RETURN TO BATEN KAITOS

Producer Koji Nakajima on updating the classic GameCube RPGs

One of our favourite moments from February’s Nintendo Direct was the announcement that Baten Kaitos and its prequel were being updated for Nintendo’s Switch. Despite receiving a fair amount of critical acclaim on release, both titles flew under the radar of many gamers and the second game, Baten Kaitos: Origins, didn’t even receive a European release, staying exclusive to Japan and the US.

“The character design, background music and other aspects of Baten Kaitos were developed by very talented creators [Monolith Soft and tri-Crescendo], and the RPG series is highly acclaimed by customers as a masterpiece,” Koji Nakajima, who is producer on the remaster, proudly tells us. It makes sense then that Bandai Namco would want to give the series another release, particularly when you consider how big the Switch’s install base currently is.

If you’ve never played Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings And The Lost Ocean (to give it its full name) before then you’re in for a treat. It’s an entertaining RPG with a bunch of colourful characters, exotic locations and a distinctive battle system that utilises playing cards known as Magnus. “Each character has a deck of cards called Magnus and in battle, the player attacks or heals by selecting a Magnus drawn from the deck,” Nakajima explains. “There are also unique and strategic elements, such as the Ice Magnus that becomes Water over the course of multiple turns that can then heal characters.”