Reviews > Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
(GCN) 8.3
January 30, 2005
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean is a solid entry into the slowly growing Gamecube RPG library. This is Namco's second exclusive offering to the Gamecube, following the July 2004 release of Tales of Symphonia. This time it's developed by Monolith Software, creators of Xenosaga on Playstation 2. Though somewhat cliché at times - a world of floating islands, airships, a long-sealed evil god, and a devious Empire - Baten Kaitos manages to distinguish itself from other RPGs via some unique game design, and delivers a lengthy, enjoyable experience for Gamecube owners.
The first thing that is strikingly different about this game is its card system. Everything in the world of Baten Kaitos, from stagnant water to pickup lines to magical flame-based attacks, has what's known as a "magna essence." This allows just about everything to be condensed down into a "magnus," which is basically a playing card, with the item trapped inside. This effectively answers the age-old video game question of, "where the heck do they put all that stuff?" ALL that stuff is right, because in Baten Kaitos, you can carry up to around 1300 cards.
As the vast number of cards suggests, the magnus system is integral to all areas of gameplay, most noticeably, battles. When you encounter enemies, (who all appear on the screen in real time, and are avoidable) your view switches to the battle scene, where the heroes each have a deck of magnus at their disposal. There are no equipable weapons or magic points in Baten Kaitos; all weapons, armor, spells, and recovery items are on cards. A number of these, based on the character's level, that the player has chosen for his or her deck appear randomly on the bottom of the screen. It is then up to the player to effectively select cards from this "hand" in order to attack, defend, or what have you. With each card selection, a new one enters the available hand from the character's deck.
To add more depth to this system, every magnus has up to four "spirit" numbers on them, much like real playing cards. When a card is selected using the c-stick, a spirit number is, as well. The point to all this is to create chains and combos using these numbers that increase damage, defense or hit point recovery. Likewise, each magnus has an associated element, and the way they are used can either aid or hinder your success. The idea is to use elements that are particularly effective against a particular enemy, and not to combine opposing elements, as they cancel each other out. The process is ultimately fun, interesting, annoying, and frustrating, depending on how your deck is set up and how you play your cards.
As previously mentioned, magnus plays a part in the rest of the game, also. At many points throughout the game, NPCs may ask for an item, and getting this item for them will usually garner a reward. At other times, a certain magnus is required to progress past a roadblock of sorts, be it a simple door, a chasm, or a flow of lava. Another thing that magnus can do is combine with other magnus to make, you guessed it, new magnus! In battles, certain combinations of magnus will produce entirely new cards. As time progresses, magnus undergoes changes, too. For example, a bottle of milk eventually turns to cheese, and then to mold. Also, a bunch of green bananas will ripen, blacken, and then rot over time. This makes inventory management quite interesting to say the least.
Magnus is also central to the plot of Baten Kaitos, which is pretty interesting, despite its formulaic nature. Yes, there is an evil god who has been sealed away by ancient "guardians." Yes, the sinister emperor is trying to awaken it to take over the known world. And yes, the world in question is one made up of islands floating in the air where people have wings and ride airships. There is more to the story, though, with interesting side stories, and various plot twists. Overall, it is enjoyable, but one question I asked is, "where are the beautiful cutscenes that appear in the game's intro?" Unfortunately, there are no Final Fantasy -esque cut scenes in Baten Kaitos. Everything is done using the in-game graphics and perspectives, along with some interesting voice acting, which will be addressed later on.
When it comes to graphics, Baten Kaitos presents somewhat of a dichotomy. The main world is incredibly artistic; using pre-rendered backgrounds with unique and vibrant color schemes, as well as interesting illustrations of depth throughout the game's varied environments. There is always some kind of movement in each scene, such as flowing water, blowing branches, falling snow, or beautifully billowing clouds. Art direction is undeniably excellent.
In battles, there is a slightly different presentation; characters and enemies are illustrated in all their polygonal glory, with nice, but not extraordinary effects. The special attacks are the best of these animations, with the various forms of elemental attacks taking center stage. The shortcomings of the visuals are manifested in the level of detail in character models, and more so in the clarity of the pre-rendered scenes. There is a general muddled or fuzzy look that lingers about the game and sometimes detracts from its artistic vision.
Just like the visuals, and probably more so, the audio of Baten Kaitos suffers from a case of good and evil. The music in this game is excellent, no question. You'll enjoy all the different tracks, which fit perfectly with the game's content, but never impose heavily on the gameplay experience. The audio falls, and falls hard, when it comes to voice acting. You'll be glad to know that the voice-overs can be turned off. They are awful. Untimely pauses and unnatural emphasis often break the continuity of speech - multiple times per sentence. One may get the feeling that the voice actors didn't have a firm grasp on the English language. As previously mentioned, they can and should be turned off, so as to enjoy the characters more.
Lastly, worth mentioning is the level up system, which is also slightly unusual. Instead of going up levels after a fight, you travel to a church to "pray." This entails going to a save point and teleporting. You'll then select from a menu who you want to level up, based on how much experience you have accrued since the last church visit. There is also a "class level," which basically increases how many cards in a character's deck and hand during battle. This level goes up by finding certain items and taking them to the church. The leveling system, while unique, seems just another attempt to make the game more unique, but is not as effective in execution as the other unique aspects of the game.
You may be gathering by now that Baten Kaitos aims to achieve a style all its own, and the majority of the time, it succeeds. By implementing a refreshingly original battle system, distinct graphic style, and extensive inventory possibilities, the game overcomes the lack of originality in its plot. At around 40 hours, you'll be glad it does.
Design - 8
Visuals - 8
Audio - 8
Control - 8
Story - 8
Fun - 8
Value - 8
Style - 9
Overall: 8.1 (Great)
*Eddie R Inzauto - Senior Editor, GameWad.com
