Baten Kaitos Origins is a prequel to Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, but released after the first game, by Namco in 2006.

In many respects Origins IS a better game than its predecessor: the interface and button-press timings are better. The story and dialogue are better (I love the way the game inter-cuts between different storylines). The voice acting is a damn sight better than the first game! The level of detail and finesse is higher. The boss battles are more spectacular. It’s arguably more varied…

But somehow Baten Kaitos Origins doesn’t quite resonate as strongly as Eternal Wings does. Maybe that is because the battle system – again based on cards, and a magic called Magnus – isn’t quite as intuitive (or as visually exciting) as in the first game.

Baten Kaitos Origins is still a wonderful game in its own right though. Well worth an investment of time. Particularly if you love party-based level-grinders, or are looking for the best GameCube games of all time. I’d put both Baten Kaitos games in my top 25.

More: Baten Kaitos Origins on Wikipedia