16.9.2015

Baten Kaitos was a title released in 2005 here in Europe, published by Namco and co-developed by Monolith Soft, the company behind the critically acclaimed Xenosaga, Xenogears and Chrono Cross series of JRPG’s; and tri-Crescendo, the company that developed the visually stunning Eternal Sonata. As one of the few RPG’s (and one of the last) on the Gamecube, it was met with much anticipation by fans.STORYFor a long time, story has been the benchmark for which all great JRPG’s are measured. Well, on the story front, Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean is merely adequate. Evil emperor with a superior military force wants to revive a dark God to satiate his increasing megalomanial lust for power and conquest,blah blah blah. It’s pretty standard stuff and it’s been seen many times before. There is a shocking plot twist involving the main character, but that’s to be expected, as that too has become a staple of the JRPG genre. Having said that, the plot twist is quite a significant one, which changes entirely how you view the earliest parts of the game and gives you food for thought. The game is a good 45 hours long, not counting side quests. This means that, although there isn’t much replay value, it will take you a while to finish it the first time and give you plenty of entertainment.As far as the characters go, besides the vengeful protagonist Kalas, mercilessly teased from childhood because he has only one wing, most appear very one dimensional at the beginning. It takes them some time to really grow, although they largely fit standard JRPG archetypes i.e. rebellious villager, mercenary with a dark past, unwilling soldier and hot-headed young guy. The one character that truly stands out is the enigmatic Mizuti, a diminutive wizard who wears something resembling an Aztec mask and refers to herself in third person (as the “Great” Mizuti much to the bemusement of the other characters, especially Kalas). Mizuti serves as the comic foil. This is in spite of her being a kind of Deus Ex Machina, saving the party and advancing the plot on many occasions. In addition, Mizuti’s dialogue is delivered excellently. The rest of the characters do grow and develop somewhat later into the game, so it is forgivable that they start off a bit flat and uninspiring.Although the story doesn’t particularly stand out, and the characters are slow to develop, one thing does make Baten Kaitos stand out, and that is the setting. The legend goes that long ago, there was a war among gods that evaporated the oceans, leaving behind a toxic miasma on the earth. For some unspecified reason the game never explains, the land floated into the air, and the inhabitants evolved wings, called “Wings of the Heart.“ These are not strong enough for them to fly great distances, however, and characters rely on large creatures somewhat similar to whales for transport between islands.To make things more complicated, you play the role of a “guardian spirit” that bonded to Kalas, and is thus always with him. This involves you more directly in the story but without breaking the fourth wall, as characters will not only directly address you by name, but occasionally ask you for a response. Sometimes this works, and other times it feels a bit jarring. The setting of floating islands paves the way for some great design by the developers and some interesting locations. An entire land made from islands floating among the clouds with winged inhabitants sounds pretty intriguing in itself but that’s nothing compared to a fairytale inspired village made of confectionary. There is even a dungeon that serves as an homage to classic pixelated masterpieces such as Namco’s own Pacman. There were obviously some very creative minds at work on this game and it shows.GAMEPLAYOr perhaps eccentric is the word. The game introduces a few radical ideas, some of which work, some of which don’t. The ideas that occupy the middle ground here include interesting side quests and a card based battle system (before you hardened JRPG veterans recoil in horror, it works surprisingly well). The side quests are interesting, although they are few and far between. Some of those you receive last the duration of the game. Highlights include collecting star constellations for display on a church roof and gathering a dying man’s extremely large extended family. As for the card battles, card games themselves are not overly popular except with a specific demographic, which lessens the game’s appeal to a broad audience; simply put, many people won‘t appreciate using cards to fight, although there’s not much to separate it from many Final Fantasy games in how much control you ultimately have over your character. This shouldn’t take anything away from the game, as Baten Kaitos combat is mostly simple and quite engaging.Since card games are based on a great deal of luck however, the lack of control over your allies during battles can be made more frustrating, particularly during some very tense boss fights. Paying attention to the cards you have been dealt at least mitigates the time you spend watching long, drawn-out cut scenes during battle, as your character moves to attack while you are still selecting more cards to use. This means battles are not quite the slow, grinding chore they can be in other turn-based games. You also need to think quickly, as you have limited time to pick cards before your enemies physically attack you. However, you can customise your deck in the inventory screens like you would equipment in any other turn-based JRPG, so as long as you are well prepared, most enemies other than bosses shouldn’t pose a huge problemSOUNDThe sound is perhaps the weakest component of Baten Kaitos. All main characters relevant to the story are fully voiced, as well as numerous minor characters. In short, if they are given a name by the developers, they speak, which is fairly impressive considering the number of characters. It’s worth noting that the voice acting was purposely made to sound slightly distant because of the player‘s role as an incorporeal being, which many reviewers and players alike failed to pick up on at the time of release. However, the game does not explain this, but rather leaves the player to figure this out themselves, so the negative press given to the sound is not surprising. It was an interesting idea but perhaps a bit too clever, and affects the voice acting in a way that is difficult to ignore. Not to say the voice acting is terrific, but for a game originally released in 2004, it isn’t as painful as it could have been, so long as you can handle the aforementioned surrealism of hearing all the characters sound like they have a bucket on their heads.The dialogue is excellently written, but the quality of the voiceovers can vary. If it starts to grate, though, there is always the option to turn it off. By contrast, the rest of the sound is excellent. JRPG’s frequently sell soundtrack CD’s, and it’s not hard to see why, as the music is beautifully composed by Motoi Sakuraba and lives up to great JRPG standards. Again, the land of Mira is a particular highlight. The cleft between dimensions, where the characters get somewhat lost, is musically scored so as to invoke a sense of wonder and eeriness.GRAPHICSPresentation wise, there are some great C.G.I cut scenes in the game at key moments, and the character status screen has some nicely drawn character art. Aside from that, presentation is largely standard for a JRPG. What makes Baten Kaitos impressive, graphically speaking, is the beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds. This game looks gorgeous, and really shows off what the Gamecube is capable of. This skilful use of pre-rendering is similar to what Capcom accomplished with their remake of Resident Evil, only with much more vibrant colour and detail (and less flesh eating zombies, obviously). It’s not so much the technical side of the graphics that really stand out but the art style. The setting really comes to life thanks to the gorgeous artwork. This game is like a fairytale picture book come to life, despite being a little rough around the edges. Character models are well drawn, and having character art pop up on screen in dialogue boxes to accompany the spoken dialogue is a nice touch, particularly as each piece of artwork changes based on the emotions of the character. The character animations when running are pretty comical and exaggerated, almost cartoon-like, but you can forgive this because most players will be too busy picking their jaw up from the floor after viewing the stunning scenerySUMMARYBaten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean is a fairly lengthy JRPG that tries to do something radical in certain areas. Due to this, the voice acting sounds off and some characters are wooden or unlikeable to begin with, but they don’t ultimately detract from what is a great 45 hour experience. Assuming you are undeterred by the thought of card-based combat mechanics, I would highly recommend giving the game a look if you like JRPG’s. When so many games in the genre struggle to set themselves apart from Final Fantasy, it is refreshing to see one so boldly set out to do things differently. Despite the fact that the gamble the developers made with the game’s design doesn’t always pay off, the unique setting, colourful scenery, graphical presentation and solid, if somewhat quirky gameplay make this arguably the best JRPG's on the Gamecube, and one of the best of it's console generation.PROS & CONS+ Beautiful graphics, especially the pre-rendered backgrounds+ Unique card battle system brings plenty of strategic thought+ Radically new gameplay ideas that implement a fresh, strategic element+ Good soundtrack+ Awe-inspiring level design- Apart from the odd plot twist, story is pretty standard fare- Voice acting sounds awkward- Boss fights can be frustratingly difficultOVERALL SCORE8/10

27.2.2006

Baten Kaitos is, in my opinion, one of the best games to be released for the Gamecube, and is certainly one of its best RPG’s. Although it has just about every RPG cliché going, the story is full of so many twists and turns, it quickly becomes an emotive and character driven story. Each of the six playable characters has their own back-story, and this is satisfyingly played out. The script and general storyline is, for the most impeccable and highly inventive, aside from the overly sentimental ending/ love story sub-plot. However, the voice-acting sounds like it was recorded through a thermal sock. You do have the option to turn the voice acting off, which I quickly did!Aside from that I thought the music in the game was very good and varied.One strong point is the graphics. The environments are richly detailed and beautiful to look at, ranging from sleepy hamlets with gentle breezes, to ancient forests, to towns made of picture-books, candy, flowers and even clouds.Many have commented on the card battle system, and while it did confuse me for the first couple of hours of play, when I got the hang of it I loved it, and I can honestly say it is the games strongest point. Basically, everything is contained in ‘magnus cards’, and in battle, you draw a card from a random selection from your characters deck to either attack an enemy, defend against an attack, or heal a character. There are also three pairs of ‘elemental cards’, in opposition with each other. Certain enemies have specific strengths and weaknesses in these elements, and so you must therefore balance the magnus in your deck against the enemy you are fighting. For example, a specific boss may be water based and therefore susceptible to damage from fire. You will also have to defend against its water attacks with fire based defence magnus. This allows for a huge amount of strategy, which is absent from most RPG’s. Forward planning is therefore everything if you want to dispose of a powerful foe without dying. Magnus can also be used outside of battle, as either ‘camp’, ‘quest’ or ‘equipment’ magnus. A nice touch is that most magnus have the ability to change over time, adding a further dimension to the system.The game took me 65 hours to complete, including the three main side quests (Family Tree, Star Map, and Animal Quest). If you want to collect all the magnus in the game (or which there are over a thousand), I am sure it would take much longer. Baten Kaitos is incredibly difficult to begin with, but, as you come to the final stages of the game, the battles seem to become much easier, as the strength of your magnus have greatly increased, and by then the battle system will be second nature.Overall, I would strongly recommend Baten Kaitos, as it really is a hidden gem in the frankly thin Gamecube library, and the involving story and considerable length of the game makes it well worth the price.

11.4.2005

IMPORTANT-This review is based on having played 20 hours of the game-it has not yet been completed, but there aren't many reviews to it! A further review will be posted on completion!This is the most difficult game i have ever had to review, allow me to tell you why.The story is fantastic. You follow Kalas, a young man you unwillingly ends up in a fight to obtain these "End Magnus" magical cards which hold the power of Malpercio, an ancient and evil God who once drank the entire sea! There is a fight to obtain these cards before the empire, however i will say no more so that nothing else is given away!The locations and graphics are fantastic. The locations are set in CG (very good graphics,

9.4.2005

Well for one if you like good music in games then this will be the very frst thing you'll like about this game, it has a huge souund track of both exploration and battle music (not just the same old battle music over and over throughout the game) and not only that but the music playlist that you can listen to any music you have heard already at any time you want, I supose it's as if listening to every musical piece in the game is a small sidequest in itself.Then there is the characters and the dialogue, all the characters have completely different personalities and my favourite one other than Kalas (the cool blue hairded rogue and main hero of the game) is Gibari (yes, yes,

25.4.2005

Ok of you've read the other reviews on this game by other Amazon customers then you should know that this is a brilliant game even if it has a card-based battle system. Don't get me wrong I do prefer the non-card RPGs such as Skys of Arcadia, Tales of Symphonia, Final Fantasy, oh and star ocean 3, but this game really pulls off the card-based system.Once your used to the cards (doesn't take long) battles begin to flow and you really appriciate the system. There is a lot of strategy involved in this RPG in and out of battles. Its all down to what cards (a.k.a "Magnus") you put in your deck (your deck consists of the card you use in battle) before battles and bosses. Choose the wrong element and ur gonna have a hard time.

20.4.2011

I am a big fan of RPGs, J or otherwise, and Baten Kaitos is one of the best I've played, certainly the best on the Gamecube. The story is suitably intriguing and has a fantastic emotional twist towards the end which makes the final third of the game very fraught and exciting. The characters are varied and likeable, although we do see some JRPG cliches showing up in the form of the comic relief, cheerful guy (known as Gibari, could be Wakka's brother), the subdued, dark-haired woman (in this case Savyna, again could be Lulu's sister), the delicate love interest and of course the cocky protagonist.The battle system is innovative. Your moves are dependent on the cards you draw,

8.4.2005

WOW! That's all I can say having played this mindblowing game! There is just so much to praise, i might as well start with the bad points. Some may find the combat slightly oddball - the whole idea of using cards may seem a little wierd to all but the hardened RPG veteran. Also, unless RPGs are your cup of tea, the endless levelling up, shopping and OTT story are slightly off-putting, and the game is full of cliches. The worst thing about the game, however, is the voice acting, but i havent yet found a game that does this well. Those who love the whole fantasy idea however know that there are goign to be a few cliches along the way. One thing the game does originally is the viewpoint of the playable character.

13.8.2005

This is one game that's hard to put down once you get into it and start to familiarise yourself with the card (aka as Magnus) system. I've sat up some nights until 5 in the morning!It's highly satisfying when you pull off a combo attack which wipes out a tough enemy in one go, or which creates a new Magnus. If you get the Magnus in a certain order they combine to make something else, even cards which aren't very useful on their own can be a vital component in making a strong Magnus. It can, however, be frustrating when the card you want doesn't appear in your hand when you need it or the enemy single out a particular person so you have to spend turns healing them rather using that brilliant move they've just acquired.There are excellent and occasionally hilarious cutscenes,

26.10.2006

I own all three PS2, GC, Xbox. Some people might of notice that the games selection for gamecube, compared to the xbox and PS2, sucks big time. There is hardly anything out on the gamecube compared to everything else, maybe becuase Nintendo spend 5 mins one one console and then abandon it and go onto making the next console. Well even though this is the case there are some absolute fantastic games out for gamecube and this is a perfect example.I must admit that I did not enjoy the games the 1st time I played it. I gave it a total of 30mins to play and after the first 15mins I loved it. The game is amazing to its unique gameplay,

1.11.2006

Ok I really dont understand what some other reveiwers are complaining about. This game is awsome!! Challenging but completable and a whole lot of fun in the process.The battling system is totally different and while it threw me for a while, you learn to love it and eventually you will find traditional "hack and slash" games dont even come close to this innovative game play! As other reviewers have pointed out it is annoying when you dont draw any defence cards and an enemy is battering you but hey thats life!The storyline is good and the game is highly addictive with plenty of hours of playing - and thats without completing any of the sidequests which are so addictive its crazy.In short this game is one of a select few gamecube games that are actually any good,

29.9.2009

OK... First things first... I played and completed this game 3 years ago but felt compelled to create this review when I stumbled across it on Amazon... Obviously I cant remember the finer details due to the length of time, but it has to be said it was one of the most enjoyable and gripping games I have ever played... I used to spend between 6 and 8 hours a day on it... The storyline is compelling and regularly twist and turns... The battle system is card based but a joy to use... The characters are all unique in a 'cliched' way... Graphics are amazing also (but thats one thing in general the GC always had in favour of it compared to the PS2 and XBox)...Took me 60+ hours to complete but I wasn't in a rush and explored as much as possible...

29.9.2014

Very efficient postage and product as expected

6.11.2017

perfect! would buy again!

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings And The Lost Ocean (GameCube) - Reviews

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