Visuals/Audio
The graphics in BKII are pretty good. Some of the CG locations look excellent and are nice improvement over the original, yet others come across as cheap and worse than the original. In addition because the game is a prequel that takes place on some of the same continents as the first game, there's a fair amount of locations that are identical looking to the previous game. It makes sense from a story perspective, but it would've been nice if the entire game were made of new towns and area. Battle graphics do look a little better, but the character models are still fairly weak and low on polygons compared to most rpgs.

And then there's the audio. While the music is still good, the Motoi Sakuraba score in BKII sounds more akin to his Tales of the Abyss music than the glorious soundtrack that was Baten Kaitos. Sure there are more tracks this time around, but BKII is a good case of quantity not making up for lost quality.

Overall
Baten Kaitos II is a huge rpg (even longer than the first, which was already 60+ hours) that lights up a system nearly deceased at this point in time. For the most part the developers have done a good job fixing up the problems that plagued the original. Especially when it comes to having an interesting the story and cast of characters. This combined with a different, but still good, battle system and plenty more subquests to sink one's teeth into than the original, makes a product that's vastly superior (soundtrack aside). One can only hope that Nintendo continues to fund the series, as a Baten Kaitos III would certainly be welcome on the Revolution.


Baten Kaitos II is a bit tougher than most import rpgs due to various people who will ask for specific quest cards and block your progress. It might be a good idea to wait until an English FAQ or walkthrough appears for those that feel uncomfortable playing a foreign rpg.

Pros

• Interesting story
  
• Small but nice cast that plays off each other well
  
• Good battle system
  
• Unique locations that are worth seeing
  
• Long game with plenty to do

• Music is average
  
• Graphics are a mixed bag of nice CG backgrounds and mediocre 3D
  
• Battles last too long