RPGamer's translation of the recently posted propaganda for Baten Kaitos II has brought to light new details on the story and characters of this prequel to Baten Kaitos. As previously noted, Baten Kaitos II takes place twenty years prior to the events of the first game, and features the return of several characters from the first while also introducing a new cast led by hero Sagi.

Two new characters that were detailed in the magazine for the upcoming GameCube RPG were:

• Mirialde: The game's heroine, Mirialde, has a very high opinion of herself, proclaiming herself the valedictorian at the magic academy at which she's a student. Unfortunately for her, she isn't nearly as talented as she claims.
• Giro: Giro is a living doll that was unearthed by the game's hero, Sagi, when he was young. Since then, Sagi and Giro have worked as partners.

The story kicks off when Sagi is ordered to assassinate the Emperor of Alfar. One would expect that this would be a difficult mission, as Emperors are usually well guarded. Sagi's mission is even further complicated, however, when he discovers that the Emperor is already dead. Despite the fact that he was beaten to the punch, Sagi gets the full blame, and must flee underground with Giro.

During the course of the adventure, Sagi, Giro, and Mirialde will come across younger versions of a number of the characters from Baten Kaitos. Confirmed returning characters include Gibari, Geldoblame, Ladekahn, and Palolo II.

Monolith Soft has also opened an official website for the game. While the site is mostly a teaser page at the moment, it does confirm the return of composer Motoi Sakuraba for the game's music, and it shows off a few screenshots of the game.

Baten Kaitos II is slated for a release in December 2005 in Japan, while no North American release has been announced.