"Batan Kaitos", Hype/info topic

[Nexxi]

Namco have announced a new GameCube RPG called Baten Kaitos that will be a GameCube exclusive!

Namco, creators of the upcoming Tales of Symphonia, have announced they are working on a new exclusive GameCube RPG. The game is called Baten Kaitos and is set in an imaginary world where humans have wings!

 

The game features five continents in the sky and you play as Kara, a young girl with only one wing. She sets out on a quest to find her long lost family but stumbles upon a massive evil plan as well.

 

The game offers turn-based battles as well as pre-rendered 2D graphics and 3D characters. The game apparently has Middle Eastern art inspirations.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------

 

Baiten Kaitos" to be a two-disk game

Namco has announced that the upcoming RPG "Baiten Kaitos" will take two disks to play.

 

"Baiten Kaitos" releases in Japan this December, and make sure to remember this bit of info if you plan on importing because shipping charges may increase.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------

 

July 21, 2003 - We attended Monolith Software's year 2003 product unveiling in Tokyo today expecting to see the latest in the Xenosaga series. While we got that, we also got something unexpected: a look at what should be one of the year's biggest GameCube RPGs, Baten Kaitos.

This Monolith Software-developed RPG set for a December Japanese GameCube release through Namco takes place on a continent that floats in the sky. The people of this land have evolved so-called "Heart Wings", which while not seen under normal conditions can be made to appear through great concentration or when under tension.

 

The world of Baten Kaitos is also populated by life spirits from another time, another place and another dimension. When a life spirit from the world of Baten Kaitos and one from the alternate world meet, it's possible that they will connect. Unfortunately, only a few people can communicate with these so-called souls of the dead.

 

So far only the game's two main characters (and the obligatory cute side kick character) have been revealed. Kalas, a seventeen year old male character, is the game's main character. He's out on a journey for revenge against those who killed his father and brother. Kalas was born with only one wing and so must make use of a mechanical wing to balance things out. It turns out that Kalas is one of those very few who can communicate with the spirit-kind, and at some point in the game a spirit will take rest within him.

 

At the other end is Xelha, a seventeen-year-old female character who serves as the game's heroine role. Xelha is simply out to stop an evil plan from taking effect. However, there may be more to the character than meets the eye.

 

The veil on the story opens up when these two characters meet while on their travels.

 

Talk of floating continents, spirits and characters with wings evokes pretty thoughts in us, and sure enough the game seems to have fantastic art direction. At the product unveiling today, Monolith unveiled a couple of exciting trailers, one produced via computer graphics and the other through in-game footage. Both showed off rich, color-filled visuals used in the environments and for the characters themselves. Characters walk on clouds, across ice bridges, and one scene seemed to show the characters traveling through a candy land. The pictures on the media page should hopefully convey the amount of care being put into the creation of the Baten Kaitos world.

 

In addition to the two trailers, Monolith also shared video footage of the game's battle system in motion. Battles make use of so-called "Magnus Cards" which are used to select your move. In order to do an attack or cast a spell, you must have the appropriate card in hand. To attack while in battle, you select cards one after another and your characters carry out their moves accordingly. Everything is card based -- you even need a card for fleeing from battle.

 

Despite the reliance on cards, the battle system seems to be quite fast, with characters constantly in motion. You actually select your next card before your current action is up, with the top of the screen (shown in the screenshots on the media page) displaying the moves set to come out next. We can't wait to sink our teeth into a few play sessions with this system. It certainly seems like a new experience as far as RPGs are concerned.

 

Still not excited about Baten Kaitos? Then check out this list of developers who are participating in the game's development:

 

Producer: Tadashi Nomura - previous work on Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy

 

Director: Hiroya Hatsushiba - previous work on Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile

 

Director: Yasuyuki Honne - previous work on Chrono Cross and Xenosaga

 

Movie Producer: Mikitaka Kurasawa - previous work on Onimusha and Resident Evil

 

Scenario: Masato Kato - previous work on Final Fantasy and Chrono Cross

 

Music: Motoi Sakuraba - previous work on Star Ocean 3

 

At the unveiling, Monolith and Namco brought this all-star cast out and had each share a few comments with the audience. Given the quality of the games these guys have worked on in the past, it's probably okay to up the expectations for Baten Kaitos to high levels.

 

Video cameras were a strict no-no at today's unveiling, meaning we don't get to share the videos we saw with you. For now, the awesome pictures included on the media page linked below will have to do. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

Intro Filmen

 

Her ser dere noen av verdenene osv....

 

Jeg hostet selv disse filmene for de er litt vanskelig få tak i, men jeg anbefaler dere ta dere litt tid til å se dem, og lese igjennom her.. for dette spillet trur jeg virkelig blir en go bit for oss RPG fans.

[Niskivara]

Hvis det kommer til Europa, da....

[bamsefar]

Noen som vil selge meg en Gamcube?

 

(Ikke seriøst ment så ikke mail meg, okey!)

 

Har lyst til å kjøpe en Gamecube bare for dette spillet. Bare det at en vel spesiell mann (LES: Final Fantasy) er med gjør ikke kjøpelysten mindre.

Grafikken så jo bra ut, men hvis de klarer å gjenskape stemningen som jeg har fått fra Final Fantasy spillene så kan det godt være 8 farger for min del. Gameplay all the way.

 

Takk for at du serverte oss disse godbitene Quaker.

[bamsefar]

Hvis det kommer til Europa, da....

 

Da importerer vi!

[Niskivara]

Hvis det kommer til Europa, da....

 

Da importerer vi!

[Betongmannen]

"Music: Motoi Sakuraba"

 

 

*Sikle*