Good role playing games for the Nintendo GameCube are few and far between these days, so the arrival of Baten Kaitos Origins is welcomed. Set as a prequel to the original Baten Kaitos, this game tries to explain various questions left unanswered, such as "How did the empire rise up?" Baten Kaitos Origins plays out like a role-playing, card came hybrid. You make a deck of varying strength, use cards to fight in battle, and get stronger cards to make a more powerful deck. The biggest difference from the first game is that they took away individual decks for each of the characters and just gave the entire party one deck to fight with. The end result is a battle system that plays a bit more cohesively, but becomes too simplistic.

The game is set 20 years prior to the original game and many questions fans of the series may have had are answered. Baten Kaitos Origins' storyline itself isn't something that really gives a game like the Final Fantasy series a run for its money, but again, it's the GameCube, so pickings are slim. The graphics and music are also enjoyable, if not slightly forgettable. Baten Kaitos Origins will definitely whet the appetite of any RPG fan feeling a bit left out on the anemic GameCube.