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Raziel is a central character in Eidos Interactive's Legacy of Kain series of video games, the protagonist of the Soul Reaver story arc. Initially appearing in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, the character was created by a team of storywriters at Crystal Dynamics, notably series director Amy Hennig, and conceptualized by various Crystal Dynamics artists, with his in-game appearance directed and designed by Daniel Cabuco.[1] In all of his English appearances, he has been voiced by Michael Bell,[2][3][4] while in Japanese dubs he is vocalized by Nobuyuki Hiyama. Portrayed as both an anti-hero and tragic hero, Raziel is a soul-devouring vampire-turned-wraith, introduced in Soul Reaver as one of six lieutenants raised to serve series eponym and protagonist, Kain. Upon evolving beyond Kain through growing wings, Raziel is sentenced to death for his transgression, but is revived by The Elder God as a reaver of souls, bent on avenging himself by slaying his brothers and former master. Over the course of his journey, his history is revealed in reverse, and his motivations and loyalties gradually shift as he unearths the truth behind his cyclic destiny. Praised for his visual appearance, character development and Bell's vocal performance, Raziel has been well-received by the gaming media and players alike.
[edit] Conception and designRaziel was initially conceived as the nameless protagonist of Shifter, an unproduced, non-Legacy of Kain related game concept by Crystal Dynamics which preceded Soul Reaver, and the outline of his character concept and motivations was based on the former title.[5] His name was taken directly from that of the archangel Raziel, prevalent in Jewish mysticism, with the name's meaning ("Secret[s] of God") considered appropriate by the game's developers.[1] Early visual artwork of Raziel was influenced by The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari's character of Cesare, and dozens of concept sketches were produced to shape his final incarnation.[1] Hindu tradition was the basis for his blue color, while his broken, ruined wings sybolized his tragic nature as a fallen angel.[1] When writing the script for Soul Reaver, series director Amy Hennig considered it important to make Raziel's character flaws apparent as well as his positives, contrasting his personality with Kain's and emphasizing the notion that he is a character with strong aspects of villainy as well as heroism.[6][7] She focused on the evolution of his personality in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2, describing him as "kind of a self-righteous little twit" with a lot to learn,[7] and pointed out her belief that Kain was, in some ways, a more interesting and complex character, with Raziel a more two-dimensional personality in the original game.[6] [edit] CharacteristicsRaziel's typical physical design is characterized by his skeletal profile, tattered wings and bluish body tones. He is depicted with cloven, tridactyl claws and feet, and radiant, pupilless eyes. A brownish cowl bearing his clan symbol, originally a red cape, masks his disfigured, jawless mouth, which glows either green or bluish-white (varying between games) upon devouring souls. The clan symbol was based on a rearward profile of his undamaged, outstretched wings.[8] He is usually depicted wielding the ethereal form of the Soul Reaver, an ancient vampiric blade. One of his features which remains consistent between his transformations is his hair; when queried regarding the logic of Raziel retaining his hair after several centuries of torture in the Abyss, Hennig responded "because he'd look silly if he was bald",[9] while when questioned as to his capability of speech without a lower jaw, she replied "very supple throat muscles".[10] His vampire incarnation from the intro cinematic of Soul Reaver, designed after his more common appearance was finalized, is batlike, and depicted with a sword in some indirectly official media.[11] The design of his human, Sarafan incarnation (who appears in Soul Reaver 2) was inspired by influences from the Roman era.[12] [edit] Appearances[edit] Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Raziel is introduced in Soul Reaver as the most powerful of the vampire Kain's six lieutenants. Surpassing Kain by evolving a pair of batlike wings, he is condemned to execution, and cast into the Lake of the Dead.[14] While thought to be an act of jealousy, Legacy of Kain: Defiance later reveals that Kain executed Raziel in order to create a creature with free will, capable of altering history.[15] Reanimated in the Spectral Realm as a wraith by The Elder God, Raziel serves as the deity's "angel of death", stalking the ruined landscape of Nosgoth in hopes of confronting and destroying his five undead brethren, and eventually Kain himself.[16] In the Necropolis, Raziel finds and slaughters his brother Melchiah, then travels to the Pillars of Nosgoth where Kain's throne is seated. He battles Kain, but is overpowered; Kain attacks Raziel with his legendary sword, the Soul Reaver, which unpredictably shatters as it strikes his body. Kain departs, strangely satisfied, while Raziel slips into the Spectral Realm. There, he discovers the vampiric spirit formerly dormant in the Reaver, which binds itself to his arm as a symbiotic weapon.[17] Advised by the spectre Ariel, Raziel then pursues and slays his sibling Zephon. Traveling the land, Raziel reaches the long-abandoned Tomb of the Sarafan, where he discovers a crypt of sarchophagi inscribed with his own name and those of his brothers (and Malek).[18] Infuriated and startled by the gravity of Kain's blasphemy in raising Sarafan priests as vampires, he resumes his journey, systematically tracking down and consuming the souls of his brothers Rahab and Dumah. Deep within the northern mountains, he chases down and battles Kain, but is cheated of vengeance when Kain activates the Chronoplast (a magical time machine) and slips into Nosgoth's past. [edit] Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2Soul Reaver 2 picks up where the previous game left off, with Raziel in pursuit of Kain but waylaid by Moebius the Timestreamer. Manipulated by Moebius, Kain and The Elder God, he seeks to distance himself from all three, concerned with unveiling his own fate.[7] No longer a direct antagonist, Kain instructs Raziel on the history of Nosgoth and the truth of its corruption. In the Sarafan Stronghold, where he is fated to murder Kain, Raziel is persuaded to exert his free will and spares him, altering predestined history as part of Kain's plan.[19] Following Vorador's advice, he uses Moebius' devices to travel to Nosgoth's past and future, seeking the ancient vampire Janos Audron. In the distant past, he manages to traverse Janos' aerie and encounters the vampire, who turns out to be benign and knowledgable about Raziel's nature. However, their meeting is interrupted by the leaders of the Sarafan—the Sarafan Inquisitor Raziel and his comrades, all six of Kain's future vampire lieutenants—who brutally slay Janos, pulling the Heart of Darkness from his body. Bent on revenge, Raziel pursues himself and his future brothers, tracking down and slaying each one in the Stronghold. As Raziel kills his own former self, the roused Reaver turns itself on him, and Raziel realizes with despair that the vampiric, soul-consuming entity within the Soul Reaver is and always has been he himself.[20] Just as the weapon threatens to consume him, Kain appears and saves him by wrenching it from his body, introducing a near-fatal paradox and altering history.[21] Severely weakened but alive, Raziel slips into obliviousness as Kain frantically warns him not to revive Janos.[22] [edit] Legacy of Kain: DefianceDefiance opens with Raziel trapped five centuries onwards in the Underworld, harboring enmity towards The Elder God. After escaping the God's lair, he travels Nosgoth in search of the Heart of Darkness, hoping to revive Janos against Kain's wishes. During his quest, he encounters his brother Turel in Avernus Cathedral, slaying him and devouring his soul, and learns from Mortanius the Necromancer that the Heart was used to transform the corpse of the human Kain into a vampire.[23] Raziel encounters and confronts Kain on exiting the Cathedral, gaining the upper hand and ripping the Heart from his chest. He then blasts Kain with telekinesis through a portal to the Demon Realm, apparently to his death.[24] Raziel revives Janos, who leads him to the Spirit Forge where he discovers the purified spectre of Ariel. Ariel is willingly absorbed into the wraith blade, leaving Raziel with cryptic but hopeful advice. However, the Pillars of Nosgoth collapse as Raziel departs the Forge, and Janos' body is possessed by the Hylden Lord.[25] After a hectic battle, the possessed Janos defeats Raziel, forcing his soul back to the Underworld. Enraged, Raziel attacks the Elder God with the purified wraith blade, but the weapon is of no effect. In the game's final act, when Kain (alive despite Raziel's attack) slays Moebius at the Forge, Raziel devours the Timestreamer's soul before the Elder can resurrect him, using Moebius' corpse to enter the Material Realm and trick Kain into attacking him. Impaled on the Reaver, Raziel accepts his fate and is willingly drawn into the sword, to Kain's horror.[26] As he fades into the physical sword, his future incarnation—the wraith blade—disperses into Kain's body and purifies his soul, simultaneously dooming himself to centuries of imprisonment and freeing himself from his cyclic fate.[24] After defeating The Elder God with the newly-imbued Soul Reaver, Kain silently thanks Raziel for his sacrifice, remarking that it has given him hope for Nosgoth's future.[27] [edit] Other appearancesAs the vampiric entity trapped within the Soul Reaver (and by extension the Soul Reaver itself), it can be argued that Raziel has appeared in all five of the Legacy of Kain games, including Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain (in which he is briefly mentioned in the game's introduction). The Soul Reaver also appears in Tomb Raider: Legend. [edit] Reception and promotionReceived positively by players and the gaming press, Raziel has attracted praise for his character development, graphical portrayal and Michael Bell's voice acting. Reviewing the Dreamcast port of Soul Reaver, IGN's editor described Raziel's narrative as one of the most convincing he had ever heard,[28] echoed later in the site's review for Legacy of Kain: Defiance which described the series' cast as "just damn good at talking like vampires, tortured souls and gods".[29] GameSpot included Soul Reaver in a 1999 list of ten computer games with the best voice acting of all time, stating of Bell "you'd never guess that the same person carried out all those voices," and of the cast "there's not one weak link in the bunch, and together they create one of the best examples of voice acting in a game for PC or consoles."[30] In contrast, Douglass Perry of IGN, in his review of Soul Reaver 2, felt Raziel's (and Kain's) dialogue was overdone, stating that "overwritten text makes them sound like caffeine-imbued English students verbally jousting in their first semester in college", but liked the advancement and rebalancing of Raziel's personality and aggressiveness, and enjoyed his depiction, stating that he "looks magnificently decripid".[31] He was praised by GameSpot's reviewer for Defiance, who wrote that "it's rare enough to find a truly memorable main character in a game, let alone two", and closed deeming the title "one of those rare games whose characters and story to some extent supersede the problems in the gameplay."[32] In a review for Soul Reaver, Game Critics' editor found Raziel and his quest appealing, feeling "Raziel is no saint" and is "evil with the addition of morals and ethics".[33] In a later review for Defiance, the site expressed disappointment with the game itself, but enjoyed its "unique story and memorable characters", wondering "Who could possibly forget [...] the eerie green glow streaming from Raziel's dead eyes as he glides his way through the netherworld" and claiming "these characters are without a doubt some of gaming's finest".[34] Official UK PlayStation Magazine welcomed Raziel's debut in Soul Reaver, extensively covering the game and featuring his visage on the cover of issue 43.[35] His story and in-game appearance were endorsed - in a comparison with Tomb Raider III, his free-flowing character animation was described as making "Lara look like a glove puppet."[35] Alongside Kain, Raziel was selected by IGN's readers as one of ten heroes most wanted to appear in a Soulcalibur game.[36] He was ranked ninth on Electronic Gaming Monthly's Top Ten Badass Undead,[37] and was included as one of GameSpot's 64 All Time Greatest Game Heroes.[38] Several action figures and figurines of Raziel have been created by Blue Box Interactive[39] and the National Entertainment Collectibles Association[40] in partnership with Eidos, and his likeness appeared extensively in promotional material and televised commercials for the Legacy of Kain series.[41] He was also featured in Top Cow's promotional comics for Soul Reaver and Defiance.[42] [edit] References
Categories: Legacy of Kain | Fictional vampires | Fictional undead | Video game bosses | Fictional sword fighters | Undead superheroes | Fictional immortals | Fictional martial artists | Fictional characters with superhuman strength | Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds | Fictional characters who can turn invisible | Male video game characters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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