Well, I can more or less cope with Kain written as a one-note villian, since him being an asshole is getting at least one of his character traits right. Elaleth, in my headcanon, is heavily mentally unwell and her unrealistic and meaningless goal is the only thing that anchors her to the reality. It was quite difficult to read Raziel's character assassination stretched out throughout the plot. Keeping in mind that he will forget all of this in the end made the whole experience somewhat bearable. And for one second the story made me side with Moebius, because this time he really tried to preserve the time stream.
Anyway, I was sketching between reading, and here's the result.
That's right, we're doing this classic tumblr style! One post per chapter. Maybe one post per two if there isn't much to say.
Ascendance is a 2D side-scroller based on the odious kickstarter comic The Dead Shall Rise (abbreviated as TDSR). As of this writing kickstarter backers have only received the digital edition of TDSR. Merch and physical editions have not shipped. Ascendance retcons certain events from TDSR and clarifies others, obfuscating canon and all but forcing backers to buy the game (for which they must pay full price) to get the complete picture. For this reason I'll be covering the differences in my recap.
Each post will be divided into four parts: story, divergence from the comic, errors & fuck ups, and analysis. Gameplay screenshots were taken from Ben-Gun's YouTube channel. We have a lot to talk about so let's get right into the show!
Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
DISCLAIMER: This series is a humorous recap/autopsy of Legacy of Kain: Ascendance, developed by BitBot and FreakZone Games. It is intended to inform the morbidly curious and highlight the failures of lead writer Joshua Viola.
Please support the official remasters. Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered and Defiance Remastered were produced by Crystal Dynamics, by a team helmed by Raina Audron. BitBot had no creative involvement with their work.
THE STORY
Ascendance opens on the vampire Elaleth leaping from a portal somewhere in Nosgoth's snowy mountains. A Sarafan encampment nestles in the distance. "Where has Moebius's wretched curse cast me now?" Elaleth demands, seemingly to no one.
Suddenly, a mysterious wizard named Ky'set'syk (Ky for short) apparates in a green mist on the right side of the screen. Ascendance handles dialogue like a dating sim. Unless you've read TDSR, it's unclear where Ky is speaking from.
The characters exposit their predicament. Prior to the events of the game, Elaleth was cursed by Moebius to tumble unpredictably through history. Ky is Elaleth's only ally and is somehow able to exert control over the Time Guardian's curse, allowing him to delay the curse's effects and even send her to specific time periods. More on this later.
After fighting through waves of campfires and torches, environmental hazards that severely damage Elaleth's health, which she is for some reason incapable of walking around, Ky manifests again to remind her that he cannot constrain Moebius's curse for long. Elaleth, frustrated, complains that the Sarafan are attacking in droves. Cheekily, Ky reminds her that she has wings. Thanks Ky.
As Elaleth cuts through the Sarafan, we learn the reason for her curse. She sought to alter the past in a way that would prevent her brother, Raziel, from joining the Sarafan, an interference Moebius could not allow. Now she seeks to kill Raziel as revenge for the death of her lover, Mathias.
Before Elaleth can deliver the killing blow, Ky's strength fades and Moebius's curse drags her unwillingly into the time stream. Raziel recovers himself as his brothers in arms arrive late to his defense.
At the discovery that his sister still "lives" Raziel expresses confusion, grief, and finally rage. Believing her corrupted by Janos Audron, he vows to destroy the vampire patriarch for his presumed transgression. As the scene closes a white feathered raven lands on top of Raziel's tent, caws once, and flies away. This raven will follow our characters throughout the game and observe their actions.
DIVERGENCE FROM THE COMIC
In a curious deviation from the source material, Ascendance is told chronologically -- beginning in the Sarafan era rather than Kain's empire. We meet Ky for the first time near the middle of the comic. By the time Elaleth reaches Raziel we already understand her relationship to Ky, what they want from each other, how she became cursed, why she wants revenge, and much more that Ascendance will not reveal until later.
There is no indication that Ky can hold back or manipulate Moebius's curse in the comic. Both men have an affinity for time magic and seem to have a history; Moebius calls Ky an abomination, whereas Ky describes Moebius as dangerous and untrustworthy. It wouldn't be a Legacy of Kain story without toxic old man yaoi.
In the comic Elaleth fights Raziel and his inquisitor brethren all at once, fending them off with ease and nearly executing a fatal dive attack on Raziel before Time whisks her away. This is changed to a one on one battle between Elaleth and Raziel in game.
ERRORS & FUCK UPS
While battling the winged Elaleth the Sarafan knights will sometimes quote Disney's fan reviled film The Last Jedi (2017) The Rise of Skywalker (2019), quipping, "They fly now!?" However, there are no known movie theaters operating in Nosgoth during this era, leaving the origins of their referential humor unclear. Perhaps this is writer Joshua Viola's attempt at metatextual self-deprecation.
Each inquisitor is known to lead a legion of specially trained knights. In Defiance Melchiah's men were sorcerers, buffing their allies and casting spells, but in Ascendance they instead carry throwing knives.
ANALYSIS
Storywise, this chapter is a mostly inoffensive start to what will soon become an extremely offensive intrusion into the Legacy of Kain series. Elaleth's attack on Raziel plays directly into Moebius's hands, motivating Raziel to hunt down Janos Audron and free his sister from her curse -- an obvious trap Elaleth never sees coming. This blunder is also, of course, an extraneous addition to Amy Henning's tight storytelling. Janos Audron is the origin of the vampire plague. That is reason enough for his extermination.
While this autopsy will not focus on gameplay, I think it's worth touching upon. According to my friend @rahabimz, who graciously streamed Ascendance for me, the controls are slippery and unresponsive, making avoiding even stationary obstacles difficult. Elaleth's primary attacks are a forward stab and a downward kick. The range of her stab is limited, leaving her kick as the only reliable way of dealing damage. There is a parry and riposte system but difficult timing and lagging imputs make it unsatisfying to use.
Attacks damage only one enemy at a time, adding artificial difficulty and frustration to frequent group battles. Flight, the game's most hyped mechanic, is likewise unsatisfying. In order to achieve lift the player must leap into the air and feverishly mash the jump key as if playing Flappy Bird. These issues persist across all playable characters.
Fun, engaging gameplay might have been enough to raise Ascendance's critical score from Mostly Negative to Mixed on Steam, but rushed development and low budget snatched disaster from the jaws of defeat.
I don't know what possessed me to do this but here we are.
A lot of people keep saying we paid BitBot almost 1.5 million dollars for a comic majority of the community does not see fit of the Legacy of Kain writing quality.
~~In my opinion~~
We did not pay $1.5 mill for the book ALONE. We paid $1.5 mill for the book AND officially licensed merchandise. We got the Reaver replicas, masks, banners, maps, shirts, hats, hoodies, music, etc. No one can attest to the quality of these products until they finally get shipped out and are in our hands. Until then I will assume they are of decent quality.
The whole point of this series of posts is I'm going to break down the cost of each portioned earned, look up some rough estimates as to how much it will cost to manufacture, and see how it all sizes up. But first we need to see what we're working with.
Part: | 1 | - | 2 |
Now lets get on with it
A full itemized list of physical rewards from The Dead Shall Rise Kickstarter.
With 33 tiers of rewards resulting in 8836 backers and $1,496,557 USD raised let us see how this adds up.
This will not include any additional optional rewards backers may or may not have added on as there is a way to see outside of your own pledges as far as I know.
First of all let's get all the reward tiers laid out in the order of:
# of Backers - Reward(s) - Cost
266 - Digital PDF - $15
465 - SALE Deluxe Digital PDF - $16
693 - Deluxe Digital PDF - $20
1127 - SALE Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $40
1664 - Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $45
365 - Hardcover Therrien Variant + Deluxe Digital PDF - $75
500 - Picture Disc Vinyl - Signed + Digital Album + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $85
999 - SALE Deluxe Signed Hardcover Lovett +Digital PDF - $90
1401 - Deluxe Signed Hardcover Lovett +Digital PDF - $95
187 - SALE Raziel Mask + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $150
22 - SALE Kain Mask + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $150
318 - Raziel Mask + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $160
41 - Kain Mask + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $160
100 - Hardcover Collection (Hardcover Rapoza + Hardcover Therrien Variant + Deluxe Signed Hardcover Lovett Variant w/Slip Case) +Deluxe Digital PDF - $200 (a whopping $15 saved)
13 - Art Print Set 1 - Crystal Dynamics (10 11x17 prints from the Legacy of Kain archive) + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $200
20 - Art Print Set 2 - Limited Edition + COA (15 art prints from the Legacy of Kain archive and Certificate of Authenticity from Crystal Dynamics) + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $300
13 - Art Print Set 3 - Bit Bot Collection (15 11x17 prints of art commissioned specifically for The Dead Shall Rise project) - $250
22 - Skate Deck - Signed + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $200
4 - Signed 18x24 giclée print by Dave Rapoza + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $300
9 - Signed 18x24 giclée print by Aaron Lovett + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $300
4 - Signed 18x24 giclée print by Matthew Therrien + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $300
250 - SALE - Reaver Replica + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $375
205 - Reaver Replica + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $400
1 - Asevedo Original Pencil Art + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $500
1 - Therrien Original Pencil Art + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $500
10 - Reaver Replica Sapphire Variant + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $400
0 - Reaver Replica Crimson Variant + Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $400
Seriously?! The had two of the same tier for the same price but one comes with the book?! 2 people unfortunately didn't see that.
4 - Reaver Replica Gold+ Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF + Original Sketch by Aaron Lovett - $1500
10 - Get Drawn Into the Comic - Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $1500
47 - Ultimate Fan Package (limited to 125) - $500 Savings!
Signed Deluxe Hardcover/Slip-Case Edition, Limited Therrien HC Variant Cover, Rapoza HC Cover, Signed Celldweller Picture Disc Vinyl, Crimson Vinyl, Sapphire Vinyl, Audiophile Black Vinyl, Raziel Mask, Kain Mask, Traditional Reaver Replica Sword, 30 11x17 Prints, 14 T-Shirts, 2 Hats, 2 Hoodies, 3 Giclée Prints, 2 Flags, Map Wall Scroll, Signed Script, Skate Deck + Digital PDF - $2500
1 - Preston Asevedo Original Painting - Hardcover Rapoza Cover + Digital PDF - $2500
SO
I threw this all into an excel sheet because why tf not. It'll be easier to drudge through this in the long run.
With all of these Tiers and Rewards itemized, we get a total of $895,795. Short $600,762 in optional add-ons from the grand total $1,496,557 USD Raised.
There is also 8769 in the rewards list, shy 67 from 8836 which I assume these are late pledges.
When I read graphic novel Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise in online site with comic. Kinda the story was not good and art was different with some mistakes in every pages. So in January I try redraw one panel in my style. In March I redraw some of panels in my style. That was just fun to do for practise anyway.
I know Kain looks kinda different from how I usually draw him, but I was using a different reference image instead of my own designs, so do excuse me on that.
Anyways, Kain's just lamenting at how downhill his legacy has become since Elaleth and her disciples (BitBot) laid their hands upon it.
Luckily, in my case, at least Alycian's there to offer him a smile!
