Baten Kaitos: A Masterpiece...

[Terin]

Woah, picked it up today. The game is BEAUTIFUL! The battle system gets a little getting used to, but it's very innovative! You use a deck of cards to battle, and those who've played PSO 3 will feel at home. However, this system is, IMHO, much more captivating than PSO 3's battle system. The mini-quests remind me of Chrono Trigger, and I really like the way that real-time affects the "essences" of various items you carry in your cards. For example, a woman needs yogurt in a mansion. Well, in the first town in the game, it's possible to get "essence" of milk. After awhile, though, the milk becomes yogurt. Also, the cards in your deck that you use evolve and take on different attributes. For example, green bananas are so hard you can use them as a weapon, but once they become ripe, you can use them as a healing item. Later though, they become brown, and used as weapons (more damage!) I like the picture feature too (this is the primary way to make money.) You take pictures of monsters in the battle, and depending on the rarity of monsters, you'll recieve a sum of cash when you sell it to the shop. Make sure to wait about 10 minutes for the picture to fully develop, as you'll get more cash for a fully developed picture. Another feature most will like is the lack of random battles, you actually see your opponents, and can determine whether or not you can get around them. The intro is probably THE most impressive intro for the GCN. The story is about you getting revenge for the death of your grandfather. What starts out as a quest for vengeance turns into a mission to save the world from destruction at the hands of a corrupt empire trying to ressurrect an evil god. All in all, this game is the best RPG I've played since Kingdom Hearts.

Graphics: 9.5
Gameplay: 8.0
Story: 9.0

I give this one a gold gumball and highly reccomend it!
-T

[Ultrawolf]

[Terin]