WhenI started playingthe firstBaten Kaitosin the HD remastered duology that was released this past September, I knew that it would be a blast from the past. But I didn’t know specifically what kind of blast.
Originally coming out in the early 2000s, the game has a certain energy about it that I loved with other games during that era. To be more specific, it has a bit in common with bothGrandia2,Shadow Hearts, andShadow Hearts Covenant. The commonality is its edgy anti-hero protagonist.
Kalas is the character you follow in Baten Kaitos. Calling him the main protagonist is a bit slippery because, technically speaking, you are the main protagonist — yes,you, the player. There are many times in which Kalas will face the camera and ask you what you think he should do next. Your job, as his Guardian Spirit, is to help him move through the world and give him advice on his journey to get revenge. Your decisions during these times will influence how the scene unfolds.
Here’s The Thing: Kalas Is A Jerk
His attitude is the first bit that makes him an anti-hero. He’s not in the grand adventure for the sake of saving the people he loves or any other altruistic ideology. He’s motivated by revenge. You learn early on that his loved ones were killed by a man named Giacomo. As soon as he sees the man on screen, he becomes irritated and impulsively wants to attack him. But of course, he wouldn’t be able to harm him at first, or else his motivation for moving forward would be lost.
The first party member he meets is the leading lady, Xelha. She falls into that soft-spoken, well-meaning female character archetype that is reminiscent of Rosa from Final Fantasy 4. The two meet at a forest, where her friends traveling with her are killed by a monster.
Xelha is obviously distraught at their loss, and Kalas couldn’t care less. The man digs around their bodies, grabbing what would be useful for him, and only throws her a few items as compensation for raiding their carcasses. Xelha is understandably baffled, but this doesn’t do much to make Kalas empathetic. He’s a total jerk right from the beginning, and I love him for that.
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The Great Jerks Of The 2000s
As I mentioned before, the anti-hero jerk is a theme I remember fondly from other early 2000s JRPGs. Ryudo from Grandia 2 is a standoffish from the start of his journey. Like Kalas, the game pairs him with the soft-spoken Elena, and he’s particularly nasty to her. He constantly gets on her case for crying, including when she cried over the death of the girls she knew and grew up with in the local church. He constantly chastises her for showing emotions, and he can’t stand it when she or others try to call him “sir” or “son.”
Yuri from Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts Covenant also features the same qualities. Much like the other two, he’s paired with more soft-spoken female protagonists, though I’d argue that Karin trumps this stereotype a bit in Shadow Hearts Covenant by being more of a fiery character that has a stronger independent streak when compared to the soft-spoken Alice in Shadow Hearts. But she too finds herself in the thrall of a jerk that initially couldn’t care less about her. In one early cutscene, a transformed Yuri guards her from an explosion and picks her up … only to drop her when he realizes that she’s safe.
Always Rooting For The Anti-Hero
So what is it that makes anti-hero jerk characters so appealing? Simply put, they’re not the typical JRPG hero. In many cases, the JRPG hero is someone like Tidus fromFinal Fantasy 10— a young, spunky hero who’s determined to prove he’s strong and wears his heart on his sleeve. I admit that I have a deep love for this heroic archetype, as it’s traditional in many adventure tales I’ve read growing up. It’s the reasonwhy I love Fire Emblem: Engage.
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But I also love a good challenge, and the anti-hero proves to be quite the hard character to connect with in the beginning of the game. I have more in common with open-hearted characters than I do with the hard-to-love anti-heroes. I’m scared of hurting people’s feelings and will try to avoid conflicts. While playing these games, I find myself seeing them through the empathetic eyes of the people around them versus their point of view.
He’s a total jerk right from the beginning, and I love him for that.
In Baten Kaitos, the empathetic person in the game is you, the Guardian Spirit. As the game goes on, you become strongly opposed to what Kalas is doing — in particular, his desire to resurrect an evil god. You learn more about his past, and for me, want to keep him from falling off the deep end.
This, in a sense, reminded me of the way Elena and Karin act as empathetic people who eventually help to soften the anti-hero jerk. By the end of each of the narratives, the anti-hero has come into the role of the ideal hero and is given their empowering-final-speech moment to prove that they’ve learned their lesson. It feels rewarding to be part of that journey of growth.
As far as the modern JRPG goes, I haven’t really seen too many anti-hero jerks who have the same charisma as these guys. Sure, there’s Cloud in theFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketrilogy and Clive inFinal Fantasy 16, but I don’t consider them anti-heroes so much as the brooding hero archetype (which is another one that I admit I love). There’s just something so satisfying about watching these early 2000s JRPG main protagonists say some jaw-dropping stuff, and I would love to see a comeback of these beloved crass characters.
