Baten Kaitos: The Wings of Eternity and the Lost Ocean

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Baten Kaitos: The Wings of Eternity and the Lost Ocean
Asked Kaitos Wiki Logo.png
Studio
Publisher JapanJapan, , Namco NintendoNorth AmericaNorth AmericaEuropeEurope
AustraliaAustralia
Senior Developer Yasuyuki Honne (Director and Artistic Director)
Hiroya Hatsushiba (Director, Combat and Sound Designer)
Motoi Sakuraba (Composer)
Masato Kato (Script)
Tadashi Nomura , Hirohide Sugiura , Shinji Noguchi (Producer)
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 JapanJapanDecember 5, 2003 November 16, 2004 April 1, 2005 May 19, 2005
North AmericaNorth America
EuropeEurope
AustraliaAustralia
platform Nintendo GameCube
genre Japanese RPG
Subject Fantasy
Game mode Single player
control Nintendo GameCube controller
medium 2 Nintendo optical disc
language English , Japanese ( German , etc. subtitles)
Age rating
USK released from 6
PEGI recommended for ages 12 and up

Asked Kaito: The wings of eternity and the Lost Ocean ( Jap. バテン·カイトス終わらない翼と失われた海 asked Kaitosu: Owaranai Tsubasa to Ushinawareta Umi ; Baten Kaitos of Arab Batn qaytus - "belly of the sea monster") is a Japanese Computer role-playing game (JRPG). Developed jointly by Monolith Soft and tri-Crescendo , it was first released by Namco in Japan in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube , as well as in North America in 2004 and in Europe in 2005 . Nintendo was responsible for the release in Australia in 2005 .

The plot of the game follows Kalas , a young man who fights against an evil empire in a fantasy world consisting of islands floating in the air. The player takes on the role of a guardian spirit in the plot. The mechanics of Baten Kaitos differ from many other role-playing games in that they focus on playing cards, which are referred to in the game as "Magnus". The combat system based on this Magnus is turn-based. The game's background graphics are pre-calculated , but the cutscenes are calculated in real time. The game's soundtrack was created by Motoi Sakuraba .

Baten Kaitos received mostly positive reviews. Critics praised the innovative game concept, the graphics and the music, while some reviewers criticized the plot and characters as being clichéd and not very outstanding, and the English voice output as being of poor quality. Although the sales figures were far below the manufacturer's expectations, a successor called Baten Kaitos Origins followed in 2006, which was only released in Japan and North America .

action

scenario

Baten Kaitos takes place in a fantasy world “full of color, movement and extraordinary design”, which consists of islands floating in the sky. The inhabitants of this world have grown wings in the course of evolution . Another characteristic of the game world are so-called Magnus. These are cards that contain the essence of a physical object and from which these objects can be reconstructed at will.

For large parts, the primary protagonist of the game is the 18-year-old Kalas, who is described as selfish and sloppy, who was born with only one wing and therefore has a second, artificial one. The player himself takes on a role that breaks the fourth wall in the plot . He is a guardian spirit who comes from another dimension and can communicate with Kalas. At some points in the plot, the characters chat with the Guardian Spirit, and the player has to choose an answer. Depending on which answers the player chooses, the relationship between him and the character is changed. This translates into slight advantages during combat.

A thousand years before the actual events in the game, legend has it that an evil deity named Malpercio raged, who soaked up the ocean in which the mighty whale lived. Powerful magicians had succeeded in defeating the evil god and sealing it in five so-called End Magnus cards. Because the old earth was tainted by the battle, several pieces rose from the ground and began to float in the sky, propelled by one of the end Magnus. With that peace returned.

Course of action

The actual plot begins when the 18-year-old protagonist Kalas is found unconscious in the pale moon forest on the island of Sadal Suud and taken care of by the doctor Larikush. Driven by the urge to take revenge on the Alfard Empire for the deaths of his grandfather and brother, he returns to the forest and meets 17-year-old, naive-looking Xelha. Accidentally, the two unleash an end Magnus, who is then stolen by the Empire. Kalas and Xelha flee together to the island of Diadem, where they learn of the evil machinations of the empire. The Imperator Geldoblame is planning to track down all five end Magnus and so to awaken Malpercio. Since Sadal Suud's End-Magnus is already in the possession of money oblames, they try to get the remaining End-Magnus to safety.

In the course of the plot, four characters join Kalas and Xelha: the fisherman Gibari, the outcast Imperial ambassador Lyude, the former Imperial soldier Savyna and the Great Mizuti, a masked magical being. In search of the End Magnus, the group gradually travels to the five large island nations Sadal Suul, Diadem, Anueue, Mira and ultimately the Alfard Empire. When they arrive here, despite their best efforts, all End-Magnus are in the hands of the Empire and Geldoblame frees Malpercio. The emperor dies while trying to absorb the power of the evil god. The granddaughter of the Duke of Mira, Melodia, appears, who turns out to be a real mastermind. Even before the game events, she pulled Kalas to her side, who was cheating on his friends the whole time in order to gain the power of a god.

The guardian spirit leaves Kalas and joins Xelha, whereupon the five companions escape and leave Kalas behind. The group travels to the legendary island of Wazn without him. Here Xelha reveals herself as the last Ice Queen of Wazn. In a later encounter with Kalas, Xelha tries to save him with an ancient relic from Malpercio's control. This initially fails, but Kalas then succeeds in evading Melodia and Malpercio's control and stepping back on the good side. Meanwhile, the great Mizuti stops Malpercio and then reveals himself to be female members of the children of the earth, the descendants of the ancient magicians who once defeated the evil god. Even today the children of the earth live on the remnants of the old earth, where the group is now traveling. Here they receive a relic to destroy Malpercio and fight again successfully against Malpercio.

After this, Melodia and her minions withdraw to the Cor Hydrae fortress. Shortly thereafter, Kalas travels to see Larikush, the doctor who looked after him at the start of the story. Larikush tells him that many years ago he and Kalas' grandfather Georg did research for the empire on a perfect creature that would be born out of a Magnus. The unsuccessful result of this research was Kalas. Since the empire demanded that Kalas be killed, Georg and Larikush faked their deaths and fled. From then on Georg lived with Kalas in Mira, where his son Giacomo, who belonged to the empire, killed him two years later.

Soon after, all the islands united to attack Cor Hydrae. This enables a confrontation with Malpercio, from which Kalas and his friends initially emerge victorious. Melodia, however, merges with the evil God, so that an even stronger divine being arises. With combined forces Kalas and his friends defeat Malpercio in his final form. Kalas manages to free Melodia from the influence of God. Together they manage to end Malpercio's existence and thus avert the end of the world. The islands fall back to earth and peace returns.

After a big celebration, Xelha goes back to Pale Moon Forest with Kalas and explains to him that the long lost ocean of ancient Earth has been by his side all along; as the Ice Queen of Wazn, she carries the forgotten ocean within her. To return the ocean to the restored world, Xelha would have to die at Kalas's hand. The money oblame who was believed to be dead and who, by virtue of his will, has become one with the world, appears. Kalas and Xelha can defeat Geldoblame in their final form, but Xelha dies weakened by the fight. With the old world restored, the human vibrations disappear. At the end, some actors say goodbye to the protective spirit, who leaves this dimension.

Game description

Game mechanics

A GameCube console with controller

The player controls the character with the analog stick of the Nintendo GameCube controller in three-dimensional space. For much of the game, these are Kalas; in one section, however, the player controls Xelha. Using the action button , the character can interact with selected objects and NPCs . The surroundings are shown in a fixed perspective that cannot be changed by the player. The camera follows the movements of the player character by mitscrollt or to the environment zooms .

Most places consist of several screens with different camera settings. Other locations are unlocked as the game progresses and can then be selected using an upper world map. The player cannot travel independently between the different islands, but only through special game events; that is, the order in which the islands are explored is linear . Later in the game, there are opportunities to explore the islands as you wish. According to the developer, completing the game's storyline should take between 50 and 70 hours.

The number of Scores is the available space on the memory card dependent. To save his game progress, the player has to look for a blue or red flower. Blue flowers also give the player the opportunity to visit the church. Here he can increase the level of the game characters, provided they have enough experience points, and under certain conditions also increase their rank so that they can have more cards in the deck.

In every populated area in the game there is a shop where the player can buy or sell Magnus and regenerate his power points. The main source of income is the sale of pictures that the player must shoot during a fight.

Magnus

Magnus are a core element of the Baten Kaitos game system , as all items , attacks and spells appear in the game in the form of a Magnus. The player receives Magnus after successful battles, can buy them in shops, get them from NPCs, or hunt them down as treasures in the overworld. The player can take an unlimited number of Magnus with him, but each character can only take a certain number of Magnus into his deck. There are over 1000 different copies in total, which are divided into four categories:

  • Battle Magnus are the most important Magnus because they are used in combat. Some Magnus change over time, so the healing magnus "Banana" can spoil and cause damage from then on. Battle Magnus can be used as often as you like.
  • Quest Magnus are used in so-called quests . It is a way of transferring selected objects to one of the existing blank Magnus cards and transporting them in this way.
  • Equipment Magnus are intended for a specific character. If a character wears an equipment Magnus, certain status values ​​are affected.
  • Camp Magnus can only be used in a separate menu called the Camp Screen. For example, they heal the characters' strength, heal negative effects or increase status values. A Camp-Magnus can only be used once.

Combat system

A fight begins after touching an opponent on a new screen. A maximum of three characters can fight; the respective decks are shuffled at the beginning. With each move a certain number of cards (initially three; maximum nine) is displayed and can be selected. All attacks, spells, defenses, items and other combat objects are chosen in the form of Magnus.

The turns of all characters run one after the other, so it is a turn-based combat system . Attack and defense moves must be mastered within a certain time, otherwise they will be skipped. In an attack move, the player first selects an opponent and then plays his Magnus. In a defensive round, the playing figure is attacked by an opponent and should protect itself from damage by playing a defensive magnus. How much damage a Magnus deals or how strongly he defends depends on the individual values ​​of a Magnus. The damage incurred is displayed at the end of each turn and results from the total damage caused by the attacker minus the defense of the target. A figure is eliminated from the fight when its strength points (HP) have dropped to zero.

Magnus are either neutral or have one of six elements that counteract each other in pairs: fire and water, chronos and wind, and light and shadow. Every opponent is particularly vulnerable or resistant to one element. Furthermore, every Magnus has up to four digits from 1 to 9 in its corners. If the numbers of the played Magnus result in a special order, there are bonus damage or defense points.

There is also Heil-Magnus, who can regenerate a set number of CP for a team member. Some Magnus also have additional effects and can poison, burn, paralyze, freeze, confuse, cause headaches or kill their opponent immediately. Each of these status effects has different, destructive effects and can be prevented by appropriate defense or equipment or canceled by healing magnus played by team members.

The strategic aspect in the combat system is to injure the opponent as much as possible and to suffer as little damage as possible. Magnus combos play an important role in this. In addition, counterproductive moves are possible for the player: For example, he can heal the opponent, attack his pawns and play a defensive magnus when attacking and vice versa. It can happen, for example, that the player can only play Defense Magnus in an attack round (and vice versa), which then does not trigger any action on this turn. Otherwise there is also the possibility of letting the train pass without any action.

History of origin

Contributors

Baten Kaitos is a joint development between the Japanese studio Monolith Soft , which was then still owned by Namco and later sold to Nintendo, and tri-Crescendo . Monolith Soft was responsible for the design, while tri-Crescendo took over the programming and designed the combat system. The credits name 50 participants from Monolith Soft and 20 from tri-Crescendo. The computer graphics come from external companies: the animated film at the beginning of the game comes from Robot, while the companies Shirogumi, Wild Brain and Imagica were responsible for other computer graphics and 2D animation.

Yasuyuki Honne from Monolith Soft and Hiroya Hatsushiba from tri-Crescendo acted as project managers . Honne is also listed in the credits as artistic director, card designer and draftsman, while Hatsushiba also served as sound director and lead combat system developer. Masato Kato , who was in charge of the plot of several of Square's JRPGs , wrote the script. The soundtrack was penned by Motoi Sakuraba, a longtime colleague of Hatsushiba. The executive producer was Monolith Soft co-founder and president Hirohide Sugiura , other producers were Tadashi Nomura from Monolith Soft and Shinji Noguchi from Namco.

development

Monolith Soft was founded in 1999 by some former Square Enix developers with the financial participation of Namco. In 2002 the studio's first game for the PlayStation 2 was released under the title Xenosaga Episode I: The Will to Power . While the studio, which had almost 100 employees at the time, was already producing the successor Xenosaga Episode II: Beyond Good and Evil , it was developing another, new game. These were Baten Kaitos for the GameCube, which came onto the market in 2003 as the second Monolith soft game.

The basic Baten Kaitos concept was conceived in 2001 and development began six months later. According to the developers, Baten Kaitos is based on a newly developed engine .

The idea of ​​the Magnus fight concept comes from tri-Crescendo. The aim here was to enable a fast-paced combat system, unlike many other games with a card combat system, which are usually slow. The developers also wanted to create a combat system that focuses less on strategy than on intuition and quick thinking. The system should be easy to learn and at the same time difficult to master in order to offer the player enough variety. In Baten Kaito some simple design were platformers Run elements built to give extra variety to the RPG theme of other elements by genre. Accordingly, these sections have been designed by the developers in such a way that they should be easy to master.

According to the producer Noguchi, there were no restrictions caused by the GameCube hardware during development. According to Noguchi, the game was developed exclusively for the GameCube, as the console did not have many RPGs at the time and the team said they wanted to deliver a good RPG to the console owners and at the same time start a new GameCube franchise. According to Noguchi, the decision to use pre-rendered backgrounds was made solely for artistic reasons - in terms of technology, it would have been possible to have all the environments in the game calculated in real time.

Technology and sound

Baten Kaitos is on two GameCube discs . About halfway through the game, the player is asked to insert the second disc in order to continue with the second half of the game. Baten Kaitos is transmitted to the television screen in full screen mode at a maximum frame rate of 30 frames per second.

The environments in the game are shown in three-dimensional computer graphics and are not calculated in real time, but are pre-rendered and provided with animations . The cutscenes are essentially dialogues between characters with simple animations that are calculated in real time. The approximately one and a half minute introductory film, which is played each time the first game disc is started, is the only sequence with precalculated computer-generated graphics (CGI).

The soundtrack of Baten Kaitos was created by the Japanese video game composer Motoi Sakuraba and consists of 57 pieces. From a stylistic point of view, the soundtrack for the progressive rock composer includes typical boss fight pieces with electric guitar . Large parts of the rest of the soundtrack can be described as quieter and more emotional, including references to musical themes such as the dies irae . The online magazine IGN noted that the background music in the dungeons was unconventional for an RPG.

On December 17, 2003, Team Entertainment released the official soundtrack album in Japan. The album includes two audio CDs with a total playing time of over two hours.

Baten Kaitos includes Japanese and English voice acting, which includes exclamations during a fight and large parts of the dialogues in the game. The English voice dubbing was recorded under the direction of Hidekazu Nakamura in the Churoku Service studio. The following table provides an overview of the main characters in the game, their roles in the plot and their Japanese and English voice actors .

character Japanese speaker English speaker role
Kalas Kosuke Toriumi Eric Kelso Protagonist, player character
Xelha Chiaki Takahashi Bianca Allen Kalas' companion, player character
Gibari Kiyoyuki Yanada Jeff Gedert Diadem fisherman, player character
Lyude Daisuke Kishio Thomas Meleski Outcast Ambassador of the Empire, player character
Savyna Mayumi Asano Rachel Waltz Former soldier of the Empire, player character
Mizuti Eriko Nakayama Yuko Yunokawa Sorceress of the children of the earth, player character
Money oblame Chafurin Walter Roberts Imperator Alfards and antagonist
Melody Kae Araki Janica Southwick Granddaughter of the Duke of Mira
Giacomo Hiroshi Matsumoto Michael Rhys Senior soldier of the Empire
Ayme Yu Asakawa Amy Colyer Imperial soldier at Giacomo's side
Folon Takuro Nakakuni David Neale Empire soldier at Giacomo's side
Corellia Naoko Matsui Carolyn Miller Queen of Anuenue
L'Hade Khan Susumu Chiba Peter Gomm King of Diadem
Larikush Naoki Bando Greg Dale Doctor from Cebalrai
Calbren Takehiro Koyama Tom Clark Duke of Mira
Barnets Sayuri Sadaoka Anita Sugunan Resident of Wazn and advisor to the Ice Queen
fairy Kiyomi Asai Kai Hallberg Kalas' slain young brother
George Hideo Watanabe Dennis Falt Grandfather of Kalas and Fee
Krumly Ryan Drees Mayor of a Village of the Children of the Earth
Rodolfo Jeff Manning Lord of Sadal Suud

Announcement, publication and sales figures

In April 2002, Namco began a collaboration with Nintendo, which resulted in some Namco games for the GameCube and Game Boy Advance . On May 8, 2002, Namco announced some of these projects for Nintendo consoles at a conference. Among them was Baten Kaitos for the first time , which was listed as an untitled RPG with an expected publication date in December 2003. This RPG reappeared in a Namco financial report published at the end of May. It was supposed to appear for the GameCube and belong to the more important of the 71 planned titles that Namco planned to release across platforms in Japan in 2003.

The RPG project was officially revealed as Baten Kaitos at an event by Monolith Soft in mid-July 2003 . The developer touted the game as one of the greatest GameCube RPGs of the year. The producer Nomura, the directors Hatsushiba and Honne, the film director Mikitaka Kurasawa, composer Sakuraba and scenario writer Kato presented the game and showed trailers and screenshots. At the Tokyo Game Show at the end of September 2003, Baten Kaitos could be played by visitors for the first time.

Baten Kaitos was released in Japan on December 5, 2003. Pre-orders received the Namco arcade game The Tower of Druaga, originally released in 1984, as an extra . The reason for this is a game section in Baten Kaitos , which pays homage to Tower of Druaga in terms of graphics, music and gameplay .

American localization could only begin after May 2004, as Namco was busy with localization work on Tales of Symphonia at the time. After this title, Baten Kaitos was the second Namco RPG to be released in America in 2004 for the GameCube. The American version of Baten Kaitos was published by Namco on November 16, 2004. Publication in Europe followed on April 1 of the following year, also by Namco. It was released in Australia on May 19, 2005, Nintendo was responsible for it.

Baten Kaitos sold poorly in both Japan and the western market. Namco estimated 500,000 game sales in Japan. However, according to Famitsu , the game sold only 88,000 times in 2003 in Japan, making it 146th among the best-selling video games in 2003. Namco's 2004 financial report notes that Baten Kaitos had a difficult time in the market and was unable to achieve the manufacturer's objectives. In combination with the bad marketing according to Katharine Byrne , this fact is to blame for the fact that the game is hardly widespread outside of its fan base.

The manufacturer did not disclose worldwide sales figures. VGChartz.com estimates that 50,000 copies of Baten Kaitos sold in Europe and 210,000 in North America .

reception

Baten Kaitos received mostly positive reviews, especially in terms of graphics, sound and gameplay . Frequent criticisms were the plot and the characters. The combat system is an important aspect of the game's reception .

Reviews

The online magazine IGN criticizes the plot of Baten Kaitos as clichéd and unoriginal. The reviewer Juan Castro rated the character development as well as the pace of the narrative positively. He describes the characters as interesting and varied and their dialogues as well written. The speech output, however, had failed so much that the player should deactivate it. Although the combat system seems quite complicated in the first few hours of play, the game system receives praise in the review. An exception for Castro is the game's level-up system, which he describes as arbitrary and not contributing positively to the gaming experience. The IGN review also states that the game succeeds in getting the player to thoroughly comb through the surroundings in order to find new Magnus. The reviewer judges the graphics as “pretty”, and character models and environments are particularly well modeled. The many details and animations of the surroundings create the impression of a lively game world for him.

The game review on the 1UP web portal is similar, highlighting the combat system, the complex and varied dungeons and the sometimes very detailed side quests. The editor David Smith also criticizes the plot, which has no exciting introduction and relies too much on plot twists in the later phases. It is surprising that the plot is rather lacking in inspiration, since its author Masato Kato is no stranger to the subject. Art director Yasuyuki Honne, on the other hand, was able to contribute to the development of the game for what he is known for: With the artistic design of Baten Kaitos, Honne created one of the “wonderfully colorful” RPGs of the console era at that time, writes Smith; the game combines creativity and technical refinements. The reviewer considers the soundtrack composed by Motoi Sakuraba to be successful, with the exception of The True Mirror , the standard battle music of the game. The voice output is also criticized negatively.

The New York Times published a 2004 review on Baten Kaitos . The editor Charles Herold recognizes many typically Japanese elements and a generic plot as defects in the game. These shortcomings would be made up for by the combat system. In addition, the game is characterized by a "casual charm" ('easygoing charm').

Rob Fahey writes in the game review of the video game website Eurogamer that Baten Kaitos is essentially building on two unattractive elements. These are the map-based combat system and the pre-rendered environments, which were considered obsolete at the time. However, Monolith Soft managed to integrate both elements in a game in a commendable way. Fahey describes the graphics as being so lovingly detailed that they would not have been possible using real-time graphics. The combat system is unique, but sometimes also frustrating, as it relies heavily on chance and luck and thus sometimes offers the player bad chances without his responsibility. Like most other publications, Eurogamer also notes that the plot does not go beyond clichés typical of the genre. According to Fahey, the only way to keep the plot of Baten Kaitos together is the artistic design of the environments in which it is set. A positive aspect of the plot is how the player is involved and thus the fourth wall is passed. The review also states that the “excellent” soundtrack Sakurabas is in a league with artistic design, but the voice output sounds as if it was recorded underwater. The reviewer comes to the conclusion that Baten Kaitos is a game with strengths in gameplay and weaknesses in plot and is qualitatively surpassed by some GameCube RPGs.

A predominantly negative criticism came from the Cubed3 website. The reviewer Matthew Evans criticizes that the entire game plot is an infusion of old RPG clichés and that the characters do not linger in the player's memory due to a lack of emotion, sympathy and inspiration. Evans also rates game elements that have been praised in other reviews negatively: While the storage and leveling system is ill-conceived and counterproductive, the combat system sounds very good on paper, but turns out to be inadequate in practice. Cubed3 particularly criticizes the fact that chance and luck in the combat system often lead to unfair fights, so that the player often cannot attack or defend himself due to a bad deck. While the player's chances are often bad, the computer-controlled opponents always have the right cards in their hand for the respective move. Furthermore, the game lacks variety, so the replay factor is low. The graphics are suboptimal due to the static camera settings, the character models are poorly animated and the voice output is "obviously appalling". Evans presents the "emotive" and inspiring soundtrack as the only positive aspect.

Rating mirror

The website Metacritic , which calculates an average rating for films and video games, has determined a global average rating of 80% for Baten Kaitos based on 48 reviews. The average rating on the GameRankings website is slightly higher. Here it is 81.30% and was calculated from 58 ratings. The following table provides an overview of the ratings that Baten Kaitos received:

Magazine / website Rating date Remarks
1UP B. November 15, 2004 Rated with American school grades
Cubed3 5/10 March 31, 2005
Edge 7/10 January 2005
Electronic Gaming Monthly 73% December 2004
Eurogamer 8/10 March 31, 2005
Famitsu 31/40 Individual ratings by four editors, here: 8, 8, 8 and 7
Game Informer 88% December 2004
GameSpot 8.5 / 10 November 18, 2004
IGN 8.8 / 10 November 12, 2004
Nintendojo 8.6 / 10
Nintendo Power 92% January 2004
N zone 86% May 2005

Analysis of the game system

IGN identified the Magnus system as the element of the game that received the most attention from players. It is a unique and refreshing gaming experience. In a preview report from early 2003, IGN wrote that the combat system was paced at a good pace and felt more like a "typical turn-based RPG" than a card-based game. In fact, due to the limited planning time during the fight, the pace is much faster than in many other Japanese RPGs.

The 1UP game review said Baten Kaitos broke several common conventions in the RPG arena. One example is the card-based combat system that solves some of the problems of the classic RPG combat system. In this way, the different deck of cards in each fight guarantees that no two fights are the same, which guarantees a lot of variety. This further ensures that the mazes in the game appear more varied than in other RPGs. Furthermore, the system is very time-saving in combat, as the player does not have to operate any cumbersome menus.

The fansite Nintendojo compared Baten Kaitos in early 2012 in a retrospective report on the history of Monolith Soft with the studio's previous work, Xenosaga . That science fiction RPG series is particularly characterized by its plot, which takes up numerous philosophical theses. Compared to that, the plot in Baten Kaitos is less significant. This game also distinguishes itself through an outstanding feature, in this case through the combat system and the "excellent" ('exquisite') design of the surroundings. The Magnus system has been described as a "rather bizarre mix of genres" and a "unique and invigorating approach to the RPG battle system".

Awards and leaderboards

The following is an overview of the awards and rankings in the leaderboards that Baten Kaitos received :

  • IGN Gaming Life in Japan 2003 Grand Prix : Best Visual Presentation
  • Joystiq: Placement in a list of the ten best GameCube exclusive games
  • IGNcube: 2nd place in the best games November 2004
  • Ranked 23rd in IGN's Best GameCube Games
  • # 131 of the best Nintendo games of all time by Nintendo Power
  • Ninth place on a list of the ten games with the worst speech output

successor

The successor to Baten Kaitos appeared in Japan as Baten Kaitos II: Hajimari no Tsubasa to Kamigami no Shishi (Japanese バ テ ン ・ カ イ ト ス II 始 ま り の 翼 と 神 神 々 の 嗣子 ; dt. "The wings of the beginning and the inheritance of the gods"). In contrast to its predecessor, the game was not released by Namco, but by Nintendo. It was released on February 23, 2006 in Japan and on September 25, 2006 in North America under the title Baten Kaitos Origins . The game was not released in Europe.

Baten Kaitos Origins is a prequel and is set 20 years before the events of the first Baten Kaitos . The protagonist of the game is Sagi, a member of the Alfard Empire. Baten Kaitos Origins took 18 months to develop and was done by 50 people. The developers decided on this successor because the first Baten Kaitos was very popular among fans. Again it is a cooperation between Monolith Soft and tri-Crescendo; Yasuyuki Honne and Hiroya Hatsushiba again held the director roles, while Motoi Sakuraba composed again.

In December 2004, a list of games for the Nintendo DS published by Nintendo named a Baten Kaitos offshoot for the handheld. There was no further information about Baten Kaitos DS at the time. In September 2005, Namco added the project to its official website, but removed it in October without comment. In 2006 a Namco producer said on request that the development of Baten Kaitos DS had been stopped. Reasons for this were not given.

literature

  • Frank Glaser: Baten Kaitos: The wings of eternity and the lost ocean: the official solution book . Future Press, 2005, ISBN 3-937336-24-9 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Many terms from Baten Kaitos are taken from other languages, preferably from Arabic. In addition, some terms denote a star at the same time.
  2. ↑ In the game, the guardian spirit bears the name that the player determined at the beginning of the game.
  3. ↑ Kalas' name is derived from the Japaneseカ ラ ス, which means crow or raven in German.
  4. ↑ The island is named after the star Sadalsuud , whose name can be transferred with luck of luck .
  5. ↑ Alfard is named after the star Alphard . The star name comes from Arabicالفرد, which translated means "the single person".
  6. ↑ Xel Há is the name of a Mayan ruin and roughly means water source in the Mayathan language .
  7. ↑ Diadem is the historical name of the star Alpha Comae Berenices .
  8. ↑ As the only one of the five great nations, the name Anuenue does not come from a star, but from the Hawaiian language , where the word translated means rainbow .
  9. ↑ Mira is named after the star of the same name . The word comes from Latin and means miraculous .
  10. ↑ Wazn, in Arabic weight , is the proper name of the star Beta Columbae .
  11. ↑ See Hand (Poker) .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (2003) GameCube credits. In: MobyGames. Retrieved March 5, 2013 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (2003) GameCube release dates. In: MobyGames. Retrieved March 5, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b c Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean Release Information for GameCube. In: GameFAQs. Retrieved March 5, 2013 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h TGS 2003: Baten Kaitos. In: IGN. September 26, 2003, accessed March 5, 2013 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Baten Kaitos Playtest. In: IGN. December 5, 2003, accessed March 5, 2013 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e Juan Castro: Baten Kaitos Review: Epic success or monumental failure? Our final verdict. In: IGN. November 12, 2004, accessed March 5, 2013 .
  7. ↑ a b Baten Kaitos: over 50 hours of fun. In: ConsoleWars.de. October 17, 2003, accessed March 5, 2013 .
  8. ↑ a b c Katharine Byrne: Developer Profile: Monolith Soft. In: Nintendodojo.com. January 10, 2012, accessed March 2, 2013 .
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This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on July 30, 2013 .