#tbh i forgot what peak motoi sakuraba sounded like

[randomnameless]

Damn,

I finally got to the end (and start, and middle lol) of Baten Kaitos Origins because living in Europe meant I couldn't play it when it was released and -

First of all, serioulsy to all people who see a game and its prequel released later saying it's better to play the prequel first : fig you - if writers/devs designed a game to be a "prequel" they designed the story to flow this way, you learn about X and Y in the first game, and see how they were made into X and Y in the second game!

The experience was designed like this, you can choose to use a slide by climbing on the slippery side first, but it wasn't meant to be enjoyed this way!

Secondly, regarding a certain game I've been ranting about for the last 5 years...

(heavy spoilers under the cut)

Why the fuck did this game made around 12 years ago went so hard and masterfully tackled the "mysterious entity with amnesia is bound to a rando joe who was engineered to host the mysterious entity" thing?

The parts where you live through Marno's (who is U! The mysterious entity!) FB and how you were led to believe it was all about Sagi (the host) being "special" was masterful, especially that last part where both player and characters understand that no, the corrupted/slaughtered rando who was later fused with his siblings to create the eldritch deity you must defeat in the first game... wasn't Sagi, but the random entity you're playing as!

(bonus points for playing an unwinnable battle where you're killed at the end lol, by one of your party members who is also revealed to be 1k years old through this FB!)

And then, Sagi and Marno decide to work together - Marno lends his power to Sagi - and they save the world from another eldritch being.

Like, sure sometimes the time travelling through FB - but not really because you can bring stuff from the past in the present so it's not only FBs - is sort of confusing and yet I really really digged it, complete with the realisation that those people were fucked the second they were led to side with demons/whatever the dark brethrens are.

This past, that has consequences on this story (and on the story of the first game!) isn't just a footnote in an optional book, or delivered in an infodump without having anything nor anyone react to it, no. You play through those events, time travel shenanigans or not, you play as those characters and see what happened (rather, what led to the events that you learn happened).

You see were I'm going lol -

We could have had the same situation going on with Billy and Sothis - Billy being the stand-in for Sagi and Sothis being the stand-in for Marno, trying to recover her memories, living through them (while Billy'd believe they are the one having those "mysterious dreams") until the final reveal, the gremlin is the Goddess the Agarthans hate, the ominous lady with a strange hat seems to love and miss, and the one everyone prays to.

Sothis, who would like to finish the millenia(s?) old feud and asking for Billy's help, and Billy agreeing because this feud is also endangering the current people living here and the ones they grow fond of.

But no - if the devs went through this route, would the player still care about Supreme Leader?

As much as they want?

Well... Sure, Shanath and Baehlit aren't that memorable, but imo, you can't completely ignore them, what happened 1k years ago happened 1k years ago, but those people exist, and ultimately, Verus was the one who put everything in motion because he was an asshole (and parasited by Wiseman too?), in turn, pushing Geldoblame to, uh, well, do the things he does in EWLO and led him to seek power at all costs, even releasing an eldritch entity who will ruin the world.

Add the fact that BK also has, at its core, a story about people being turned into parts/merged/slaughtered but while the first opus didn't focus that much on them - even if the hero and the female lead mentionned they felt their sorrow and pain - the second game? Reveals their names, characters, designs, place where they lived, etc etc...

Meanwhile, in Fodlan, we know who Leif is, but we don't know and aren't supposed to care about the person who became Freikugel.

Malpercio, the Eldritch Entity fought in the first game, is an amalgation of five siblings who were corrupted and merged by sort of demons, each sibling was turned in a "part" of that entity, head, leg, thorax, chest, arms etc etc.

In the second game, you learn and meet the sibling turned into the "legs" of Malpercio, her name is Pieda (uh) Le (sure) Monarna (finally something that doesn't mean or is related to legs lol.

Thunderbrand?

After FE16 and Nopes, it's just... a shiny sword!