Baten Kaitos Origins takes place 20 years before the first Baten Kaitos game. It explains how the diabolical Emperor Geldoblame rose to power, and it also fills in many details about the heroes from the first title. In addition, players will learn about the origins of the world itself and why the Lost Ocean is returning. The hero, a blue-haired young man named Sagi, was sent to assassinate the Emperor but found the job had been done for him. Blamed for the death, he's now on the run with two friends - a robot named Guillo and a young woman named Milly. In the initial stages, the player's party will progress in a linear fashion, moving from one area to the next along a set path. After playing the game for a few hours, players will acquire a ship that lets them visit areas in the order of their choosing, allowing them to either pursue optional side quests or blast through the main mission as they see fit. Unlike traditional RPGs, where characters gain levels in categories such as strength and agility, the majority of leveling-up occurs by procuring better Magnus cards. There are more than 600 different Magnus cards in Baten Kaitos Origins, some of which have truly fantastical properties. Players can acquire cards in many different ways, including trading, buying, winning as spoils of war or by creating them themselves.
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Amazing OST but the card type gameplay its not for me.
Un chasco viniendo del primer 'Baten Kaitos', y es una lástima que el resultado final haya salido así porque se aprecia el intento de Monolith Soft por escuchar las quejas sobre el primer juego y pulir sus espinas.
Lo primero que sorprende de 'Baten Kaitos Origins' es su nuevo sistema de combate, mucho más ágil y concebido para combinar ataques entre los miembros del grupo. Sin embargo, para que funcione en teoría, el componente de deck-building ha sido simplificado dramáticamente y sustituido la plétora de armas/equipación por ataques genéricos, fácilmente enlazables entre ellos. Esto consigue que los combates sean más dinámicos pero mucho más repetitivos si cabe (sobretodo en los primeros compases de la aventura), con escasa variedad de movimientos y técnicas que añadan complejidad sobre la marcha. Para más inri, los tres protagonistas comparten un mismo mazo de combate, en vez de tenerlos separados como en el primer juego (algo que podía ser engorroso en primera instancia, pero ayudaba a personalizar su estrategia de combate). Y por si fuera poco, llenar el mazo con nuevas cartas suele ser contraproducente si sigues las indicaciones que marca el juego, porque te obligará a descartarlas si no las necesitas en combate y perder turnos adicionales que el enemigo bien sabrá aprovechar.
De hecho, el mazo más óptimo es aquel que amplíes lo mínimo posible: pequeñito, entorno a 30 cartas, la gran mayoría siendo ataques básicos, y luego algún Magnus adicional para recuperar vida y para equipar armas (sólo una al mismo tiempo). Lo puedes exprimir de la manera que quieras, pero los fundamentos son esos y saltárselos se paga caro. En consecuencia, la progresión del juego se sabe extremadamente tediosa (sobre todo en los primeros compases de la aventura). Rara vez encuentras tesoros que supongan una mejora a lo que ya tienes, los stats sólo aumentan al subir nivel (muy poco), e incluso las tiendas están plagadas de Magnus inútiles que banalizan cualquier uso que puede hacerse del dinero... personalmente, no recuerdo haber gastado prácticamente nada de lo obtenido. Por supuesto y como mandan los cánones, Monolith Soft hace un trabajo horrible para explicar cómo funcionan sus sistemas RPG y los tutoriales brillan por su ausencia cuando más se necesitan. Marca de la casa.
La monotonía es un valor del cual el RPG moderno trata de rehuir a toda costa, pero en 'Baten Kaitos Origins' forma parte de su identidad como precuela. La fascinación al visitar una nueva isla flotante ha desaparecido, y en su lugar encontramos los mismos escenarios que conocíamos del original, con muy pocos cambios por el camino pero con personajes 20 años más jóvenes, infantilizados en su manera de ser y colocados como reclamo para enlazar ambas narrativas. 'Origins' posee un arranque todavía más lento que en el primer juego, recorriendo el mundo en pos de detener la industrialización de los continentes sin que tengas la sensación de que tus acciones importen, o que la amenaza opresora sea tan palpable en el ambiente. El pacing se resiente también porque en multitud de ocasiones, la narrativa traslada a los personajes 1000 años atrás en el tiempo para contar la Guerra de los Dioses y los orígenes de Malpercio, lo cual está francamente bien, pero se preocupa tanto de construir el contexto necesario para su "gran revelación" (no tan efectiva como en el primer 'Baten Kaitos') que parece desconectado del resto del juego. Desgraciadamente, 'Origins' insiste también en un diseño de mazmorras bastante mediocre y con una mayor dependencia a guardar/utilizar Magnus de campo para generar puzles, haciendo la navegación mucho más engorrosa e incluso a veces diseñada a mala fe. No han sido pocas las ganas que tuve de aparcar el juego. Pero dentro de lo malo, cuando el sistema de combate luce en su máximo esplendor, el último tercio de la aventura es mucho más consistente y agradable de jugar.
Aún así, es extraña la función que cumple 'Origins' como punto de enlace con el primer 'Baten Kaitos'. Insistiendo en los conceptos menos interesantes que propuso este (el imperio de Alfard, los antagonistas menores que eran Geldoblame y Giacomo), sin que el vínculo resulte muy convincente al final de la partida, incluso sin explicar cómo ninguno de los hechos de 'Origins' terminan manifestándose en el primer juego (lo hizo un mago). Tampoco se entiende la reducción del casting a 3 personajes siendo este uno de los fuertes de 'Baten Kaitos'. Vale, Guillo se hace de querer y es una representación no binaria muy simpática para el año que salió este juego, Milliarde es bastante maja también, pero Sagi como protagonista es un downgrade enorme viniendo de Kalas y su actuación a dos bandas que le hacía tan poco convencional dentro del género. Kalas era chulo y prepotente, pero también metódico y capaz de deducir el camino a seguir por su propia cuenta; en cambio Sagi no dista mucho del buen samaritano, tradicional del JRPG, que se entera muy poco de lo que sucede pese estar íntimamente relacionado al giro argumental más importante del juego. Pese a ello, los tres en su conjunto generan una buena dinámica entre sus pullitas y comentarios ocasionales, y el coqueteo entre Sagi-Milliarde parece bastante dulce y genuino a fin de cuentas.
Tras casi 50h de partida, no sé si ha merecido tanto la pena. Cierto en sí, es un milagro que esta secuela exista dado el nulo presupuesto que puso Namco sobre la mesa y que Nintendo interviniera contra pronóstico para publicar el juego en GameCube (extraño propietario de este título cuando no posee la IP, un caso similar a 'Bayonetta 2-3-Origins'). El apartado artístico y los escenarios pre-renderizados siguen luciendo muy bien (auqnue las caras, Juan, las caras), la música de Motoi Sakuraba sigue dando mucha caña, ocasionalmente hay algún momento de genialidad que sólo Monolith Soft (y tri-Crescendo, no olvidarse de ellos) podría conseguir. Pero sabe a poco. La cantidad de elementos reciclados es desorbitada, incluyendo una enorme variedad de enemigos y localizaciones, pero eso no sería un problema si los fundamentos detrás de 'Origins' fuesen más sólidos. Al final, no sé si hubiese preferido haber tocado únicamente al primer juego y desentenderme de todo lo que sucediese alrededor. Pero oye, ni tan mal.
Lo primero que sorprende de 'Baten Kaitos Origins' es su nuevo sistema de combate, mucho más ágil y concebido para combinar ataques entre los miembros del grupo. Sin embargo, para que funcione en teoría, el componente de deck-building ha sido simplificado dramáticamente y sustituido la plétora de armas/equipación por ataques genéricos, fácilmente enlazables entre ellos. Esto consigue que los combates sean más dinámicos pero mucho más repetitivos si cabe (sobretodo en los primeros compases de la aventura), con escasa variedad de movimientos y técnicas que añadan complejidad sobre la marcha. Para más inri, los tres protagonistas comparten un mismo mazo de combate, en vez de tenerlos separados como en el primer juego (algo que podía ser engorroso en primera instancia, pero ayudaba a personalizar su estrategia de combate). Y por si fuera poco, llenar el mazo con nuevas cartas suele ser contraproducente si sigues las indicaciones que marca el juego, porque te obligará a descartarlas si no las necesitas en combate y perder turnos adicionales que el enemigo bien sabrá aprovechar.
De hecho, el mazo más óptimo es aquel que amplíes lo mínimo posible: pequeñito, entorno a 30 cartas, la gran mayoría siendo ataques básicos, y luego algún Magnus adicional para recuperar vida y para equipar armas (sólo una al mismo tiempo). Lo puedes exprimir de la manera que quieras, pero los fundamentos son esos y saltárselos se paga caro. En consecuencia, la progresión del juego se sabe extremadamente tediosa (sobre todo en los primeros compases de la aventura). Rara vez encuentras tesoros que supongan una mejora a lo que ya tienes, los stats sólo aumentan al subir nivel (muy poco), e incluso las tiendas están plagadas de Magnus inútiles que banalizan cualquier uso que puede hacerse del dinero... personalmente, no recuerdo haber gastado prácticamente nada de lo obtenido. Por supuesto y como mandan los cánones, Monolith Soft hace un trabajo horrible para explicar cómo funcionan sus sistemas RPG y los tutoriales brillan por su ausencia cuando más se necesitan. Marca de la casa.
La monotonía es un valor del cual el RPG moderno trata de rehuir a toda costa, pero en 'Baten Kaitos Origins' forma parte de su identidad como precuela. La fascinación al visitar una nueva isla flotante ha desaparecido, y en su lugar encontramos los mismos escenarios que conocíamos del original, con muy pocos cambios por el camino pero con personajes 20 años más jóvenes, infantilizados en su manera de ser y colocados como reclamo para enlazar ambas narrativas. 'Origins' posee un arranque todavía más lento que en el primer juego, recorriendo el mundo en pos de detener la industrialización de los continentes sin que tengas la sensación de que tus acciones importen, o que la amenaza opresora sea tan palpable en el ambiente. El pacing se resiente también porque en multitud de ocasiones, la narrativa traslada a los personajes 1000 años atrás en el tiempo para contar la Guerra de los Dioses y los orígenes de Malpercio, lo cual está francamente bien, pero se preocupa tanto de construir el contexto necesario para su "gran revelación" (no tan efectiva como en el primer 'Baten Kaitos') que parece desconectado del resto del juego. Desgraciadamente, 'Origins' insiste también en un diseño de mazmorras bastante mediocre y con una mayor dependencia a guardar/utilizar Magnus de campo para generar puzles, haciendo la navegación mucho más engorrosa e incluso a veces diseñada a mala fe. No han sido pocas las ganas que tuve de aparcar el juego. Pero dentro de lo malo, cuando el sistema de combate luce en su máximo esplendor, el último tercio de la aventura es mucho más consistente y agradable de jugar.
Aún así, es extraña la función que cumple 'Origins' como punto de enlace con el primer 'Baten Kaitos'. Insistiendo en los conceptos menos interesantes que propuso este (el imperio de Alfard, los antagonistas menores que eran Geldoblame y Giacomo), sin que el vínculo resulte muy convincente al final de la partida, incluso sin explicar cómo ninguno de los hechos de 'Origins' terminan manifestándose en el primer juego (lo hizo un mago). Tampoco se entiende la reducción del casting a 3 personajes siendo este uno de los fuertes de 'Baten Kaitos'. Vale, Guillo se hace de querer y es una representación no binaria muy simpática para el año que salió este juego, Milliarde es bastante maja también, pero Sagi como protagonista es un downgrade enorme viniendo de Kalas y su actuación a dos bandas que le hacía tan poco convencional dentro del género. Kalas era chulo y prepotente, pero también metódico y capaz de deducir el camino a seguir por su propia cuenta; en cambio Sagi no dista mucho del buen samaritano, tradicional del JRPG, que se entera muy poco de lo que sucede pese estar íntimamente relacionado al giro argumental más importante del juego. Pese a ello, los tres en su conjunto generan una buena dinámica entre sus pullitas y comentarios ocasionales, y el coqueteo entre Sagi-Milliarde parece bastante dulce y genuino a fin de cuentas.
Tras casi 50h de partida, no sé si ha merecido tanto la pena. Cierto en sí, es un milagro que esta secuela exista dado el nulo presupuesto que puso Namco sobre la mesa y que Nintendo interviniera contra pronóstico para publicar el juego en GameCube (extraño propietario de este título cuando no posee la IP, un caso similar a 'Bayonetta 2-3-Origins'). El apartado artístico y los escenarios pre-renderizados siguen luciendo muy bien (auqnue las caras, Juan, las caras), la música de Motoi Sakuraba sigue dando mucha caña, ocasionalmente hay algún momento de genialidad que sólo Monolith Soft (y tri-Crescendo, no olvidarse de ellos) podría conseguir. Pero sabe a poco. La cantidad de elementos reciclados es desorbitada, incluyendo una enorme variedad de enemigos y localizaciones, pero eso no sería un problema si los fundamentos detrás de 'Origins' fuesen más sólidos. Al final, no sé si hubiese preferido haber tocado únicamente al primer juego y desentenderme de todo lo que sucediese alrededor. Pero oye, ni tan mal.
The second Baten Kaitos game and a prequel story to the original game. This one was never released in Europe the first time round so the HD remaster on Switch was my first time playing it and the version that forms the basis of this review.
Baten Kaitos Origins takes the foundations laid by the original game and instead of building upon them, decides to simplify things a bit to make for a smoother experience. The battle system is where this can be seen at its most prominent. Like the original game, this game uses a card based battle system where you have a deck of cards and your hand determines what actions you can do during your turn. In Origins things have been simplified to make for a smoother experience. Here we have just one deck of a maximum of 60 cards that all party members pull from. You can build multiple decks and switch them in and out for whatever you feel you need at the time. The cards themselves have also been simplified with each card having a number ranging from 0-6. 0 cards now provide your defence options rather than it being a separate turn, or can provide elemental effects to attacks and stuff like that. The defence cards provide damage reduction for a set amount of attacks and all 0 cards can be used at the start of a turn to kick off a combo. Cards numbered 1-3 are standard attacks while 4-6 require the level meter to be filled to the right level to use and that bar is filled from doing combos.
Combos are built from using the cards in numerical order. You can start with whatever number you like but you can only combo into a card with a higher numerical value than the one you used. The ideal scenario is having a hand that lets you go from 0-6 but it's difficult when each character has their own 0 cards and specials 4-6 cards. Each card you use draws a new one from the deck and you only get a second or so to carry on your combo before your turn ends so you're frantically scanning your hand and planning your attacks before you run out of time.
As you progress through the game you'll end up with a maximum deck of 60 cards, 7 cards in a hand, and the ability to discard more and more cards during a turn. At first I was kinda disappointed with the new battle system as I felt like it removed a lot of the depth of the original system but once I got a hang of it and learned how to do relay combos where characters can continue a previous combo and is doable for all 3 party members, as well as taking advantage of Milly's unique +1 and +2 cards to build even longer combos, I came to appreciate the much faster paced battles and loved seeing how crazy a combo I could build up in a single turn.
Other simplifications this game does is cut your playable cast in half to just 3 characters: Sagi, Guillo, and Milly. Honestly, this was kinda disappointing after having a great time with the cast in Baten Kaitos 1 and felt like an overcorrection when the battle system changes already solved the biggest issue with having so many characters in 1 by cutting out the deck management for each character.
Sagi is an alright character, a very standard Japanese RPG protagonist and unfortunately didn't do much for me.
Guillo is this cool machina who has no filter on what they say and often clashes with Milly who is our feisty kick ass girl of the group. I enjoyed Milly and Guillo a lot but the group didn't do a whole lot for me and honestly felt a little flat and lacking.
Which brings us onto the story for Origins itself. A prequel story set around 20 years before the events of BK1, Sagi ends up being tasked with stopping the Empire machinanising the other continents as well as stopping them collecting the remnants of Malparcio, the evil god they were reviving in the first game. The bulk of the first half of the game is visiting each continent, trying to stop the Empire and falling, and getting a flashback after a remnant of Malparcio is defeated. The flashbacks take Sagi and co back to 1000 years ago and detail the events that lead into the War of the Gods we heard so much about in BK1. The past sections had the more interesting story for me as it was cool learning more about such a huge event spoken about in the first game, the main story felt a little flat, repetitive and uninteresting outside of seeing some cameos from characters in the original game. The fact you gain your whole party very early in the game means that repeating the same core story beats 4 times in a row starts to fall flat very quickly. There's some cool plot twists after that section and I like how the Spiriters are utilised in this game but then so much of the back half of the game feels like optional content that shouldn't be optional. Freeing each continent from machination and wrapping up the War of the Gods scenario (which needs to be done to fight the true final boss) are unvoiced and optional with no real build up to them and it kinda sucks because the pacing and urgency of those situations just falls completely off a cliff when they should've been some of the more epic portions of the game.
And ultimately that's the biggest flaw of Baten Kaitos Origins - it takes the original game and fails to truly build on its foundations, instead spinning its wheels in place and doesn't really go anywhere exciting. What we end up with is a solid enough game that is consistently fine but struggles to hit the highs that the first game did.
Baten Kaitos Origins takes the foundations laid by the original game and instead of building upon them, decides to simplify things a bit to make for a smoother experience. The battle system is where this can be seen at its most prominent. Like the original game, this game uses a card based battle system where you have a deck of cards and your hand determines what actions you can do during your turn. In Origins things have been simplified to make for a smoother experience. Here we have just one deck of a maximum of 60 cards that all party members pull from. You can build multiple decks and switch them in and out for whatever you feel you need at the time. The cards themselves have also been simplified with each card having a number ranging from 0-6. 0 cards now provide your defence options rather than it being a separate turn, or can provide elemental effects to attacks and stuff like that. The defence cards provide damage reduction for a set amount of attacks and all 0 cards can be used at the start of a turn to kick off a combo. Cards numbered 1-3 are standard attacks while 4-6 require the level meter to be filled to the right level to use and that bar is filled from doing combos.
Combos are built from using the cards in numerical order. You can start with whatever number you like but you can only combo into a card with a higher numerical value than the one you used. The ideal scenario is having a hand that lets you go from 0-6 but it's difficult when each character has their own 0 cards and specials 4-6 cards. Each card you use draws a new one from the deck and you only get a second or so to carry on your combo before your turn ends so you're frantically scanning your hand and planning your attacks before you run out of time.
As you progress through the game you'll end up with a maximum deck of 60 cards, 7 cards in a hand, and the ability to discard more and more cards during a turn. At first I was kinda disappointed with the new battle system as I felt like it removed a lot of the depth of the original system but once I got a hang of it and learned how to do relay combos where characters can continue a previous combo and is doable for all 3 party members, as well as taking advantage of Milly's unique +1 and +2 cards to build even longer combos, I came to appreciate the much faster paced battles and loved seeing how crazy a combo I could build up in a single turn.
Other simplifications this game does is cut your playable cast in half to just 3 characters: Sagi, Guillo, and Milly. Honestly, this was kinda disappointing after having a great time with the cast in Baten Kaitos 1 and felt like an overcorrection when the battle system changes already solved the biggest issue with having so many characters in 1 by cutting out the deck management for each character.
Sagi is an alright character, a very standard Japanese RPG protagonist and unfortunately didn't do much for me.
Guillo is this cool machina who has no filter on what they say and often clashes with Milly who is our feisty kick ass girl of the group. I enjoyed Milly and Guillo a lot but the group didn't do a whole lot for me and honestly felt a little flat and lacking.
Which brings us onto the story for Origins itself. A prequel story set around 20 years before the events of BK1, Sagi ends up being tasked with stopping the Empire machinanising the other continents as well as stopping them collecting the remnants of Malparcio, the evil god they were reviving in the first game. The bulk of the first half of the game is visiting each continent, trying to stop the Empire and falling, and getting a flashback after a remnant of Malparcio is defeated. The flashbacks take Sagi and co back to 1000 years ago and detail the events that lead into the War of the Gods we heard so much about in BK1. The past sections had the more interesting story for me as it was cool learning more about such a huge event spoken about in the first game, the main story felt a little flat, repetitive and uninteresting outside of seeing some cameos from characters in the original game. The fact you gain your whole party very early in the game means that repeating the same core story beats 4 times in a row starts to fall flat very quickly. There's some cool plot twists after that section and I like how the Spiriters are utilised in this game but then so much of the back half of the game feels like optional content that shouldn't be optional. Freeing each continent from machination and wrapping up the War of the Gods scenario (which needs to be done to fight the true final boss) are unvoiced and optional with no real build up to them and it kinda sucks because the pacing and urgency of those situations just falls completely off a cliff when they should've been some of the more epic portions of the game.
And ultimately that's the biggest flaw of Baten Kaitos Origins - it takes the original game and fails to truly build on its foundations, instead spinning its wheels in place and doesn't really go anywhere exciting. What we end up with is a solid enough game that is consistently fine but struggles to hit the highs that the first game did.
After finishing this game, I have to say that I really loved it. I probably liked it as much as Baten Kaitos I, and I may even prefer it a little bit over the first game.
Firstly, it improves in some aspects from the original, as an example, the battle system is faster than in the first game, and the wings are now also integrated into the gameplay, which I really liked. But it not only improves in some aspects, I think it's also a bit worse in some areas. The battle system is simpler and more straight-forward than in the first game, and while it makes it faster, you do not have as many options as in the first game. So I don't think it's an overall improvement, but the advantages of it also don't make it worse. Always organizing your deck in Baten Kaitos I was a bit annoying to me, and only having to manage one for the whole party in Baten Kaitos Origins was more convenient to me. So I can see how someone can prefer the battle system from Baten Kaitos Origins over the one from the first game, and inversely, how someone can prefer the one from Baten Kaitos I over the battle system from Origins.
Next, the characters were great. I really liked Sagi, Milly and Guillo. The dynamic between these characters is fantastic, and the smaller cast size compared to the first game was, in my opinion, a good decision for this game. Though I really liked Kalas and Xelha in Baten Kaitos I, I don't think the other characters were that memorable, not bad, but also not outstanding either.
Regarding the story, I think it was really gripping and good, and so overall, it was a bit better than the one from the first game.
Lastly, not to forget, the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, just like the first Baten Kaitos game. I especially love the battle theme, it's great.
So after all, I can totally recommend this game, especially if you played and liked the first Baten Kaitos game. It's a wonderful prequel and definitely deserves to be talked about more.
Firstly, it improves in some aspects from the original, as an example, the battle system is faster than in the first game, and the wings are now also integrated into the gameplay, which I really liked. But it not only improves in some aspects, I think it's also a bit worse in some areas. The battle system is simpler and more straight-forward than in the first game, and while it makes it faster, you do not have as many options as in the first game. So I don't think it's an overall improvement, but the advantages of it also don't make it worse. Always organizing your deck in Baten Kaitos I was a bit annoying to me, and only having to manage one for the whole party in Baten Kaitos Origins was more convenient to me. So I can see how someone can prefer the battle system from Baten Kaitos Origins over the one from the first game, and inversely, how someone can prefer the one from Baten Kaitos I over the battle system from Origins.
Next, the characters were great. I really liked Sagi, Milly and Guillo. The dynamic between these characters is fantastic, and the smaller cast size compared to the first game was, in my opinion, a good decision for this game. Though I really liked Kalas and Xelha in Baten Kaitos I, I don't think the other characters were that memorable, not bad, but also not outstanding either.
Regarding the story, I think it was really gripping and good, and so overall, it was a bit better than the one from the first game.
Lastly, not to forget, the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, just like the first Baten Kaitos game. I especially love the battle theme, it's great.
So after all, I can totally recommend this game, especially if you played and liked the first Baten Kaitos game. It's a wonderful prequel and definitely deserves to be talked about more.
I actually think the battle system is less fun in this one, even though it's more streamlined and faster. Still, it's excellent and although the reused locations can get tiring after a while, it goes well with the writing and seeing some of the BK1 characters as children.
I ranted and raved about the original, and this one is almost as good.
I was skeptical at first since I hadn't even heard of this game until years later when looking for the wiki article to the first game. I assumed it must have been a dud to fall that far under the radar, but I was wrong.
This game is a bit of give and take compared to the first one. What I mean is that the great card based combo system and gameplay of the first one is more fleshed out and feels incredible in this one. It feels like they figured out exactly how to improve their system without changing anything that worked. Over the long time this game took, I still stayed awed at how much fun combat was the whole way, something that never happens to me over the course of long RPGs.
That said, the story is overall a bit weaker. It's not bad by any means, but the original had one of the better video game stories I've seen, constantly subverting my expectations in well written and executed ways.
This game's story is just a decent RPG story. It's not bad by any means, but it was a bit predictable and overall not on the same level as that of the first Baten Kaitos.
All in all, this is an excellent game, but I do admit the first one had a stronger impact on me.
I was skeptical at first since I hadn't even heard of this game until years later when looking for the wiki article to the first game. I assumed it must have been a dud to fall that far under the radar, but I was wrong.
This game is a bit of give and take compared to the first one. What I mean is that the great card based combo system and gameplay of the first one is more fleshed out and feels incredible in this one. It feels like they figured out exactly how to improve their system without changing anything that worked. Over the long time this game took, I still stayed awed at how much fun combat was the whole way, something that never happens to me over the course of long RPGs.
That said, the story is overall a bit weaker. It's not bad by any means, but the original had one of the better video game stories I've seen, constantly subverting my expectations in well written and executed ways.
This game's story is just a decent RPG story. It's not bad by any means, but it was a bit predictable and overall not on the same level as that of the first Baten Kaitos.
All in all, this is an excellent game, but I do admit the first one had a stronger impact on me.