The thing that stands out to me the most about this game was it's willingness to do new things. The deckbuilding, the card based battle system, the field magnus, the fact that cards age into other cards, SP combos, the list of things this game was just willing to throw at the wall never really stops. I do think it gets a little long in the tooth towards the end, but overall this game just has a really earnest feel to it that I can't help but respect a ton.
I do wish the remastered version had left the english dub in as an option, because I do have to say that, while the QoL features added (no encounters in particular) are nice, nothing beats the original's hilariously bad English voice acting.
I do wish the remastered version had left the english dub in as an option, because I do have to say that, while the QoL features added (no encounters in particular) are nice, nothing beats the original's hilariously bad English voice acting.
I appreciate how different this game is. It tries an interesting setting with fairly unique gameplay. It has some hits, it has some misses, but is overall a unique package that's worth trying out.
The story follows a land of winged people as they struggle to stop an evil empire from reviving a dead god to destroy the world. It takes some twists and turns along the way but is overall a fairly standard scrappy band saves the world story.
Now the gameplay is where this game shines. The card combat system feels unique as its not just a deck builder, but also tasks you with creating poker hands out of the numbers on your weapon/armor cards for extra bonuses while also holding you to a strict time limit to prevent the combat from taking forever while you pick the ideal card combo. Late game is when this system shines as these bonuses become the majority of your damage and you watch the numbers climb ever higher.
Some downsides to this game however are the card aging system that sees all of your healing food items rot after a set amount of time as well as your consumable key items being that both age and expire the same way and must be refreshed for side quests.
For example, a sidequest asks you for yogurt. You can pick up milk at one location and wait for it to age into yogurt, but you must be quick, because it will then age again into cheese before too long. Managing these consumable key items are a pain the entire game as it makes makes clear what is valuable and worth keeping and what is garbage you should throw away to make space for other items from your limited slots.
The lack of backtracking also makes it frustrating to do sidequests across multiple islands as you wont know when you'll be allowed back and by then your items will have aged into something else you can't use.
A lot of the most annoying parts of this game are optional, so it really is up to you how frustrating a time you have with this game or if you choose to ignore all of that and just enjoy the main story and gameplay for what it is.
The story follows a land of winged people as they struggle to stop an evil empire from reviving a dead god to destroy the world. It takes some twists and turns along the way but is overall a fairly standard scrappy band saves the world story.
Now the gameplay is where this game shines. The card combat system feels unique as its not just a deck builder, but also tasks you with creating poker hands out of the numbers on your weapon/armor cards for extra bonuses while also holding you to a strict time limit to prevent the combat from taking forever while you pick the ideal card combo. Late game is when this system shines as these bonuses become the majority of your damage and you watch the numbers climb ever higher.
Some downsides to this game however are the card aging system that sees all of your healing food items rot after a set amount of time as well as your consumable key items being that both age and expire the same way and must be refreshed for side quests.
For example, a sidequest asks you for yogurt. You can pick up milk at one location and wait for it to age into yogurt, but you must be quick, because it will then age again into cheese before too long. Managing these consumable key items are a pain the entire game as it makes makes clear what is valuable and worth keeping and what is garbage you should throw away to make space for other items from your limited slots.
The lack of backtracking also makes it frustrating to do sidequests across multiple islands as you wont know when you'll be allowed back and by then your items will have aged into something else you can't use.
A lot of the most annoying parts of this game are optional, so it really is up to you how frustrating a time you have with this game or if you choose to ignore all of that and just enjoy the main story and gameplay for what it is.
incredible story, good soundtrack, excellent characters, a very interesting and unique world, setting and visuals, however gameplay was annoying as fuck and some dungeons were stupid, i hope gameplay gets better in Origins
Also it's very buggy but nothing game-breaking, at least i didn't stumble upon anything like that in my playthrough
Also it's very buggy but nothing game-breaking, at least i didn't stumble upon anything like that in my playthrough
I really loved the experience of playing Baten Kaitos.
As someone who couldn't played the original, its great to play one of MonolithSoft master works. The beautiful backgrounds and art style in general, the addictive card gameplay and the tales of Kalas and Xelha really make me realised why Baten Kaitos had a name in Gamecube's era.
And that's why I can't understand why this port was done with such haste that has framerate problems, and it's control of choosing the card's number so erratic sometimes (breaking combos and thus making fighting more tedious). Maybe they weren't as confident that the game wouldn't be played by many, but I think this game deserved more care and (maybe) time.
And even with it's flaws, I think this game deserves an opportunity to anyone who want to experience a good time and play something "refreshing" (if you didn't play it!) in the genre!
As someone who couldn't played the original, its great to play one of MonolithSoft master works. The beautiful backgrounds and art style in general, the addictive card gameplay and the tales of Kalas and Xelha really make me realised why Baten Kaitos had a name in Gamecube's era.
And that's why I can't understand why this port was done with such haste that has framerate problems, and it's control of choosing the card's number so erratic sometimes (breaking combos and thus making fighting more tedious). Maybe they weren't as confident that the game wouldn't be played by many, but I think this game deserved more care and (maybe) time.
And even with it's flaws, I think this game deserves an opportunity to anyone who want to experience a good time and play something "refreshing" (if you didn't play it!) in the genre!
Buenas ideas lastradas por unos personajes con poca chicha y picos de dificultad muy cuestionables.
Monolith iría a mejor.
Monolith iría a mejor.
I am so, SO glad I took a chance and played this game.
The story, and the way it connects the player with the delightful cast of characters, goes places I have never seen another game go before. My jaw was on the floor with certain a certain plot twist, and it's pulled off amazingly.
The pre-rendered (pre-painted, I believe?) backgrounds give this game a timeless look... Outside of some awkward character animations. The creativity on display is on another level.
The luck-based element of the deckbuilding combat can be frustrating if you get a crap hand at a critical moment, and there's some frustrating bosses towards the end - the remaster's framerate is insanely spotty too - but those issues are waylaid but just how amazing the game looks, the writing, and the satisfaction of kicking you enemy to the curb with the combat system.
Please, PLEASE give this game a chance if you're even remotely curious or enjoy RPGs - you may just find a new favourite, like I did.
The story, and the way it connects the player with the delightful cast of characters, goes places I have never seen another game go before. My jaw was on the floor with certain a certain plot twist, and it's pulled off amazingly.
The pre-rendered (pre-painted, I believe?) backgrounds give this game a timeless look... Outside of some awkward character animations. The creativity on display is on another level.
The luck-based element of the deckbuilding combat can be frustrating if you get a crap hand at a critical moment, and there's some frustrating bosses towards the end - the remaster's framerate is insanely spotty too - but those issues are waylaid but just how amazing the game looks, the writing, and the satisfaction of kicking you enemy to the curb with the combat system.
Please, PLEASE give this game a chance if you're even remotely curious or enjoy RPGs - you may just find a new favourite, like I did.
بطن القيطس
5 star game, but the remaster's performance leaves a bit to be desired. Erratic framerate jumping between 30-60 and at worst below. Some minour graphical bugs and input delays.
The new battle UI looks nice, but also a lil buggy (ailments icons not going away after recoverying) and the main menu for setting magnus cards, equipping etc looks awesome but has its share of unintuitive design choices. Instead of directly swapping cards in your deck you need to manually discard them to add new ones...and for equipping magnus you need to hotkey with the bumpers instead of having the option to select it on the main menu. It's just odd, but the hotkey implementation is quite nice when you get used to it.
The japanese va which is a big prop for this one and then there's the lack of the english..good news for your poor ear drums, and the alcoholic censorship has a lot of charm and creativity with their name alterings. I for one oh love me some of that wheat tea over a brand of beer..
The sound mixing is top notch and unlike the original the creatures all have their own death screams, as well as some environmental sound effects aren't as overly saturated/compressed as the original. By comparance the sound design is a large improvement.
There's also the extra toggles for no encounters, game speed adjustments in and out-battle which are nice for the impatient ones and for the later sidequesting. A instant kill toggle and finally an auto-battle function which is pure memes and doesn't work well at all.
Underneath it all it's the same beautiful game and you should play if want to try something unique in the jrpg genre. I want these games to be supported, but I'd recommend the original over this one unless you want the japanese cast and spot the differences from the original of which there are plenty minour ones.
Then again. The remasters also include new game plus with hard modes so I'll hold on to that for now.
The new battle UI looks nice, but also a lil buggy (ailments icons not going away after recoverying) and the main menu for setting magnus cards, equipping etc looks awesome but has its share of unintuitive design choices. Instead of directly swapping cards in your deck you need to manually discard them to add new ones...and for equipping magnus you need to hotkey with the bumpers instead of having the option to select it on the main menu. It's just odd, but the hotkey implementation is quite nice when you get used to it.
The japanese va which is a big prop for this one and then there's the lack of the english..good news for your poor ear drums, and the alcoholic censorship has a lot of charm and creativity with their name alterings. I for one oh love me some of that wheat tea over a brand of beer..
The sound mixing is top notch and unlike the original the creatures all have their own death screams, as well as some environmental sound effects aren't as overly saturated/compressed as the original. By comparance the sound design is a large improvement.
There's also the extra toggles for no encounters, game speed adjustments in and out-battle which are nice for the impatient ones and for the later sidequesting. A instant kill toggle and finally an auto-battle function which is pure memes and doesn't work well at all.
Underneath it all it's the same beautiful game and you should play if want to try something unique in the jrpg genre. I want these games to be supported, but I'd recommend the original over this one unless you want the japanese cast and spot the differences from the original of which there are plenty minour ones.
Then again. The remasters also include new game plus with hard modes so I'll hold on to that for now.