Product Overview
The game plays as a traditional JRPG and very similarly to the first Baten Kaitos game, albeit with some changes and adjustments.Similar to the original, the player plays the role of a "guardian spirit" that can break the fourth wall to interact with the game party through dialogue options. Outside of this, the player also maneuvers the main character, "Sagi" through the game's environment and battles in the traditional sense. Unlike typical role-playing games, the Baten Kaitos series uses a mechanism where all in-game items are stored in magical cards called "Magnus". Magnus come in two forms - battle and quest.Battle Magnus replace equipment; rather than equipping characters with weapons and armor, battle Magnus are dealt to the player at the start of the battle and then selected as battle commands. Hence, equipment and even attack types exist as cards, rather than as statistics associated with the characters. Quest Magus, on the other hand, are treated like most in-game RPG items, and can be used to interact with the game's environment.For example, if the player wanted to light a torch, they could choose to use a Fire Magnus next to it.Some Magnus change naturally as time progresses (such as a fruit changing from ripe to rotten), while other Magnus may be combined manually using the "Magnus Mixer" to create new, more powerful items. For example, combining "Saber" and "Flame" creates the stronger "Flame Sword". As the game progresses, the player obtains more Magnus to be used and manipulated as needed. In addition to playing through the game's main narrative, many side quests exist as well, including on-going efforts to restore the abandoned village of Sedna.
Gameplay screenshot
The game retains the core battle system from the original game as well, which focuses around the player selecting Magnus cards in specific orders to attack and deplete the health of computer-controlled opponents.Battles are turn based, but have brief time limits in which cards must be selected as well. A key difference is that all characters now use cards from a single deck and play from a single hand, instead of having separate decks as it was in the original Baten Kaitos. Battle Magnus are assigned number value, and playing increasingly higher numbered cards spur combos that increase effectiveness. As the game progresses, the player may add more Magnus into the decks, or organize preset decks that may be set to either active or inactive for use, allowing the player to set up themed decks for specific battles. The game contains no "out of battle" statistics, so there is no need to heal characters after battles. The game does not contain random battles; enemy characters are visible on the field, and the player is able to choose to fight or avoid them.