Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean Critic Reviews

I've played through dozens upon dozens of games and I have never seen a game with graphics like this.

Making a strong case for my game of the year, BK's biggest strength is an amazing battle engine.

What makes it special are the breathtaking graphics, flawless character animation, great musical score, cool cut scenes, great story full of startling twists, and a unique card battle system that's surprisingly fun.

A beautiful role-playing adventure with an above-average plot and some novel ideas. The otherwise interesting combat system relies a bit too much on luck, but overall Baten Kaitos is definitely one of GameCube's top adventures.

A beautifully crafted RPG that provides the boost that the GameCube so desperately needed.

This is first-class work with a compelling storyline and an active card-battle system that stays fresh throughout the life of the game.

A beautiful and intense RPG, mixing turn-based strategy with graphics that, although pre-rendered, are mind blowing in terms of crispness, colour and detail.

There is no reason why RPG lovers wouldn't like Baten Kaitos, but non-RPG lovers may have trouble adjusting to the slow speed of battles. Strategy lovers especially will appreciate the Magnus system's strategy.

Baten Kaitos is awesome. I was most surprised by how quickly this game drew me in, and it wasn't even the story that captured my interest - it was the setting.

The journey should last around 45 hours for the average gamer, but expect to spend some extra time if you want to unlock everything this game has to offer. Highly recommended.

Baten Kaitos has a couple main goals: to be beautiful technologically and to be a long adventure. Those goals are achieved with flying colors (literally).

Every single scene, be it a village, a forest clearing or an enormous city, is brimming with character and attention to detail.

The card system is excellent. It has the random intensity and unpredictability of a real card game mixed with elements of real- and turn-based RPGs.

The game's soundtrack is honestly the best I've ever heard in any game that uses orchestrated music. The composition is sheer brilliance!

The battle system has a flaw or two, but the lavishly detailed world of Baten Kaitos is a great place to go for a nice fairy tale.

The game fits on two discs, meaning it will take you at least 30 hours to beat, however they say it takes 60 hours, but we're pretty sure that includes all the side quests.

A very, very solid RPG for the Cube. Don't let the card based battle system scare you off if you're not into that sort of thing. It's done very well and adds a nice change of pace from the normal RPGs.

Part throwback to the good old days of Nintendo RPGs, part innovative gameplay, and all stylishly presented throughout the 50 or so hours you'll get out of it.

The unique combat is very addictive and a welcome aspect to the RPG genre. Some more innovative RPG elements and a few tweaks to the timing issue would turn this quirky gem into a very serious contender.

An enchanting tapestry of stylistic design, a deep and unconventional battle system, and fifty hours-plus of rewarding game play.