We’re all gearing up for today’s Nintendo Direct live coverage, and the leaks just keep coming. The latest rumor claims GameCube cult classic Baten Kaitos is getting the remaster treatment on Switch, reinvigorating the two-part RPG series after roughly 17 years. .
This rumor has been doing the rounds for a few weeks now, and it came to a head today with the reveal of alleged promotional artwork (opens in a new tab) for a dual pack supposedly called Baten Kaitos 1 & 2 HD Remaster. Assuming it’s real, this remastered bundle would include Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, as well as the Baten Kaitos Origins prequel, which is also technically a sequel. Maybe I was too hard on Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel naming scheme.
Fans of the series find the art to look legit enough, and a reasonably trustworthy moderator on the ResetEra forum has vouched (opens in a new tab) for the authenticity of the leak. If this turns out to be an elaborate fake inexplicably designed to torture the few Baten Kaitos fans still waiting for the series to return, it sure is a well-designed fake.
It’s unclear exactly when Baten Kaitos would make this triumphant return, but this remaster would be exclusive to Switch. That said, today’s Nintendo Direct will focus on games releasing in the first half of 2023, so there’s a reasonable chance we won’t have to wait that long to play it if it’s real.
Baten Kaitos did pretty well in the mid-2000s and found a devoted fan base, although he never had much success. If you missed the series in its heyday, consider it a strange precursor to some of the card games we know today. It is a turn-based JRPG where moves are represented by cards; You choose and draw from a deck of abilities, stack and match cards, and work to outwit enemies every turn. Outside of that weird but endearing combat, you’ll find exploration and quests similar to the Xenoblade series that co-developer Monolith Soft would continue to do.
Here’s another Nintendo Direct leak we didn’t expect: a Amigo’s new Samba game.