Legacy of Kain | Soul Reaver - A Timeline 

Mad respect for all content creator who doesn't let this series to be forgotten.

When I was a child, I found it hard to understand the way they spoke in the game but learn many words.

God this was such a beautifully done series if any game deserves a reboot or better yet a remastering it's this.

The way people love this game I'm lost on why we haven't gotten any more games

Mobius probably relates to mobius strip being twisted but a single plane. Interesting.

Man I really forgot how confusing this games lore was

Loved this game soooo much wish they would bring it back

Maybe do a vid on Vorador? The Vampiric Blacksmith carries a measure of intrigue and curiosity, as does Janos. Also the fate of the Hylden/Vampire war and the events that made up the appearance of the Hylden in Defiance?

Incredible one of my favorites

These games need a remaster. From blood omen 1 to defiance.

I love when there's still people who loves this legendary franchise ♥️

Kain: MWAHAHAHAHAH! Raziel: "I swore i saw a glint of satisfaction in Kain's eye"

"I am, as before, your right hand. Your sword."

This game was too early for its time Forget Nathan Drake Give me a Soul Reaver Animated Series, GoT style

Raziel's claws can pierce through metal so he's correct when he says "It was not the lack of options." Those six daggers are sharp.

I'm a simple person. I see Legacy of Kain, I click

VAE VICTIS

Notice the similarities between Razie's head and the skull on the blade itself? No jaw, straight jagged edged hair and boney facial features? It's almost as if the blade was designed with his image in mind. (In lore)

"History abhors a paradox." This always stuck with me for some reason, history always wanting to make sure there is only one version of something, not two. I don't know why, but out of all of the lines used in Legacy of Kain I feel these words hold the most weight. Thank you for keeping the lore alive for this franchise. Even though the series is amazing and could absolutely have a future, it could only do so in another timeline as the one we are in would rather try to direct the franchise to a team shooter than continue the franchise via the ways it built its legacy: as a single player game. For now it seems the game is stuck in the same fate its characters were chained to: an endless cycle of replays with no real way to alter the future... at least until the edge of the coin is landed on and we get the continuation that we deserve. Take care

22:06 Imagine walking into someone's trap after rewriting history THREE TIMES. What kind of absolutely monumentally one billion IQ 5th dimensional chess were the hylden playing that rewriting history three times was all according to keikaku*? When I got to that point in the game I just couldn't stop laughing at the sheer magnitude of events that line was implying. * keikaku means plan.

The voice-acting and dialogue is just so good

I just wish Amy Hennig could write and finish the story as maybe as a book, or comic book series.

This series is as old as some of their fans, yet, it still drives people to create content, it could tell you how beloved the series is. Good job my guy.

Legacy of Kain Franchise, especially Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance have stuck with me since childhood. Probably one of the most amazing stories in video games.

"MY GOD, THE HYLDEN!" One of my favorite moments of time travel fuckery in the series

Just amazing... what an incredible mindblowing/bending, story this game has. Words can not describe. Way ahead of its time and the time yet to come in my opinion. To those ppl who created this story, they deserve the best there is oscar or whatever you name it. And the best oscar there is to my man "Stricly Fantasy" for this beautiful and perfeckt elegant art Documentary, again! Thank you so much, i enjoyed all your videos as much as it gets. All the best to you, take, care and stay safe. (sorry for my english )

I still hold out hope (perhaps just a fool's hope...) that we will see a continuation of the Legacy of Kain games one day.

Kid me: “This game looks dumb. Pass” Adult me: “Holy lovecraftian ties Batman! Get in my collection.”

It's interesting once you realize that Raziel possesses free will and is able to change history because there is always two of him present. Himself, and the Spectral Reaver.

I've always loved the story of this series, but funny enough, I never understood it until watching your videos. Thank you for this!

@Strictly Fantasy Actually you should not avoid dwelling into Blood Omen 2, this game's story though some may not realize is still extremely important to the timeline. The fact that the Hylden were trapped in the Demonic realm gave them also a level of timelessness, which through it they helped hatch the plans that affect all of Nosgoth as we have seen. This is one of the key things that the "Sarafan/Hylden" General had mentioned to Kain when before Kain killed him and absorbed his soul. There are things that obviously were left in Mystery such as the Witch, that seemed to be not a Vampire as Kain thought she was, but in fact a Human Hylden hybrid, and I believe that it may be the very same woman portrayed in a painting in Vorador's keep in the 1st blood omen. Remember that Vorador is basically the very first human turned Vampire by Janos Audron himself, so he has a long and still vast knowledge of ancient vampire history. There are also things I noticed in BO2 that explained the "evolution" of Kain in SR, for example his altered appearance seems directly from the Witch herself since he drank from her. The evolution on Kains vampiric sons all may have derived from the creatures from BO2 like the insectoid creatures that Kain feeds from in the game, and Zephon inheriting these attributes. One has to follow the bestiary of BO2 and see the connection clearly and here comes Raziel OWN evolution, his Hylden appearance comes from the Hylden that Kain fed from as well. As you had stated before when Kain orders Raziel to the abyss, his look was of knowledge of the gamble, but I go further back. When Raziel presents himself in front of Kain and shows his wings, Kain's look of apparent anger was in fact of knowledge that it was the time to act upon his plans. He had knowledge of the times and twists, explained to Raziel in the Time Streaming chambers by Kain, whom had studied all the visions throughout millennia. Obviously the ill events were mostly orchestrated by the Elder "god" and I may even believe that the Hylden, who were mentioned that originally may not be from Nosgoth and may have arrived there in a long time before, may in fact be unknowing minions of the Elder god as the actual catalyst, and they may have in fact rebelled against him which prompted him to dupe the vampires and create all the chaos that happened since. That being said, the Hylden being timeless in the Demonic Realm, as well as the Elder god used the weakening of the Pillars to steer things, even explained by Mortanius to Raziel and the Hylden through him and then to Kain when he kills Mortanius and the Hylden take over his body. Blood Omen 2 seems inconsequential to those that do not see it deeply, but it is key important as well...even Janos Audron himself was in a way like Raziel, existing in tandem in the same timeline with himself as physically he was in front of Kain but Kain himself carried Janos's heart within him. THIS paradox was created by Mortanius as he fought against his possession of the Hylden within him. Remember that Mortanius was in league with Moebius but realized the error of his ways and I am sure that Moebius was the one that somehow got Mortanius possessed by the Hylden to further his stupid but formidable plans as he is used as a puppet by the Elder god. When Janos was thrown into the Demonic Realm it gave a sort of freedom to Kain in a sense as well, hence when the heart of Darkness was torn from Future Kain and thrown into the Demonic Realm too, he was NOT dead, allowing then that when he returns to Nosgoth past the Purified Raziel heals and purifies him from the corruption of the circle of 9. BO2 makes it full circle.

I was waiting for a simple character study of Janos or Vorador, but this video is a truly masterpiece with no doubt. You have surpassed my expectations. 👏👏👏

I was waiting something like this for a "millennium" ! Thank you very much! After 20 years, the first Soul Reaver is still unforgettable... :)

This franchise needs a remastering...not a remake or retcon just a straight remaster scene for scene remade exactly the same...

Legacy of Kain does Time Travel in such a unique and intriguing way that I dare say this whole series sets the bar for time travel phenomena

"Kindred, this blade and I" I love the new meaning that line takes, after learning the Reaver's true nature.

"Let's not dwell on Blood Omen 2." Yeah, good luck trying to explain that train wreck of a time line...one word...Vorador

Damn, I just had a thought. What if the only reason Raziel has free will in the first place is because he's wandering around with two soul reavers, himself and the wraith blade. Only from the moment Kain shattered the blade and Raziel merged with the wraith blade was he free to follow his own course through history.

I can not tell how many times I had listened to all the movie versions of the franchise, but you managed to shred some light to some aspects that I still did not understand. Thank you for that. Very good and informative video.

Bluepoint should focus remaking this after demon's souls sales finances their budget

Interesting... I also think that when Kain becomes purify new guardians would be allowed to be born. Kain could look for them, train them, make vampires of them and lead them to a final confrontation with the elder god. Then they might be able to restore the pillars or they might decide the pillars are no longer necessary and use their own guardian energies to restore Nosgoth. After all, the pillars are a physical manifestation of Nosgoth prime energies, not the energies themselves. This is just a theory I have...

So glad this game is still talked about today. It's one of the most well written and voice acted series with an original and unique settings. It would be an utter shame for it to be forgotten. Thank you!

I kinda want to see the timeline where Razial struck down Mobius when the blades linked. How different it would be if he had never collected the blade to place in Kains path or gift to the young king.

So odd that this hasn't gotten a remake. It would be incredible in todays generic nonsense.

BTW, do you agree that the Hillden were actually a "good guys" (or at least not so bad as portrayed in the vampire culture)? This was quite obvious in the Defiance where is revealed that all conflicts were started by their rejection of the "wheel of faith" and the elder god. I like to think that the Kain him self is also finally aware of this at the end of the Defiance as well...

Remaster of this serie would be a dream come true.

Amazing you recovered plot holes in this game i was trying to understand for years

I just realized something: How did the ancient vampires know the name of the blades owner, How did they know it was Raziel?

Story wise, no game has yet to reach the pinnacle that this game set.

This games deserves to be remebered as one of the greats.

Thanks for this. I didn’t understand much of the story until recently. This game used to intrigue me and at the same time freak me out as a boy lol. Love the storyline, really is one of the few intelligent and conceptual game storylines ever made. Thumbs up 👍

I didn't realize there was more obsessed over the Legacy of Kain series! I absolutely loved this series any time i see Crystal Dynamics or Eidos on a game I think only of my first of the series Soul Reaver 1 when it was released years ago. Then i obsessed over getting all the games in the series and hope so often that another Series game comes back or remastering it. Thanks for going back to the past! I loved your series content! You masterfully summarize it! I will send as many as possible your way!

I wish they would make a movie series or remake the game with today’s technology!!!!

Soul Reaver is the game that got me into gaming. I was nearly 30 and gaming finally got its vampiric claws into me.

One can only match move by move the machinations of fate

I even got my gamer tag from this game I try to carry its great Legacy! This is by far the greatest games to ever be played they defiantly need a remake.

The ability to follow this story and timeline is astounding but what is really amazing is the ability to explain it to the point where I can actually understand it. I loved these games growing up I'm glad I came across this video.

If I may make a suggestion, maybe you could make another video talking about “The Circle of Nine“ or all of Kains sons.

Dude. Thank you. I have been looking for ANYONE to make a timeline for the reaver blade itself. I gave up on the search. Then BOOM here you are with this excellent piece of work! Good job 👍

Excellent soul reaver video!😈👍

The wordplay of the Elder God's speech to Raziel; "Become my weaver of souls." And the Soul *Reaver* itself is peak subtlety

Events play out ALMOST as you described, but you missed one key point: History & Destiny Collide. Remember that scene where Kain convinces Raziel to not kill him in William's Chapel? That was suppose to be Future Kain's death. Then when Raziel went back, killed his human self, and was being devoured by the Blood Reaver, Kain wouldn't be there cause he would've been dead, hence why Raziel wasn't saved. The other question still remains; where did the OTHER Soul Reaver come from if Moebius possessed the one that recently devoured Raziel?

I love legacy of kain series, thanks for the videos

The quality of these videos can’t be denied. I remember hunting down old style web text files when I was playing these games years ago to try to understand the timeline and some of the complexities of the LOK story. It’s one of my favourite game series of all time, and to be able to find mini documentaries on it today is something 20 years ago me would’ve been itchy to get my hands on. What a great time to be alive. Thank you Strictly Fantasy for these videos. Incredible job! Separately I would love to see remakes of these games, only if they kept the original voice score. I think a new cast could only do a worse job as the original was so perfect, and even a re-record would be difficult considering ages and I believe some of the OG cast are no longer with us. I would love to see a finalisation of the story though, if the R&K actors could return. Something that may sadly never happen. Michael Bell is 84 so it needs to happen soon!

Damn brotha I thought this was news on a remake are a reboot lol thanks for the video I love this game series 🤙🏼

I played the one game SOUL REAVER and still think about it to this day. I always wondered about the story, when you just play the one game so much is left a mystery but in a good way, it makes you imagine what must have happened. Good video.

BRO!! THIS IS AN AMAZING JOB!! YOU DESERVE MORE VIEWS

Wait i forgot how well the narration is in this game .alot of talking but still it makes u feel like u are reading a book. U get every feeling of the character which is good cuz the dated graphics can show that

This series were ahead of its time If they are released today, it would probably be in a level as god of war, if not even better.

I need to go back and replay this series again. I always knew it was well written, but God DAMN did I forget just HOW well written!

The first game blood omen is my favorite of series. What I like about it was how free roaming the gameplay was being able to choose armors weapons spells and magical items. Exploring the world unlocking secrets. They didn't have that in blood omen 2 or soul reavers let alone defiance. Now after all the time paradoxes I would love to see a remake of blood omen 1 and where it possibly go from there.

Brother, please accept my humble comment in that your amazing grasp of this convoluted story and your ability and willingness to help us wrap our own little minds around it is nothing short of a Godsend. Thank you so much! 🙏

This video was very much needed, great job! I got lost in a section of the timeline though, when exactly and how, does the Soul Reaver make a jump from one timeline into another, causing two physical Soul Reavers to exist at the same time?

Legacy of Kain is a milestone for video games as a narrative medium and should never be forgotten.

Did Amy Hennig know all along that this is how the story would develop? How else can we explain why Kain was satisfied when Soul Reaver was destroyed in SR1? - So it unfolds, and we are a step closer to our destiny.

I just realized that the skull on the soul reaver resembles Raziel’s skull, just the top part and the fangs

The writing and character development in this series was fucking next level. All the games that make me nostalgic have incredible stories. Chrono Trigger was another one. Do they write like this for games anymore?

In my opinion this is probably the most realistic depiction of time travel minus the ability to change it. History abhors a paradox

this is the video I was waiting for, just awesome, we need more content like this of Legacy of kain !

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this series! H9wcI wish the developers has seen fit to remake it for the PS4. But they absolutely needed to fix load times on opening doors, lol.

Amazing video. Hoping we get more LoK analysis

When you mentioned how you doubted that even the Elder God could bring Moebius back from a paradox like Raziel killing him in that moment, it reminded me-- I've always wondered what actually _is_ the Elder God? I mean, he's obviously not what he claims to be-- some necessary being that keeps life on track. The most we get is suspicions from Raziel that he is a cosmic parasite...but what _is_ he? My own head canon is that he is an extradimensional entity in the vein of Shumah Gorath from Marvel (tentacles and all) that inserted himself onto the "Great Wheel" early in the history of Nosgoth to feed off all the souls of the dead. That is another reason that I am so disappointed that the series didn't get a proper ending. They seem to be hinting that they would explain more about the nature of the elder god and a subsequent title! Bah!

This series have spoiled my future experiences of games. An intricate lore, dark wisdom, feelings of despair and agony, with a bittersweet taste of universal lie - hope, has left it's marking on my soul. Forever after leaving a sour taste of anything I tried playing in next two decades. Legacy of Kain was one of the first, my most beloved games I played, I thrived by exploring the lore, the masterpiece of dialogues in it, awaiting a short exchange of words like a 2nd coming, unlike anything after, I've never once had thoughts of skipping anything, replaying the scenes in order to secure the fact I haven't missed a sliver of knowledge. Perhaps only Prince of Persia Warrior Within, comes somewhat on the horizon to a tale worth hearing, but the difference of quality is unfathomable, the Legacy of Kain series are an apex of what a good game was, you not only enjoyed playing it, but you actually came out wiser as a person after finishing them. The last game I have enjoyed, that made me invested was of course Witcher 3, but it still doesn't hold a candle to this epic tale. If they ever make a worthy sequel, with old voice actors, even though some of them are no longer with us, and Amy Hennig coming back to operate this orchestra of Shakespearean dialogues and lore, nothing would stand against this series glorious rebirth.

19:20 this part is always funny to me because Kain laughs as he leaves and Raziel says he could have saw a hint of satisfaction in Kane's eyes. So I'm saying to myself is what gave it away him laughing like a evil villain or him saying we are closer to our destinies

Wow. Thanks for making the story a little more comprehensible. This is my fav game of all time but i couldn't fully wrap my head around the time travel paradoxes. And damn, when I was young I hoped Raziel would kill Mobious when he had the chance because he was finally able to. But he let him get away lol

That was quite a story, I enjoyed it as I keep thinking how the series could have ended if it was not cancelled, it has been 20 years of me wondering,😁

The soul reaver, the old weapon and stronger than any of us, raziel says this but doesn't know hes talking about how powerful himself is

You do such good work. Big thumbs up from a Legacy of Kain fan!

Gives me chills just hearing the music! Amazing story.

this is a badass vid brother. i suddenly felt the urge to revisit the lore of this game as i never understood it when i was a child. i have gone to star wars theories to harry potter theories up into your channel. thank you for making all this effort into simplifying this series to those confused such as myself. watching your videos one by one.. the descent had destroyed me, and yet.. *i lived*

Someone should do a remake of this. Loved it backthen

Loved this game, listen to music to this day. P.S. There is no such thing as Paradox... it's just an error of thinking/understanding events. If "rules" oppose themself there was another rule to allow it and the two that conflict never existed in first place to begin with, it's just limited scope of averness and perception of human mind to comprehent upon which "established facts" are agreed upon, and ofcourse hubris to deny our limitation and wrongs. In short ...if you arrived at Paradox, it means thoughts or understanding was not based in truth...mostly because missunderstood words, concepts, rules or events - and by this their true meaning. Have a prosperous jurney, and always remember. there is more...or you blind yourself, and in your "timeline"/worldvision you will be the "right" one...but in end expire as a fool...or more...continue to be so.

This is hands down my favorite game series and I'm a older gamer. Legacy of kain was a masterpiece. I wish they would release either a 4k remaster or finish the story for us.

You know, the location of the Pillars has always confused me in this game. In the opening scene, the Pillars are somewhere high up and in an open space. But during Raziel and Kain's first fight, they're inside, surrounded by a building.

One of the greatest stories in the history of gaming beautifully presented, with first class editing and a very detailed explanation of the time lines within the LOK universe, anybody who hasn't experienced these games is really missing out on something very special, many thanks for all your hard work and dedication to this incredible franchise.

Man I just found ur channel when I googled if they had plans for another game or remake finally I’m glad I did and happy people like u keep my favorite game series from fading away

That was truly amazing the legacy of kain saga as some of the best story telling I hope that Sony can remake this masterpiece for the ps5

6:12 "After slaughtering his brethren..." Me: "Again" I do love that Raziel recognizes Kains blasphemous ironic joke, in that Raziel kills his Sarafan self and brethren, leaving Kain to resurrect them as vampires, and then Raziel kills them again.

absolutely brilliant game series. still one of my favorite ever. The writing was just so fantastic. Don't understand why this hasn't received a proper remake yet with the current trend of remakes.

These games were amazing for their day, and even stand up now. A remaster would be awesome! Some of the best lore, voice acting, storytelling, and game play ever.