Played from – to: (2021-12-25 – 2022-01-01) – PC keyboard.
‣ 9/10 – Man with multiple personality disorder saves the world.
‣ Game Audio / Soundtrack - 10/10
‣ Graphics – 10/10
‣ Atmosphere – 10/10
‣ Main Story / Characters – 8/10
‣ AI – 10/10
‣ Combat –8/10
‣ Final notes: Loop Hero is probably the most refreshing game I have played this year. It has unique gameplay ideas, great character design, huge replay ability, a story that is enough to keep you engaged and much more. The basic idea of giving the player full control on how he wants to design the levels he is going to play is brilliant. I loved building these impossibly difficult loop levels and essentially making myself fail finishing them without dying. The soundtrack is phenomenal, every time a boss spawns in your loop the overall vibe changes and this upbeat incredible music starts playing that made me bop my head all the way to the end, 10/10 does not even describe how much I enjoyed this games soundtrack. My only complaint is that at some points you hit these dead ends where you must grind for a few hours until you get enough resources to finally progress further. Combat is based on RNG, and you cannot control it. The only thing you have control over the combat is the gear you equip. Having good gear increases your chances of surviving an encounter and moving forward. I also liked upgrading my home camp and slowly see it become a city, building houses for people and crafting tools that help me on each loop. Loop Hero is one of the best games I played this year.

Eternal Wings' follow-up - Baten Kaitos Origins, is a much more accomplished version of the same idea. This prequel retained little of the debut's lethargy, with welcome adjustments to movement (by introducing a sprint button), menus (by condensing and speeding up deckbuilding) and - last but not least, to its battle system. More fluid but also more linear, the main strength of this revamped combat lies in the constant decision-making involved, requiring frequent, nimble hand management via discarding, playing or chaining cards according to one's rapidly evolving strategy. Although much less 'RPG' than before, and certainly less dependent on elements, it evokes the streamlined pace (if not the speed) of 90s ATB systems. Regular battles are intense and demanding, with precious little room to breathe, but its relentless nature is best epitomized by their hectic and challenging - if occasionally painful boss fights. At the same time, a turn-order bar (replacing the party-to-party phases of old) and new mechanics such as MP bursts and relay attacks further broaden their hasty-yet-brainy gameplay. After beginning as a more or less randomly arranged battle menu, Baten Kaitos' combat radically transformed into one of the most electrifying in JRPG history.

Monolith Soft's passion for indulgent, drawn-out cutscenes and gimmicky dungeons - however, is no less annoying here. Despite this, their story succeeds in mixing the political intrigue of the first with themes of industrialization and a dual-narrative, that alternates between two different stories and eras. In both cases, its finer moments highlight their skills at sculpting compelling scenarios, memorable quips, funny side quests, and above all a great playable cast, whose personalities (from clownish to snarky) and chemistry dominate the show from start to finish.

The leap in quality is impressive enough, but Origins is more than a simple refinement: It's a formidable, hilarious and exciting mid-00s milestone that recast their turn-based, TCG/RPG crossbreed as a puzzle-action game in disguise.

Just as good as the first one. The gameplay was modified in a way that I could be seen as better or worse based on your preference but personally I like it more. The party is smaller but each one has focus and feels important. The story feels is as excellent as a prequel to Eternal Wings could be.

Definitely check this out if you're looking for a older obscure RPG with unique gameplay although I would recommend Eternal Wings first. I'd also recommend this series to Xeno fans looking for more Monolithsoft goodness.

I went into this game expecting the worst, late release, no one talks about it, I was burnt out just having finished the other Kaitos game, this game wasn't cheap used and it left me with a horrible first impression.

So I'm extremely glad that I eventually came back to it and gave it a chance, I went from not thinking anything of it to it being possible, or very close to being what I consider to be the best RPG game that generation, and I truly mean that.
Every single problem I had with the first game was improved in this Prequel game.

This is an RPG where you use a deck of cards as attacks in battle, it's explained in the story and is part of the lore of these games, it sounds boring and un-fun to use cards but in practice it's more of a nice theming story element than a game mechanic.

This game looks incredible, if you've played other
Tri-ace/Monolith games you will know what to expect, it has the same kind of level of detail and art you might see in Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, ect
Except both Baten Kaitos games have a sky/nature themed art style, it's really impressive and highly detailed, most backgrounds are animated, and are often layered creating a real sense of depth, considering the game takes place on floating continents this is very important. I often would just stop and leave the game running while appreciating the art and music.

Everything about the game starts slow, and this is my only complaint and it's a big one, the story is a "slow burn" and the first town you start in is actually a maze-dungeon that is dreadful to navigate, it took me 4 hours to get to the "good part" It's honestly horrible and probably a large reason why fans of the first game typically regard this as a bad sequel after playing a few hours and never coming back.

If you start this game or have dropped it early on I encourage you to give it another chance, I insist it gets MUCH better.

Battles are actually fun, the first game was more about planning and setting up your card deck before battle, that is still an aspect in this game but it has been simplified a bit in favor of chain attacks and fast battles where you have to make quick decisions.

Most people who complain about it being simple I believe have not played up to where mechanics are added that add a great amount of depth to the battles.

This game if you give it the time becomes extremely satisfying, at one point I was pulling off 15-card chains with my party uncovering the secret attack combinations that result in powerful and fun to watch super moves, I was beating super bosses on the first turn, there's no way I can describe how it feels to bide turns waiting for the perfect lineup of cards and unleash a super long chain attack that carries over between all three party members, I can't say enough good things about the battle mechanics, they eliminated all the turns where you get stuck with non attack items and have to waste all of your turns.

The story in this game... It starts slow as well, you slowly uncover a mystery, learn about the characters, the game explores some themes I don't typically see in this genre and there's some very well done plot twists that I wont spoil.

Most RPG plots and twists fall really flat for me, so it says a lot that I was engaged with it the entire way through, the backstories, lore, ect are super interesting and well expanded upon, the story isn't typical I somehow grew to appreciate the characters, it's weird to say this is a game that caused me to Feel things, like actually got a response out of me at several points, I'm cynical and have played a decent number of RPG and story games so that's an achievement, a bit at the very end hit Very hard unexpectedly, it was truly moving and made the final fight unforgettable much like Xenoblade did if you have played that. I would give the story and writing a perfect rating.

The writing is mostly entertaining, the main cast often has a lot to say about everything (no silent protagonist here) and they often bicker and go back and forth in ways that come off genuine, this is helped a lot by the voice acting which isn't perfect but far above average for the time and a massive improvement over the below amateur quality in Eternal Wings (the first game).

This game is 70 hours long I assumed the quote boasting this on the back of the box was exaggerating but no, it really took that long, the good news is mandatory backtracking and fetch quests are kept to a minimum and the game doesn't have many archaic illogical moments to get you stuck or waste your time, the game has a good momentum introducing new towns and dungeons as you go, and this time there's some good side content if you're up for it too, you're typical RPG coliseum is one of them and it included several extra hours of gameplay.

And as if I haven't already explained so much I like about this game the music is incredible, almost too good for words, the composer somehow came back from Eternal Wings' already amazing ost and did it better, comparing both Origins has a lot more variety in music genres, tempo, and atmosphere, some themes manage to be very emotional, the rock themes are well appreciated and create high energy, best of all the main battle theme never gets old, it's extremely good. Whether it be instrument choice, depth, track length, originality, most racks are near unmatched, I think this is the composers best work to this day, Le Ali del Principio is incredible shockingly good, every track fits the scenes they are used in perfectly, this is a legendary soundtrack.

If you take anything from this review, if you bothered to read any of this, find a way to listen to this soundtrack I think you will not regret it. Personally, as a game soundtrack CD collector this was a must-have and one that I treasure owning, the soundtrack stands on it's own as a great experience even outside the context of the game.

The game comes on 2 discs, you cant save when starting 2 and you start on a hard boss, this in one of the most frequent complaints I've seen about this game and it is very true, I was fortunate that I took my time exploring so I had the best equipment and was leveled enough, but you can permanently softlock after about 30 hours so it is important to be aware of this.

So yeah I think I've gone on long enough, TLDR this a fantastic Gamecube exclusive RPG worth it for the physical copy if you want to play that way, and worth the time investment, just don't let the prologue ruin it for you.

It costs to live. You didn’t choose to live but you will pay your landlord. Here is such a brilliant and concisely defined game: your ability to pay a rapidly increasingly cost to live is based on building a deck through spinning a slot machine.

The game builds in complexity with every spin. The symbols you choose in the deckbuilding parts pay off against each other. If you’ve played your cards right, you might end up with more money then you need to live.

I’ve occasionally looked for a game that’s simply a slot machine plus a compelling mechanic that is not just a microtransaction feeder and this is such a pure example of how that can work, while imbuing these themes with evident commentary.

Sometimes the best idea is the most simple idea. Here, the mechanics are compelling because while there is this overriding aspect of chance, there is also a thrill in building a foolproof deck, knowing when to hold ‘em and when to go for more productive symbols. It’s such a smart little design and is a good and fulfilling bite-sized time sink.