Hey folks. Thanks for dropping by. Just to get ahead of a couple things people might try to correct in the video- 1) I clustered early story events together to save on time and excessive explanation but it all checks out fine. 2) Enemies never use clashing elements when defending, I just portrayed it this way to give a good example of how calculations in battle work. Otherwise, I hope you all enjoy the crunchy 480p GameCube graphics while we patiently await the upcoming remaster that almost derailed my entire edit!
I’d rather “crunchy” 480p GameCube graphics than bug infested remaster gameplay, so ya dodged a bullet there. For the record tho, it’s not supposed to look crunchy.
Thank goodness, FINALLY, an actual, well-put-together video about my favorite game, i can't stand when people go goofy and poop all over it, and don't really care for it. i love this!, good job. Also it made my poor lonely childhood WAY better, and kept me well, WELL entertained for 5 years, and i am STILL finding out new facts?!, i had NO idea about the whole camera+lighting thing or the sword burning out...how did i not notice?, i swear i would have. ALSO; based on another person's comment: OHHHHHHHH, so MY audio being normal sounding was because i had it on mono???. i also don't mind the portal-audio, people are HUGE babies, it's not THAT bad, it adds to the atmosphere of being in another form, the guardian spirit. i'm mad they didn't add the English to the remaster...all for the people whining i bet.
man I'm glad I found this. my head just decided to give the series a replay a few weeks ago and then I found out about the remaster. I've always said this is one of the best JRPGs ever made but severely underrated. Couple points - back in the day word on the street was the audio weirdness was intentional because you're hearing through a portal so its compressed like a telephone call. it can be fixed if you switch audio to Mono in the settings for some reason. The combat system is goated and its so frustrating that there hasn't been a second go at this style of jrpg. Theres also a weird point that the intro video on the disk is ALSO a separately recorded take, and is for some reason just significantly better acting than the actual in game voiced lines which is completely bonkers. Second - im about three quarters through Origins at the moment and id reccommend giving it a go. its bizzare how it both fixes every problem that the first game has while simultaneously completely fucking up other aspects. the combat system is way more busted in an attempt to "streamline" it, i guess? but the acting and character work is VASTLY superior. whatever audio fuckery was going on in the first game - its gone here. Story really is holding up too - id argue its actually been a better plot than the first game. anyway thanks for the video mate - earned a sub and a bingewatch for sure. stay spooky
What's wild to me is that Tri Crescendo's involvement always made me think it was a Tri-Ace game rather than a Monolith collab. What a soundtrack though!
This is a truly great game, with some of the most inventive, unique ideas ever see in the genre. I have fond memories of playing it when it came out, I remember being obsessed with the card system, constantly experimenting with it to find new things, before breaking down and looking up all the combos and secrets on gamefaqs near the end. The way the system is universal, working not only for battles but also for puzzles, sidequests, story elements etc, really makes the world of the game and the player's experience with it feel like a cohesive whole, as does the brilliant framing of the story, the role of the player in that framing, and how those things play into the brilliant long con happening from the start. I had the sequel but never played that far into it, I think because I was annoyed at how different the battle and card systems were, after seeing the original as essentially perfect I couldn't understand why so much was changed. This was a great retrospective, and god it would be fun to play this again, nearly two decades later, in HD and with the original Japanese VA, which I believe wasn't even an option in the original release. Truly a hidden gem... I can also imagine that the whole experience of the game could be quite different with the original voice acting... actually come to think of it, I'm almost certain that I elected to play through the vast majority of the game with the voice acting simply turned off or at zero volume, and that made the experience much much better, making it feel like any great oldschool jrpg where there was no issue of voice acting in the first place, and it was just like using one's imagination while reading a good book... that's how I grew up playing the genre in the early 90's, and the obsession with including voice acting in everything after MGS always was quite idiotic to me, actively lowering the quality of the player's experience in many cases, and this game is a prime example of that. Trust me, if you just turn the VA off, you won't even remember it's a thing after a little while and all the story scenes are vastly better. You have a choice!
project x zone 1 and 2, namco x capcom, super robot taisen og saga endless frontier and exceed, the legend of zelda: a link between worlds yes, monolith soft did the legend of zelda: a link between worlds.
I never played either of the Baten Kaitos games and have always been curious about their composition. I am not normally someone who is interested in a card based approach but it is pretty clear with this title at least that the implementation is done in a fun way that is something I'm willing to try. The remaster (and the fact its getting a physical release) is exciting to me and definitely the way I'd like to be introduced to playing them for the first time. This retrospective is honestly fantastic. I watched the entire thing, front to back and it has definitely sold me on Eternal Wings. Crazy how the timing of a video like this can be done as you illustrated at the end of this retrospective. The work you and others put in this is fantastic. Thank you TG, great work here.
I'm so thrilled that Baten Kaitos and Origins are getting the remaster treatment! Especially since Origins have never been released in Europe. And I'm so glad you put together this retrospective! Baten Kaitos is a fascinating and unique game that feels, in the best way possible, that it belongs in the PSone golden age of RPGs, and I adore the fact that the game isn't afraid to be absolutely absurd. Things like the Shampoo Magnus sound like a playground urban legend from the late 90s. You should be proud of this one, Tarks. This will probably get some extra traction with people looking up reviews with the remaster coming out
idk man, I think you put this video out at the perfect time, when just enough people will be curiously looking for information on what Baten Kaitos is all about ahead of the remaster. If Monolithsoft's recent work hadn't already gotten me on board with it, this video sure might have.
I about to play this game and they announced the remastered and then I see this retrospective… just can’t wait to play this game for the 1st time. It’s been on my backlog for so long, so freaking long
Hopefully it proves beneficial to get your retrospective out just before the launch of the remaster, when buzz is high, rather than 4 months after the remaster when everyone has moved on to something else. Either way it was a cracking video which I thoroughly enjoyed alongside my morning coffee.
I remember staying up til 4 in the morning on multiple weekend nights with my cousin playing games and Eternal Wings & Origins. There is so much charm and plenty to do with a unique & fun card-combo gameplay, and not much games still today have the same kind of appeal as the series did.
Looking forward to the remaster, although I am a bit bummed about the English audio. It is quite understandable for their reasoning. Another great video here Tarks
Thanks so much for making a much-needed video about baten kaitos! it was a very interesting watch for me, and i absolutely did not remember the audio quality being THAT bad LMFAO. kinda wish they could re-dub it, but that would just be a post-release bonus update tbh .
I remember buying this game when it was brand new and it's one of the most iconic Gamecube titles for me. I do specifically remember Kalas being...kind of a huge jerk really made it stand out for me because I was so used to goody two-shoes protagonists. It does really suck that the remasters are removing the voice acting. I can't believe we'll never get to hear 's voice ever again *sob sobs* Also thank you for mentioning the shampoo because that still just makes me laugh.
The original Monolith Soft game that takes place on a giant floating continents where you meet the heroine of the game being attacked by monsters and her two guards sacrifice themselves to save her. It was also the first Tri Cresendo game where you made money by taking photos of monsters and the value of said pictures increased or decreased based on the lighting. PS: Kinda crazy how the two Baten Kaitos games are synonymous with card based JRPGs on the Gamecube when Lost Kingdoms I&II,Megaman Network Transmission and Phantasy Star Online Episode III all predated it.
I didn't play the other games but I did complete lost kingdoms (2 I think, not the first) and really didn't like it. That was when I was in highschool though. Maybe I'd care for it now.
Thanks for the video and that little gem at the end of it. These games were so much fun for me to play as a kid. I'm currently working on a playthrough with no level ups, which has me getting ready to leave Mira for the first time (LOTS of grinding). I really hope a third iteration of this series is realeased!
Subscribing to save this for later to when I finish the games. I grew up seeing my cousin playing these on his Gamecube, and finally it is my turn. Loving it so far!
That part about the voiceacting quality: I also found it weird, how the game sounded when I first played it. So I looked at the settings and changed the sound from stereo to mono. That totally fixed it. Try it.
I don't believe there is a mono option, just stereo and surround, which surround I heard fixes the dialogue issue but if you don't have an actual surround sound setup you'll lose other parts of the mix. Any sound effect routed to the rear speakers for instance.
@@TarksGauntlet Ok, maybe it's like you said. (been a couple of years since I played this ^^). But, yes, I remember changing something in the options which solved the dialogue sound issue.
Hey man just wanted to say I really really appreciate your channel. You always do such great work! I also think that you are more genuine that most youtubers. Thanks for always providing great content!
Baten Kaitos Origins has a lot of interesting lore for Eternal Wings, especially about the "true" identity of Malpercio. I was quite mind blown and feeling bad about what I did in Eternal Wings. You will understand if you play it one day. ;)
I honestly found the Malpercio reveal in Origins to be even more shocking than the Kalas betrayal twist in Eternal Wings, and that’s REALLY saying something.
Baten Kaitos' wonderful world inspired many a daydream in my childhood. I love the worldbuilding and the awesome OST. However when I replayed this game about 2 years ago some very negative aspects stood out to me. Once you missed your opportunity at taking a picture or at finishing a quest, you will never be able to redo it. I know that this probably too much of what Monolith Soft is going to with the remake, but I think, that the remake should've a Boss Rush mode, where you can fight every boss as much as you want. Furthermore at the end of the game you should be able to battle every enemy you have encountered before somewhere. The quests that disappear should be marked, so that you don't forget to finish them first before progressing the story.
"Baten Kaitos" (I'm surprised I managed to pronounce this the dev intended way all this time) certainly takes me back to when I was younger. Feels like forever since I originally played it. But at the same time, it's been long enough that I don't actually recall too much about it. From the little I do remember, I think I enjoyed it but found it strangely frustrating. Not so much for the difficulty but cause of all the constant micro-managing you had to do with the decks. Between getting new cards, the cards themselves changing (usually for the worse), and combat getting stricter the further you got, it just annoyed younger me at the time. Not to mention other stuff like making sure to take a picture of every boss encounter but never selling them cause of collection purposes. The whole semi-completionist mentality that I still have. But the biggest offender were the Quest Magus cards since I just couldn't ever find the right ones to finish quests and always kept ones I wasn't sure I could get back resulting in wasted space, like the ones you start with. I remember looking up a quest guide, saw I already screwed up and missed several, and then just kind of gave up playing. I got a little ways past the big twist before losing interest if I recall correctly, even despite still enjoying it overall. If I tried to play it again nowadays, I don't think I'd have anywhere near as much of a problem but I don't know how interested I am in trying to do so. Probably was why I really wanted to get the sequel, to see what got improved, but I unfortunately never found a copy. And it's too little too late now. Funnily, re-reading this, you've more or less said everything I tried to say. Guess I wasn't alone in some of those thoughts.
I never owned a GameCube and I tried to play in my Wii back in the day but the game disc that a friend had lent me didn't work correctly so the remaster is a godsend to me. Live monolithsoft and this is their only franchise that I'm missing. Awesome retrospect as always.
I still own my GC copy of it, and i think i prefer the old graphics and tin sounding voices. I was so turned off by the remaster from the moment i watched the cinematic in the title screen. Im still going to play it, and bought it if nothing else to show the devs that we want more baten kaitos! Even got a friend to buy it too
Yes! I've been looking forward to this since you hinted that you'd do a video on it at the end of your extensive/great Legend of Dragoon video. :) Now, here's hoping the remaster is good enough. *fingers crossed*
It wasn't though. If you put the audio in surround the problem disappears, indicating the problem is a slight phasing issue between the left and right channels in stereo. This doesn't occur in surround because the voices travel down only one channel (center) instead of two. Unfortunately I found this out after making the video.
ALLLLLSO 💀what is that 2nd dub...dear god... and THANK YOU for showing/telling about "tales of the abyss" i LOVE the guys music work, and i have searched far and wide, but...i didn't see that one?!?!?, HOW COULD IT GO UNKNOWN?!?!?!.
I've always said "Ba--ten Kay-tose" myself. I had finished the game once, and have always liked it. My early gaming days are a bit fuzzy now, though Baten Kaitos may have been my first actual JRPG. Took me all the way to Mira to start actually figuring out that I was making the game very difficult as I was using the elemental strengths of enemies in my attacks and defenses in each fight, having a much easier time once I stopped being the biggest dumb. I remember Mira the most of any location from all the odd places you visit, and that damned garden with the hands and slimes, took me hours to figure it out. I was a smart-ish kid, but wasn't too bright in some areas.
I have been wanting to replay Baten Kaitos for years but figured it was an abandoned franchise. Watching this is the first I'd heard of the remaster... and it's already out! Guess I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas. Cheers!
This has been one of my favorite games I've ever played and one of the few I've been able to beat. I bought the remastered game so fast when I found out about if. I simply love it even now. I really enjoyed this video, thanks for taking the time and sharing.
Baten Kaitos took me 13 years to complete thanks to constantly corrupting 3rd party memory cards, but when I finally completed it in the summer after I graduated college, it was so worth it. I actually didn't realize at the time of its release that Xenoblade Chronicles and Baten Kaitos were from the same developer. All hail the tin can voice acting though, that shit is so nostalgic. I never heard about the compression theory, that was insightful even if it is speculation.
Wow I never realized Disaster was from Monolith!! I ended up soft odding my wii to be able to play burned games just because I wanted to play Disaster (because for some reason Nintendo never wanted to bring it over here even if it was fully translated in Europe)! It’s such an AMAZING game!!!!
Easily one of the most beautiful game ever made!! Every background is breathtaking even to this day! This game is to me just as good as FF4-5-6, Chrono, Suikoden 1-2, Lufia 1-2 etc..
Fun fact, i got Gebari when i was level 5... Because i didn't know how to level up, got stuck there for like 10 hours and even re-started the game a few times... I was a spanish speaker with a foregein confusing game.
I felt bad liking the video. It was at 69 likes and now, because of me, it's at 70. Anyway... awesome Vid as per usual! I enjoyed the game back in the day and even imported Origins because they didn't release it in Europe, but never finished it. Maybe with the Remaster...
Crazy theory about the voice quality that I have: the voices sounds this way because you, the guardian spirit, would hear them this way, through a sort of veil, or like from another room, from you are: on the other side of the screen. It might actually be a crazy creative choice. Now, maybe not since the japanese voice acting doesn't seem to have that same low quality, and neither does the sequel, but it's fun to think about.
It's an interesting idea, but the voice effect disappears when you switch to surround sound instead of stereo, indicating it was a phasing issue between the left and right speakers.
Glad it’s this game is getting a remaster I’m just disappointed there won’t be an English dub. Especially because Origins has a good VA and Eternal Wings is kinda so bad it’s good for me at least. Probably still gonna pick it up would have been cool if they re-voiced the game but this is also the company that keeps failing to properly remaster Tales Of Symphonia.
This is perfect timing with the remaster coming! Monolithsoft is one of my favorite developers but Baten Kaitos is one of the few games of theirs I haven’t played yet. Thank you daddy Tarks for another great viddy!
I always interpreted the slight distortion on the voices as being a thematic thing since we, the player, are viewing the events from the perspective of a spirit. Just a slight something to create seperation between the world of the characters and our own world as the viewer. It honestly never bothered me even the slightest bit when I played the game back in my late teens. I'm a bit bummed the english VA is being dropped since quite a lot of Melodia's lines the emotion in the delivery on them seems way better than the Japanese one. (Spoiler below) For example, her reaction when Kalas rips-off the second wing he got so he could return to normal, and she's completely thrown-off that a mortal could remove the power of a god from themselves by their own will. I also love Mizuti's absoutely flip-out in the english dub when she busts her mask. The japanese VA is so much more subdued than the english VA's yelling "NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!!!!!" followed by Mizuti bitch-slapping Malpercio. I can live with playing the game with the Jap VA, but it won't quite be the same. But I guess it would be an excuse to get my Wii out of its box and replay the GC version at some point.
I wish the sound was intentional. Apparently, If you put the game in surround the issue goes away, Indicating the issue is caused by a slight phasing issue/delay between left and right speakers. In surround the sound only comes out of 1 channel (centre) so no phase issue exists. I didn't realize this cause I was just using a soundbar, that, while it emulates surround, I find the effect unconvincing so I left the game in stereo.
About the tin-can sound of the voice acting: I think the japanese version sounded similiar, what if it was on purpose like a form of art. Because we (player/spirit) don't hear it directly, we hear the sounds through Kalas ears. That could explain tzhe tin-can like sound.
The Japanese version didn't have this issue (I don't even think it had voice acting at all tbh, but I know this was strictly in the localization) The mystery of the tin can has been solved anyway. If you put the game in surround instead of stereo the voices come out of one channel and they come out clean. Most people don't have a proper surround sound set up so they never select this option. In stereo the dialogues comes out of 2 speakers. Left and right. However there is a slight delay (likely just a couple samples) in one speaker vs the other on the dialogue channel, which causes a phasing issue. It's neat to think of it in a more artistic and intentional manner, but sadly the evidence points entirely to a technical mishap.
Ngl, playing it as a kid I assumed the tinny sounding voices was an intentional choice because that's just how you hear it as a guardian spirit and that's not how they actually sounded.
Nah, it's an audio glitch. It disappears if you put the game on surround instead of stereo. But then, most people don't use proper surround sound systems.
I don't know what OFF stands for off the top of my head, but I have played omori. Very good game. I don't think it hit me as hard as it hit others but I liked it quite a bit.
@@TarksGauntlet It doesn't stand for anything, it's just the word "off" but stylized in all caps. Very interesting game in which you the player are put in charge of a man with a "holy mission" called "the batter". It's free and pretty short, about 5 hours. Also glad you liked Omori as well.
I think it is time Tarks Gauntlet to talk about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 DLC, Xenoblade 2: Torna the Golden Country, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 & Xenoblade Chronicles 3 DLC
Just leaving this here to say thanks, I wish the English dub was kept, and I bought it physically and digitally in the switch... Hoping that this entry comes out.. AFTER THE XENOSAGA TRILOGY. Please God, please.
Even if the card system is "brilliant," which I'm not convinced of, it was primarily responsible for why I wasn't a fan of this game growing up. Now, in my 30s, sure, I'm smart enough and patient enough to figure it out. But as a teenager, it frustrated me with how "Oh, sorry, you didn't draw the right cards, so now you lose." I hated that randomness, and to this day, I have yet to finish the game, and I doubt I ever will. In fact, I'm watching this video primarily because I am confident I won't return and play this game again. Contrast that with Tales of Symphonia, which I played through 4 times as a kid, twice as an adult, and I'm itching for another playthrough.
The voice acting sounding like they are talking into a can or box occurs when the game is on stereo sound. Switching it to surround sound in the settings fixes the bug somehow? It is definitely a weirdass oversight. Great vid by the way. Still salty about the English VA being taken out of the remaster though.
Ah, if that fixes it that means there's very likely a small delay between left and right speakers caused in game or slightly different effects at work in either side. Playing it in surround sound would put the dialogue out just 1 speaker. The center channel (in most instances.) My sound bar can simulate surround sound but I don't usually find it very convincing so I just left the game in stereo.
I'm probably not going to watch this because I plan on playing the game. That being said learning from the comments that the english dub is missing from the remaster is a bummer Edit: Started listening to it in the background and accidentally spaced out. Accidentally got to the spoiler section... oops. Oh well, that's my own fault, without the full context spoilers don't really effect my enjoyment of things much anyway.
As far as I know, the weird "tubey" voices where they sound like being in a glass box is coming from an emulation issue, it's not present on the real hardware. But hey not being a native english speaker, even if I played it first with these english dub I won't miss them haha
All of my footage is on real hardware. Some people have said it disappears if you switch it to surround sound (even if you don't have a surround sound system) so it's possible their left/right channels are slightly out of phase somehow. Very unusual issue whatever the case.
Growing up I never even got word of its release, but the first stands on its own and is worthy of praise regardless. Since I did learn about Origins I've been on the look out for it while game hunting but literally never came across a copy and it's been about 15 years. It really didn't sell too well I guess. Hopeing to finally get to it with the remaster release.
@@TarksGauntlet I see, I bought my copy way back then during the original release on Gamecube and I still have both games on gamecube. Be sure to give Origins a try on the remaster. The only bummer is that there won't be an english dub for either of them, or so I heard... Origins had a much better english dub than the first game too...
If you're talking about the Xplay review that was going around on twitter that was about this games prequel, and he's free to have whatever opinion he wants about the game. Nobody was upset about whether he did or didn't like a game.
Sorry, but a few seconds in and I already have problems with this. "The sun was setting on the fourth year of the new millenium. December 2003" how is this the fourth year? maybe you meant rising since it was almost 2004... but even then, the new millenium started in 2001, so it still wouldn't be correct. Yeah okay, gonna continue watching now ^.^
The new millennium started, technically, on Jan 1, 2001, since the Gregorian calender doesn't count year 0 (even though everything else has to) but most people, at least in NA, observed the change on Jan 1, 2000. Being alive and quite alert at the time, I recall it being a big event. Given this isn't a science channel, I didn't really see any issue scripting as a layman.
@@TarksGauntlet but even then in 2003 the sun wasn't setting on the fourth year. My nitpicking aside, though, I enjoyed your video.... in part because of you wearing a Inu Yasha shirt ^.^
Believe it or not, I did actually slave over that line in scripting haha. I wrote it that way right away then questioned it a week later and put the vote up to my discord server if I should consider year 0 for the line. It was a bit of debate in there but we ultimately settled on this, so believe me when I say you're not alone in this. I'm actually right there with you. I hope you enjoyed the rest of the video!
I intended to leave it up for 1-2 weeks, but the crap on twitter today man... Just felt like there was too big a spotlight around me. I wanted to shrink it some so I just took the vid down earlier than I said I would. Can't deal with the conversations going on all over the place.
@Tarks Gauntlet yeah I went on Twitter and saw all that I totally get u it's nutz how people react on there so just push all that nastiness to the back of ur mind and enjoy ur weekend 🫡
hi dude . i adore baten kaitos and baten kaitos origins !!! same thing for xenogears , and the 3 xenosaga . however , i detest xenoblade serie...sorry dude .ps : i'm french , sorry for my poor english...
This is my favorite game of all time (although I just played it in 2019, talk about being late to the party). Very nice video, even if the surprise remaster announcement caught you off guard while you were working on it. I’m personally devastated that the English dub is missing. The original game’s voice acting is so hilariously bad that it wraps around to being amazing, and BKO legit has a terrific dub. Hope you enjoy BKO this fall! I can’t wait for more people to experience this masterpiece. Don’t expect to ever see BK3, but the remaster was such a total shock so I guess never say never.
Hey folks. Thanks for dropping by. Just to get ahead of a couple things people might try to correct in the video-
1) I clustered early story events together to save on time and excessive explanation but it all checks out fine.
2) Enemies never use clashing elements when defending, I just portrayed it this way to give a good example of how calculations in battle work.
Otherwise, I hope you all enjoy the crunchy 480p GameCube graphics while we patiently await the upcoming remaster that almost derailed my entire edit!
Why u and Adam Sessler arguing on twitter
tomorrow on nintendo switch and already pre-ordered here in europe
I’d rather “crunchy” 480p GameCube graphics than bug infested remaster gameplay, so ya dodged a bullet there. For the record tho, it’s not supposed to look crunchy.
I'm so upset that they're taking the voice acting out of the remasters! This is an example of "it's so bad, it's good!"
Me too, also because they're throwing out the great VA in Origins for what seems like no reason.
Some of it is genuinely really good
Agree! Also the voice acting in Origins was really good.
@@Terranigma23God larxenes voice is so hot uooggguughhhh step on meeeeee
Don't share that sentiment. The VA is atrocious but would have liked a new dub but that would have costed an arm and a leg
Thank goodness, FINALLY, an actual, well-put-together video about my favorite game, i can't stand when people go goofy and poop all over it, and don't really care for it.
i love this!, good job.
Also it made my poor lonely childhood WAY better, and kept me well, WELL entertained for 5 years, and i am STILL finding out new facts?!,
i had NO idea about the whole camera+lighting thing or the sword burning out...how did i not notice?, i swear i would have.
ALSO; based on another person's comment: OHHHHHHHH, so MY audio being normal sounding was because i had it on mono???.
i also don't mind the portal-audio, people are HUGE babies, it's not THAT bad, it adds to the atmosphere of being in another form, the guardian spirit.
i'm mad they didn't add the English to the remaster...all for the people whining i bet.
man I'm glad I found this. my head just decided to give the series a replay a few weeks ago and then I found out about the remaster. I've always said this is one of the best JRPGs ever made but severely underrated.
Couple points - back in the day word on the street was the audio weirdness was intentional because you're hearing through a portal so its compressed like a telephone call. it can be fixed if you switch audio to Mono in the settings for some reason.
The combat system is goated and its so frustrating that there hasn't been a second go at this style of jrpg.
Theres also a weird point that the intro video on the disk is ALSO a separately recorded take, and is for some reason just significantly better acting than the actual in game voiced lines which is completely bonkers.
Second - im about three quarters through Origins at the moment and id reccommend giving it a go. its bizzare how it both fixes every problem that the first game has while simultaneously completely fucking up other aspects. the combat system is way more busted in an attempt to "streamline" it, i guess? but the acting and character work is VASTLY superior. whatever audio fuckery was going on in the first game - its gone here. Story really is holding up too - id argue its actually been a better plot than the first game.
anyway thanks for the video mate - earned a sub and a bingewatch for sure. stay spooky
Finally Baten Kaitos getting its due reognition!!!
What's wild to me is that Tri Crescendo's involvement always made me think it was a Tri-Ace game rather than a Monolith collab. What a soundtrack though!
I loved BK so much that I researched Tri Cresendo’s work and eventually bought Eternal Sonata for the PS3. It’s a decent game too.
If it makes you feel better, I'm going to pick up the remaster thanks to this video. :)
This is a truly great game, with some of the most inventive, unique ideas ever see in the genre. I have fond memories of playing it when it came out, I remember being obsessed with the card system, constantly experimenting with it to find new things, before breaking down and looking up all the combos and secrets on gamefaqs near the end. The way the system is universal, working not only for battles but also for puzzles, sidequests, story elements etc, really makes the world of the game and the player's experience with it feel like a cohesive whole, as does the brilliant framing of the story, the role of the player in that framing, and how those things play into the brilliant long con happening from the start.
I had the sequel but never played that far into it, I think because I was annoyed at how different the battle and card systems were, after seeing the original as essentially perfect I couldn't understand why so much was changed. This was a great retrospective, and god it would be fun to play this again, nearly two decades later, in HD and with the original Japanese VA, which I believe wasn't even an option in the original release. Truly a hidden gem... I can also imagine that the whole experience of the game could be quite different with the original voice acting... actually come to think of it, I'm almost certain that I elected to play through the vast majority of the game with the voice acting simply turned off or at zero volume, and that made the experience much much better, making it feel like any great oldschool jrpg where there was no issue of voice acting in the first place, and it was just like using one's imagination while reading a good book... that's how I grew up playing the genre in the early 90's, and the obsession with including voice acting in everything after MGS always was quite idiotic to me, actively lowering the quality of the player's experience in many cases, and this game is a prime example of that. Trust me, if you just turn the VA off, you won't even remember it's a thing after a little while and all the story scenes are vastly better. You have a choice!
project x zone 1 and 2, namco x capcom, super robot taisen og saga endless frontier and exceed, the legend of zelda: a link between worlds yes, monolith soft did the legend of zelda: a link between worlds.
I never played either of the Baten Kaitos games and have always been curious about their composition. I am not normally someone who is interested in a card based approach but it is pretty clear with this title at least that the implementation is done in a fun way that is something I'm willing to try. The remaster (and the fact its getting a physical release) is exciting to me and definitely the way I'd like to be introduced to playing them for the first time. This retrospective is honestly fantastic. I watched the entire thing, front to back and it has definitely sold me on Eternal Wings. Crazy how the timing of a video like this can be done as you illustrated at the end of this retrospective. The work you and others put in this is fantastic. Thank you TG, great work here.
I'm so thrilled that Baten Kaitos and Origins are getting the remaster treatment! Especially since Origins have never been released in Europe.
And I'm so glad you put together this retrospective! Baten Kaitos is a fascinating and unique game that feels, in the best way possible, that it belongs in the PSone golden age of RPGs, and I adore the fact that the game isn't afraid to be absolutely absurd. Things like the Shampoo Magnus sound like a playground urban legend from the late 90s.
You should be proud of this one, Tarks. This will probably get some extra traction with people looking up reviews with the remaster coming out
idk man, I think you put this video out at the perfect time, when just enough people will be curiously looking for information on what Baten Kaitos is all about ahead of the remaster. If Monolithsoft's recent work hadn't already gotten me on board with it, this video sure might have.
Really loved this game, Baten Kaitos as well as Skies of Arcadia were two of my fav JRPGs on the GameCube.
Playing the remaster! What a great timing!
I about to play this game and they announced the remastered and then I see this retrospective… just can’t wait to play this game for the 1st time. It’s been on my backlog for so long, so freaking long
Hopefully it proves beneficial to get your retrospective out just before the launch of the remaster, when buzz is high, rather than 4 months after the remaster when everyone has moved on to something else. Either way it was a cracking video which I thoroughly enjoyed alongside my morning coffee.
I remember staying up til 4 in the morning on multiple weekend nights with my cousin playing games and Eternal Wings & Origins. There is so much charm and plenty to do with a unique & fun card-combo gameplay, and not much games still today have the same kind of appeal as the series did.
Looking forward to the remaster, although I am a bit bummed about the English audio. It is quite understandable for their reasoning.
Another great video here Tarks
Thanks so much for making a much-needed video about baten kaitos! it was a very interesting watch for me, and i absolutely did not remember the audio quality being THAT bad LMFAO. kinda wish they could re-dub it, but that would just be a post-release bonus update tbh .
I remember buying this game when it was brand new and it's one of the most iconic Gamecube titles for me. I do specifically remember Kalas being...kind of a huge jerk really made it stand out for me because I was so used to goody two-shoes protagonists.
It does really suck that the remasters are removing the voice acting. I can't believe we'll never get to hear 's voice ever again *sob sobs*
Also thank you for mentioning the shampoo because that still just makes me laugh.
The original Monolith Soft game that takes place on a giant floating continents where you meet the heroine of the game being attacked by monsters and her two guards sacrifice themselves to save her. It was also the first Tri Cresendo game where you made money by taking photos of monsters and the value of said pictures increased or decreased based on the lighting.
PS: Kinda crazy how the two Baten Kaitos games are synonymous with card based JRPGs on the Gamecube when Lost Kingdoms I&II,Megaman Network Transmission and Phantasy Star Online Episode III all predated it.
I didn't play the other games but I did complete lost kingdoms (2 I think, not the first) and really didn't like it. That was when I was in highschool though. Maybe I'd care for it now.
Thanks for the video and that little gem at the end of it. These games were so much fun for me to play as a kid. I'm currently working on a playthrough with no level ups, which has me getting ready to leave Mira for the first time (LOTS of grinding). I really hope a third iteration of this series is realeased!
Subscribing to save this for later to when I finish the games.
I grew up seeing my cousin playing these on his Gamecube, and finally it is my turn. Loving it so far!
That part about the voiceacting quality:
I also found it weird, how the game sounded when I first played it.
So I looked at the settings and changed the sound from stereo to mono. That totally fixed it. Try it.
I don't believe there is a mono option, just stereo and surround, which surround I heard fixes the dialogue issue but if you don't have an actual surround sound setup you'll lose other parts of the mix. Any sound effect routed to the rear speakers for instance.
@@TarksGauntlet Ok, maybe it's like you said. (been a couple of years since I played this ^^). But, yes, I remember changing something in the options which solved the dialogue sound issue.
Hey man just wanted to say I really really appreciate your channel. You always do such great work! I also think that you are more genuine that most youtubers. Thanks for always providing great content!
SAVED THIS VIDEO!! cant wait to watch it while I work later today - one of my favorite childhood games 🥰
“Us heroes we have so much to do.”
Always been interested in this series!
Hoping the remasters will make it a bit more accessible.
Thanks for the retrospective sir!
Great timing Tark! I'm excited to finally try these out!
Baten Kaitos Origins has a lot of interesting lore for Eternal Wings, especially about the "true" identity of Malpercio. I was quite mind blown and feeling bad about what I did in Eternal Wings. You will understand if you play it one day. ;)
I honestly found the Malpercio reveal in Origins to be even more shocking than the Kalas betrayal twist in Eternal Wings, and that’s REALLY saying something.
@@swordfish1390 Same! I was like "omg, why I did that in Baten Kaitos 1". I was feeling so bad. 😅
Despite them cutting the dub, buy the game. Support the series, maybe we'll get that Baten Kaitos 3.
Baten Kaitos' wonderful world inspired many a daydream in my childhood. I love the worldbuilding and the awesome OST.
However when I replayed this game about 2 years ago some very negative aspects stood out to me. Once you missed your opportunity at taking a picture or at finishing a quest, you will never be able to redo it.
I know that this probably too much of what Monolith Soft is going to with the remake, but I think, that the remake should've a Boss Rush mode, where you can fight every boss as much as you want. Furthermore at the end of the game you should be able to battle every enemy you have encountered before somewhere. The quests that disappear should be marked, so that you don't forget to finish them first before progressing the story.
"Baten Kaitos" (I'm surprised I managed to pronounce this the dev intended way all this time) certainly takes me back to when I was younger. Feels like forever since I originally played it. But at the same time, it's been long enough that I don't actually recall too much about it.
From the little I do remember, I think I enjoyed it but found it strangely frustrating. Not so much for the difficulty but cause of all the constant micro-managing you had to do with the decks. Between getting new cards, the cards themselves changing (usually for the worse), and combat getting stricter the further you got, it just annoyed younger me at the time. Not to mention other stuff like making sure to take a picture of every boss encounter but never selling them cause of collection purposes. The whole semi-completionist mentality that I still have.
But the biggest offender were the Quest Magus cards since I just couldn't ever find the right ones to finish quests and always kept ones I wasn't sure I could get back resulting in wasted space, like the ones you start with. I remember looking up a quest guide, saw I already screwed up and missed several, and then just kind of gave up playing.
I got a little ways past the big twist before losing interest if I recall correctly, even despite still enjoying it overall. If I tried to play it again nowadays, I don't think I'd have anywhere near as much of a problem but I don't know how interested I am in trying to do so. Probably was why I really wanted to get the sequel, to see what got improved, but I unfortunately never found a copy. And it's too little too late now.
Funnily, re-reading this, you've more or less said everything I tried to say. Guess I wasn't alone in some of those thoughts.
Gunna grab this on the switch
Perfect timing.
Good work dude, always happy to see a new vid from ya!
I never owned a GameCube and I tried to play in my Wii back in the day but the game disc that a friend had lent me didn't work correctly so the remaster is a godsend to me. Live monolithsoft and this is their only franchise that I'm missing. Awesome retrospect as always.
I still own my GC copy of it, and i think i prefer the old graphics and tin sounding voices. I was so turned off by the remaster from the moment i watched the cinematic in the title screen. Im still going to play it, and bought it if nothing else to show the devs that we want more baten kaitos! Even got a friend to buy it too
bro great documentary style breakdowns of games. subbed today
The "bad quality sound" in the voice track its because a bug. Disable the surround thing and its gonna work like a "Charm".
Original audio sounds like theyre speaking through a tuba
Yes! I've been looking forward to this since you hinted that you'd do a video on it at the end of your extensive/great Legend of Dragoon video. :)
Now, here's hoping the remaster is good enough. *fingers crossed*
I bust a gut laughing at "the god of demise and destruction... the cursed power of... Marpetro?"
I'm at the intro with tark and his gauntlets, and you've already earned your like and comment.
Hi. New sub here because I finally found a physical copy of the remaster and I am loving it.
The audio was done intentionally. The player is a Guardian Spirit in another dimension
It wasn't though. If you put the audio in surround the problem disappears, indicating the problem is a slight phasing issue between the left and right channels in stereo. This doesn't occur in surround because the voices travel down only one channel (center) instead of two. Unfortunately I found this out after making the video.
ALLLLLSO 💀what is that 2nd dub...dear god...
and THANK YOU for showing/telling about "tales of the abyss" i LOVE the guys music work, and i have searched far and wide, but...i didn't see that one?!?!?, HOW COULD IT GO UNKNOWN?!?!?!.
I've always said "Ba--ten Kay-tose" myself. I had finished the game once, and have always liked it. My early gaming days are a bit fuzzy now, though Baten Kaitos may have been my first actual JRPG. Took me all the way to Mira to start actually figuring out that I was making the game very difficult as I was using the elemental strengths of enemies in my attacks and defenses in each fight, having a much easier time once I stopped being the biggest dumb. I remember Mira the most of any location from all the odd places you visit, and that damned garden with the hands and slimes, took me hours to figure it out. I was a smart-ish kid, but wasn't too bright in some areas.
I dunno, I think the crunchy graphics were perfect. I came here to reminisce. This was solid AF
I have been wanting to replay Baten Kaitos for years but figured it was an abandoned franchise. Watching this is the first I'd heard of the remaster... and it's already out! Guess I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas. Cheers!
Bah-Ten-Kai-Tos that's how I always pronounced it ^ ^ but you can say it however you want
This has been one of my favorite games I've ever played and one of the few I've been able to beat. I bought the remastered game so fast when I found out about if. I simply love it even now. I really enjoyed this video, thanks for taking the time and sharing.
Damn that guy voicing Sabin needs to take voice acting lessons
Baten Kaitos took me 13 years to complete thanks to constantly corrupting 3rd party memory cards, but when I finally completed it in the summer after I graduated college, it was so worth it. I actually didn't realize at the time of its release that Xenoblade Chronicles and Baten Kaitos were from the same developer.
All hail the tin can voice acting though, that shit is so nostalgic. I never heard about the compression theory, that was insightful even if it is speculation.
MonolithSoft's greatest hidden gem is arguably Disaster: Day of Crisis, but Baten Kaitos still rocks. Glad to see a proper long retrospective.
True. But I need the clicks lol. This is the second title variation but it's not going very far.
Wow I never realized Disaster was from Monolith!! I ended up soft odding my wii to be able to play burned games just because I wanted to play Disaster (because for some reason Nintendo never wanted to bring it over here even if it was fully translated in Europe)! It’s such an AMAZING game!!!!
Can’t wait for the remaster so I can play it and completely forget everything you said about the combat.
Easily one of the most beautiful game ever made!! Every background is breathtaking even to this day! This game is to me just as good as FF4-5-6, Chrono, Suikoden 1-2, Lufia 1-2 etc..
23:58 did someone say foot gang ? Awesome vid tarks as always cant wait to get it on switch
Fun fact, i got Gebari when i was level 5... Because i didn't know how to level up, got stuck there for like 10 hours and even re-started the game a few times... I was a spanish speaker with a foregein confusing game.
This video deserves views just for that Marge cameo
I felt bad liking the video. It was at 69 likes and now, because of me, it's at 70.
Anyway... awesome Vid as per usual!
I enjoyed the game back in the day and even imported Origins because they didn't release it in Europe, but never finished it. Maybe with the Remaster...
Seems pretty cool. Visually it reminds me a lot of Chrono Cross. Was pleasantly surprised its the same guy.
Looking forward to it in the future.
I sorta broke the narrative by naming my spirit guardian Kalas.
Created some funny dialogue though.
Lol I love how the setting of Baten Kaitos did the setting of Skyward Sword before Zelda did
The best part is, they basically reused this setting for Xenoblade 2 lol.
Baten Kaitos origins & baten Kaitos eternal wings & lost ocean will always be one of the top JRPGS on the GameCube.
Crazy theory about the voice quality that I have: the voices sounds this way because you, the guardian spirit, would hear them this way, through a sort of veil, or like from another room, from you are: on the other side of the screen. It might actually be a crazy creative choice.
Now, maybe not since the japanese voice acting doesn't seem to have that same low quality, and neither does the sequel, but it's fun to think about.
It's an interesting idea, but the voice effect disappears when you switch to surround sound instead of stereo, indicating it was a phasing issue between the left and right speakers.
Glad it’s this game is getting a remaster I’m just disappointed there won’t be an English dub. Especially because Origins has a good VA and Eternal Wings is kinda so bad it’s good for me at least. Probably still gonna pick it up would have been cool if they re-voiced the game but this is also the company that keeps failing to properly remaster Tales Of Symphonia.
Hope you and your alligator friend are enjoying some all you can eat ribs (since you're too cool to get some with the boys)
-Love Victor
This is perfect timing with the remaster coming! Monolithsoft is one of my favorite developers but Baten Kaitos is one of the few games of theirs I haven’t played yet.
Thank you daddy Tarks for another great viddy!
Quinton flynn got some serious work in the 2000s
I always interpreted the slight distortion on the voices as being a thematic thing since we, the player, are viewing the events from the perspective of a spirit. Just a slight something to create seperation between the world of the characters and our own world as the viewer. It honestly never bothered me even the slightest bit when I played the game back in my late teens.
I'm a bit bummed the english VA is being dropped since quite a lot of Melodia's lines the emotion in the delivery on them seems way better than the Japanese one. (Spoiler below)
For example, her reaction when Kalas rips-off the second wing he got so he could return to normal, and she's completely thrown-off that a mortal could remove the power of a god from themselves by their own will.
I also love Mizuti's absoutely flip-out in the english dub when she busts her mask. The japanese VA is so much more subdued than the english VA's yelling "NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!!!!!" followed by Mizuti bitch-slapping Malpercio.
I can live with playing the game with the Jap VA, but it won't quite be the same. But I guess it would be an excuse to get my Wii out of its box and replay the GC version at some point.
I wish the sound was intentional.
Apparently, If you put the game in surround the issue goes away, Indicating the issue is caused by a slight phasing issue/delay between left and right speakers. In surround the sound only comes out of 1 channel (centre) so no phase issue exists. I didn't realize this cause I was just using a soundbar, that, while it emulates surround, I find the effect unconvincing so I left the game in stereo.
I bought this game on day -1 when it released. And loved it
About the tin-can sound of the voice acting: I think the japanese version sounded similiar, what if it was on purpose like a form of art. Because we (player/spirit) don't hear it directly, we hear the sounds through Kalas ears. That could explain tzhe tin-can like sound.
The Japanese version didn't have this issue (I don't even think it had voice acting at all tbh, but I know this was strictly in the localization)
The mystery of the tin can has been solved anyway.
If you put the game in surround instead of stereo the voices come out of one channel and they come out clean. Most people don't have a proper surround sound set up so they never select this option. In stereo the dialogues comes out of 2 speakers. Left and right. However there is a slight delay (likely just a couple samples) in one speaker vs the other on the dialogue channel, which causes a phasing issue.
It's neat to think of it in a more artistic and intentional manner, but sadly the evidence points entirely to a technical mishap.
Ngl, playing it as a kid I assumed the tinny sounding voices was an intentional choice because that's just how you hear it as a guardian spirit and that's not how they actually sounded.
Nah, it's an audio glitch. It disappears if you put the game on surround instead of stereo. But then, most people don't use proper surround sound systems.
If you liked the Kalas twist, you should play OFF, Omori, and Deltarune.
I don't know what OFF stands for off the top of my head, but I have played omori. Very good game.
I don't think it hit me as hard as it hit others but I liked it quite a bit.
@@TarksGauntlet It doesn't stand for anything, it's just the word "off" but stylized in all caps. Very interesting game in which you the player are put in charge of a man with a "holy mission" called "the batter". It's free and pretty short, about 5 hours.
Also glad you liked Omori as well.
I think it is time Tarks Gauntlet to talk about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 DLC, Xenoblade 2: Torna the Golden Country, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 & Xenoblade Chronicles 3 DLC
Just leaving this here to say thanks, I wish the English dub was kept, and I bought it physically and digitally in the switch... Hoping that this entry comes out.. AFTER THE XENOSAGA TRILOGY.
Please God, please.
Never mind I braved twitter and did some reading don't let it get to u too much
Even if the card system is "brilliant," which I'm not convinced of, it was primarily responsible for why I wasn't a fan of this game growing up.
Now, in my 30s, sure, I'm smart enough and patient enough to figure it out. But as a teenager, it frustrated me with how "Oh, sorry, you didn't draw the right cards, so now you lose." I hated that randomness, and to this day, I have yet to finish the game, and I doubt I ever will. In fact, I'm watching this video primarily because I am confident I won't return and play this game again.
Contrast that with Tales of Symphonia, which I played through 4 times as a kid, twice as an adult, and I'm itching for another playthrough.
one of my all time favorites, so happy it's getting rereleased, just hope they don't mess it up like symphonia
Love this series!!
11:13 o come on. That is the exact problem with phonetics: That is why ghoti is pronounced as 'fish'.
So, belly of the beast? That's dope
Thank God for Xenoblade.
Still have my original disc of this.
Hell yeah
The voice acting sounding like they are talking into a can or box occurs when the game is on stereo sound. Switching it to surround sound in the settings fixes the bug somehow? It is definitely a weirdass oversight. Great vid by the way. Still salty about the English VA being taken out of the remaster though.
Ah, if that fixes it that means there's very likely a small delay between left and right speakers caused in game or slightly different effects at work in either side.
Playing it in surround sound would put the dialogue out just 1 speaker. The center channel (in most instances.)
My sound bar can simulate surround sound but I don't usually find it very convincing so I just left the game in stereo.
Aww wish u talked about more of the things u left out like syna story and what not
Savynnas backstory is definitely one of the heaviest.
I'm probably not going to watch this because I plan on playing the game. That being said learning from the comments that the english dub is missing from the remaster is a bummer
Edit: Started listening to it in the background and accidentally spaced out. Accidentally got to the spoiler section... oops. Oh well, that's my own fault, without the full context spoilers don't really effect my enjoyment of things much anyway.
I finished the game at 14 😂
As far as I know, the weird "tubey" voices where they sound like being in a glass box is coming from an emulation issue, it's not present on the real hardware. But hey not being a native english speaker, even if I played it first with these english dub I won't miss them haha
All of my footage is on real hardware.
Some people have said it disappears if you switch it to surround sound (even if you don't have a surround sound system) so it's possible their left/right channels are slightly out of phase somehow.
Very unusual issue whatever the case.
In Arabic it's بطن القيطس.
Wait what!? You've never played Baten Kaitos Origins? But you're praising the first one? Please go play Origins as well, it's an amazing prequel!
Growing up I never even got word of its release, but the first stands on its own and is worthy of praise regardless.
Since I did learn about Origins I've been on the look out for it while game hunting but literally never came across a copy and it's been about 15 years. It really didn't sell too well I guess. Hopeing to finally get to it with the remaster release.
@@TarksGauntlet I see, I bought my copy way back then during the original release on Gamecube and I still have both games on gamecube. Be sure to give Origins a try on the remaster.
The only bummer is that there won't be an english dub for either of them, or so I heard... Origins had a much better english dub than the first game too...
Baten Kaitos Adam Sesssler right about this game
If you're talking about the Xplay review that was going around on twitter that was about this games prequel, and he's free to have whatever opinion he wants about the game. Nobody was upset about whether he did or didn't like a game.
Who?
Where are you from that you pronounce -ar like a pirate?
Fitting, as I grew up in a small coastal fishing village.
From a very cringey place
Sorry, but a few seconds in and I already have problems with this.
"The sun was setting on the fourth year of the new millenium. December 2003"
how is this the fourth year? maybe you meant rising since it was almost 2004... but even then, the new millenium started in 2001, so it still wouldn't be correct.
Yeah okay, gonna continue watching now ^.^
The new millennium started, technically, on Jan 1, 2001, since the Gregorian calender doesn't count year 0 (even though everything else has to) but most people, at least in NA, observed the change on Jan 1, 2000. Being alive and quite alert at the time, I recall it being a big event. Given this isn't a science channel, I didn't really see any issue scripting as a layman.
@@TarksGauntlet but even then in 2003 the sun wasn't setting on the fourth year.
My nitpicking aside, though, I enjoyed your video.... in part because of you wearing a Inu Yasha shirt ^.^
0-1
1-2
2-3
3-December.
3 years completed. 4th coming to a close.
"Sun was setting on the fourth year."
@@TarksGauntlet damn, you got me
Believe it or not, I did actually slave over that line in scripting haha. I wrote it that way right away then questioned it a week later and put the vote up to my discord server if I should consider year 0 for the line. It was a bit of debate in there but we ultimately settled on this, so believe me when I say you're not alone in this. I'm actually right there with you.
I hope you enjoyed the rest of the video!
Dude wut happened to ur talk about jrpgs being a bad word 🤔
I intended to leave it up for 1-2 weeks, but the crap on twitter today man... Just felt like there was too big a spotlight around me. I wanted to shrink it some so I just took the vid down earlier than I said I would. Can't deal with the conversations going on all over the place.
@Tarks Gauntlet yeah I went on Twitter and saw all that I totally get u it's nutz how people react on there so just push all that nastiness to the back of ur mind and enjoy ur weekend 🫡
hi dude . i adore baten kaitos and baten kaitos origins !!! same thing for xenogears , and the 3 xenosaga . however , i detest xenoblade serie...sorry dude .ps : i'm french , sorry for my poor english...
Hi weeb
This is my favorite game of all time (although I just played it in 2019, talk about being late to the party). Very nice video, even if the surprise remaster announcement caught you off guard while you were working on it. I’m personally devastated that the English dub is missing. The original game’s voice acting is so hilariously bad that it wraps around to being amazing, and BKO legit has a terrific dub.
Hope you enjoy BKO this fall! I can’t wait for more people to experience this masterpiece. Don’t expect to ever see BK3, but the remaster was such a total shock so I guess never say never.
Did I mention how much I absolutely positively without a shadow of a doubt HATE X-Play!?