Pandora's Box: The Ultimate GameCube Tier List

#15: Baten Kaitos Origins

Rating: T

Players: 1

Price Range: ~$62 USD

The last of the Baten Kaitos games and a prequel to the original.

Okay, let me talk about this one, for there is quite a bit I have to say. Not as much as the original, but a decent amount nevertheless.

For one, I love the original game and it will show up later on the list.

However, even the release has a bit of a story, as the concept of this game is...confusing.

As much as I enjoyed the original, the game wasn't successful, and this one wasn't either, which makes the fact that this was released a miracle in of itself, and was one of the last games to be released on the platform, hence the modest price tag. The idea of a prequel also is...peculiar, even if the first game ended on a perfect note.

Also, my good friend DragonsDwelling informed me that the game was actually never released in European countries unfortunately, and yet came out here in the States, which makes no sense whatsoever. My only guess as to maybe why is that the games were never successful, even if their creation was because of the fact the GameCube didn't have many RPGs besides...another one.

Even then, when they were remastered for the Switch and PC, they called it the second game, which is highly inaccurate as it's a prequel, even if it was the first time that Origins came out in PAL regions.

Okay, now, as for the game itself?

Well, yeah...

This is easily the weakest out of the two games in my opinion, at least right now.

That doesn't mean it's bad, no, not bad at all. I mean, it did make it to A Tier after all.

In fact, it is a much more balanced experience compared to the original game.

Sure, while it doesn't have the higher highs that made me fall in love with Eternal Wings, it doesn't have the low lows that could turn off players.

So, why is this lower compared to that game then?

The battle system is something I didn't get into, at least as of writing this.

You see, instead of creating, micromanaging, and updating your card deck for your whole party, you instead use one single deck for all of your party members with a max card count of 60 the whole time, with health being a non-factor outside of battles, as you heal right afterwards. Also, instead of the system with the Spirit Numbers in the first game, you instead have to play cards sequentially, from 0 to higher numbers, and cards without numbers immediately end a character's turn. A bar with "levels" dictates if you can use finishers (cards with 4 uses 1 level, cards with 5, 2, so on), and if you have a 1 (weak attack), in your hand, you can "Relay" and immediately let another player attack. Equipment, including weapons with elemental affinities and armor pieces are 0 and each character can only have one equipped at a single time in battle. Other cards have different numbers, such as +2 instead of the standard number. The game is also in real time. While this was a mechanic in the first game, when your party members were at lower Classes, the game gave you infinite time to choose a card before giving you a limited time before your turn just...ended, easing you in.

This simplifies the battle system and makes it more streamlined. I will admit that going for a completely different system compared to the first game was a bold move from Monolithsoft, and it does prevent a repeat of the first game.