Baten Kaitos Origins: Hard to Hate, Hard to Love

I do not think I have ever finished a game that has frustrated me as much as Baten Kaitos Origins did.

But I never gave up.

BKO required nearly a zen-like patience of me. Many times I nearly wanted to snap the discs in two. No less than three times did I “realize” I understood the battle system only to latter find out there was another quirk I had to take note of.

See, BKO has itself an interesting battle system. Utilizing cards the game calls magnus, the player construct a deck to use while fighting enemies. During battle a “hand” of these “cards” is dealt and are then used them to issue commands to the characters. Some are for all characters, some are for particular characters and then there are some of the above types that require MP to use. MP is obtained every time a command is issued and there are also some magnus that directly grant MP.
Once you get past all of that, you’ll find yourself really enjoying the battle system. Hell, I spent a good chunk of the game ignoring the advice that I now give out. Since I didn’t need to do these things for a large portion of the game, when all of a sudden my strategies didn’t work at all, frustration set in. Hard. I will admit, albeit begrudgingly, that I was making mistakes and not fully utilizing what the game would let me do. But when you don’t have to for most of the game and then all of a sudden must, it can become frustrating. In the end I really enjoy the battle system even if its learning curve is ridiculous.

Of course, there is a problem. The game tends to side heavily with the enemies. I cannot begin to count the number of times I have revived an ally only to have an enemy who was already in the battle queue go and kill them. That’s right. One might think if the enemy is ready to attack and were to follow a form of action like the player that they can only select live targets. But the game does not function this way for the enemies. They pick their targets and moves on the fly. This makes for moments where the course of action seems obvious, but by the time the character’s turn comes to pass it looks entirely idiotic.

And yet, when you pull it off, it feels like you’ve accomplished some sort of ballet designed for the most fit person while you are just a quadriplegic.

You will jump in the air. You will cheer. You will be enthralled that you accomplished it. You will love the game. Then, the remaining enemy will do a 3 hit combo that did more damage than your 14 hit combo. And when your character slumps down you will cry. But keep that chin up, sonny! Thankfully, the game lets you retry bosses if you lose to them. This is one feature I really enjoyed about the game as it kept frustration levels minimal at times.

That all said, BKO has some of the most annoying dungeons and towns I have ever encountered. “Fetch quests” barely describe the monotonous going and comings you’ll have to perform from time to time. Especially when you start getting a hang of the battle system. You’ll want to just hit up battles. But instead you’ll be delivering hot rocks to angry ant merchants or some shit. If you actually like the final dungeon’s “Operation meets the fact that sharks die if they don’t keep moving” puzzles, please let me know.

But there is a reason I kept playing. The game teased me and made me want to get better at it. I like that in a game. I’m not sure if I’d recommend it to everyone – it’s bound to piss a lot of people off. But if you’re willing to get pissed off lose and then go right back in and get better Baten Kaitos Origins is a game for you.