[ Legacy of Kain: The Lost Worlds ]

Vampires

article by Ben Lincoln

 

In the retail version of Soul Reaver 2, the only vampires which Raziel sees (other than Vorador and Janos Audron) are dead - the victims of the Sarafan and Moebius' crusaders. Early plans for the game included encounters with living vampires in at least two locations: Raziel would have stumbled across one of them being slain (see Raziel Witnesses a Vampire Slaying) soon after arriving in the first era, and he would later have entered a vampire village in The Ruins in the Swamp.

Other than the vampire who is killed by the Sarafan, it is unknown what specific role these characters would have played in Soul Reaver 2. The August 2000 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly describes battles with vampires:

Raziel needs to pummel enemy vampires into submission, then do 'em in with a fatal feat such as impaling or hurling them into water - except now he'll encounter hardier vampire types invulnerable to those old-school finishing moves.

The same article also mentions sects of vampire- and demon-worshipping humans, much like those who would have populated The Undercity and The Temple which was deleted from the first game.

In addition, the bonus material for Soul Reaver 2 includes concept art of four different vampires in the enemies section. However, one of these is the female vampire killed in the deleted cinematic. In addition, other text in the EGM article gives the impression that they may have mistaken the non-vampire magical enemies in the game (such as the Thralls) for vampires.

The lack of conclusive information makes it impossible to determine whether the vampires would have been Raziels enemies, allies, or both depending on the situation.

There was apparently a debate among the Soul Reaver 2 staff as to the vampire issue in general. According to some of the team members, the vampire village sequence was added without official approval after the vampire-slaying sequence was nixed, only to meet a similar fate.

 
[ The unused vampire model ]
The unused vampire model
[ The unused vampire model ]
The unused vampire model
[ The unused vampire model ]
The unused vampire model
[ The unused vampire model ]
The unused vampire model
[ The unused vampire model ]
The unused vampire model
[ The unused vampire model ]
The unused vampire model
[ The unused vampire model ]
The unused vampire model
[ The unused vampire model ]
The unused vampire model
[ Vampire concept art from the bonus material ]
Vampire concept art from the bonus material
[ Vampire concept art from the bonus material ]
Vampire concept art from the bonus material
[ Sarafan vampire hunter concept art from the bonus material ]
Sarafan vampire hunter concept art from the bonus material
[ Sarafan vampire hunter concept art from the bonus material ]
Sarafan vampire hunter concept art from the bonus material
[ Sarafan vampire hunter concept art from the bonus material ]
Sarafan vampire hunter concept art from the bonus material
[ Sarafan vampire hunter concept art from the bonus material ]
Sarafan vampire hunter concept art from the bonus material
[ A high-quality version of Kory Heinzen's concept art ]
A high-quality version of Kory Heinzen's concept art
 
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