Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster Removed English Dubs So Expression Discrepancies Would be Avoided
Outlet Nintendo Everything recently interviewed the producer of the upcoming Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster, Koji Nakajima, with one response remarking upon the lack of English dub.
The two titles in this package did have English dubs when they initially launched for Gamecube, but they will not be present in the games’ Switch iterations. Nakajima stated this was done since the team tried adjusting some expressions to match the modern era. The English dub was dropped to avoid discrepancies pertaining to this subject.
You can view Nakajima’s statement below via Nintendo Everything:
“In developing the remastered version, we tried to make adjustments on some of the expressions to match the current era. That’s why we made the difficult decision not to use English VOs for this remastered version, due to the discrepancies that will happen.”
The wording is a bit strange, but it can maybe be understood that the staff didn’t believe the English dub fitting for current standards. For those unaware, the English dubs for Baten Kaitos weren’t well-received, though they did have their own charm. Origins was at least a good deal better, from what I remember.
It would’ve been stellar to see them return or get new dubs rather than ditch the implementation altogether, but what can you do?
The package includes Baten Kaitos Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, which has players control a guardian spirit bonded with a youth named Kalas. He’s seeking vengeance for the murder of his grandfather and father. Kalas wears a mechanical wing called the Winglet and was born with the Wings of the Heart.
Baten Kaitos Origins is the second included game. It’s a 20-year prequel focusing on the young spiriter Sagi who, alongside his partner, is framed for the murder of the emperor. The story also connects to the events of Lost Ocean.
This collective remaster will enable Instant KO, No Encounters, and battle speed up to 300% speed as options for increased accessibility.
Baten Kaitos Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean was a JRPG on the Gamecube developed by Monolith Soft and tri-Crescendo and released in Japan on December 5, 2003, with global releases occurring over the following two years.
It was specifically made to combat the console’s minuscule JRPG lineup and, despite its positive critical reception and dedicated following, did not perform well sales-wise. Even with the lackluster sales, though, a prequel game, Baten Kaitos Origins, was released, which performed about on par with the series’ prior outing.
The official Q&A confirmed that the title will only have Japanese voice acting, run at 30 FPS, and have options to auto-battle, skip encounters, auto-save, and skip cutscenes.
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