Official Review
The original Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain was released in 1996 and almost feels like Castlevania fused with The Legend of Zelda. You assume the role of the vampire Kain, who indulges in real-time battles and puzzle-solving through the vast, non-linear world of Nosgoth. Kain has all the powers you'd expect from a vamp – he can shapeshift into a wolf, bat or mist, for example – but he needs to keep his blood intake up in order to survive and is weaker in daylight.
At the time of release, Blood Omen was rightly praised for its moody atmosphere, gory visuals, great voice acting, brooding anti-hero and gripping storyline, but it came under criticism for its occasionally awkward controls and jerky scrolling. It also feels like the characters are slightly too big for the screen, giving the game a claustrophobic feel at times. Despite these shortcomings, Blood Omen is still well worth a look today.
The 1999 sequel Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is a substantially different experience to Blood Omen, which is understandable when you consider that it wasn't initially developed as part of the series. The shift to 3D makes a huge difference – as does the game's plane-shifting mechanic, where players must move between the material and spectral planes of existence in order to solve puzzles and move through levels. Instead of consuming blood, protagonist Raziel can collect souls from fallen enemies to replenish his health, which automatically drops when he occupies the material realm.
While the world of 3D gaming has obviously come quite some way since Soul Reaver was released, it remains a classic of the genre – as evidenced by the fact that Soul Reaver and its PS2 sequel are getting the remaster treatment on modern-day systems this year (it's worth noting that the Evercade version of Soul Reaver is the base PS1 original, and isn't remastered).
Oh, and we'd also like to point out that, thanks to the latest system update, Soul Reaver is one of the Evercade titles to benefit from analogue controller support. With that in mind, it's best experienced on the Evercade VS (although it's still perfectly playable on the handheld Evercade).
Like so many Evercade releases, nostalgia will play a huge part in influencing a purchasing decision with Legacy of Kain Collection; if you were a fan of either game back in the '90s, then you'll almost certainly want to revisit them in this new double pack. However, newcomers are encouraged to give these games a try, too; they have enough quality on display to offer plenty of enjoyment, even if you're not a seasoned fan of the franchise.
