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Monolithsoft New Project? ~Thread of Baten Kaitos III Wishes~

Instro

Member
BK3+BK HD collection all released at the same time on the WiiU. Make it happen Nintendo.

It won't happen
 

Datschge

Member
JJConrad said:
Who exactly controls the franchise?

- The first game was published by Namco.
- The second game was announced by Namco, but then was later picked up by Nintendo.
- Nintendo didn't purchase Monolithsoft until about a year after BKO was released.
The issue is mostly one of legal control. Staff wise it's close to completely handled by Monolithsoft and tri-Crescendo alone. There is noone from Namco or Nintendo involved when one excludes localization and some secondary producing roles in either game (co-producer, executive producer and process manager, thank yous).
 

Akselziys

Aksys Games Dev.
So what is everyone expecting story wise from Baten Kaitos III, if it were to come out :)?

Personally,
I'd love to see more involvement by the Dark Bretheren to expand their story. Seeing descendants of the various characters from BK I & II, possibly Guillo, exploring the actual land this time around, possibly encountering the Great Whale, air, sea, and land travel, more about Wiseman's origins, the Children of the Earth/Duhr be prevalent, the evolution of the various kingdoms/former islands, etc.

Since I & II wrapped things up regarding Malpercio, I'm really intrigued the direction they'll take with things now. I'm pretty sure the Dark Bretheren will be at the forefront as antagonists this time around :3.

And of course, the main character, be it male or female, having a guardian spirit of some sort ;)

So much Baten Kaitos potential to be had with a 3rd game :D!
 
ivysaur12 said:
Even I'm not that naive.

I love Baten Kaitos II with a passion. I still remember completing it and thinking it was one of the best RPGs out there. I should have reviewed it higher at GamesRadar. (I gave it an 8, I think. It probably deserved a 9.) And as much as I hope for a new one, I am aware of how craptacular BK's sales were. *sigh
 

ivysaur12

Banned
FateBreaker said:
I love Baten Kaitos II with a passion. I still remember completing it and thinking it was one of the best RPGs out there. I should have reviewed it higher at GamesRadar. (I gave it an 8, I think. It probably deserved a 9.) And as much as I hope for a new one, I am aware of how craptacular BK's sales were. *sigh

So it was your fault that it didn't sell more.

But really, the game sold 50k total in the US and Japan. Pretty bad. But under the circumstances considering its release, I guess its failure was inevitable.
 

Duderz

Banned
I'm at the part in BK where
Kalas turns out to be a bad guy
and I pretty much lost interest, but every time BK is mentioned on GAF it praises BKO. Is BK really worth finishing then jumping into Origins? :/
 

Instro

Member
Duderz said:
I'm at the part in BK where
Kalas turns out to be a bad guy
and I pretty much lost interest, but every time BK is mentioned on GAF it praises BKO. Is BK really worth finishing then jumping into Origins? :/
Yes, very much so.
 

ivysaur12

Banned
Duderz said:
I'm at the part in BK where
Kalas turns out to be a bad guy
and I pretty much lost interest, but every time BK is mentioned on GAF it praises BKO. Is BK really worth finishing then jumping into Origins? :/

The next part of the game is really fun, even though
Xelha kind of blows to control
. The ending is pretty good too.

But BKO is unreal.
 
Duderz said:
I'm at the part in BK where
Kalas turns out to be a bad guy
and I pretty much lost interest, but every time BK is mentioned on GAF it praises BKO. Is BK really worth finishing then jumping into Origins? :/

BKO is a huge improvement over BK in terms of story, characters, and battle system.
 

Diffense

Member
Duderz said:
I'm at the part in BK where
Kalas turns out to be a bad guy
and I pretty much lost interest, but every time BK is mentioned on GAF it praises BKO. Is BK really worth finishing then jumping into Origins? :/

I'm similar but I was further along. I'm at the point where
you have to fight the evil kalas right after fighting some other evil dude (melodia's beau, I think) and kalas wouldn't die and started attacking multiple times per turn.
I retried a few times, kept losing and pretty much haven't played since then.

I wasn't blown away but it was an OK game and I'd like to finish it.
There is a certain inertia that you have to get over to get back into an RPG though.

Funny thing is that I played that far and I still felt pretty aimless with the battle system.
I was just hoping for the best and playing any cards I see.
And don't say anything to me about SP combos, I must have unlocked four total through blind luck and I don't know if I ever triggered any more than once.
Also sometimes random powerful cards appear and I had no idea what I did to cause that (guess it had something to do with the spirit numbers).
I can't really say I truly got into the card based battles to the point where I considered it something that made the game more fun...too much luck.

Still plan to pick up BKO though, if I am ever able to finish BK.
BK3 is meh until I get Xenoblade }:E
 
Diffense said:
no idea what I did to cause that (guess it had something to do with the spirit numbers).
I can't really say I truly got into the card based battles to the point where I considered it something that made the game more fun...too much luck.
It's really all about how you build your deck. Some are better at it than others. Luck does play a big part in the battle system, but it's also based on how you handle your deck.

If you have a shitty deck you're going to have shitty hands.
 

Akselziys

Aksys Games Dev.
dragonlife29 said:
It's really all about how you build your deck. Some are better at it than others. Luck does play a big part in the battle system, but it's also based on how you handle your deck.

If you have a shitty deck you're going to have shitty hands.

The gameplay in BKII was just so awesome and streamlined/faster than I, that I'd be excited to see what they could do with III :3
 

wrowa

Member
Duderz said:
I'm at the part in BK where
Kalas turns out to be a bad guy
and I pretty much lost interest, but every time BK is mentioned on GAF it praises BKO. Is BK really worth finishing then jumping into Origins? :/
I share your sentiment. I finished BK, but I only thought of it as an "okay" game. That's also the reason why I didn't buy Origins until more than 5 years later.

It was a horrible mistake. BKO is a fantastic piece of software and improves upon everything, The battle system changed from slow and cumbersome to fast-paced and great, the voice acting changed from terrible to one of the best dubs in JRPG history. It's just better allaround.

If you don't like BK, well, don't bother with it. BKO is a prequel and you should know by now all the important parts that you need to know for the maximum BKO enjoyment.
 

robjoh

Member
dragonlife29 said:
It's really all about how you build your deck. Some are better at it than others. Luck does play a big part in the battle system, but it's also based on how you handle your deck.

If you have a shitty deck you're going to have shitty hands.

Agree, the deck is everything. The right deck and you can do some insane combos.
 

robjoh

Member
wrowa said:
It was a horrible mistake. BKO is a fantastic piece of software and improves upon everything, The battle system changed from slow and cumbersome to fast-paced and great, the voice acting changed from terrible to one of the best dubs in JRPG history. It's just better allaround.

As an European I have only played BK, and I can´t understand how anyone thought that the BK battle system was slow or cumbersome. The battle system in BKO must have been really really good, because I love the battle system in BK.

EDIT: sorry for the double post, should have posted both replies in one post
 

Diffense

Member
Well, you only see a few cards at a time out of all of them in your hand.
I find the card-battles to be a mixed bag, really.
But this thread ahs got me in the mood to finish BK.
 

wrowa

Member
robjoh said:
As an European I have only played BK, and I can´t understand how anyone thought that the BK battle system was slow or cumbersome. The battle system in BKO must have been really really good, because I love the battle system in BK.

EDIT: sorry for the double post, should have posted both replies in one post
I bought the game for 20€ at some German online store last year. If you have a modded Wii or a Gamecube with a Freeloader disc it's really not a big problem to play the game :p

Actually, chances are that you wouldn't like the battle system of BKO if you were a fan of BK's battles. It's much more steamlined. Most people agree that it changed to the better, but especially people who really liked the battle system of the original aren't completely satisfied with it.

Nothing feels better than pulling off a huge relay combo, though. It's incredible. ;o
 
wrowa said:
Actually, chances are that you wouldn't like the battle system of BKO if you were a fan of BK's battles. It's much more steamlined. Most people agree that it changed to the better, but especially people who really liked the battle system of the original aren't completely satisfied with it.
I personally still love BK1's battle system. I prefer BKO's, but BK1's was pretty unique and interesting.

The best part for me in either of the games are the specials/finishers. Some are just so fucking awesome, especially in BKO.

Nothing feels better than pulling off a huge relay combo, though. It's incredible. ;o
One of the most rewarding feelings in any battle system ever.

Akselziys said:
The gameplay in BKII was just so awesome and streamlined/faster than I, that I'd be excited to see what they could do with III :3
I've always wondered how they'd handle it if a third ever came to be, since, yes, BKO's is just so damn awesome already.
 

salromano

Member
This reminds me -- I need to pick up Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos Origins. Luckily, eBay has them for both for about $20 a pop.
 

Akselziys

Aksys Games Dev.
salromano said:
This reminds me -- I need to pick up Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos Origins. Luckily, eBay has them for both for about $20 a pop.

That's a steal for such gems ;)

Play them both as soon as you can XD
 

tinders

Member
Akselziys said:
That's a steal for such gems ;)

Play them both as soon as you can XD

I started replaying through BK1 a few weeks ago, and have just imported BKO too. Hopefully by the time I finish them both Xenoblade will be out.

Talk about a Monolithsoft Marathon. :D

Seriously though, I would kill for a HD BK. Just tidy up the animation, get some decent voice actors, and give me some more killer magnus. I need details.
 

Akselziys

Aksys Games Dev.
tinders said:
I started replaying through BK1 a few weeks ago, and have just imported BKO too. Hopefully by the time I finish them both Xenoblade will be out.

Talk about a Monolithsoft Marathon. :D

Seriously though, I would kill for a HD BK. Just tidy up the animation, get some decent voice actors, and give me some more killer magnus. I need details.


You are in for a real treat when you get to BKII ;)

Especially after playing BKI :3 I'm slightly jealous haha.
 

KrawlMan

Member
Sorry if this has already been covered in the thread, but what has Monolithsoft done in the years since Nintendo acquired them?
 

Sadist

Member
KrawlMan said:
Sorry if this has already been covered in the thread, but what has Monolithsoft done in the years since Nintendo acquired them?

- Soma Bringer (DS)
- Disaster Day of Crisis (Wii)
- Xenoblade (Wii)
 

Lissar

Reluctant Member
KrawlMan said:
Sorry if this has already been covered in the thread, but what has Monolithsoft done in the years since Nintendo acquired them?

The big ones for me are Soma Bringer and Xenoblade (neither of which have seen release outside of Japan... yet.) I know there were a few others. I remember some robot game, but it didn't interest me much.
 

Akselziys

Aksys Games Dev.
Sadist said:
- Soma Bringer (DS)
- Disaster Day of Crisis (Wii)
- Xenoblade (Wii)


Also:

Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (DS)
Super Robot Wars Original Generation Saga Endless Frontier (DS)
Super Robot Wars Original Generation Saga Endless Frontier Exceed (DS)


Before that was:

Namco X Capcom (PS2)
Xenosaga Episode I (PS2)
Xenosaga Freaks (PS2)
Xenosaga Episode II (PS2)
Xenosaga Pied Piper (Cell phone)
Xenosaga I-II (DS)
Xenosaga A Missing Year (Flash)
Xenosaga Episode III (PS2)
Baten Kaitos I (Game Cube)
Baten Kaitos II (Game Cube)


I think that's everything they've ever released so far?
 

Truth101

Banned
I can't wait to see what these guys can put out on the Wii U. I want them to make Baten Kaitos III open world with no load times.
 
Akselziys said:
Also:

Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (DS)
Super Robot Wars Original Generation Saga Endless Frontier (DS)
Super Robot Wars Original Generation Saga Endless Frontier Exceed (DS)


Before that was:

Namco X Capcom (PS2)
Xenosaga Episode I (PS2)
Xenosaga Freaks (PS2)
Xenosaga Episode II (PS2)
Xenosaga Pied Piper (Cell phone)
Xenosaga I-II (DS)
Xenosaga A Missing Year (Flash)
Xenosaga Episode III (PS2)
Baten Kaitos I (Game Cube)
Baten Kaitos II (Game Cube)


I think that's everything they've ever released so far?
They also worked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, specifically the Subspace Emissary mode.
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
Truth101 said:
I can't wait to see what these guys can put out on the Wii U. I want them to make Baten Kaitos III open world with no load times.

But that would mean no pre-rendered backgrounds of insane beauty and detail that made the first two games so unique. They were a perfect mixture of traditional JRPG format mixed with a very unorthodox combat system and art style. I know there have been some really gorgeous and abstract looking games this gen, many of them JRPGs, but part of me feels like using a fully rendered world would be a betrayal to the franchise and remove a lot of its charm.
 
Akselziys said:
Also:

Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (DS)
Super Robot Wars Original Generation Saga Endless Frontier (DS)
Super Robot Wars Original Generation Saga Endless Frontier Exceed (DS)


Before that was:

Namco X Capcom (PS2)
Xenosaga Episode I (PS2)
Xenosaga Freaks (PS2)
Xenosaga Episode II (PS2)
Xenosaga Pied Piper (Cell phone)
Xenosaga I-II (DS)
Xenosaga A Missing Year (Flash)
Xenosaga Episode III (PS2)
Baten Kaitos I (Game Cube)
Baten Kaitos II (Game Cube)


I think that's everything they've ever released so far?

They also worked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl and one of the Final Fantasy games. I think it was the movie.
 

sphinx

the piano man
Man... this thread puts me all emotional.

This is a series I hold dear to my heart, I bought the first Baten Kaitos because the cover was cool and pics in magazines looked nice, I ended up in love with every one of the 6 main characters, even with their crappy voices. By the end, I really was moved
when everyone is waving and saying goodbye to you (the real you) and you are about to leaves Kalas and break the bond
. It reminded of cool stuff from my childhood like Dungeons and Dragons or the Never Ending Story, like in a "Could we ever make the REAL you believe you can be somewhere else? in a fantasy world?" awesome way.

The Prequel, revamped and improved the battle system all together and had phenomenal voice acting, it was hard not to fall in love with the 3 main characters. I remember the scene
where Mili exposes her machina body after being shot by her own father, that really impressed and moved me
. Mili's voice acting is the best VA ever since VA exists in videogame, it gives so much life to her, it's hard not to feel attached.

regarding the pic in the OP, Isn't that alfard from origins?? it doesn't look much like diadem to my eyes..
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
sphinx said:
regarding the pic in the OP, Isn't that alfard from origins?? it doesn't look much like diadem to my eyes..

If you put Diadem and the new artwork side by side and compare they pretty much match up perfectly save for few minor differences.
 

Akselziys

Aksys Games Dev.
Enduin said:
If you put Diadem and the new artwork side by side and compare they pretty much match up perfectly save for few minor differences.

The pink clouds obscuring the details of the island/city of the original Diadem might be throwing him off :)
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
Akselziys said:
I think Xenoblade was a spiritual sequel to that of sorts XD
I think they used the same artist for it too?
The art director turned out to be Norihiro Takami. Tonny Waiman Koo was involved though. It was a big project, even Honne contributed to it.
 

Akselziys

Aksys Games Dev.
jj984jj said:
The art director turned out to be Norihiro Takami. Tonny Waiman Koo was involved though. It was a big project, even Honne contributed to it.

Yeah, according to Honne's site he was responsible for:

*Xenoblade
(monolithsoft)
concept art

And I believe he made the models of the "gods".
 

Enduin

No bald cap? Lies!
Akselziys said:
The pink clouds obscuring the details of the island/city of the original Diadem might be throwing him off :)

For sure, I totally didnt see it at first when I saw it, but when I compared them to one another the overall layout is near identical with then a few specific spots that are almost perfect matches and too unique in placement and size to simply be chance. There are a few changes or differences but those can easily be explained by obstruction from the clouds or changes over the passage of time, plus the differences are far fewer than the similarities.

And it totally makes sense that they would let this image out cause at first glance it kind of looks similar to Baten Kaitos style but not definitively and without a direct comparison I doubt many people would be able to recognize that its Diadem. I really hope this isnt just art from a "we wish to do this project" but actually real, cause that would be so cruel to let the fans see this without actually having anything in the works.
 
The best thing about Baten Kaitos was Motoi Sakuraba.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDoBcqdPx-Y

Nothing like beating the tar out of a serpent with this baby playing in the background.

Edit: For maximum effect, I recommend putting your hands to your thighs and drumming along to the beat. You'll probably need to use your fingers to keep up or create your own beat that syncs like I do.
 
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