0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Blood Omen Legacy of Kain

      

Blood Omen Legacy of Kain is a top down fantasy action adventure game that was developed by Silicon Knights and published by Crystal Dynamics for it’s European and North American Playstation releases, with the game published by BMG Japan for it’s Japanese release, in Japan the game is known as Kain the Vampire.

The game released first in November of 1996 in North America with a European release coming in March of 1997, the same for the Japanese release of the game. The Windows release of the game came late that year as well.

The game also released on the Playstation 3 and PSP on the 10^th of September 2009, with a PSVita release of the game coming on the 29^th of August 2012. In addition to these releases the game was planned to have a Sega Saturn release as well, this was however cancelled.

Notable people who worked on the game, Scott Derby who worked as a Graphic Team Lead on the game, worked as the Lead Artist on the 2002 title Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem as well as being the Lead Character model artist on Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes in 2004.

He provided Supplementary Art for the 2008 released Too Human, he was Lead Artist for the 2014 released Rollers of the Realm as well. More recently he worked on the 2017 released Debris, working as the 3D Design Lead.

Ryan Andrews also worked on Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem as a Lead Artist, he also worked on Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes working as Background Model Lead Artist. In 2008 he worked as an Artist on Too Human, more recently he worked as a 3D Environment Artist and Warframe.

Armando Marini who worked as the Lead Designer on the game, following the release of the game he moved onto the Battlefield series, and was lead designer on Battlefield 1942 Secret Weapons of WWII, Battlefield Vietnam and worked on Battlefield 2.

Albert Alejandro who worked as a Designer on the game, worked as an Environmental Artist on 2011 release Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure. Before moving on to the Forza series as a Vehicle Artist, first working on Forza Motorsport 5 in 2013 and Forza Horizon 2 in 2014.

Riley Cooper who was a Designer on Blood Omen Legacy of Kain also worked on the follow up Legacy of Kain games, eventually working his way up to be a Lead Designer on the series. He moved on to the Tomb Raider series after this, working as Lead Designer on Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary and Underworld. In 2017 he was the Lead Designer on the less than well received Need For Speed Payback.

Blood Omen is a 2D action adventure game with the player viewing the game world from a top down perspective, the gameplay is divided into two sections, the first is the overworld exploration and traversal, the second is a dungeon crawling element which involves hack and slash combat mechanics, puzzle solving and navigating hazards.

Basic movement of Kain is done with the D-Pad, movement of the player character is by ninety degree angles so left, right, up or down. The X button is used to cast spells, use an object, skip an FMV sequence or jump when Kain has transformed into a warewolf.

 

The Circle button is used as the action button, this button is also used to talk as well as feed. When in combat the square button is used to attack enemies. Kain also has the ability to assume the form of other creatures, with Kain able to turn into a Bat, wolf or even a cloud mist, he can also learn the ability to disguise himself as a create of weaker mind, the Triangle button is used to access Kain’s form menu.

While traversing the game world you can zoom in and out of the action by pressing the L1 shoulder button, an overhead map can also be accessed by pressing the L2 shoulder button. The game also features two quick menus, one for spells and one for objects, select will allow you access to the options menu, while start will access your inventory menu.

The game features a variety of items, spells, armor and weapons. Items vary from a Flay which is a spinning blade that can track and enemy it is thrown at, Implode this item caused the enemy it is thrown at to crush itself, Anti-Toxin this will cure Kain of any poison he may be suffering from and Red/Green/Blue/Purple Orbs which will refill Kain’s magic vial.

 

With Kain being a Vampire blood plays an important part in keeping Kain alive, there are items that can be used to help do this. The Heart of Darkness can being Kain back to life when he is killed, this will bring Kain back with a small amount of blood, if used while he is still alive you will get a larger amount of blood. Blood Refill this item will refill Kain’s blood vial, the blood vial is key to keeping Kain’s HP up.

Kain will gain access to a variety of Spells the range from environment affecting spells such as Sanctuary which returns Kain to the safety of his crypt, and Light which will illuminate the area for a short amount of time. Energy Bolt while it can be used offensively it can also be used to interact with switches in the environment.

 

Kain has the use of several other offensive spells, these include the likes of Blood Gout, this spell allows Kain to take the blood from an enemy without even touching them. Blood shower works almost identically to Blood Gout but affects all enemies in an area instead of just an individual enemy. Kain also has the ability to affect and control the mind of enemies, with spells like Inspire Hate and Mind Control.

Kain has access to different armor and weapons in his quest for vengeance, armor wise Kain has the choice of five types, the basic armor is Iron armor which provides Kain with an all around level of protection. A more advance armor would be the Chaos armor which when Kain is attacked will result in the enemy taking the same amount of damage as Kain.

The most powerful armor set that Kain can get his hands on is the Wraith armor, this armor set will split any damage taken by Kain between his health and magic vials. Also to aid Kain in his battles he has the choice of five different weapons, like armor the basic weapon is iron based, with an Iron Sword being the standard basic weapon.

 

Kain can opt for something with more impact with a Mace or Axe being the next option open to Kain. The main weapon of choice however is the final weapon, a weapon that would earn its place in future releases in the series, it is of course the Soul Reaver.

The Soul Reaver is a one hit kill weapon, there are of course downsides to using this highly powerful weapon, when equipped you will be unable to use items, as well as magic, the latter due to the fact that the weapon uses your magic vial when equipped. To use magic or items at any point you will have to unequip the Soul Reaver.

Blood Omen takes place in a land known as Nosgoth, a world that is dominated by Humans and Vampires. The world is inextricably connected to the Pillars of Nosgoth, nine supernatural edifices, each of which is represented and protected by a human guardian.

These guardians make up the Circle of Nine, in the event of a guardian falling, a new member will be called to take their place by the Pillars. Hundreds of years before the events that unfold in Blood Omen, the circle formed and sponsored the Sarafan, an order of monastic warriors who were devoted to the eradication of the Vampire race.

A Vampire known as Vorador as you would expect reacts angrily to the persecution of his people and seeks vengeance upon the guardians killing six of them as well as the leader of the Sarafan. The Sarafan are disbanded soon after, but the vampires of the world are still persecuted by humans. Since then new guardians have been called and Nosgoth’s surviving Vampires have retreated into hiding. Humanity has fractured in the intervening centuries and are now divided into two factions.

The games story revolves around Kain, a human nobleman that is killed in an ambush by a band of assassins. He is offered a second chance by Mortanius, and a chance to exact revenge on those who killed him. Kain accepts the offer and awakens as a vampire.

Once he kills his attackers, Mortanius tells him that, while they were the ones that took his life, they were not the ultimate cause. In search of the truth, and a cure to his vampiric curse, Kain travels to the Pillars of Nosgoth. There, Ariel explains that he has to destroy the Circle of Nine before he can find peace..    

Critically the games was well received by critics with the Playstation version of the game receiving several review scores in the 80s, as well as a highly impressive 100 from one review publication. At the other end of the review scale the Playstation version did not fall below an above average 60.

As usual though we will start with the best of them, which is that highly impressive 100 review score which comes from Electric Playground. Who’s reviewer called the game rich and creepy, with the review commenting that you will be daydreaming about your visits into its dementia.

The reviewer found the game to be shocking with its use of violent and blood soaked imagery, combined with its moody and evocative soundtrack that will haunt you long after you unplug your PSX. The review continued by praising Kain’s gameplay that will entice you into a series of all night adventure marathons. Concluding the review said, I was blown away by this ferociously cool title, Kain has quickly become one of my favourite games of all time.

For the next highest review score we take a bit of a drop but still remain very high with an 89 from Spanish publication VicioJuegos.com. This review came long after the games release coming in January of 2013. The review praised the game for being able to keep them interested right up to the end game credits.

The reviewer also praised the plot, setting, characters and the games soundtrack, which they called wonderful, they also praised the games incentives to keep playing and exploring to find the various secrets available, pushing the games length well past the 20 hour mark without any problem.

While the reviewer did find a few issues with the game such as the old fashioned graphics, voices in Englsih without the option of subtitles and the lack of difficulty. They concluded however by saying, Kain has been reborn as a vampire and there will be no one in a long time to discuss his throne.

IGN were next up with a 85 rated review, the reviewer called the games story intense, and the best of the many strong features in the game. they also praised the games voice over, with enemies, peasants and friends all having distinct voices, they also praised Kain’s interior monologue calling it both gruesome and entertaining at the same time.

The reviewer did have issues with the games load times however, calling them agonizing as the game loads in the next section of map, the reviewer did comment though, that while a hindrance it is not as bad as Resident Evil.  They continued by praising Silicone Knights for making the load screens and unobtrusive as possible.

Concluding the reviewer called Blood Omen Legacy of Kain a great RPG, they continued by saying. And if you are not playing Suikoden right now you should definitely picked up Legacy of Kain, by the time you finish Final Fantasy 7 will be almost upon us.

Gamezilla are next up with and 84 rated review, the reviewer saying the game will provide many, many, many (I could keep going with the many’s) hours of enjoyment. The reviewer saying the game is huge and gameplay that is reminiscent of the classic Legend of Zelda with the gore of Loaded.

They continued by saying the graphics are sharp and the controls are easy and responsive. They did however find that you will have to put in several more hours due to the slow load times, due to the expansive world and the detailed background which does slow down the action considerably.

RPGFan also rated the game at an 84, the reviewer finding the game does show signs of its age graphically, Blood Omen Legacy of Kain is still a game worth checking out. The reviewer finding the dark and often graphic action RPG still delivers the good, with an engrossing story, solid gameplay mechanics and entertaining voice acting.

Game Revolution are next up with their 83 rated review, the reviewer praising the games slick graphics, plenty of depth and intriguing plot and perhaps even a deeper moral question or two. The reviewer saying Blood Omen Legacy of Kain is one of the few games that they would wait through the horrible loading times.

Heading to the other end of the review scale we find two games rated at a good 80, the first of these comes from German publication Video Games. who found that graphically the game could not compete with its FMV’s but does so with its captivating story and imaginative gameplay which will quickly captivate you.

For the next review we head over to Sweden and the publication High Score who also rated the game at an 80. following this we head to France and the publication Jeuxvideo.com from September of 2009, the reviewer rated the game at a solid 75. 

The reviewer calling the game undoubtedly a hit that should be in your library, with twists and turns and a tortured soundtrack, to make it one of the most remarkable games on the console. Despite heavy gameplay problems we will not tire of this evolving story that will give birth to four more episodes.

GameSpot were next up with a decent 71 rated review, the reviewer finding the game captures the spirit of Zelda and Beyond Oasis, they continued by saying Legacy of Kain is a great hack and slash role-playing game, with lots of challenging and fun gameplay.

Back to France for the next review which came in 2012 from Legendra who rated the game at a decent 70. The reviewer finding that the game boasts an incredibly captivating vibe, a rich universe and well crafted storyline. They continued by saying, although the graphics have aged and the animations leave something to be desired, as well as some playability issues it does not lose its flavour or it’s content of nostalgia

The final review comes from Edge magazine who rated the game at an above average 60, the reviewer finding the game to a new twist making the protagonist the anti-hero in Kain the vampire who must feed on the blood of innocents. Such desperately controversial elements have already won it an enthusiastic Stateside audience.

This is the part of 0 to Z where is visit four online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com, eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to, I’ve heard they have a huge stock of older games, Ebay has now been dropped unless the game is unavailable at other retailers.

So lets get down to business with Gamedude, where the game is listed as just Legacy of Kain, rather than Blood Omen Legacy of Kain. If you are looking to trade in your copy of this game, you will be looking at $4 from Gamedude for your copy. On the other hand if you are in the market for a copy of Blood Omen Legacy of Kain, you will be looking at an outlay for around $12.

 

Next we head over to Retrogames.co.uk where unfortunately we don’t find the game available or even listed, so we will quickly head over to eStarland.com where we find one copy of the game available. This copy which comes complete is priced up at $21.95.

In addition to this copy of the game that is on offer, eStarland.com also offer a trade in for the game. With $11 being offered for a complete copy of Blood Omen Legacy of Kain, this offer does fluctuate depending on the completeness of your copy, with a disc only copy worth just $3.85.

 

Lastly we move on to Amazon.com where we find a good supply of the game available, however all bar one of the entries on the first page of listings is a disc only copy of the game. the single copy that doesn’t say disc only does not confirm the games completeness.

It is the second page of listing before we find a complete copy of the game, this copy is the Black Label version of the game and is in very good condition. This copy is priced at $19.95 with a $3.99 shipping fee bringing the total to $23.94.

Another Black Label copy of the game, again in very good condition can be picked up for $24.95, this copy however is shipped by Amazon so the free shipping only applies to those with Prime membership and those spending over $25.

If you are looking for a better quality used copy of the game, a like new copy is available for $25.10 once shipping costs have been added in. Another couple of very good condition copies are also available for $25.94 and $26.97.

From here prices steadily rise with several mode complete copies in very good or like new condition, the majority of used copy prices peaking out at around the $40 mark. From here we see out first new copies of the game, the cheapest coming in at $49.99, with another one priced at $51.48.

A few overpriced used copies follow those two new copies, we also see a bit of a jump in price for new copies here as well, with the next copy on offer coming in at $61.98. New copy prices continued to rise slightly from here with the new game price peaking at $69.99.

Written by

P J Gibbon