Baten Kaitos II
 

http://cube.ign.com/objects/772/772298.html

Comes out this June, according to Nintendo. I really liked the first one.. except the VA was kinda bland.. this one looks like it fixed some of the issues with the first installment. Lets hope June is the real release date.

I'm probably one of the few people who really liked the original too... so I'm definitely looking forward to this. Hopefully they won't nerf down the difficulty or anything either, since one of the things I liked most were how at least a few of the boss fights were actually fucking hard.

It would really help if they would add a pause button during battle, though, since that is something the first game sorely lacked. VA can be as shitty as it wants since I can just disable it like I did the first game. I like to read the text anyway so I often wind up doing that in games rather the VA is good or not.

I hear you, its not a big deal.. I can deal with crap VA too.

Im just glad Motoi is back on board, doing the OST

I cannot deal with the trash that was Xelha again. The VAs better have learnt their lesson from that and fixed it up good!

I liked Baten Kaitos, but I never actually finished it, so I hope with 2 being a prequel, they won't force you to understand the full events of the first one.

I'm really looking forward to this game, have been ever since i saw it announced on IGN. Loved the first one, couldn't put it down once i'd bought it. I hope this will be the same for me. From what i have seen though it looks promising.

I actually liked the first one too. The voice acting was pretty bad, but I'm a Resident Evil fan so I've suffered through much worse. Also you could just turn it off anyway. I absolutely loved the combat system, and agree with the fact that the bosses actually being hard was a good thing. Can't remember the last time I died in a RPG other than Baten Kaitos. I also liked the twist about halfway through.

hope to see it at E3 in english form.. playable or not.

I liked the first one as well. The story was good enough and the twists were really unique. I kinda thought they tried to add too many twists thought and some parts of the story just got sorta....weak. Coulda used a few more improvements(didn't like the leveling up idea, and the VAs obviously) so hopefully this game improves upon those ideas. Lookin forward to it

I just hope, its not delayed. I mean it came out Feb 23 in japan.. thats only 5 months til June(the supposed release date). I hear there is more VA in this one, than the last BK too.

I liked it for it's originality, but the battle system was so frustrating that I reached a point where I could no longer find the patience for it and sold it off. I had so many game overs because I needed a healing card and they wouldn't come up, or I'd have healing or defense cards when I needed attack cards, or some mix of cards that was utterly useless. I don't mind a game being hard, and most of the time I like it when a game is hard. But it's frustrating when most of the challenge comes simply from really stupid limitations or mechanics.
If BK2 gives you more control over your cards I'll gladly give it a try, but if it turns out to be just like BK1 I doubt I'll bother with it.

Yeah same here. It really sucks cause I absolutely fell in love with the game's visuals and music. But it's like everytime I'd sit there in glee marveling over the game's gorgeous presentation, a battle would pop up and the card system would piss all over any sense of joy the game was providing me. I stomached the craptacular voice acting for the visuals and music with no problem. But the battle system, I just couldn't bare.

Try putting more healing cards in your deck? Sorry to say but it's pretty obvious that when 95% of your deck is battle cards and you only have a few healing "items" scattered within that you're barely going to have the chance to heal. You need to learn how to better manage your deck or something.

I'm not going to deny that the randomness was at times ridiculously annoying but a well managed deck can still help tremendously.

This is now "Baten Kaitos Origins" and will be released in US Sep. 25 2006...a bit later than was given earlier, but at least it's coming!

There are also now some very smooth looking pics in Play magazine that I managed to get a glimpse of. It certainly looks beautiful and hopefully the game will match up.

I read that they removed the defense phase from the battle system. If it's true, it's a damn shame. I really liked it since it kept the player engaged.

Well, the battles are way more fluid now and allow for some awesome techniques and two to three-character-relay-combos. Plus, there are quite a bunch of attacks now that hit all enemies or heal all allies. So cheer up! XD

Hmm, this game may be the reason for me to order myself (finally) a Freeloader, since I live in Europe, and who knows when we'll have this game.

Baten Kaitos is one of the few modern day Japanese RPG titles I have enjoyed, Call me crazy but I really like this title over the newer releases of Final Fantasy. I still have not yet beat Baten Kaitos but I plan to in the near future, So the announcement of the second installment is pretty cool seeing as the game has a pretty good story line and all. I'm suprised though that they don't wait until the Wii comes out and release it then, That way it'd be more noticed on the Wii then the dieing life span of the Gamecube.

I agree, Baten Kaitos is one of the few RPG's I've truly enjoyed since circa 2002, when I got Suikoden III. Couldn't get into more recent series like DDS, Atelier Iris, or Shadow Hearts, and I quit Xenosaga after ep 1. I also like it a lot more than FFX. It's the first time I've encountered a card-based battle system, but it ended up getting me addicted to the game rather than putting me off. That and the game is incredibly beautiful and well-written. VA wasn't a problem, since I hate VA in general and turned it off :) I was trying to collect every magnus before the addiction wore off, but I'm sure I'll get back to it one day. It seems to be a cult hit though, as it seems to be disliked/despised in the mainstream. I feel lucky to get a 2nd game at all.

Unfortunately I must also express concern about the BK2 release date...late September, when the Wii will probably be here no more than 2 months later. Compare with FFIX, which was released similarly closely to the PS2's launch, and it got glossed over for the most part, and it was Final Fantasy. Seems they're just asking not to sell many copies. Which probably means we won't see another game (BK2 already bombed huge in Japan, like its predecessor before it). So if they end up coming out with a 3rd BK title on Wii (or even DS) I'll be quite surprised and happy.

I enjoyed the first one because I turned off the voice acting before I began playing and never listened to it once. I prefer my RPGs without voice acting anyway. Also, I really liked Chrono Cross (more than Chrono Trigger honestly) and Baten Kaitos reminded me a lot of that game.

I didn't really mind the VA too much. I mean Xella (I know a spelt that wrong) and Lyude's voices drove me insane (not in a good way), but otherwise I liked them. Giacomo's voice inparticular was good.

1month away... woot!

No preorder bonus annouced yet, i hope to get another wall scroll like the first game.

And its only suppose to be 39.99$ new this time.

I just preordered it a few days ago. It'll probably be the last GC game I buy. Hopefully my GC can go out with a bang.

IGN has some english vids posted.. the VA seems to be, its going to be like the frst game in quality.. no biggie, im still getting the game.. :)

It doesn't sound as bad as the first game. Granted what I heard wasn't up to MGs standards or anything. It was still decent, and much better than the ear poison that was in the first game.

english site up!

http://www.batenkaitosorigins.com/

5 more days!!

ign review up!

8.0 Presentation
The menu system and battle screens are intuitive enough, but often get cluttered when using all three characters. Very strong overall though.
8.5 Graphics
The overall look is stronger than the original, though there are still a few wonky animations. Visual effects are beautiful though, and it can be displayed in progressive scan.
8.0 Sound
The soundtrack is awesome, offering a blend of classical/modern music. The voice acting is painful at times, though it can be turned off in the options menu.
8.0 Gameplay
There’s a ton of strategy and depth, but the luck factor can be very annoying during key battles. Veterans won’t mind, but newcomers may be turned off because of it.
9.0 Lasting Appeal
If you’re a fan of the battle system, Origins goes the distance. 60+ hours of gameplay, over 1000 cards to collect, tons of side quests, and lots of battle strategy.

Overall:
8.3

Picked it up today, and first thing I have to say is the game doesn't let up on the difficulty. The first boss was beating my ass like a baby seal. I kind of miss having seperate decks for each character. This new system can be annoying at times, like when you draw a lot of cards all for one character. Will just take some getting used to I guess.

ya, im still not use to it. the first area, was pretty lethal.. lol Im only like 5hours in

Well, I picked this up yesterday (FINALLY!). I haven't played it yet though, I will be doing that either today or tomorrow, depending if I want to do my math homework or not. I'm not sure at the moment.

I can no longer find the first, which I'm still trying to find. It sucks, now I have to play the sequel to a game that I haven't even played. I hate it when that happens.

I was kind of looking forward to it, but the first one was pretty bad. Especially the voice acting. Is the VO better in this one? Because in the first one it sounded like they were speaking through cardboard tubes most of the time.

so far, the VA blows BK1's out of the water.. IMO. Yes, the clairty is great.. no more hollow sounding voices

Not hollywood actors mind you, but way better.

The trick in BK1 to make the sound better is to switch it to surround instead of stereo. It actually makes a big difference.

almost 30hours in, still on disc 1.. awesome so far.

This arrived at my doorstep Friday and I've been playing all day ever since. I got to disk 2 tonight. This is probably shaping up to be in my top 3 games of all time. The battle system is a bit more narrow than the original (only 1 spirit number per card, no numbers above 6, only ascending combos), but the result is a more streamlined one, and perhaps my favorite one in ANY RPG. What they took away from the original they added back in with EX Skills, equipment system and relay combos. Never have I had so much fun just fighting battles.

The graphics are the same as the first (read: really gorgeous), the music is at least on par (read: still really good), the story so far isn't anything too spectacular but I am sure it's going to pick up. They've added tons more sidequests, LOTS more quest magnus and a new mixing system.

Sadly this will be one of, if not the, least noticed RPGs of the year, overshadowed by Suikoden V (blech :mad:), Xenosaga III, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy III DS, Final Fantasy V GBA, Okami, etc. But I doubt any of those can ever come close to the enjoyment I'm getting out of BKO. Long live the series no one cares about :( I hope we get a 3rd on Wii or DS.

Personally though, I think this upgraded battle system is more better than BK1's. Because you don't have to shuffle (or do you) everytime in this game. Making it more easier to pull off straights. Going from R - the higheset #, which would be a Lv 3, marked #8 Super attack.

I've been playing through the first game, a little later than everyone else. I just got on the second disc, quite the twist that just popped up. Some of the unique things I've noticed people complaining about (battle system/level up system) I have really enjoyed. I was able to pick up the battle system quick, and your strength in battle doesn't just come from gaining levels like in some other RPGs, but how well you plan your deck outside of battles, and quick decisions you make in the battles. And gaining levels whenever you feel like it has definitely helped, I've been keeping my characters 10 levels below the max they could be at now so the game is still fairly challenging.

After I finish this game, I'd love to pick up Origins (or better yet, get it for my birthday in three weeks). Baten Kaitos has been the best RPG I've played this generation, and if this is even near it, I'll definitely enjoy it.

im now 45 hours in, 2nd disc.. im gettin close to teh end.