SantaC
Member
Baten Kaitos is out today. Here are two new reviews.
1up.com 8.0 (dynamite)
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3136575&did=1
"Yasuyuki Honne, responsible for the awesome art direction in the second Chrono game, hits another one out of the park in Baten Kaitos, creating one of the most wonderfully colorful RPGs of this generation. Even the conventional cities and towns early in the game look great, and later regions (like an area patterned after a child's picture book) show great creativity alongside a fine technical talent. This game definitely proves there's life left in the notion of a pre-rendered RPG world"
"Players looking for an RPG worth playing should definitely give Baten Kaitos a try, and it gets a high mark on that account. It's a winning gamble with a new style of RPG combat, and it's pretty enough to frame and put on your wall in the bargain. With a stronger cast and narrative, though, it could have been an absolute world-beater -- hopefully we'll get to see Monolith Soft revisit its concepts again."
9.0 PGC.
http://www.planetgamecube.com/reviews.cfm?action=profile&id=545
"Motoi Sakurabas musical score is one of his more impressive works and is a perfect complement to the visual artistry. He uses an incredible mixture of styles throughout the game, and while most of it has an orchestrated classical feel to it, there are also a few surprises, including one dance/rap theme that plays in a few specific boss battles. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the voice work. Its hard to believe that the voice actors even have a full understanding of English, much less comprehend whats happening with these characters. Although it is easy to bash the quality of the acting, the scope of it is actually quite astounding. Every significant conversation is voiced, as well as many others, for what must amount to hours upon hours of voice work. However you like it, whether you want to listen to it or not is entirely up to you, because Namco has included an On/Off option in the menus.
When it comes down to it, RPG fans will not be disappointed in this gem of a title that Namco has brought exclusively to the GameCube. This is first-class work with a compelling storyline and an active card-battle system that stays fresh throughout the life of the game."
Pros:
Active card-battle system with lots of room for experimentation
Gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds and spell effects
Equally brilliant soundtrack
A quest over fifty hours long
Cons:
Voice acting is stiff and distant
Opening cinema is full of spoilers
1up.com 8.0 (dynamite)
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3136575&did=1
"Yasuyuki Honne, responsible for the awesome art direction in the second Chrono game, hits another one out of the park in Baten Kaitos, creating one of the most wonderfully colorful RPGs of this generation. Even the conventional cities and towns early in the game look great, and later regions (like an area patterned after a child's picture book) show great creativity alongside a fine technical talent. This game definitely proves there's life left in the notion of a pre-rendered RPG world"
"Players looking for an RPG worth playing should definitely give Baten Kaitos a try, and it gets a high mark on that account. It's a winning gamble with a new style of RPG combat, and it's pretty enough to frame and put on your wall in the bargain. With a stronger cast and narrative, though, it could have been an absolute world-beater -- hopefully we'll get to see Monolith Soft revisit its concepts again."
9.0 PGC.
http://www.planetgamecube.com/reviews.cfm?action=profile&id=545
"Motoi Sakurabas musical score is one of his more impressive works and is a perfect complement to the visual artistry. He uses an incredible mixture of styles throughout the game, and while most of it has an orchestrated classical feel to it, there are also a few surprises, including one dance/rap theme that plays in a few specific boss battles. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the voice work. Its hard to believe that the voice actors even have a full understanding of English, much less comprehend whats happening with these characters. Although it is easy to bash the quality of the acting, the scope of it is actually quite astounding. Every significant conversation is voiced, as well as many others, for what must amount to hours upon hours of voice work. However you like it, whether you want to listen to it or not is entirely up to you, because Namco has included an On/Off option in the menus.
When it comes down to it, RPG fans will not be disappointed in this gem of a title that Namco has brought exclusively to the GameCube. This is first-class work with a compelling storyline and an active card-battle system that stays fresh throughout the life of the game."
Pros:
Active card-battle system with lots of room for experimentation
Gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds and spell effects
Equally brilliant soundtrack
A quest over fifty hours long
Cons:
Voice acting is stiff and distant
Opening cinema is full of spoilers
