "little brother", has a soft spot and does regret how it had to end.
@@munstrumridcully The best way around that is to use the existing audio. Like they did for the Medievil remake. If they do decide to remake the games, they should invite the actors who are still alive back to redo the voices and just use the old audio for the actors who have sadly passed away.
@@strictlyfantasy they also did that with the Destroy All Humans remake. New graphics, gameplay mechanics, even a cut level from the original but they kept the original voice files
@@munstrumridcully There's a lot of other good voice actors out there, I always imagined Michael Ironside as Vorador's new voice for example. Basically any older man with a gravely authority commanding voice would be good for the character.
I remember these games from my childhood. A franchise that paved the way for the vampire genre only to be ruined by such series’s such as Twilight. Thanks for bringing to light such nostalgia.
I just started separating my legacy of kain scripts into the elements and brothers. So you are aware of the 9 pillars and soul reaver but alot of ppl ignore the 7 elements explored. Each son of kain represents an element and raziel gains powers over each. This collecting the sprits of kains kin raziel restores kain with a boon to each element. Light and darkness round the elements up including earth, air, fire, water, spirit. I wanted you to know this while exploring the brothers. But you are on it brother! Can't keep up. Been busy w other stories. But Lok will always be my favorite. Great work. And thank you for the work. Helps me get ppl caught up so they can understand what I'm going on and on about...
I think it's just coincidence, and how would you correlate each brother to each element? Here's my guess: melchiah - dark zephon - air rahab - water (the only obvious one) dumah - stone/earth turel - fire raziel - light kain - spirit As far as I can see you can make arguments for any of them except rahab. Also the reavers in the original soul reaver concept are different to soul reaver 2 or defiance, there was a planned sound reaver but no air/darkness reaver. Sound would obviously go to zephon, he was in the silenced cathedral, right?
@@llVIU actually working it out for a vid. Can't find my notes atm but u gain mastery over earth to climb. You use fire and water to kill two u mentioned. Raziel clearly gains a boon for air with the wings. It's loose and spread over the series. First raziel absorbs the brothers and eventually kain in Williams chapel.he closes the loop in SR2 and ends up in the sword. Until later when raziel walks the reaver path going thru each temple. Here the elements are more upfront. But the 7 elements do have symbols that repeat around the pillar structure. The brothers and kain make sigils of their own to replace. But in game you go back further in time to reach a note pure form of the elements. In defiance it's the souls of the ancient Winged race that fuel these forges while previously it was gained by solving puzzles based again loosely around elements. The 7 elements are the constants in reality that the elder god doesn't control unlike the 9 pillars which he has powers over each. But I agree this is a shrouded topic that multiple writers have a hard time connecting game to game. Want to write an ending for the story which is why I'm reaching out to the biggest fans I can find. First we need to rewrite BO2 but I think I got that covered. Kain loses to william in this new timeline,who is actually the hylden lord from BO2. Idk that's a whole other can of worms
@@arx3516 been working that out and it may be easier to find some than others. But in sr1 it's my view the elements are most corrupted by the whole process of the Elder God disrupting the timeline and of coarse the hylden curse or infection. So to restore balance the tyrannical stars set in motion the plan to restore balance. So Raziel is first to overcome or assimilate an element which I think is obviously Air with his wings. This is also the duality of the hylden becoming vampire and vampire hylden. As in Kain evolved into a hylden type while raziel resembled the Winged race. Anyway not all brothers assimilate their respective elements. As in The incectoid brother is actually vulnerable to fire, while the one who adapted to water still succumbed to the sunlight. Darkness and light being the most abstract elements may correspond to the brother trapped in the astral plane, who also I erraticated by fire but much more powerful flame almost to destroy his vessel for he could always re-enter it. Kain could have made enough sons for each pillar but he doesn't and I suspect it's due to this 7 elemental purifying of Raziel in both his forms and eventually giving kain the full boon of his enemies sight but also the elements in balance. The reaver on Raziel's arm is his old insane self who was trapped in the flipping coin continuum. I mentioned before kain bares the reaver w Raziel's soul because he is the only one who can satisfy the hunger and madness Raziel faces bound in the sword since the end of SR2. When raziel removes the heart of darkness while they hold each other's reavers is when raziel freed kain from the hylden curse and also fulfilled the need for kain to die and restore balance. Which is in the far future where they left in sr1. Raziel willingly giving himself is key to IT all. Sorry for the rant. But the brothers question is one I've been working on. Gotta dig out my notes tho. Let me ask you, how do you see it? Main issue is we know SR had content cut, so the admixture of the elements may have been more obvious. So what I'm saying is they are more of admixtures of the 7 elements until you literally go to element forges. All to create a weapon and one Worthy to wield it against the elder god.
@@llVIU yeah your right. They are admixtures of these 7 and corruption of the pillars and their bloodlines leaves them unable to fully adapt. Raziel, being a hylden soul, was actually closest and this is what enraged kain the first time around
Just discovered your character study videos and I'm absolutely in love with your Legacy of Kain videos. I hope you continue with them, I learned a lot from this one about Melchiah. Outside of Kain and Raziel, I've always found Kain's sons to be my absolutely favorites out of all the Legacy of Kain characters.
Melchiah being the oldest in the Sarafan order. As a Vampire his bodies could not withhold the flesh, due to his age as a Sarafan and and his body probably started to decomposed faster in death before his resurrection
Honestly I think Melchiah knew so much more than what some may think. His statement on the disgust of his current state isn't just about him but his children, it is relating to the times of change, the riddle about Kain seems to be insinuating that he sees Raziel was trying to steal the kingdom, but it could refer to Kain refusing to allow humans to regain the towers or even the Hylden. Finally though the most clearest is his last "threat" saying that Raziel is the last to die, why last though? He could have said, now you will die or something like it, but he said last, the last brother to die, he was telling Raziel that all other brothers would fall by his hand however he would fall last. I will also say his stage itself honestly makes me think he planned for the day Raziel would have to kill him. He designed a machine to easily kill him the assistance of his servants while they were still sane. He relished that he was finally able to die. I think he may have lost some of his mind, but still had some wisdom
you know, it is people like you who put so much effort for us to see and understand more and more about this, i really appreciate you making such videos., good commentary, nice story breakdown and wonderful editing., i wish i could like your videos twice., thanks a lot for this., best wishes
I never though of this till just now but Malchiah sounds more like he’s a conscious and autonomous Zombie with the ability to absorb the flesh of his enemies and the dead, more so than he does a Vampire. Like a… Vampire Zombie? One of the best things in Soul Reaver 2 is the face that Human Raziel makes when he notices Wraith Raziel and they make eye contact. It fucking priceless. Even without facial mo-cap, you’re still able see the shock, terror, bewilderment, and the horror as his jaw goes slack and agape when confronted by, and recognizing, what was left of his own face on Wraith Raziel. It’s just beautiful and makes my chuckle a little everytime.
I've always found the foreshadowing that Melchiah presented at the boss fight as interesting. "You are the last to die!" rang true to the end of the series
He he he, without a doubt one of the best and most chilling boss encounters. Can still remember my 14 year old self after the gates shut and Melchia slinks out into view: "Oh craaap, I gotta fight that!?"😮 Still after so many years, one of the top 5 most memorable and terrifying boss battles ever. Great job on these charcter studies man, big ups! :)
Man I haven't played this game in years because it's so hard to get running on anything modern. But your character breakdown vids breath new life into an old series, help me learn things I never knew before, and make me remember my love for this series. Well done. Happy New year.
Square Enix should think about a remake of the whole series, and in the meantime make the old games fully compatible with modern systems, no graphic enhancement, just make the games run with PCs, consoles and support modern controllers.
Seeing this game get so much studying and detail put into analysis of its characters is so cool to see Legacy of Kain is unlike any video game in existence so seeing still captivate so much attention is endearing
Legacy of Kain universe has such fascinating and deep lore. I wish these games could be remade whike preserving the original voice work. The performances in this game were masterful. Way ahead of it's time. Also, sensational job on these videos, LoK lore just doesn't get enough love.
Either a remake or another installment of this epic series on today’s next gen systems would be so awesome. Just found your channel and just on the strength of how much of a fan I am, especially for the story, I’m subscribing to your great coverage of it.
I always thought Melchiah was referring to himself when he spoke about Kain risking his power over an upstart inheritance. I don't think Melchiah even knew how bad things were outside or that his brothers had also mutated into horrific beasts. It seemed compared to the other siblings who had been freely roaming that Melchiah wasnt just hiding away, it almost looked like he was sealed in a vault of sorts as though Kain had decided to hide him away so the deterioration of someone of his stature would not be seen by the others.
Oh Tony Jay, you spared us from total dissolution in your performance in this game. Him and Raziels voice actor are the 2 things I remember most fondly about this game!
Thank you for making these videos. I grew up playing these game and this was by far my favorite franchise. My love of good story games stems from this series. I hope one day Sony picks this franchise back up and give it the loving end it deserves.
I will never understand why this franchise has remained untouched for so long. At the very least we still have the loyal fanbase to keep the memory alive.
Although I do somewhat of agree, I am actually kind of relived that no one has done so. Without Amy Henning at the helm and Tony Jay as the Elder God, any new game set in the same universe would likely be somewhat lackluster and probably dissapointing compared to the original. That being said though, the Square Enix Collective has allowed this game to be licenced by external developers. All we have gotten so far tough is the bland and boring "Nosgoth" game. But if there are some devs that are actual fans of the game and franchise out there, we might someday see a competent succesor to this game. Although again, I honestly dont think anyone can recreate the magic and sheer talent that was behind the original games(I dont count Blood Omen 2 in this, as it is subpar to the Legacy series for my taste).
@@AreEia I think it's too late for a direct sequel to Defiance at this point, even if the original team would somehow be working on it again. The series isn't iconic enough to make the masses excited, so it would most likely fail to stand out, as it would be near-impossible for any new players to get into without the knowledge of the earlier games. The other two options would be either to remake the old games to get the fanbase going again, or to reboot the series. I'm not necessarily saying that either should happen (though I'd give my soul to Elder God for remakes of Blood Omen and Soul Reaver), it just frustrates me that there's so much potential in the world of Nosgoth, the characters and the lore, but it's outright wasted because nobody's even trying to do anything worthwhile with it. In this regard Nosgoth (the game) doesn't count.
@@ZealSeraph Agreed. And all in all, atleast we got Defiance. And even without a "proper" ending to wrap up the series, I kinda like Kain's last monologue about hope. But yeah, it is frustrating that to see all the wasted potetial for something that could have become one of the best and most thought provoking game series of all time. But on the other hand, atleast we did not get several lackluster "spin offs" and the series being milked dry, wich (for me atleast) would be a far worse fate for the series. "Kain: (Narrating) Now, at last, the masks had fallen away. The strings of the puppets had become visible, and the hands of the prime mover exposed. Most ironic of all was the last gift that Raziel had given me, more powerful than the sword that now held his soul, more acute even than the vision his sacrifice had accorded me. The first bitter taste of that terrible illusion: hope."
@@AreEia That's the other side of the coin, to have too many sequels, prequels and spinoffs, many of which take too many liberties with the story until the whole world just collapses on itself because of the rewrites and paradoxes. Many franchises have suffered this fate. Thankfully Legacy of Kain isn't one of them. And there are certainly worse notes to end on than that monologue by Kain.
I'm so happy that this game is still alive through its fans
While one of us still stands, we are legion
Opinion of the majority of fans awesome statement
It has been given glorious unlife
vae victis my man
Games like this never died game companies are just killing gaming with their online games obsession
Imagine how terrifying he would look if this scene was remade on a modern graphics engine.
It would probably look like a Bloodborne’s creature
it would not look as dreadful as it looked back then.
the reason for that is that the "bad" graphics, which were awesome graphics back in the day, made him look even more grotesque and other-worldly, leaving many things up for interpretation makes the horror games of long gone days way more horrifying than modern games.
just think about it, not a single monster or whatever in modern games actually horrifies us anymore, because they are, visually, understandable, you instantly know what part of the monster is supposed to be, but you didnt in those oldschool graphics
@@Manowarrior1992 you do have a good point, but I own up that I would like to see LoK creatures on a modern game’s design
@@Manowarrior1992 You are also older and have seen it evolve over time. My kids lose it over silent hill 4 and chuckle at Silent Hill. A game that made me sleep with the lights on when I was young. Silent Hill 4 had no such effect.
I think that perception evolves over time, honestly? They might be going through the same things you did, just like the most modern game in your time was terrifying, and older ones (Or hell, the first) where not at all scary
I find it so fascinating that Melchiah is the "weakest" and the most terrifying at the same time.
Just like in bleach the 10 espadas. The weakest is arenniero the only gillian among them and the last of the first generation of espadas and the most monstrous of the 10. He 2 heads with 2 voices inside an capsule with probably inhuman body and his sword is an tentacle with an mouth in the end.
weakest yet strong in other ways
His gift of phasing through walls was certainly one of the most useful for Raziel during his adventures. We employ it a lot.
He was the weakest at the start, yes, but the fact that he could enhance himself by basically assimilating others, could suggest that his potential might be the highest of them all.
If he hadn't fallen into a suicidal depression, and kept building himself up and optimising his form, he could elevate his strength as far as he wants, given enough victims.
What do you mean the most "Terryfying?" Zephon the giant spider? His face breaks open into multiple parts!!!
I would actually play this game with my mum as a kid. She got it for me when it came out but being 6 at the time, I struggled with the puzzles so she got me the Walkthrough magazine. When she was reading to me as I was playing it through, she said "go down the corridor and prepare to meet Melchiah" and me being me, paused the game, handed her the controller and said no you do it.
This game always has a special place in my childhood memories.
Your mom encoraged you to play this game as a kid? Dude, your mom rocks.
Cool mom, tommy, bless her 😎
What a time we lived in where some parents were bold enough to allow and/or even encourage their children to indulge in mature media.
@Horrorcrusher8312 Well, now parents expose their children to LGBTHDTV4K+++
@@Horrorcrusher8312 the rule was; I could play games for older people with a parent. Even my mum found the LoK series a bit tamer compared to Silent Hill or Resident Evil so she didn't supervise me as much on LoK compared to the others lol
Living forever, cursed with endless pain in a body shaped like an oversized parasitic intestinal worm while wrapped up in rotting corpses. No wonder Melchiah sank into an abyss of self loathing and misanthropic thoughts.
*stares in exestential horror at the fast food around me and the unused workout equipment*
@@TragoudistrosMPH Lool
@@TragoudistrosMPH Am I so changed, brother?
Yep, he was actively glad to be killed "I AM RELEASED"
You knew Soul Reaver was going to be a whole new caliber of game when Melchiah is the first boss
i always loved seeing Raziel finding his brothers all mutated and different after so long. It made me want to explore that kind of scenario further, lots of fun to be had there.
#facts. Fascinating then and now
Makes me wonder what the full transformation Dumah and Raziel would have looked like had they not become wraiths. Dumah has been described the developers as evolving rhinoceros like features if he wasn’t stopped by humans.
@@crimsondynamo615 They would have devolved into bestial monstrosities either way, Kains tainted bloodline corrupted each of his vampire offspring.
@@crimsondynamo615 Raziel pbly would have been a bat.
Me too! I also thought it was bittersweet how as mutated as Raziel was after being thrown into the water, and as much as he despised his new self, he got to see that all his brothers were much worse off.
Raziel: you like blenders
Melciah: No! Why!
Raziel: No reason
Melchiah: Everyone is afraid, sibling. You awake to a world of fear. Melchiah pretty describe the current world of 2020 to 2021
Hopefully sense is slapped into the world soon and life returns to somewhat normal
@@murderousmayhem6362 100%agree with you
Don't count on it.
Except people are afraid of a lot of bullshit.
@@WillJM81280 I'd prefer Vampires over magats any time.
My brother and I still randomly say “I’m releasedddddd” lol
Haha! Good one!
I say it when I shit in public bathrooms.
@@asssassyn lmao
@@asssassyn that’s hilarious! 🤣
I can't wait for you to do the rest of Raziel's brethren.
I want to hear more about Zephon or Rahab next.
@@tonts5329 Not much to hear about them unfortunately, they weren't developed much
@@tonts5329 I bet rahab n zephon story be cool af
I finally got to see what raziel's brethren looks of. This is pretty cool, honestly, I wish there was more done with them.
@@backwash69777 I mean there are so many important characters in the LoK series, they can't all get an equal slot of game time.
Certainly an interesting theory that Melchiah needed a mechanism to help him grind his food up into a slurry. Of course, we could also assume it was kind of horrid contraption from another civilization, as many of the clans did appear to be squatting in places that likely once belonged to humans. Either way, he was certainly one of the more unnerving bosses, can only imagine what it would be like if the game were remade in this day and age with graphics that could make the fleshy monstrosity even more grotesque.
Look up The Rotten in Dark Souls 2
Taking into account “Everyone is afraid... these times of change are so unsettling.” it seems Melchiah’s knowledge and views were much narrower than the larger story. He is specifically commenting on the decay (“change”) of Nosgoth and its vampiric denizens (likely due to the corruption of the Pillars) and how it has brought about fear and uncertainty in everyone (hinting at even Kain). In other words, he seems to be saying Kain may have acted out of the fear of how the “change” (corruption) would affect him (most importantly his status) and those around him. Seeing Raziel develop wings he couldn’t take the risk of an “upstart inheritance” surpassing him since he didn’t yet know what HIS “evolution” ( or more likely deevolution in his presumely fearful mind) would manifest. Melchiah’s understanding is therefore the same the player has before being given more insight into Kain’s motives. It seems fitting seeing how he’s the lesser of the lieutenants. Therefore “you are the last to die” would necessarily wraith Raziel is the last of his clan as they would have been purged out of the fear and uncertainty mentioned earlier.
Raziel’s “what are you saying” throws a wrench in this because it leads us (armed/poisoned with hindsight) to assume there’s more to Melchia’s words in retrospect but I think it’s merely a dramatic setup for the following line of “you are the last to die”.
Raziel's execution at the Abyss must have no doubt sent a powerful message out like a shockwave across Kain's empire
Then, when the fledglings and eventually the Lords themselves began to inevitably change many would have sought out the furthest recesses of Nosgoth to escape persecution and potentially execution on keeping the bloodline pure and not to hint at potential risk to Kain's position of power
i always suspected that Melchiah being the weakest made him jealous of Raziel, the "favoured" son of Kain. After they cast Raziel into the Abyss, and the world got worse, I suspect Melchiah began to do his own research. The others would of snubbed him for being the weakest and youngest. Maybe he unearthed enough to realise Kain didn't just kill Raziel on a whim, and set up those kill traps to protect himself (the ones we turn on him)
The nostalgia!!!
I wish they had made a game where we could play as vampire Raziel and see how his brethren helped build kains empire.
Agreed! I would be happy if they did this and a remake of Soul Reaver 1. Couldn't care less about the sequels
I’m so happy to know there are other people that like this series as much as me. My favorite vampire mythology!
I'm actually leading a D&D campaign in the Blood Omen Era of Nosgoth, but I do intend to make them go through Soul Reaver !
Learning such details and finding such fine art is a gold mine ! Waiting for Zephon & the others with impatience.
Nosgoth is like a gothic version of Tolkien's Middle Earth. I hope there'll be a remake of Blood Omen 1 so we can further explore and be immersed in that world. I wanna explore all the places Kain visited in 3D, the gypsy camps, the towns and villages, the castle city of Willendorf, the twisted area of Dark Eden, Malek's bastion - Nosgoth is so rich in exploration.
Wow... that actually sounds like something I'd want to play!
@@TragoudistrosMPH You may want to read the "Grim Hollow" setting by Ghostfire Gaming then.
Basically, gives you many tools to play a grim-dark setting. An actually balanced transformation system into Vampire, Werewolf & more can be found in the book/PDF.
Sounds fun .nosgoth is a greatly detailed world
@@Rahab111222But It’ll be developed by Aspyr media like the Remastered trilogy of Tomb Raider.
But William the Just and Vorador will have new voice actors to take over while I’m thinking Anna Gunn or she and Alistair Duncan’s daughter will voice Ariel,
And Alistair will return to voice Mortanius.
First! Watching now. Legacy of Kain is my favorite narrative setting across all media, books, television series, movies, RPGs. It feels like we're entering a new renaissance of rising awareness of this narratively complex and morally nuanced world, and with that rising awareness, the respect it always deserved is rising in time with it, as new generations are exposed to it for the first time.
Thanks go out to the other die hard fans, those flame keepers of Nosgoth more talented than myself, who put the effort of their art to keeping the story alive.
"Do you not feel, with all your soul, how we have become like gods? And as such, are we not indivisible? As long as a single one of us stands, we are legion."
And as long as a single mind remembers their stories, Kain and Raziel will never die. Vae victis! And woe to the conquered.
Nicely said!😈👍
@Erik Blanche Thanks Eric! As one fan to another of the legacy of kain seires happy Christmas and a excellent new year to you🎆! 😎👍
We are legion
@@bobloerakker7010 via victus!😈👍
on a purely appearance level Melchiah is easily my favorite vampire in the series. While I love how all the main vampires get a unique appearance his is truly monstrous while making sense how and why he would become like this. And the all the detail for him is just beautifully grotesque, I just love it.
"Answer me 'LITTLE BROTHER' or I will beat an answer from your horrid lips!"
something I still tell my siblings to this day
Few threats can compare to this eloquence
Big little brother xD
*"Everyone is afraid, sibling. You awake to a world of fear. These times of change are so...unsettling. Do you think that I have no revulsion for this form? Do you believe, for a moment, that our lord would risk his empire upon an upstart inheritance?"*
The relationship between Melchiah and Raziel is also interesting because Raziel didn't want to kill him which could be because he knew that Melchiah wasn't in the position to help him
He only wanted to kill Turel, Dumah and Kain. The rest of his bethren were on the way. But by the time he reached Turel (both in the OG Soul Reaver game and Defiance) his bloodlust was over, meaning that his rage was solely to Kain and not to his brothers.
@@Death_Korps_Officer Raziels interaction with Zephon and Rahab is totally different than the one between him and Melchiah. Raziel was sad after killing him while he mocked Zephon and Rahab
It's clear that Raziel and Zephon really disliked each other and had a somewhat troubled story. Zephon also seems to like what he became, unlike Melchiah who feels disgust and self-loathing.
Those are my thoughts exactly. In fact, Raziel's dialogue with Melchiah implies some pity, and Melchiah's words do not seem to hold any hostility toward Raziel. Also, the oldest-youngest dynamic might have given the two some kind of special bond during their vampire lifetimes. Speculation, I know, but it's a feeling I always got from their encounter.
@@wandererg5117 I can somewhat relate as the youngest brother of the team (though we are not mutated murderous vampires). At some level you will always be a kid brother to him. Similar dynamic is indeed present here, as Raziel refers to Melchiah as "little brother", has a soft spot and does regret how it had to end.
Melchiah was my favorite of Raziel's brothers, Thanks for showcasing him!
Imagine a modern rendition of melchiah, this game needs a remake
But what about the voice actors? A lot of the original actors have passed away 😔
@@munstrumridcully The best way around that is to use the existing audio. Like they did for the Medievil remake. If they do decide to remake the games, they should invite the actors who are still alive back to redo the voices and just use the old audio for the actors who have sadly passed away.
@@strictlyfantasy that sounds good to me! :)
@@strictlyfantasy they also did that with the Destroy All Humans remake. New graphics, gameplay mechanics, even a cut level from the original but they kept the original voice files
@@munstrumridcully There's a lot of other good voice actors out there, I always imagined Michael Ironside as Vorador's new voice for example. Basically any older man with a gravely authority commanding voice would be good for the character.
now this channel is a thing of beauty, thank you for reviving these amazing characters. Legacy of Kain is the best vampire story ever.
2020 = 2021 true legacy of kain fans here 👍
I played the 1st soul reaver as a kid n just learned something new did not know that the creators faces are on melchias body lol
Melchiah always creeps me out even as an adult years later
In all honesty with the intense back stories that are involved in legacy of kain it can become its own tv series
Just imagine Ozar Midrashim playing in the intro scene! Shivers..
Melchiah is the sole reason that Soul Reaver needs a remake.
I remember these games from my childhood. A franchise that paved the way for the vampire genre only to be ruined by such series’s such as Twilight.
Thanks for bringing to light such nostalgia.
I love this series so much. You really do an excellent job telling the tales.
The descent to finding Melchiah was very well done.
Seeing this randomly get recommended to me gave me so much glee!
I just started separating my legacy of kain scripts into the elements and brothers. So you are aware of the 9 pillars and soul reaver but alot of ppl ignore the 7 elements explored. Each son of kain represents an element and raziel gains powers over each. This collecting the sprits of kains kin raziel restores kain with a boon to each element. Light and darkness round the elements up including earth, air, fire, water, spirit. I wanted you to know this while exploring the brothers. But you are on it brother! Can't keep up. Been busy w other stories. But Lok will always be my favorite. Great work. And thank you for the work. Helps me get ppl caught up so they can understand what I'm going on and on about...
I think it's just coincidence, and how would you correlate each brother to each element? Here's my guess:
melchiah - dark
zephon - air
rahab - water (the only obvious one)
dumah - stone/earth
turel - fire
raziel - light
kain - spirit
As far as I can see you can make arguments for any of them except rahab. Also the reavers in the original soul reaver concept are different to soul reaver 2 or defiance, there was a planned sound reaver but no air/darkness reaver. Sound would obviously go to zephon, he was in the silenced cathedral, right?
@@llVIU actually working it out for a vid. Can't find my notes atm but u gain mastery over earth to climb. You use fire and water to kill two u mentioned. Raziel clearly gains a boon for air with the wings. It's loose and spread over the series. First raziel absorbs the brothers and eventually kain in Williams chapel.he closes the loop in SR2 and ends up in the sword. Until later when raziel walks the reaver path going thru each temple. Here the elements are more upfront. But the 7 elements do have symbols that repeat around the pillar structure. The brothers and kain make sigils of their own to replace. But in game you go back further in time to reach a note pure form of the elements. In defiance it's the souls of the ancient Winged race that fuel these forges while previously it was gained by solving puzzles based again loosely around elements. The 7 elements are the constants in reality that the elder god doesn't control unlike the 9 pillars which he has powers over each. But I agree this is a shrouded topic that multiple writers have a hard time connecting game to game. Want to write an ending for the story which is why I'm reaching out to the biggest fans I can find. First we need to rewrite BO2 but I think I got that covered. Kain loses to william in this new timeline,who is actually the hylden lord from BO2. Idk that's a whole other can of worms
Whith wich element does each of Kain's children correspond?
@@arx3516 been working that out and it may be easier to find some than others. But in sr1 it's my view the elements are most corrupted by the whole process of the Elder God disrupting the timeline and of coarse the hylden curse or infection. So to restore balance the tyrannical stars set in motion the plan to restore balance. So Raziel is first to overcome or assimilate an element which I think is obviously Air with his wings. This is also the duality of the hylden becoming vampire and vampire hylden. As in Kain evolved into a hylden type while raziel resembled the Winged race. Anyway not all brothers assimilate their respective elements. As in The incectoid brother is actually vulnerable to fire, while the one who adapted to water still succumbed to the sunlight. Darkness and light being the most abstract elements may correspond to the brother trapped in the astral plane, who also I erraticated by fire but much more powerful flame almost to destroy his vessel for he could always re-enter it. Kain could have made enough sons for each pillar but he doesn't and I suspect it's due to this 7 elemental purifying of Raziel in both his forms and eventually giving kain the full boon of his enemies sight but also the elements in balance. The reaver on Raziel's arm is his old insane self who was trapped in the flipping coin continuum. I mentioned before kain bares the reaver w Raziel's soul because he is the only one who can satisfy the hunger and madness Raziel faces bound in the sword since the end of SR2. When raziel removes the heart of darkness while they hold each other's reavers is when raziel freed kain from the hylden curse and also fulfilled the need for kain to die and restore balance. Which is in the far future where they left in sr1. Raziel willingly giving himself is key to IT all. Sorry for the rant. But the brothers question is one I've been working on. Gotta dig out my notes tho. Let me ask you, how do you see it? Main issue is we know SR had content cut, so the admixture of the elements may have been more obvious. So what I'm saying is they are more of admixtures of the 7 elements until you literally go to element forges. All to create a weapon and one Worthy to wield it against the elder god.
@@llVIU yeah your right. They are admixtures of these 7 and corruption of the pillars and their bloodlines leaves them unable to fully adapt. Raziel, being a hylden soul, was actually closest and this is what enraged kain the first time around
You are a legend u kept this alive . This was my first PC game in 2007
Ay, the king has returned, I have waited as long as the Hylden
A complete rebuild and remaster of this entire series would be a grace of the gaming gods upon us all
I’d like to see a video on Janos Audron.
An excellent report! I had no idea about the Crystal Dynamics faces.
I look forward to your coverage of Rahab.
I'm so happy you've made these videos!
This franchise was a massive step forward for cinematic writing in games. Fantastic content!
Just discovered your character study videos and I'm absolutely in love with your Legacy of Kain videos. I hope you continue with them, I learned a lot from this one about Melchiah. Outside of Kain and Raziel, I've always found Kain's sons to be my absolutely favorites out of all the Legacy of Kain characters.
Melchiah being the oldest in the Sarafan order. As a Vampire his bodies could not withhold the flesh, due to his age as a Sarafan and and his body probably started to decomposed faster in death before his resurrection
same... I played SR1 as a kid and gosh, Melchiah was so terrifying to me
Honestly I think Melchiah knew so much more than what some may think. His statement on the disgust of his current state isn't just about him but his children, it is relating to the times of change, the riddle about Kain seems to be insinuating that he sees Raziel was trying to steal the kingdom, but it could refer to Kain refusing to allow humans to regain the towers or even the Hylden. Finally though the most clearest is his last "threat" saying that Raziel is the last to die, why last though? He could have said, now you will die or something like it, but he said last, the last brother to die, he was telling Raziel that all other brothers would fall by his hand however he would fall last. I will also say his stage itself honestly makes me think he planned for the day Raziel would have to kill him. He designed a machine to easily kill him the assistance of his servants while they were still sane. He relished that he was finally able to die. I think he may have lost some of his mind, but still had some wisdom
you know, it is people like you who put so much effort for us to see and understand more and more about this, i really appreciate you making such videos., good commentary, nice story breakdown and wonderful editing., i wish i could like your videos twice.,
thanks a lot for this., best wishes
Just found this channel- holy crap I miss this game!! Awesome video 👍
I never though of this till just now but Malchiah sounds more like he’s a conscious and autonomous Zombie with the ability to absorb the flesh of his enemies and the dead, more so than he does a Vampire. Like a… Vampire Zombie?
One of the best things in Soul Reaver 2 is the face that Human Raziel makes when he notices Wraith Raziel and they make eye contact. It fucking priceless. Even without facial mo-cap, you’re still able see the shock, terror, bewilderment, and the horror as his jaw goes slack and agape when confronted by, and recognizing, what was left of his own face on Wraith Raziel. It’s just beautiful and makes my chuckle a little everytime.
I've always found the foreshadowing that Melchiah presented at the boss fight as interesting. "You are the last to die!" rang true to the end of the series
Hey this is awesome. Can't believe someone is still making content for one of my favorite games
Another masterpiece! Thank you for taking the time - I can't wait for the rest of Kain's coven.
I love the soundtrack in Melchias Clan Territory. You can clearly hear the ratteling of Bones
Good work, the vid was amazing
Great study and very detailed I hope you will keep making such videos
He he he, without a doubt one of the best and most chilling boss encounters. Can still remember my 14 year old self after the gates shut and Melchia slinks out into view: "Oh craaap, I gotta fight that!?"😮 Still after so many years, one of the top 5 most memorable and terrifying boss battles ever. Great job on these charcter studies man, big ups! :)
Man I haven't played this game in years because it's so hard to get running on anything modern. But your character breakdown vids breath new life into an old series, help me learn things I never knew before, and make me remember my love for this series. Well done. Happy New year.
Square Enix should think about a remake of the whole series, and in the meantime make the old games fully compatible with modern systems, no graphic enhancement, just make the games run with PCs, consoles and support modern controllers.
Seeing this game get so much studying and detail put into analysis of its characters is so cool to see
Legacy of Kain is unlike any video game in existence so seeing still captivate so much attention is endearing
This game needs to be remade from the ground up. I can't think if a series that deserves it more in all honesty.
Superb stuff keep em coming
Legacy of Kain universe has such fascinating and deep lore. I wish these games could be remade whike preserving the original voice work. The performances in this game were masterful. Way ahead of it's time.
Also, sensational job on these videos, LoK lore just doesn't get enough love.
I’m so glad this channel keeps LoK series alive. Happy 2021❤️
Thanks for doing this i know I'm not the only one that requested it
Truly an awesome video.
Either a remake or another installment of this epic series on today’s next gen systems would be so awesome.
Just found your channel and just on the strength of how much of a fan I am, especially for the story, I’m subscribing to your great coverage of it.
Please keep these videos coming. I greatly enjoy watching and listening to your commentary.
Love that LOK is still getting mad love
Great video:) I hope that you would upload more! :)
Doing God's work. Awesome that you havent let these amazing characters fade into obscurity
+1, great work and a fantastic playlist to listen through.
This is awesome thanks so much from all the soul reaver fans out there 👌
I love these videos. I keep coming back from time to time to remind me the history of Nosgoth.
Another excellent take on LoK characters!! Wasn't expecting anything else from this channel at this point to be honest.
Love your analyses!
that.. was amzing! superb narration and insight for one of the most overlooked of Kain's sons.
This channel has become my go-to source for the Legacy of Kain series. Can't wait for more videos 👍
I always thought Melchiah was referring to himself when he spoke about Kain risking his power over an upstart inheritance. I don't think Melchiah even knew how bad things were outside or that his brothers had also mutated into horrific beasts. It seemed compared to the other siblings who had been freely roaming that Melchiah wasnt just hiding away, it almost looked like he was sealed in a vault of sorts as though Kain had decided to hide him away so the deterioration of someone of his stature would not be seen by the others.
Great content, thanks for keeping the Soul Reaver's lore alive!
Fantaatic study. I totally missed the grotesque details of his body. Thanks for putting these together.
I was hoping for a new video before the year ends and you delivered. Thanks for that.^^
Ah, you went with the youngest of Kain's brood...fair enough, here's hoping we'll get to Mortanius(his BO1 design is my fav).
Yeah I've been waiting for Mortanius too.
Time to dig out my old PS2 and replay these games!
I love this series, thank you for these vids
Man I hope you're doing this for each of the brothers.
Love videos and love all the fan art you use! The LoK community is so awesome. Thanks for making these vids!
2021 and gonna download this game again to play it! I have finished it many times but still love the exploring and the story :)
all i want is detailed Melchiah fan art
I would really love to see a remake of this serie. I have lots of memories playing these games back in the day…
Great video , happy to see new content made for this great game !
Holy shit i just realized he killed raziel's clan and absorbed their bodies. That's why he said "you are the last to die"
Oh Tony Jay, you spared us from total dissolution in your performance in this game. Him and Raziels voice actor are the 2 things I remember most fondly about this game!
Rest In Peace To All Of The Legacy Of Kain Voice Artists No Longer With Us.
this is awesome you should totally do the circle of 9 next
Thank you for making these videos. I grew up playing these game and this was by far my favorite franchise. My love of good story games stems from this series. I hope one day Sony picks this franchise back up and give it the loving end it deserves.
I'm loving these videos. I'm genuinely glad I found your channel.
Such a great job.
I ❤ that you are continuing to work on these videos. 😆👍
Hoping you make more of these about the other bosses in the game
Love this series such a gem. And love these videos cant wait to see you go over everyone
Fun fact: Michael Bell, who voiced Raziel, provided sync for Melchiah as well.
I will never understand why this franchise has remained untouched for so long. At the very least we still have the loyal fanbase to keep the memory alive.
Although I do somewhat of agree, I am actually kind of relived that no one has done so. Without Amy Henning at the helm and Tony Jay as the Elder God, any new game set in the same universe would likely be somewhat lackluster and probably dissapointing compared to the original. That being said though, the Square Enix Collective has allowed this game to be licenced by external developers. All we have gotten so far tough is the bland and boring "Nosgoth" game.
But if there are some devs that are actual fans of the game and franchise out there, we might someday see a competent succesor to this game. Although again, I honestly dont think anyone can recreate the magic and sheer talent that was behind the original games(I dont count Blood Omen 2 in this, as it is subpar to the Legacy series for my taste).
@@AreEia I think it's too late for a direct sequel to Defiance at this point, even if the original team would somehow be working on it again. The series isn't iconic enough to make the masses excited, so it would most likely fail to stand out, as it would be near-impossible for any new players to get into without the knowledge of the earlier games. The other two options would be either to remake the old games to get the fanbase going again, or to reboot the series.
I'm not necessarily saying that either should happen (though I'd give my soul to Elder God for remakes of Blood Omen and Soul Reaver), it just frustrates me that there's so much potential in the world of Nosgoth, the characters and the lore, but it's outright wasted because nobody's even trying to do anything worthwhile with it. In this regard Nosgoth (the game) doesn't count.
@@ZealSeraph Agreed. And all in all, atleast we got Defiance. And even without a "proper" ending to wrap up the series, I kinda like Kain's last monologue about hope. But yeah, it is frustrating that to see all the wasted potetial for something that could have become one of the best and most thought provoking game series of all time. But on the other hand, atleast we did not get several lackluster "spin offs" and the series being milked dry, wich (for me atleast) would be a far worse fate for the series.
"Kain: (Narrating) Now, at last, the masks had fallen away. The strings of the puppets had become visible, and the hands of the prime mover exposed. Most ironic of all was the last gift that Raziel had given me, more powerful than the sword that now held his soul, more acute even than the vision his sacrifice had accorded me. The first bitter taste of that terrible illusion: hope."
@@AreEia That's the other side of the coin, to have too many sequels, prequels and spinoffs, many of which take too many liberties with the story until the whole world just collapses on itself because of the rewrites and paradoxes. Many franchises have suffered this fate. Thankfully Legacy of Kain isn't one of them. And there are certainly worse notes to end on than that monologue by Kain.
Thanks for these character studies; so hoping for the day we finally get a remaster of this awesome series =)
Nice vid to watch before sleeping. Thanks. I'm looking forward to watching the next ones.
One of the best games of all times. Fantastic voices and dialogues.