When I think back to my favorite videogames, most of them are RPGs. Though I absolutely love the genre, that doesn't mean I don't find faults with it. Typically, leveling up becomes a chore and most of the time I blindly press the attack button till a battle is over. When the original Baten Kaitos appeared on the Gamecube, I instantly got drawn into its world, and found it to be one of the best role playing games of this past generation. With the Gamecube's lifespan coming to a close, the next installment in the franchise has just been released, and with its involving battle mechanics and wonderful presentation, I couldn't ask for anything more.

THE STORY SO FAR
Though a sequel in terms of this is the second game in the franchise, it is actually the first in the series since this one is considered a prequel. By making the game a prequel, it allows an equal amount of satisfaction for those people both new and old to the franchise. For the new players, they can experience an original, unique story, which doesn't tie-in to the original in any critical way, so their enjoyment will not be hampered because they didn't know something story wise they were supposed to know. For returning fans, you'll get to experience the same great world, but the real treat is meeting characters you'll remember from the first game, and seeing how they came to be who they were in the first release: Gibari, Giacomo, and Geldoblame are just a few of the names that should sound familiar to you.

Baten Kaitos Origins follows Sagi, a spiriter (he has a guardian spirit he communicates with – you!), who is framed for the assassination of the king. On the run with his paramachina (robotic puppet, though this one acts and talks different than the others) Guillo, they soon run across Milly, who helps the two escape the city without getting caught. After the trio is formed, it becomes a race to clear your name, choose a side in the tides of war, and try to stop your politician's opponent.

Unlike many role-playing games, these three will be the only members to ever grace your party. There are no wasted characters, no storylines you'll end up missing cause you didn't have them equipped, and there is no need to worry about leveling up those unwanted people for that possible scenario that might never happen. Instead, you can focus on just these three, and for this setup you'll really get to know the characters that much more.

Sagi is a good-natured guy who only wants to do the right thing and do right by his mom and the orphanage he grew up in. Milly is a magically conscious girl, looking to explore the world, and her bubbly personality makes her always entertaining. Guillo is a robot, who sounds like a man and woman's voice interlaced on top of each other, who it appears shares a secret past, all the while arguing with Milly and threatening to eat her.

The story is very engaging, and I constantly found myself wanting to see what happens next. Though I haven't fully completed the game (20+ hours put into it so far), I haven't ran across "the twist" that I associate with the original Baten Kaitos. If you played the original, you'll remember this twist, as it is what set it apart from the rest of the competition, by actually going there while others only teased. There are hints that a twist or surprise could soon be coming up, but so far it hasn't reared its head. Instead, so far, Baten Kaitos Origins has stuck to an amazingly solid story that is worth being told, twist be damned.

GAMEPLAY
At the core, Baten Kaitos Origins follows the same formula all other role-playing games followed before it. You'll run around across the world, do battles, level up, collect treasure, fight a boss, and save the world.

What sets the game apart is how it approaches these different RPG staples. Though there is a world map, you only use it to move to various set pieces like towns and dungeon levels (not actually dungeons, but the places associated with battles). When you are on one of the dungeon screens, there is absolutely no randomness to the battles, as you'll be able to see all the enemy battles you might have, thus leaving out the annoying, take two steps, have a battle, take another two steps, have a battle. If you want to battle, you can run into an enemy, and if you want to avoid battle, you can try to walk around the creatures or zip past them with a magical burst of your wings.

Leveling up is also easily accomplished, as the game naturally does it for you, and all you need to do is battle and reach the requisite levels. You also don't have to worry about the annoying habit of upgrading your weapons and armor, making sure you have the latest and greatest, as there is no way to attach a specific weapon or plate of armor to your character. You also don't need to worry about stocking yourself up with magical spells or healing items, as you'll automatically return to 100% after every battle.

So where is the joy if you don't do any of that? See, part of the fun is that Baten Kaitos Origins eliminates the needless micromanagement so many RPGs bog themselves down with. Instead, the only thing you need to concern yourself with, is leveling up your card deck. That's right – cards!

Now don't go thinking of a Magic the Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh card battle system, as the game shares nothing in common with those popular turn based card games. As you run about the world, finding hidden treasures, accomplishing sidequests, and buying them from stores, you'll find a whole variety of cards to add to your deck. You have attack cards, special attack cards, weapon attack cards, defense cards, and item cards.

The key to success is performing combos, which you accomplish by chaining cards together in ascending order. For instance, if you play a Level 1 attack card, and you have a Level 2 and Level 3 in your hand at the same time, you can then play them in that order, and that combo will be a lot more powerful than just a Level 1 played by itself. By chaining cards together, you'll also about MP, which allows you to use specials, which when placed at the end of a combo, help continue to give you more attack power. You can also start a chain off with various upgrades, like an armor card, weapon attack card, or an element attack card. So ultimately, you could place a lightning element attack, followed by a Level 1, 2, 3 attack combo, followed by a Level 1 special, and then a Level 2 special – and it gets even more advanced, because if you end with a special attack, and you have a fellow character waiting in line to attack, and they have a Level 1 attack card ready, you can continue the chain and create a Relay Combo.

It sounds very difficult, and it is at the beginning, but you get better as the game goes along; learning to properly pull off a combo and make quick decisions while a counter counts down is the main difficulty at the beginning. You'll experiment with placing various cards in your hand, seeing what works, and trying out combos to see what you can ultimately maximize your potential with. Like I found a 40-50 card hand ideal, with most of them being attack cards, specials, and a few heal and revives, as I found the armor and weapon attack cards pretty useless for me. But you can customize your deck anyway you want, as you might want the weapon cards that can start a chain, etc.

The big thing about the combat is it constantly keeps you engaged; there is no boredom of simply pushing the attack button until the battle is over. You have to be engaged or you will fail, making every battle a unique adventure. There are some frustrations, like getting junk cards you don't need at the time, and the battles can have an element of luck in cases, but when those junk cards come around, you can discard them to clear space.

Sidequests also use the card format, as you must solve puzzles and fetch requests by storing magnus essences on blank cards, which allows you to transport different elements to different places. You can even mix essences together to form a completely new essence. You'll also have to worry about decay, as time will affect the magnus essences you carry, as Pristine Water will turn to Stale Water, apples will rot, flowers will wilt, etc.

GRAPHICS
Unlike the bleak futures of many RPGs, Baten Kaitos Origins' world is very bright and lively, with colors that simply pop. The worlds also each have a unique vision, with some towns looking like small mountain fishing villages, while some castles have these beautiful fluffy clouds pouring from their tops and circling around the land (the game world is several different land masses that float in the air by the way). The characters and enemies are also really nicely designed, though sometimes they simply change the name and colors to make them a new enemy as you advance through the story.

SOUND
Baten Kaitos Origins has a great score, that uses a variety of classic pieces as well as more rocking vibes for the boss battles. Sweeping and epic, there are no faults with the music. With the first Baten Kaitos game, the voice work was simply atrocious, but thankfully that criticism was put into consideration this time around, and I actually enjoy listening to them speak; there is no turn on the Japanese track or mute the game altogether moments for me, though occasionally the game will feature a "what were they thinking" line reading moment.

IN CONCLUSION
I'm a huge fan of the Baten Kaitos franchise after only two outings, and with a supposed third one coming for the Nintendo DS in the future, I can't wait for it either. Baten Kaitos Origins is a wonderful RPG, thanks mostly in part to the unique battle system, though it isn't the only thing unique about this game. As a RPG fan, Baten Kaitos Origins is a sheer joy, and with the listed 60+ hours of gameplay, I have the feeling that still won't be enough for me.

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