Baten Kaitos Origins Official Thread

[Hero-of-Time]

Take this news how you will but in the new issue of the Nintendo mag they have it down as November release over here in the uk.

[Stocka]

Take this news how you will but in the new issue of the Nintendo mag they have it down as November release over here in the uk.

Yeah I noticed that. I reckon it won't come out till at least September(same goes for Twilight Princess) and if it comes out at all in Europe that is.

 

I'm sure it will... I mean I know GC isn't exactly a hot seller in Europe right now but I doubt they'd give us the first without giving us the second, and Nintendo are publishing it so that makes it even more likely. Also Revo is backwards compatible so I don't see the fact GC sales aren't great being too much of a restriction.

[thomaschung]

not really a surprise if it comes out in November. Somewhat expected actually, but what will we play until then if Zelda comes out then as well. It would be a bit silly to bring them both out in the same month, so maybe they'll shift it forward to October

[Stocka]

Intro movie!

Not a touch on the first one(which is incredible) but I think the main reason is no vocals. Still so very mystical and mysterious! Gorgeous.

http://game.dnip.net/temp/bat.wmv

[pedrocasilva]

Intro movie!

Not a touch on the first one(which is incredible) but I think the main reason is no vocals. Still so very mystical and mysterious! Gorgeous.

http://game.dnip.net/temp/bat.wmv

wow, it's a awesome video

 

I really want this game now... and it gave me the urge to finish (and play) the first one... (i'll have to beat that boss where i'm stuck, even if I have to start over from the beggining

 

everything in the intro looks awesome, from the music to the artwork aproach used, i'm speechless.

[pedrocasilva]

IGN launched a detailed new preview/playtest/impressions for Baten Kaitos II... looking good

 

-> http://cube.ign.com/articles/691/691268p1.html

 

there's also 18 new screens and 5 new videos in the video section, 4 being gameplay videos and one being the opening video we already saw (sadly... only 320x240)

EDIT:

(...)Anyone else notice that the main menu has a copyright for Namco instead of Tri-cresendo, Monolith, or Nintendo?

I think tri-crescendo is making a game for PS3 (or planning to) maybe they didn't have the time to make this one. I think they did the game system or something anyway, namco had the source and evolved it alone, no big deal I guess.

[The-Ironflame]

I might get this but only if they make the card system less frustrating..

[pedrocasilva]

I might get this but only if they make the card system less frustrating..

The preview says they made it simpler, less frustrating and easier to get in...

 

anyway, I've got nothing bad to say about the actual card system, it's one of the highlights of the game, for me.

[Stocka]

Smalldude told me that Nintendo Power claim its being released early June in the US. Considering that the New Super Mario Bros date they claimed turned out to be correct I'd say this is verly likely to be the case. I hope for August/September in Europe.

 

Watching those videos now, thanks again pedro for letting us know

Oh how I love Baten Kaitos music.... :awesome:

[Cheapshot]

You think they'll hire proper voice-actors this time around?

[Supergrunch]

You think they'll hire proper voice-actors this time around?

 

I really hope they have an option for Japanese voice acting. Hardly any games do this; the only ones I can think of are Sonic Adventure DX and Soul Calibur II.

[Stocka]

I hear the European release date is November 1st.

[pedrocasilva]

I hear the European release date is November 1st.

lol, that means it's gonna be a Revolution launch title

[Hero-of-Time]

Here is the 1-up Preview.

 

2003's Baten Kaitos was an interesting attempt at making a non-traditional RPG. Rather than take the standard route of menu based combat, the game created its own card system that extended beyond battles. Using cards known as Magnus, players would equip elemental armor, clash swords in battle, and even pick fruit off trees. It was a unique experience that was pretty well received by players around the world. Now three years later, Monolith Software and Tri-Crescendo have created another journey like nothing else out there with Baten Kaitos II.

 

Taking place 15 years before the start of first game, BKII centers around the characters Sagi, Guillo, and Milliard. Sagi, like Kalas of BK, is always connected to a spirit from another dimension (or in simpler terms, the game player). Just as in the original title, BKII does its best to include the player in the actual plot. For instance, whenever the group discusses a matter at hand, Sagi will do his best to include the player in the decision making process. As for the characters themselves, they make up a fairly enjoyable cast. Sagi is a friendly assassin, Guillo is a brutal robot assassin, and Milliard is a headstrong rich girl running away from home. As you can guess, this combination of personalities creates for often-humorous conversations, and hey, who doesn't like a cast of assassins?

 

If there's one aspect where BKII feels nearly identical to its predecessor, it's in the gorgeous pre-rendered backdrops that set the stage for the game. Each location in the game drips with artistic beauty and, like each screen of the original, is filled with creativity. The game even contains a hidden city made entirely out of clay. No doubt about it -- BKII is a good-looking RPG.

 

On the other hand, if there's one aspect where BKII feels nothing like the original game, it's in the battle system. Due to some complaints from players feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of the original battle system, BKII has completely redesigned how fights in the game work. The only thing that's been left unchanged is the basic flow for attacking. In BKII, players still choose attack cards from their current hand and combo the attack cards with lower values into the attack cards that have higher values. But that's about where the similarities stop. Differing from BK, this time the most import aspect of the battle system is the magic gauge, a meter that fills up slightly each time a card is used. Since each character's high damaging special attack now costs MP, players must constantly push up the MP gauge with normal attacks so they can keep pulling from it to use special attacks. This tug of war system becomes even more complicated when adding in the fact that in BKII all three characters share the same deck and the same single MP gauge. Yes, unlike the first BK where each character had their own individual deck, in BKII players must create a single deck for all three characters.

 

Strongly connected to this new single deck concept is BKII's relay combo system. By using a level one standard attack directly after a previous character has used a special attack, players will perform a "relay combo." This is basically a combo continuing off the previous character's attack or combo. The overall goal with this system is to string the combos of all three characters together into one long relay combo that deals high damage and gives a high amount of tech points (TP) as a reward. TP is then used for upgrading the characters' card class, allowing them to hold more cards at once and dispose of several cards in one turn.

 

Furthermore, the new battle system is built around the idea of using "equip" cards. Unlike BK, there are no defensive turns in BKII. Instead players are allowed to equip a single card at any time. These equip cards fall into the category of weapon cards and armor cards. Equipping a weapon changes the attack properties of the next few attacks while equipping an armor card boosts the character's defenses for the next couple of turns. Most equip cards have an endurance value representing the amount of turns the card will last before expiring.

 

Also new to the series is a Burst Mode that activates when five levels of MP have been built up. During this mode, characters have unlimited MP and can perform non-stop special attacks for a limited amount of time. It's an interesting risk/reward concept that comes in useful during boss battles where it makes sense to play defensively and build up the gauge instead of chipping bosses down with repeated small attacks.

 

Outside of battle BKII is a much more complete game than its predecessor. When not in battle, the game presents quite a few ways for players to build up their decks in preparation for the upcoming battles. Besides buying and selling cards, players have the option to upgrade current cards when at shops. By combining event cards and battle cards, players can upgrade the stats of various battle cards and even create all new ones. For example, combining a fire card and a sword card results in a flame sword card. Event cards can also be combined with each other (fire + fire = inferno). All in all this gives players all sorts of chances to consistently upgrade their deck.

 

While journeying through the islands of the world, players can participate in various sub-quests usually consisting of finding items for people. In the first BK remembering where all the people were and what they wanted tended to be quite a hassle. This time around, the game provides a "Quest Log" keeping track of all the sub-quests. Also included to spice things up a bit is a battle arena, where players can duke it out for rare card prizes.

 

All things considered, Baten Kaitos II is a prequel that does its best to change things up a bit. With a good story, great visuals, and new battle system, the game is sure to please fans of the original and may even win over those who were on the fence regarding the first title. Quite possibly the last pure RPG on the GameCube, Baten Kaitos II does well to give the genre one last hurrah. [/Quote]

[Retro_Link]

Thanks for the preview!

 

The game even contains a hidden city made entirely out of clay.

 

So this picture was real after all!

That must of taken quite a long time! Do you think they had to build a whole 3D model 'world' out of clay; mind you, it looks pretty basic from that picture!

 

IGN preview;

 

http://cube.ign.com/articles/691/691268p1.html

[Stocka]

2 new videos up at IGN

http://media.cube.ign.com/media/772/772298/vids_1.html

I've decided however that I'm not going to watch any more gameplay footage of the game, as I enjoy games more when I haven't seen too much of them, especially RPGs.

[ShadowV7]

I've decided however that I'm not going to watch any more gameplay footage of the game, as I enjoy games more when I haven't seen too much of them, especially RPGs.

That's what im doing,keeping out so when I play I can go wow and not know what will happen.

[Calibur]

Yeah same here, Thats what i did for OoT and it blew me away when i actually got the game.

[darksnowman]

Ive got the first and I aim to get it finished at the start of the summer period so Ill have a little time to chill out before the next one - I dont wanna sicken myself if I accidently time it that I play them one after t'other. The first is great fun though, no one can deny that the Cube has had many a highlight.

[daftada]

I can't wait for this game, I didn't think i'd like the first one but it certainly grew on me after a while. I only managed to get as far as the 2nd disc before my US gamecube gave up the ghost.

 

Don't suppose anyone would be willing to send me their memory card (or i send you mine) with a PAL save file around the beginning of the 2nd disc? I can't even remember what level my characters were at but I think Kalas may have been around 28-32. I'd love to carry on the game if I can get it cheap on eBay.

[pedrocasilva]

I can't wait for this game, I didn't think i'd like the first one but it certainly grew on me after a while. I only managed to get as far as the 2nd disc before my US gamecube gave up the ghost.

 

Don't suppose anyone would be willing to send me their memory card (or i send you mine) with a PAL save file around the beginning of the 2nd disc? I can't even remember what level my characters were at but I think Kalas may have been around 28-32. I'd love to carry on the game if I can get it cheap on eBay.

well you can buy a memory card whom you can link to your PC and put in the "downloaded" Saves... there are sites on the web with those aswell.

 

there should be a save for: "after 2nd disc loads"

[|Laguna|]

First BK II English review of the Japanse game (that i know of)

 

http://www.planetgamecube.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=11260

 

Things look good for it:

"In short, Baten Kaitos II is not only a fantastic follow-up to the original game, it exceeds it in almost every aspect. Whoever enjoyed the first game will be enthralled in the prequel, and those who did not will certainly be surprised."

[Stocka]

Famitsu also gave it an even better score than the first one. I'm really looking forward to it, shame we might have to wait till late autummn/winter, as its out in US in June...

[|Laguna|]

 

This is how I feel about the latest news regarding Baten Kaitos II.

The latest ONM has a brief page preview in which it informs you that the battle system has been simplified. A lot.

 

For example, you know longer have individual decks, but instead one deck to rule them all.

 

Reading another article online, this new amalgamated deck is a big problem in that frequently another person’s equipment shows up when you're controlling a different character. So it'd be like Kalas constantly being presented with magic cards, which I predict could get very frustrating.

 

Also, when you get into battle, you are only drawn 2(!) cards. This is because they have completely, and in my opinion, badly reinvented the whole magnus system. Now you just get your two cards and you equip them and then that's your lot, it then plays out like your standard FF or SoAL turn based battle. Plus, this only applies to weapons, gone are the days when in battled you'd be mixing it up with combo ice armour and ice shield.

Also gone are the intracies of the combo system, to get one you need to have numbers running from 0-9 in order. Gone are the reverse straight combos, gone are the days of getting a pair or three of kind combo.

 

However, one plus I suppose is the fact that your characters now automatically level up, there will be no more of this shrine malarkey, which should make dungeons and such a little easier.

[ShadowV7]

Was there a rough date to when it's going to be released yet? Like what Q?