I find that the game is feeling a bit short, despite the massive amount of time it takes to go through it... I mean, there are a LOT of battles in this game, be they with random monsters or bosses, which I might also mention that there are a LOT in this game. Bosses, that is. And while the dungeons are short, they are terribly full of annoying monsters.

I think I am getting a lot better at the game, though. The number system isn't always easy to work with; I have a feeling it'll be even easier to get combos when I get cards with more numbers on them, though. I'm just starting to get cards with 3 numbers now. That is making it easier to pick out combos, no doubt. All the same you are given less time to think about what you want to do. ...Blah. And I've even noticed some monsters defending against every attack I make (even if it's something like, I'm using a mineral water on them just for the sake of getting a combo, which I will sometimes do despite its uselessness) or the voice (which can be damn funny; I have made up a lot of different comics for this game already because it is so parody-worthy, and two of them involve the voice cards), and while that might sound odd at first, it has taken me about this long to realize that GUARDING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHEN YOU GUARD. Since everything is totaled up at the end, defense resistance included, it has nothing to do with whether you guard against the super powerful finishing move the monster is using or the normal move. So yeah, waiting for the last hit in the combo so you can guard against that instead isn't necessary.

Also I still find the elements canceling each other out to be a pain in the ass. It's sometimes hard to tell what element a card is just by looking at it, and I don't always have that much time to think about it. I'm pretty good about not using two spells, or sometimes weapons, that are opposite but the ARMOR is where I am really struggling with that, because you have even less time to think about defending.

Oh, and back to the monsters defending; I was very unhappy the other day when I got a 5 straight combo with a finisher and it did a grand total of 6 damage. (didn't help that the monster had a good resistance to dark type attacks and most of the attacks including the finisher were dark type, though. Damn monster elementals. How am I supposed to know weaknesses and resistances so I can rearrange my deck before the boss appears? Well I remember Folon is resistant to dark and I know I'm gonna meet up with that dude again. Giacomo was too early in the game for me to be paying attention.

One of the things I definitely like about Baten Kaitos is that you actually have to think a little about fighting, unlike in a lot of RPGs where you just mash buttons and you can pretty much heal your party whenever you need to... This game is a mixture of skill and luck. Using skill to get the right cards in the right combos, and luck determines what you have the opportunity to use. Plus the enemies are kind of smart (which can be annoying), and if one of your party has a status effect they will definitely focus on them when attacking. The easiest status to deal with seems to be confusion, at least so far... so the numbers are in a slightly different place, lol. Just pay attention and it's no trouble. And it's great that you can't just select whatever's available due to the elemental stuff, and the fact that healing items are only usable on your attack turn, and you have to select YOUR party if you want to use them, otherwise you will heal the enemy, and in most cases, that SUCKS. Also, the fact that healing items that changed into attack items are still usable on your own party... so if you aren't paying attention you might attack them! I think that's ingenious (but a pain in the ass when you were first getting used to the game).

Back to Lyude, for the hell of it. Lyude is still great. I haven't found any reason to hate him yet. Yes, his voice actor is not so good. But he seems like a pretty interesting guy. He hasn't whined enough for me to get annoyed by him (lol Arietta), so I don't know what you're talking about, . He's actually kind of interesting in some ways despite being underdeveloped as most of the characters seem to be. I kinda get this feeling that his parents are divorced. Not sure yet. I hope they go more into the characters' development later on. Though I don't dislike Lyude I do, however, keep feeling like I should beat him up. not sure why, I guess it's cute? Funny perhaps? Not entirely sure. If I'm bored Kalas might heal Lyude and then attack him with some bananas. Whereas Lyude might get revenge on him. Might. And I have a feeling he'll be a bit victimized in these comics I keep coming up with (who am I kidding? I already know that he will!).

Kalas is still an ass. I suppose I was a stupid Guardian Spirit for deciding to descend upon such an asshole. I think he's starting to feel for the others, though. Gibari always seems to ask him if he wants to come with them or not which is kind of funny, cause usually the RPG lead is leading everyone around, but it's totally Gibari. I have a feeling that Kalas and Gibari have a relationship that's almost like family... it's cute

I keep talking about Gibari... here, I'll talk about him some more. I didn't like him all that much starting off but he's really grown on me. I mean, it was amusing calling him a freaky fish guy for a while. But he really has the most awesome wings... no really, they're epically awesome. They're bigger than everyone else's (look at the bottom part if you don't believe me) and he's just... fun. I like his personality, too... it reminds me of Rigel; he's optimistic and level-headed, and likes to have a little fun, but he's a good guy to go to for advice. I was amused at the way he used Kalas as an example of being untrustworthy and Kalas was just like "YOU DON'T TRUST ME?!?!?!" And Gibari just laughs... he's so fun. I like Gibari and Lyude about the same, except I know why I like Gibari but I don't really know why I like Lyude. I love how he complains about being hungry (Kalas does too but Gibari sounds so much more blunt about it), and that whole deal with eating the wall... that was really sadistic of everyone else to make him eat it all alone... Hahahahaha. Poor Gibari probably ended up with a major tummyache. That is definitely my favorite part of the game so far.

Xelha... I thought she was okay at first but I've gotten less interested in her since. Meemai is adorable though. I don't use her in my party anymore (as might be expected, my party is Kalas, Lyude and Gibari), and I don't really intend to; everyone can use elementals anyway and she isn't necessarily stronger. I prefer using the guys anyway because they typically have access to stronger defensive materials, if not offensive materials too, and have overall better stats. Yeah, I actually have a reason for choosing to use the characters I do!

Savyna is pretty cool. I like her, and I kind of like how she's very aloof but I don't think the game needs another aloof character... I mean, she isn't as confrontational as Kalas but you know... She does have a different kind of aloofness at that, seeing as she doesn't really care so much what people think about her and she is definitely non-confrontational while Kalas may attempt to be but he is definitely a confrontational person. She also has the prettiest wings. I used her for a little while but then I was like "okay, whatever". XD

I liked Mizuti at first, I really did. He was mysterious, and weird! I like strange characters a lot of the time... Anyway, he was interesting at first; I thought, "hey, one of those really strange characters, let's see if they do it right." And they did, I think. But then he took me on that damn ride through space where it took me like an hour and a half to get to the point that I was doing it right and now I don't like him anymore for being such a jerk and making me do that.

Mira is awesome and disturbing at the same time. I mean you get there and the music is kind of creepy. Just creepy enough that you're like "Uuuuuhhhh." And it looks like a space station vomited all over the place. So you go in the first city and it's like freaking Candyland. And then you go to the garden thing in between and it's like, WTF 2D. And finally you go to the city after that and it's like you walked into a bad children's book and you're the main characters. Except you don't look retarded. Yeah. What are those weird looking things there anyway that keep complaining about doom and gloom? They remind me of baltoys from Pokémon. If it isn't obvious already, that's where I am.

Okay, time to wrap this mess up. Bai for now.