The Legacy of Legacy of Kain
Legacy of Kain…
…the story of an arrogant man afflicted with a terrible curse.
…the tale of a faithful servant betrayed and murdered, given the chance to exact bloody revenge.
…the unfolding of the destiny of a world in peril, stuck between light and corruption.
Actually it’s about time-travelling vampires.
Following on from my scathing recommendation of the Jak (and Daxter) series of games, I’d like to again cajole you into buying junk. This time around it’s the Legacy of Kain series, a heavy tale of blood-suckers without much blood-sucking. I’m no great fan of vampires - in general I think they’re a creaky plot device for people too profoundly bland to come up with their own ideas. However, there are exceptions to the rule, if there’s enough originality in the mix. The Legacy of Kain series of games fit the bill.
First released in 1996, Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen (PC, PSX) chronicles the journey of the titular Kain from arrogant idiot noble to arrogant sociopath vampire. Struck down outside a local pub, he is resurrected as one of the thirsty undead and quickly sets about murdering his murderers. Finding himself still firmly undead, he also tries to seek out a cure for the curse of vampirism, accidentally uncovering a grand destiny in the process (as it usually goes). Along the way he discovers that in order to heal the world, and himself, he must defeat 9 powerful dudes who have been driven mad by madness. In the closing of the game the player is offered a choice between sacrificing themselves to heal the world, or sticking around to rule in hell.
There are four other games in the series, and it’s safe to say they don’t track the rainbow loveliness of a perfect utopian fantasy.
Soul Reaver was the next fanged baby to tumble out. In a twist not entirely common, this game is set hundreds of years in the future and has a completely different main character. Raziel is Kain’s top vampire henchman in the ruined shithole of future Nosgoth. Vampires in this world evolve and change over time, and Raziel has been a very naughty pokemon - he grows wings before Kain. Kain, of course, rips the bones right the fuck out of his back, has him tossed into a giant whirlpool of death and pain, and cuts up all his vampire credit cards.
Ressurected by an ancient, squishy god, Raziel becomes a reaver of souls (get it?), having to consume the spirits of the dead to survive. Extremely pissed off and trapped in a tug of war between the spectral
and physical realms, he runs off to kill the life out of that bastard Kain, accidentally uncovering a grand destiny in the process (as it usually goes). It inevitably results in copious amounts of time travel. Really.
Savvy individuals may have noticed that I’ve barely mentioned the gameplay. They ARE good games, by gaming standards, usually falling into a sort of third-person action RPG chasm-type-thing. There’s a lot of variety in gameplay, from hacking and slashing at demons and vampires, eating the souls of the dead, shifting magically between worlds and showing off with spiffy magic powers. Which is all well and good, but not at all why I’m recommending these games.
As you may have gathered, the story of the Legacy of Kain series is complex and awesome. Taking the tired old concept of vampires and taking it in a new direction, the games weave a mythology which is entirely their own. The 
story is fantasy based, yes, but actually interesting. The games deal with heady concepts like fate and destiny, playing with the question of what control we have over our own lives.
AND I LIKE STORIES. I’ll play a terrible game to hear a good story. I hate myself that much. Anyway, if you’re a fan of twisted narrative with a Shakespearian delivery, pick up some of the Legacy of Kain games. Better than watching Twilight because you won’t want to cut your own throat 10 minutes in.