Ghosts were an enemy class encountered in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain where they appeared as a ghostly female figure floating above the ground dressed in white and red. They were among the rarest classes in the game and were only encountered in one map area in the Inspire Hate Dungeon beneath Coorhagen.
Profile[]
Ghosts were fairly low level enemies encountered by Kain in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. They were seen only in the chapter "The Hunt for Malek" as Kain reached his former hometown Coorhagen and explored the Inspire Hate Dungeon. Appearing as ladies clothed in a faded white and maroon dress, the ghosts were relatively weak enemies with 8 health and 7 attack power, attacking by lunging forward and 'hugging' enemies to cause damage which drained from the magic energy meter.[Blood Omen][Blood Omen/4][1]
As suggested by their naming, ghosts were Specters, existing only in the Ghost state. As with other enemies in the ghost state, their attacks caused Kain to lose Magic energy and when damaged they produced blue Blue blood which could be fed upon to restore magic energy - however this was not apparent in the retail version of the game where they appeared largely passive and would not attack Kain. Unlike other ghost-state enemies, the ghosts were not only never seen in a 'living' condition, but also bore a unique character model which lacked feet and gave a floating appearance.[Blood Omen][Blood Omen/4][2]
Background[]
Although only appearing in one area in the final game Ghosts were originally intended to be more numerous and more appropriately positioned in the game world and early versions of the game have them appear in more locations than the final game. Notably the Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain alphas features the ghosts in a small graveyard surrounding the early version of the Energy Bolt Dungeon. Interestingly the area where Ghosts appear in the retail game is not present in the alpha - perhaps indicating it and other parts of the Inspire Hate Dungeon were only added when other areas featuring the enemy were removed.[Blood Omen][3][4][5]
Notes[]
- Few enemy classes are directly named in Blood Omen and even supplementary sources can be vague on the matter. Ghosts are named as such in the Silicon Knights Blood Omen FAQ which refers to them as such in its entries regarding the Inspire Hate spell and its dungeon. [6] They are also named as such in developer assisted magazine previews and the examinations of fan recreation Blood Omnicide.[7][Blood Omen strategy guide][1] In game files the sprites relating to the class are referred to as "char0167".[Blood Omen]
- Bearing Blue blood and specter-like features, Ghosts to be related to the similarly (and officially) named ghost enemy state: a mechanism in Blood Omen whereby enemies killed by Kain would actively respawn upon reentry of an area as transparent entities with blue.[Blood Omen] Both ghost types appear to be named for the real world folklore of undead spirits.[8] Such figures are fairly common in the Legacy of Kain series with a number of characters and figures able to survive beyond apparent death. Other similar entities included Specters such as Ariel, wraiths such as Raziel and apparently 'ghostly' Poltergeists of Blood Omen 2.[Blood Omen][Soul Reaver][Soul Reaver 2][Blood Omen 2][Defiance]
- Ghosts have a notably similar appearance to Wenches, perhaps suggesting that the class was originally designed as a ghostly 'dead' version of them. Given the similar explanation of the Ghost enemy state it's possible that the ghost class originated as a prototype before a transparent respawn for enemies was settled on rather than a unique appearance.[Blood Omen]
Gallery[]
See also[]
- This article is about the Blood Omen enemy class directly named as 'ghosts'. For the state whereby dead enemies respawned as ghostly figures with blue blood, see Ghosts (enemy state). For the creature family in general, see Specters.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Enemies - Evil Spirits at the Blood Omnicide site
- ↑ Enemies - Fighters at the Blood Omnicide site
- ↑ Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (Jul 12, 1996 prototype)
- ↑ Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (Jul 15, 1996 prototype)
- ↑ Alpha and Beta Versions (BO1) at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln).
- ↑ Strategies to Acquiring Each Spell at the The Silicon Knights Official Blood Omen FAQ - Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (archived at Dark Chronicle)
- ↑ EGM2 Magazine, November 1996, issue 29
- ↑ Ghost at the Wikipedia