How Sega Killed Kain

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If you want an example of just how ignorant Sega can be when it comes to quality games, let me refresh everyone’s memories with a game long lost due to ignorance. The game is Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, an RPG/action game where you play a vampire who must fulfill a Blood Legacy before get can finally get eternal rest (or, as he says, “respid”, don’t ask me what that means). On the Sony Playstation, it marked up some rave reviews and a good amount of purchasers, but, on the Saturn, it never came to pass.

Here’s the awkward situation, though Legacy of Kain is a finished game. 100 percent complete. And, better yet, it is a much more polished game than the PS version. I played an eprom late last year (about 70-75% complete) at a local game store and I was shocked at how much better it was. The slowdown was gone, there was a bit more blood, and the voice samples loaded up quicker, resulting in a more whole experience than what PS had to offer (although the PS version still is worth noting).

Now, no one, not even Activision (the publishers of Kain on the PS) has stepped forth to pick up the game for distribution. Why? They’re worried about poor Saturn sales. Let me put this to rest (er, or respid)…Sega RPG’s have sold phenomenally over the past couple of years. When Dragon Force came out, it practically sold out at a lot of the stores I visited. All the buzz is about in Sega chat rooms these days is regarding Shining the Holy Ark and how cool Albert Oddysey will be. And, really, if there was no need for RPG’s on Saturn, would this whole Sega/Working Designs feud be a really big deal?

The situation is this- quality games linger right under Sega’s nose and they’re too buried in their own reputation and future projects to take a chance on it. Acclaim doesn’t have the brains, they’d prefer to take the easy way out with movie-based titles that are as well-programmed as a drawing program on the Apple IIe. And other developers, even WD or their new division, Spaz, don’t even know what it’s all about. This is a travesty…at a time when Sega needs all they can get, the ignorance of Kain is unheard of.

So I plead with Sega or WD or whoever…Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is too good to pass up and leave in the development room, and, even if you have to sell it for $39.95, you won’t be sorry. At least ask Crystal Dynamics for a demo disk and TRY IT.

Maybe I’m overranting on this, but, hey, with a game as cool as Kain just inches from our reach, I can get overcritical.

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