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For much of the past decade, Monolith Soft has been hard at work on its Xeno series of acclaimed JRPGs as well as contributing to other projects by Nintendo, which owns a major stake in the company. However, before Nintendo’s investment in the company, Monolith Soft was part of Namco, and it was while there that they made Baten Kaitos and its prequel for GameCube. While those games never accrued the same level of commercial or critical acclaim as the developer’s more recent work, their unique art direction, battle system, and classic design ideas at least made them memorable for plenty of gamers. However, it’s been 12 years since Baten Kaitos Origins was released, so some gamers might be wondering if there is any chance for a continuation of the series. Thankfully, art director Yasuyuki Honne took some time to give some insight via Twitter.
“It’s been 10 years since the release of Baten Kaitos 2 (Baten Kaitos Origins) and it’s pains me to continue getting requests for a sequel. Since enough time has gone by I think it’s okay to talk about it a bit. Right after the release of Baten Kaitos 2, I was working on a sequel at Namco (now Bandai Namco) and we were onto pre-productions, however before Baten Kaitos 3 could become a reality, talk between involved parties ended due to circumstances.
Had we released the game, it would’ve been something grand, and would take you to the bottom of the seas, the earth, and the sky. Bandai Namco still has a lot of my plan work that’s been sealed away. For those of you requesting a sequel, don’t just ask Monolith Soft and myself, but Bandai Namco as well.”
It’s safe to assume that the situation behind the Baten Kaitos series is somewhat complicated. Since developing the games, Monolith Soft changed hands from Namco to Nintendo and it was the former who actually published them. Given a number of recent collaborations, Nintendo and Bandai Namco seem to have a strong relationship, so while it would likely be possible for Monolith Soft to revisit the series, it never really caught on the same way the company’s Xeno series has. This makes a new Baten Kaitos title unlikely but, as we all know, stranger things have happened.
Source: Siliconera
