This unique RPG is beautiful in its looks, sound, and innovative approach at battling.
The story begins with a blue-haired boy named Kalas who the player witnesses being "possessed" by a spirit. The spirit plays the role of Kalas's guide and is technically the identity of the player, although the player will also get to control all other characters that eventually join Kalas's party. Though the game utilizes this aspect in a somewhat cheesy manner by having characters talk from the TV to you, the whole thing is relevant to the story which slowly unfolds to become a typical "Save the world" scenario. However, there are several unexpected plot twists along the way as well as several mysterious characters who you don't know whether to trust or not.
The innovative card system used in the game is also the center of the story. The cards, referred to as Magnus, have many different identities, from weapons to flowers to fire to mold, and when used are converted into the object indicated and performs a certain task. Weapon Magnus can be used infinitely during battles whereas Camp Magnus are used once and then gone forever. Other Blank Magnus cards can be used to pick up objects necessary in sidequests like bringing a Mountain Apple to a child. Another unique feature is the evolution of Magnus cards. Many of the cards are on a timer so that they change to a different card with different abilities after a certain amount of time. Ice, for example, evolves into pristine water and then into stagnant water. All fruits, which can be used to heal during battles, eventually become rotten and useless.
During battles, each character has his or her own deck of cards, as does each enemy monster and character. As the game progresses, each character in the party will grow levels and be allowed to hold more cards in their hand as well as play more cards in a turn. On top of the challenge of choosing the right cards to attack with, each card is given at least one spirit number, and using cards in certain combinations of spirit numbers generates a bonus to the attack. Also, many cards have certain element types, and using certain element types against different creatures can be more effective or even completely nullified. As the game progresses, the battle system actually becomes more complex, difficult, and enjoyable and requires extremely quick reactions because the enemies are not partial to waiting.
The graphics are impressive right from the opening scenes. Baten Kaitos has some of the most colorful and eye-catching graphics of any game. There is constant motion as trees are waving, clouds are blowing through town, and gingerbread houses sparkle like sugar. There are many realms, all with their own themes and color palettes, and art styles like that of a picture book, NES game, as well as a village made completely of confections. In battles, every attack has its own special effects and make the battles all the more fun to watch. This game is recommended to anyone just to look at, and playing just happens to go along with that.
In the midst of improving sound quality and the ability to put in voice-acting that is high quality as well, the creators went wrong somewhere. The soundtrack is thorougly enjoyable and diverse, and has some of the best electric guitar usage in its many battle themes, but the voiceovers are awful. Like they're actually painful to listen to. One can actually hear the static of low quality recording equipment. After Namco released Tales of Symphonia, which had stellar voice acting, it is only expected that the next RPG released by Namco would sound great as well. Somewhere they went wrong, and the conversations sound awkward as well as many characters' emotions. Luckily, they added an option to turn off all talking throughout the whole game. Whether the player chooses to listen to it or not is ultimately their choice.
The game is extraordinarily extensive with sidequests that make the game require hours and hours of extra time to finish completely. Second playthroughs are likely, despite the game being around forty hours in length. This is mainly due to the battle system which one never gets tired of no matter how many hours the game is played. There are also so many strategies to use and other characters that could be used in the party. Anyone who enjoys either RPGs or any form of card games would love this game and would agree it is one of the best to be released for the Gamecube. Likewise, they won't be able to wait for the sequel.