When it comes to the Nintendo Switch, it’s a system that is never afraid to bring back a game or give it “new life” by porting it to a modern system. In fact, the Switch has been called a “port magnet” by some, given how many ports have been put on the system over its six-plus years of life. The next big port is Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster. The titles reached cult-classic status on the Nintendo Gamecube, and there were talks of a third game before things fell through. But now, they can be reborn for a new generation to play.
In a chat with Nintendo Everything, Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster Producer Koji Nakajima talked about what it was like to bring these RPGs to the Switch and what led to them making the call to remaster the series:
“Up until now, my team has worked on remastered titles of previously released series, such as the Katamari Damacy series and the Klonoa series. As part of these remasters, we decided to develop one for Baten Kaitos, which was highly acclaimed and still has a strong fan base. This game was released on GameCube at the time, and to respect the connections of that time, we decided to release it on the Nintendo Switch.”
So, ironically, it was working on other ports that led to this one being made. Not what you expected, right? Another thing you might not have realized is that it was very difficult to make this remaster happen. After all, they had to find the assets that were used decades ago and then improve them for the Switch, which was not an easy task. Thankfully, they were able to find what they needed and make it work. Nakajima was very grateful to his team for all they did to make this remaster happen.
One key thing the producer wanted to make known was that while the graphics and certain other things were “upgraded,” the story and gameplay are the same:
“We did not adjust the gameplay, level design, or parameters in the game as we wanted to respect the experience of the time. Instead, we have added useful usability features such as game speed adjustment and enemy encounter cancellation.”
That being said, the English OVAs will not be in this game, nor will there be an English dub. The reasoning behind this is that they tried to make characters “more expressive” when they talked, and the English lines didn’t fit at times due to this. The remaster arrives on the 15th.
