izigame.me

I see a lot of reviews referring to nostalgia of childhood. Well, in 2004, when Baten Kaitos was released in North America, I was in high school; I guess that’s part of childhood. But I didn’t get to play it back then. I didn’t even have a GameCube. My nostalgia of these games comes from them being the first games I played after breaking up with my ex who took all the video games and consoles we collectively had, in 2012. I sat on a folding chair (because he took the couch) and played them on a cheaply bought Wii, on the inferior of the two TVs my ex and I had. It was a depressing time for me and Baten Kaitos/Origins were successfully a great distraction. I remember spending so many days doing nothing but playing these wonderful games with amazing stories that fully captured my attention that I completely forgot about my dreary reality.
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings & the Lost Ocean
Upon the floating landmasses of the world, there objects known as End Magnus: powerful magnus once part of the evil god Malpercio. There are those who seek to resurrect Malpercio for their own gain and those who intend to restore the world to its original state, with the forsaken earth and the forgotten ocean.
You, the player, are a guardian spirit who speaks to the protagonist Kalas throughout his journey. He occasionally seeks your advice and how you respond affects the bond between you.
Information
• When Kalas speaks to the player, the guardian spirit, he talks directly to the screen, giving the feeling of “breaking the fourth wall.”
• While the game utilizes cards in battle, it is not a “card game.” The main focus is creating combinations, which could be done without use of cards; that’s merely the form they chose. (I feel the need to mention this because so many people are put off by the cards.) (Same for Origins.)
• Taking pictures of enemies during battle and selling them is how money is earned in the game. Bosses are worth the most, of course.
• Collections other than magnus: Star Map fragments, signatures for a very large family tree, and animals from all over the world.
• It’s recommended to play this game with a controller, as many players have complained about keyboard controls. My PS5 (DualSense) controller worked perfectly. (Same for Origins.)
• HD Remaster Additions: disable random battles option, auto-battle function, 1-hit kill option, simplified post-battle results, and New Game+ options that allow the player to retain items or alter gameplay to make a second playthrough more challenging. For more specific info: Wikipedia (Same for Origins)
Praises
• Amazing story and worldbuilding. (Same for Origins.)
• The plot twist is one of the best I’ve ever seen in storytelling.
• Super fun battle system, because, again, it’s not a card game. You put together combos, which is done in several other JRPGs, just not in card form like this one. (Same for Origins.)
• Unique, detailed character design. (Take a look at the artbook images online, if you come across them.) (Same for Origins.)
• For an older game, everything is so pretty and detailed. The HD remaster helped highlight that. (Same for Origins.)
• Enchanting and beautiful Motoi Sakuraba music. (Probably my favorite of his.)
• Non-binary rep. Yes, I mean Mizuti. Minor spoiler: While their parents refer to them as a girl, during the rest of the entire game, the character is presented as non-binary, never using she/her pronouns and while their mask is on, their voice isn’t feminine (or masculine). Headcanon: Mizuti just doesn’t feel gender dysphoria and, therefore, doesn’t care enough to correct their parents when they call them their daughter.
Complaints
• No English dub. I genuinely had no issue with the original English dub other than the audio quality could’ve been better. (Same for Origins.)
• Awful romance execution. Xelha likes Kalas despite having no real reason to, because Kalas is an a$$hole most of the time (he does change by the end of the game though). No prior signs of feelings from Kalas until Xelha’s confession, and yeah, that’s not how romance works; one doesn’t just suddenly have feelings for someone when they confess.
• Several achievements require a second playthrough. (More so for Origins.)
Baten Kaitos Origins
This is a prequel to Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings & the Lost Ocean, taking place twenty years prior.
Once again, you, the player, are a guardian spirit who accompanies the protagonist. The story follows Sagi, who gets framed for assassinating the Emperor of the Alfard Empire, begins a journey to investigate why he was framed, and discovers other sinister plots. Sagi also, quite mysteriously, experiences visions of the past every time creatures known as “umbra” are slain in his presence; such visions predate the landmasses ascending to the sky, over 1,000 years ago.
Information
• Money is acquired through winning battles, like most games. No pictures this time.
• You can pause at anytime during battles.
• Items can be traded to NPCs rather than sold.
• Collections other than magnus: pieces of the magnus town of Sedna, field guide entries (bestiary), letters (as in, correspondence from NPCs), and magnus mix recipes.
• Other side stuff: Coliseum and greythorne quests
Praises
• The flow of battle is better and it is much easier to create combos.
• Menu actually keeps track of sidequests (or “subquests”) this time.
• The ridiculous “You win!” after battles is funny. It’s like … thanks for letting me know, mysterious announcer guy.
• Non-binary rep. Guillo is a non-human character with a voice that’s simultaneously masculine and feminine. (They avoid using pronouns though.)
• Overall, the character development is better because there are only three main characters.
• The back-and-forth between past and present keeps the story interesting, as it takes a while before it’s revealed how they’re connected.
• It’s neat to see some side characters from the first game when they were younger.
Complaints
• No pictures is boring and less lucrative. I had plenty of money in the first game. In Origins, you have to “grind” if you lack enough to get equipment and items.
• While you’re in the “Build Deck” menu, to get rid of things you no longer need, you have to move them to “junk” then sell them at shops, which adds an unnecessary extra step, whereas, you could just sell things directly from your inventory in the first game.
• A few rather notoriously difficult bosses that make players want to pull their hair out.
• Wiseman is kind of a “meh” villain. He’s just this … uh, once a dude? Who is obsessed with heart energy. He’s just not that interesting to me.
• While the romance is slightly better than the first game, they still don’t have Sagi show any signs of having feelings for Milly until toward the end of the game, unlike Milly, who shows it throughout.

If you care about amazing stories and less about gameplay, you could play the game with “one-hit kill” on if you’re so appalled by the battle system. Though, you could save money and watch a Let’s Play instead. But for real, the battle system is not a card game. It’s just about making combos. It’s not confusing or complicated, and definitely not boring. It just makes me sad that so many people don’t play these games because they see cards and get uninterested, when they’re such good JRPGs.