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Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!


Baten Kaitos Origins, released in 2006 for the Gamecube, asks the question that no one was brave enough to ask nor care about : Now that you've seen the end result of Malpercio's rampage, what about how we got there, huh? Don't you want to relive all that cool stuff from the game's backstory, thousands of years ago?

...Wait, hang on.

Sorry, I'm being informed that actually this game centers around a big, conveniently-never-mentioned event from about 20 years before the first game. But don't worry! I'm sure that will also be a very cool and compelling story.

All jokes aside, Origins is more of Eternal Wings. If you enjoyed the first game, the style, worldbuilding, soundtrack... hell, even the esoteric poo poo like making you a spirit rather than directly playing as the main character (and then subsequently tying how good your draws are to how much you agree with said character via dialogue choices), then congrats! Here's another entire game worth of that. If not, there is very little that Origins has up its sleeve to change your mind. In fact, the only real changes come with the battle system, which has been completely revamped into an ATB system that I personally don't like as much as Eternal Wings', but is definitely easier to understand and use. In addition, the game has ditched the tinny echo effect on the voice acting, so it's actually tolerable to listen to for more than ten minutes at a time. Hooray for small, unambiguous improvements, I suppose.

As for me, I have played...most of this game. Not all of it, but enough to feel confident we shouldn't have any issues completing it, especially given its similarities to Eternal Wings. Fedule, as before, is coming into this blind and it would be nice to keep it that way as long as possible. This is *not* a comprehensive LP, as there are numerous sidequests that we will be showing off exactly once and then never again, but we will sample everything at least once and we'll finish all the major quests, at a minimum.

Table of Contents

Disc 1
Part 1: The Dark Service
Part 2: The Emperor's Mansion
Part 3: Albali Sandhollow
Part 4: Escape from Mintaka
Part 5: Chaotic Dance
Part 6: Nusakan Thornwood
Part 7: Sheratan, the Ageless Village
Part 8: Lake Botein Ruins
Part 9: Machina Arma?!
Part 10: The Sandfeeder's Nest
Part 11: The Magnus Town of Sedna
Part 12: Greater Mintaka
Part 13: The Nihal Desert
Part 14: Azha, the Mining Village
Part 15: Our First Job
Part 16: The Case of the Mourning Mistral
Part 17: The Lava Caves
Part 18: The Lord of the Lava Caves
Part 19: To Clear One's Name
Part 19B: The Coliseum
Part 20: Sheliak, the Castle Town
Part 21: The Cloud Passage
Part 22: Nashira, the Fishing Village
Part 23: A Royal Rescue
Part 24: The Cloudvents
Part 25: Cujam, the Ruler's Demesne
Part 26: The Recap
Part 27: Pherkad, the Ancient Capital
Part 28: Cebalrai, the Farming Hamlet
Part 29: Lord Rodolfo's Estate
Part 30: Nunki Valley
Part 31: Zaurak Keep
Part 32: Another Mission Accomplished

Disc 2
Part 33: The Holoholo Jungle
Part 34: Komo Mai, City of Flowers
Part 35: The School of Magic
Part 36: Opu, the Waterfall Village
Part 37: The Celestial Tree
Part 38: The Dark Bretheren
Part 39: Malpercio
Part 40: The Celestial Fell-branches
Part 41: The Election Rally
Part 42: Heart to Heart
Part 43: Vega Building Site
Part 44: The List
Part 45: The Matar Highlands
Part 46: The Nekkar Quietlands
Part 47: Seginus, the Eldritch Puppet
Part 48: Geldoblame's Request
Part 49: The Revenge Tour
Part 50: Blast From the Past
Part 51: Vega, Machina Metropolis
Part 52: The Championship Match
Part 53: Tarazed
Part 54: The True Mirror
Part 55: Tarazed's Core
Part 56: The End
Part 57: Odds and Ends

Artix fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Jun 17, 2023

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Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 1: The Dark Service :siren:

We begin our tale by meeting Sagi, a guy who is having a great first day at work as *checks notes* a professional assassin. I'm sure he'll be fine, these things usually work out great!

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Back in the saddle


I kind of miss the lovely voice acting already

Weeble
Feb 26, 2016
I know just as much about this game as I did the previous one at the start of that LP.

That is to say, none.

Looking forward to this.

Lustful Man Hugs
Jul 18, 2010

Artix posted:

If not, there is very little that Origins has up its sleeve to change your mind.

One thing I would add - the writing/characters/voice acting quality is significantly improved in this game, to the point that the writing was one of the big draws when it first came out.

C-Euro
Mar 20, 2010

:science:
Soiled Meat
I bought a used copy of this game in 2009 and have yet to actually see if this discs work. So I'll be watching this for sure!

Sylvian Wastes
Jan 3, 2022

by Hand Knit
Oh gently caress I loved this game and its card battle system as a kid. Guillo the puppet is simultaneously voiced by 2 black va's: TC Carson, who is the voice of Kratos and voices mace windu in videogames; and Maura Gale, whose only other work was voicing fortune from metal gear solid 2.

https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/video-games/Baten-Kaitos-Origins/Guillo/

Kibayasu
Mar 28, 2010

If an emperor allows something called the "dark service" to exist outside of his control you might as well just behead yourself and save everyone the trouble.

malkav11
Aug 7, 2009
Yeah, "as you know, we in the Imperial Dark Service don't work for the Emperor"...so why are we Imperial again?

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 2: The Emperor's Mansion :siren:

Despite all odds, the mission goes exactly according to plan and Sagi gains the trust and respect of all his new co-workers.

Kibayasu
Mar 28, 2010

Even with how quickly they died those nameless scapegoat soldiers actually lived far longer than I thought they would.

Cooked Auto
Aug 4, 2007

If you will not serve in combat, you will serve on the firing line!




Huh, turns out the Captain is voiced by Richard Epcar. I was wondering why the briefing made me think of Ace Combat.

Epicmissingno
Jul 1, 2017

Thank gooness we all get along so well!

Cooked Auto posted:

Huh, turns out the Captain is voiced by Richard Epcar. I was wondering why the briefing made me think of Ace Combat.

Alternatively, the Dark Service's unity is forged on falsehood, and its cards are an instrument of deception.

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 3: Albali Sandhollow :siren:

Following the events at the mansion, Sagi finds himself...somewhere. Just another great experience that working for the Dark Service offers!

Nissin Cup Nudist
Sep 3, 2011

Sleep with one eye open

We're off to Gritty Gritty land




Artix posted:

:siren: Part 2: The Emperor's Mansion :siren:

Despite all odds, the mission goes exactly according to plan and Sagi gains the trust and respect of all his new co-workers.

who could have forseen this sudden but inevitable betrayal. Though Sagi's peons also being set-up and not in on the scheme is almost interesting

Weeble
Feb 26, 2016
In case you have yet to look it up and/or forgot after doing so:

Seph is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes.

TapamN
Jan 10, 2008

C-Euro posted:

I bought a used copy of this game in 2009 and have yet to actually see if this discs work. So I'll be watching this for sure!
The same thing for me, I think? I was cleaning one day and found a copy in a box under a table, with a $17.99 price sticker on it. I don't remember getting it at all, but how else would it have gotten there? I guess I would have gotten it around 2010-2011? I don't remember ever booting it up, and I know I don't have any saves for it.

Kibayasu
Mar 28, 2010

Honestly I am already over the dungeons in this game :v:

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 4: Escape from Mintaka :siren:

Our business in...wherever that was complete, we're back to our own terrible situation. Thankfully, we meet a nice, helpful fellow who shows us a way out.

Lustful Man Hugs
Jul 18, 2010

So, is the theoretical essence of yesterday's news always yesterdays news? Like, if you wait a day, does it stay the same (thereby becoming two days ago's news) or remain the concept of news from roughly 24 hours ago?

Kibayasu
Mar 28, 2010

Lustful Man Hugs posted:

So, is the theoretical essence of yesterday's news always yesterdays news? Like, if you wait a day, does it stay the same (thereby becoming two days ago's news) or remain the concept of news from roughly 24 hours ago?

Since "yesterday's news" is turn of phrase this would depend on if a magnus understands the concept. The magnus may also hold the fundamental essence of old news in general. if you release that, does someone just learn some old news they hadn't heard before? Do they suddenly get a feeling of "oh I already knew about that" out of nowhere? We need to know!

biosterous
Feb 23, 2013




the cards understand that milk eventually turns into cheese, so it knows about physical freshness, but is the conceptual essence of the concept of information freshness also understood by the cards in the same way?

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 5: Chaotic Dance :siren:

You know him, you love him, it's your boy and he is here to gently caress you up.

Cooked Auto
Aug 4, 2007

If you will not serve in combat, you will serve on the firing line!




Just as a minor note, you might've left the game audio a bit too low while editing. Can barely hear the music and the voices are just a tad bit more audible than that.

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
Yeah the next couple are kinda quiet because of a recording mistake but they get better after that. Doesn't help that the next major area has a really understated bgm that I genuinely couldn't tell was playing half the time.

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Hey its jerkomo
Guessing hes not proud of his abs yet to have them on display

Kibayasu
Mar 28, 2010

Giacamo kept his taste in hats.

Anyways looking forward to the child inexplicably present with the evil people turning into the final boss.

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 6: Nusakan Thornwood :siren:

A smarter protagonist might be more concerned with the walking bundle of red flags that calls herself Milly, but that's not really Sagi's style. He's too busy thinking about those beans.

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 7: Sheratan, the Ageless Village :siren:

The empire's assassination squad is hot on his heels, so Sagi flees to the one place they will never find him.

*checks notes*

His hometown?

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

In which All of the JRPG hometown destruction flags are raised

Namtab
Feb 22, 2010

I hope you master baten kaitos origins

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 8: Lake Botein Ruins :siren:

I don't know if we can really qualify what this dungeon has as "puzzles" but...well, it tries?

pointlessone
Aug 6, 2001

The Triad Frog is pleased with this custom title purchase.
"You know, they're really leaning into this Milly is a traitor thing, I wonder how long it's going to be before the Baten Kaitos Twist and we find out she's really the hero and those kids are leaking info to the Empire?"

*Quick glance over a plot synopsis*

"Huh. Well done, writers, would not have ever called that." This thread's going to get fun

Rigged Death Trap
Feb 13, 2012

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Its going to turn out that one guillos voices is the traitor

Kibayasu
Mar 28, 2010

A fight you have to win so you can lose in a cutscene so you can win in a cutscene. There's probably at least one step you could cut there.

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 9: Machina Arma?! :siren:

I am required by law to link Iconoclasm here to make sure that you get a full listen to the best boss theme in the game.

Kibayasu
Mar 28, 2010

Speaking of Metal Gear (?!) any time a bunch of soldiers start ineffectively shooting at something many times larger than themselves I can't help but start thinking "WHOOOOOOOOOOOO?!"

Artix
Apr 26, 2010

He's finally back,
to kick some tail!
And this time,
he's goin' to jail!
:siren: Part 10: The Sandfeeder's Nest :siren:

Sure, these creatures are invulnerable to your most powerful magic... But uh, did you guys try like, stabbing it? Just a thought.

AweStriker
Oct 6, 2014

You may have been thinking of Salazzle towards the middle of the episode.

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Kibayasu
Mar 28, 2010

I really need this game to comment on how despite the other dream (for lack of a better word) characters not being able to see Guillo and Milly they must have seen the worm react to getting hit by nothing.

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