The Ring Menu, also known as the Glyph menu, Glyph spell menu or Select menu, is circular menu interface used in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2 to select Glyphs and other similar applications.
The Ring Menu first appeared in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, where the menu was accessible through a specific button press and consisted of seven slots for Glyph spells arranged in a circular pattern. Raziel started with a single position filled - The Shift Glyph - all others were represented by white dots and gaining their Glyph spells was entirely optional. In order to acquire the other spells, it was necessary for Raziel to solve the specific Glyph altar related to the spell; solving a puzzle which unlocked the particular Glyph and opened their entry on the ring menu. Each of the Glyphs consumed a different amount of Eldritch energy which was displayed in the ring menu in the top-left corner: The Force Glyph costs 1, Stone costs 2, Sound costs 4, Water 6, Fire 8 and the Sunlight Glyph costs 10 Eldritch energy; only the Shift Glyph costs no energy. All of the Glyphs would be 'greyed out' and inaccessible when in the Spectral Realm, with the exception of the Shift Glyph which was only available if Raziel was stood on a planar portal with a full Health coil. Glyphs would also be greyed out if Raziel's eldritch energy was insufficient to cast the spell.[Soul Reaver][Soul Reaver strategy guide (Prima)][Soul Reaver manual (US)][Soul Reaver manual (UK)]
1/7
One Glyph spell - the Spirit Glyph - was intended to feature in the ring menu, but the glyph and its accompanying Reaver enhancement were ultimately cut due to timing and budgetary constraints. Though it does not appear in the retail version of the game, preview material reveals that the glyph was implemented and included in the ring menu in early stages of development, taking a position between the Stone and Force glyphs.[1]
Menu Items[]
The following table list the ring menu items both present in and cut from Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, illustrating the symbols and their corresponding Glyphs, cost and availability :
The Soul Reaver alphas feature an early version of the ring menu with distinctly different symbols which includes the cut Spirit Glyph. As in the retail version each was intended to be gained from a specific glyph altar - some altars were moved between builds and not all were functional, so some glyphs had to be activated from the debug menu.
The Glyphs themselves are reshuffled in this menu - reflecting differing comparative power levels. In this version the Glyph were ranked in order from weakest to strongest: Shift, Sunlight, Water, Fire, Stone, Spirit, Force and Sound. Eldritch energy has yet to be implemented so there is no cost associated with the use of glyphs.
The following table list the ring menu items in the alpha of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, illustrating the symbols and their corresponding Glyphs, cost and availability:
Map is the only icon available continuously in either realm
1/4
The Ring menu returned in Soul Reaver 2 but was significantly reduced for that title, consisting of only three symbols; only two of which were initially available. The Shift Glyph/Shifting icon was the only returning icon, featuring a slightly redesigned symbol, it again allowed Raziel to switch Realms but could only be used in the Spectral Realm when stood on a planar portal with a full Health coil. The next icon related to the World map and this displayed a simplified map of Nosgoth with the current area and objective highlighted and previously visited locations listed - this was the only icon available continuously in either realm. The third and final symbol represented the Reaver and summoned the Wraith Blade to the Material Realm, however it was not gained until part-way through "A Reaver in Time" when the Wraith blade was upgraded following its encounter with Moebius's Staff - previous to this the wraith blade depended upon Raziel being at full health and after it could be summoned at will.[Soul Reaver 2][Soul Reaver 2 strategy guide (Prima)][Soul Reaver 2 manual]
Several Glyphs related to the Pillars of Nosgoth were planned to complete the ring menu for Soul Reaver 2 but these were ultimately cut and removed due to time constraints. Initially planned to revolve around "new ways to interact with the environment" rather than the direct combat applications of their predecessors, these glyphs were not featured in the Ring menu in the retail version of the title, which only contained the three standard interactions; however the Pillar-related Glyphs did appear under Debug menus as non-functional entries and pre-release demo versions (like the Air forge demo) also featured debug options allowing the full 12-item ring menu to be manifested with inactive placeholder symbols or white dots representing the incomplete/cut glyphs. No applications or abilities of the Soul Reaver 2 Pillar Glyphs are currently known.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Menu Items[]
The following table list the ring menu items both present in and cut from Soul Reaver 2, illustrating the symbols and their corresponding applications and availability :
Of the Ring menu options shown, the World map of Soul Reaver 2 is the only ring menu item from either game that can be used continuously at any time in either realm without any cost: all other ring menu items have some kind of restriction on their usage. The only place where the world map is not immediately accessible is the Soul Reaver 2 pre-release Air Forge demo, which features the map as a placeholder white dot (presumably due to the rest of the game world not being in place). The only item to return between games is the Shift Glyph/Shifting icon which was subtly redesigned.[Soul Reaver][Soul Reaver 2][6][7]
Early versions of the Ring menu exist in both titles which feature a large amount of developmental and placeholder symbols for the ring menu entries, which were eventually updated or discarded before the retail versions.[1][3][4][5][7]
The usage of the ring menu resembles a refinement of the various quick menus used to select items and spells in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain.[Blood Omen] A circular 'wheel' menu system similar to the ring menu would subsequently be used to select Dark gifts in Blood Omen 2,[Blood Omen 2] however Legacy of Kain: Defiance discarded the system, returning to a quick menu style system for selecting Reaver enhancements (and Shifting) and an inventory system for other items.[Defiance]
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver[]
