N-Philes

Editor's Note: Yes, we know some of you bright young, meddling readers insist that Malpercio isn't technically the last battle in the game, but Curtis insists that what comes after Malpercio is a quick, easy battle that's over the moment you pull off a spirit move: Malpercio is the end boss, what follows is merely a closing sequence.

There you have it, folks. Now, on with today's end boss...

 

Namco sprung an amazing RPG on Nintendo fans in the fall of 2004. With quirky characters, an elaborate storyline, great graphics, and a very unique turn based battle system, Baten Kaitos was a welcome surprise to the GameCube faithful who didn't have the luxuries of the Final Fantasies and the Dragon Quests. So let's talk End Boss, and Baten Kaitos had the mother of them all, Malpercio, the Ultimate God, the evil deity, and killer of Oceans.



Not only do you fight this god of destruction once, but he gets resurrected after you kick his ass with even more power. Malpercio himself is made up of 5 "End Magnus" cards, which at first you are told is what is binding him and stopping him from destroying the world, but is actually his own body parts, and once the Magnus's are together, Malpercio will return and destroy the world. The five parts are Ar, Le, Che, Bo, and He (which represent Arms, Legs, Chest, Body, and Head respectively), and once together, Malpercio is unleashed on the world, and it's up to you and a group of six-winged natives to save everyone from total destruction at the hands of the evil Empire.


The first fight against the monstrosity went by with ease, but the second time around, our malevolent friend has learned some new moves, including the devastating Dark Arrow attack which does over 2000 points of damage and causes confusion... yeah, thank you for that. Not only is that terrible, but this end-boss also has the ability to cast Seal of Entropy on himself and change his elemental strength and weakness, which can be frustrating for the player, especially when your deck consists of a lot of the same elemental type attacks.



The party can defeat the beast, and when they do, they bring peace back to the world, reuniting it with the lost ocean that Malpercio had swallowed. Yes, he swallowed the ocean, he's just that awesome. Could he make his baleful return in Baten Kaitos DS or Baten Kaitos II? Only time, and Japanese developers, will tell.