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LTTP: Baten Kaitos Origins

F

Fou-Lu

Member
After much badgering from pretty much everyone, I am finally playing it guys! Only about an hour in. The battle system took a little bit to click just because of its differences from the original, but I can definitely see why people prefer it. The voice acting is just soooo much better than the first, and the music is just as good. The backgrounds are beautiful too. I am already in love with Guillo. The vision (or whatever it was) after facing the first boss was incredibly intriguing and cool. The idea of creating magnetic bridges like that is great and the imagery of the disembodied village... completely haunting. I really hope those visions are common throughout the game, the Laguna moments in FFVIII style. Also, wtf Geldoblame?
 
I can't in good conscience recommend the original Baten Kaitos but I'll go to bat for Origins any day. Still one of my favorite battle systems in a game, and the aesthetic is absolutely gorgeous.

You're in for a ride.
 
Probably my favorite combat system in a JRPG and just in a TB game in general. So fast and dynamic and fun. Ohh and it has an amazing art style, enjoyable story and likable cast with very well done VA, especially when compared to the original game. Just a treat of a game all around.

Easily one of the best prequels around too. Pains me to no end that the series did not live on. I desperately wanted a proper sequel to the first game and simply more games with their unique art style, setting and combat. It would have worked so well as a DS/3DS game and even now would make for a fantastic mid-tier game on the Switch.
 
One of the best RPG battle systems, period. Very fast-paced and it nails an almost perfect combination of skill and luck. If you have a well-built deck you are almost never served a losing hand, but in order to get the next card in your long-ass combo you still need the right amount of luck that it makes your heart pump. Pulling off a long combo is just so satisfying and so much fun.

If you donÂ’t enjoy building decks, just look up a guide telling you the basic structure of a good deck. Once youÂ’ve got the principle down, you only need to make minor adjustements throughout the game. When everything clicks the battle system is just too much fun to waste time with a deck that is badly put together.

And, yeah, characters and story are also pretty good (in fact, itÂ’s one of the very few prequels I know that actually add to the originalÂ’s story in a huge, extremely satisfying way). Probably still my favorite game by Monolith.
 
Great game.

The card battle system was really well done plus the world/art/characters etc (I remember liking their VAs too) and music.

Should probably revisit this some day since it's been so long.
 
I have yet to play it, but It's definitely high on my pending list. I have heard only good things about this game so you are in for a treat OP.
 
Enduin said:
Probably my favorite combat system in a JRPG and just in a TB game in general. So fast and dynamic and fun. Ohh and it has an amazing art style, enjoyable story and likable cast with very well done VA, especially when compared to the original game. Just a treat of a game all around.

Easily one of the best prequels around too. Pains me to no end that the series did not live on. I desperately wanted a proper sequel to the first game and simply more games with their unique art style, setting and combat. It would have worked so well as a DS/3DS game and even now would make for a fantastic mid-tier game on the Switch.
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The Switch would be a perfect platform for a new entry in the series. I would love to see full HD pre-rendered backgrounds. It's disappointing that developers have abandoned this technique for games, especially for RPGs with not much camera movement going on and a lot of dialogues. I take it the cost associated with producing all those backgrounds in HD aren't worth it compared to using the engines available on the market these days.
 
One of the best prequels and battle systems I've ever played. Enjoy. I'm so envious.

We're never going to get a BK3 :( The games sold like shit and I think the rights issue for the game are super weird with Namco, and there just isn't a desire to make another because the potential audience is so small. But the Switch would be perfect for it.

At this point I'd taken an HD re-release of BK1 and BKO. Or even just a VC release. Anything. Ugh.
 
My favorite game of all time.

Enjoy, OP.

I love both games to death, though. It's getting close to another playthrough for each.
 
So, so, so good.

I was just thinking a few weeks ago "I should hook up the GameCube again...", specifically for this game.
 
I was totally unprepared for the first fight of the second disc, and I didn't have a backup save :(
It took me a year to want to replay it again from the beginning,that time I remembered to get as many mattress Magnus as I could!
 
SimonShinra said:
I was totally unprepared for the first fight of the second disc, and I didn't have a backup save :(
It took me a year to want to replay it again from the beginning,that time I remembered to get as many mattress Magnus as I could!
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Oof, yeah, I remember this now. I dunno what it is about the BK series and tricking the player into situations where they can't level up or leave or anything until they beat a boss.
 
Aeana said:
Great game, and one of the best J->E localization jobs period.
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Yeah kind of bizarre considering it was hardly a big release.

I recall being undecided about the battle system initially, in comparison to the first game, but a few hours in everything really starts clicking and it is fantastic. Love this game and the series, makes me sad that we will likely never see another entry or a re-release.
 
I'm amazed at the scenarios in this game, it's probably no wonder Koh Kojima got upped to being the director of the Xenoblade games (and likely many Monolith Soft projects in the future). But the fact that Yasuyuki Honne hasn't had been on a game project outside Attack of the Saiyans for the DS (great game btw) and the concept model in Xenoblade is frankly one of the bigger tragedies of Nintendo's acquisition of Monolith Soft even if the company's penchant for alien and evocative art design is still there.

Baten Kaitos Origins is my favorite JRPG of the PS2 gen alongside SMT3, the DDS games and Xenosaga 3. It's so fantastic.

Aeana said:
Great game, and one of the best J->E localization jobs period.
Click to expand...

This was one of the earlier 8-4 projects, wasn't it? I feel it's still one of their best even today, though their standard is very high overall.
 
I had a Milliarde avatar for years. I couldn't convince IvySaur or dragonlife to switch to a Sagi avatar to complete the trio, and that is high on my list of failures.
 
Still one of my favourite game to this day, it improved so many things from the first game, probably had something to do with Tri-Crescendo being more involved than in the previous episode, also somehow it also was one of Sakuraba's best work (the last battle theme ;_;7)
 
I really liked this game, but i never finished it because i got stuck on a boss, maybe someday i will come back to it.
 
GSR said:
dammit OP now I want to play baten kaitos origins again

monolithsoft, BK3 on Switch when
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they kinda incorporated some of the themes in xenoblade i think. the battle system is obviously very different but the idea that you are in a world above the clouds and below is an endless sea really also applies to the backdrop of xenoblade and probably 2 as well.
sphinx said:
BK1 + BK0 on one gamecard for switch is such a no-brainer.. :((((

makes me super sad nintendo won't do it.
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namco bandai owns the games but they really should do this and a xenosaga rerelease
 
Ivellios said:
I really liked this game, but i never finished it because i got stuck on a boss, maybe someday i will come back to it.
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Was that the infamous Holoholo Bird?

SporeCrawler said:
they kinda incorporated some of the themes in xenoblade i think. the battle system is obviously very different but the idea that you are in a world above the clouds and below is an endless sea really also applies to the backdrop of xenoblade and probably 2 as well.
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I don't think so, both IP were handled by different persons.
 
Both the BKs were great. Highlights of the GC for me. Amazing music and localisation too.
I can haz Switch port?
 
How many special attacks should I have in my deck per character?

I currently have six of each basic attack type, two special attacks per character, one weapon per character, and a couple of healing items.
 
Do I remember correctly that the US release was supposed to be early August 2006 but instead came out instead late September.

I do have to wonder. Did anyone think a gamecube game would come out in 2007 for PAL territories? I didn't, hence I imported.

GSR said:
Oof, yeah, I remember this now. I dunno what it is about the BK series and tricking the player into situations where they can't level up or leave or anything until they beat a boss.
Click to expand...
I've not searched for BKO but I've seen the one in BK beaten with a unleveled party and have personally beaten
Giacamo trio
in the first game with a party at whatever level Mizuti starts at* (making a load of the heal 500 HP and revive from KO cards is key and Mizuti's starting deck has all the cards needed...of course the game never tells you this and that is what irritates me about the series; you have to search for answers outside of the game).

*-I ended up canning that playthrough in the final dungeon because being outsped by all enemies most of whom acted twice usually resulted in a KOd party and I was'nt skilled enough to evade all battles. If I did survive until it was my turn I could one combo the enemies though.

Fou-Lu said:
How many special attacks should I have in my deck per character?

I currently have six of each basic attack type, two special attacks per character, one weapon per character, and a couple of healing items.
Click to expand...
I've not played in over a decade but sounds like you are on the right track. Defensive equips are normally a waste of space (as fully healed after battle and characters can only equip one thing) and you don't need 60 cards in a deck to have a full hand it's something like 43 so you can steamline further. I've heard of one person who ran decks of like 12 cards based around topple locking (yes topple is a thing in this monolith game as well) via the Rabbit Dash magnus.
 
Starting to get the hang of relay combos now and it is incredibly fun and cool. Loving this game so much already and I have gotten nowhere.
 
Loved the first Baten Kaitos, and really want to play this! What are my options as a European playing this legally? Get a copy and playing it through Dolphin probably?
 
7threst said:
Loved the first Baten Kaitos, and really want to play this! What are my options as a European playing this legally? Get a copy and playing it through Dolphin probably?
Click to expand...
Gamecube: Freeloader or action replay.
Wii: Homebrew (though I found GeckoOS didn't work too great for gamecube games* you can still use cleanrip to play it in Dolphin or nintendont)

*-I'll see if I can get the latest version and test it.
 
Part of the island got blasted off the world map... Super cool. Guess I am going back to meet Geldoblame again, so weird.
 
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