After I ask folks for his or her ideas on the unique Octopath Traveler, opinions are different, however appear to circulate in a broadly optimistic path. Beautiful visuals, breathtaking music, partaking battles, and an overarching attraction — that’s what of us inform me. And I concur. But at the same time as this reward is heaped, it’s usually adopted with a quite damning caveat: that Octopath Traveler overstays its welcome, and gamers seldom appear to keep it up the entire means by means of.
There are a number of causes for this, however they share a standard thread. I’m advised that its attraction can’t maintain it collectively, that the magic of the HD-2D engine glints and fades. All of the extra ceaselessly, there are gripes galore towards the tedium of its repetitive storytelling construction. Eight characters. 4 chapters apiece. And that’s a wrap.
It’s too boring an strategy to carry one’s consideration for dozens of hours, and worst of all, the sense of repetition is heightened exponentially as a result of the protagonists of Octopath Traveler virtually by no means communicate with one another in any capability. There’s no progress between them, solely on their lonesome, and not one of the supporting NPCs of their respective tales remotely coated the invoice for that expensive inventive resolution.
Whereas I nonetheless adore that recreation, I’m not blind to its flaws. Thus, it pleases it me enormously to report that Octopath Traveler II improves upon its predecessor’s issues in each regard. The result’s a rattling good role-playing recreation.
To be clear, Octopath Traveler II additionally follows eight protagonists — all new, thoughts you, and in a beautiful new setting at that. And to handle the elephant within the room immediately, no, the protagonists don’t work together with one another throughout their tales. Properly, there are notably cheaper-looking little banter sequences — some are fairly good, actually — however no, Hikari isn’t going to level on the villain in another person’s arc and say “I’ll combat you.” He’ll simply kind of be there when the combat begins. It’s as awkward as ever.
So, wait. I stated this sequel improves in each regard. However then I spent a paragraph reflecting on its persevering with structural dilemma. What offers? Two phrases: Crossed Paths. These are separate missions that staff the playable characters up in pairs, giving them some shared display time that’s way more spectacular than these voiceless skits. Chances are you’ll resolve that’s not sufficient for you, however then, Sq. Enix has extra the place that got here from. After each protagonist’s particular person plot chapters are completed, and the Crossed Paths are concluded as nicely, there exists a ultimate chapter that ties all of it collectively.
This ultimate chapter is just not just like the aspect quest from the primary recreation. It goes nicely past that. It’s meaty. It’s considerate. It’s emotional. Better of all, it takes benefit of one in every of Octopath Traveler II‘s finest saved secrets and techniques — that a number of of its tales meaningfully intertwine in ways in which merely should be addressed by its narrative earlier than the credit roll. To say extra would wreck an excellent factor, however I bought what I wished from this strategy after which some. They saved the perfect for final.
I might, hypothetically, use the phrase ‘past’ as a catch-all for each different facet of Octopath Traveler II and finish this overview proper right here. That’d be foolish, after all; I haven’t even talked about the battle system! However I might.
For gamers who’ve skilled the unique, each facet will really feel concurrently acquainted and refined. Take the story pacing. Every character path’s supporting forged is vivid, full of life, and helps to hold the momentum all through their a number of chapters. Talking of chapters, not every little thing follows the outdated ‘eight occasions 4’ components. There are surprises. Intelligent ones. Most significantly, that magical feeling that hits so many Octopath Traveler first-timers for a bit earlier than regularly fading away? Not as soon as does that magic fizzle and evaporate right here.
The scripts do fluctuate in high quality between the octuplet of vacationers, however even the weaker tales have their moments, and the writers managed to please me in inventive new methods even within the ultimate moments of every journey.
What’s extra, Octopath Traveler II takes the primary recreation’s ‘Path Actions’ — each character has a particular one thing they will do with NPCs, like stealing, dueling, and so forth — and weaves these Path Actions into the story in profound methods.
The enjoyment of waltzing into a brand new city (and boy, are there some jaw-droppingly lovely cities on this recreation) and studying codex-like blurbs about dozens of individuals, adopted after all by robbing all of them blind, is just not solely intact in Staff Asano’s newest providing; it’s doubled by the addition of a night-and-day system that provides everybody two Path Actions. You possibly can change the time at your leisure, so Sq.’s primarily given us double the city exploration.
Simply be ready for some startling issues as you’ve got your apothecary character Castti ‘Inquire’ about these folks’s lives. Whereas Octopath Traveler had just a few NPC profiles, Octopath Traveler II has greater than I can depend. Some are poignant. Others are hilarious. And a few, by golly, nicely and actually terrified me.
There’s an abundance of content material in Octopath Traveler II. ‘Content material’ has turn out to be a quite stigmatic phrase in sure gaming circles, and I completely perceive why. The idea of ‘content material for content material’s sake’, of huge publishers shouting from advertising and marketing loudspeakers that their video games will final ‘x’ variety of hours, as if the standard therein gained’t fluctuate wildly if their video games are padded to oblivion and again with rote busywork.
After I say content material on this specific context, I imply it in a extra optimistic gentle. I didn’t anticipate Octopath Traveler II to function so many aspect quests. Solistia, the world this recreation wherein the sport is about, is bursting on the seams with non-compulsory dungeons stuffed with secret bosses upon which to check your occasion’s mettle. The treasure’s greater than definitely worth the journey, too.
Even the myriad of routes connecting settlements are higher now. The graphics are a lot improved, lending higher immersion. That’s good, as a result of there’s extra to maintain a watch out for. Some will sound acquainted to Octopath vets; all eight core job courses have a hidden shrine someplace on the earth the place a particular means will be realized, and there are further job courses to be discovered as nicely. However there’s extra on the market alongside the frontier, vacationers.
Fight stays flashy, intuitive, and enjoyable to fiddle with. The synergy between class setups can get fairly snazzy when you’ve discovered a job’s guild and brought on particular missions to amass additional licenses. These licenses assist you to have a better variety of characters faucet right into a given job, so if you would like 4 Students in your occasion for some elemental mayhem, you are able to do it.
The characters’ main jobs gained’t change, and their primaries all have one thing that’s uniquely theirs (typically within the type of a brand new battle mechanic known as ‘latent powers’), so everybody nonetheless shines in their very own proper. This, along with a major enlargement within the variety of buffs, debuffs, and usable gadgets in Octopath Traveler II, affords the designers ample probability not solely to enhance and broaden upon what your occasion can do, however what the enemies can do as nicely. A number of late-game clashes require a real measure of technique to survive.
It’s all backed up by a soundtrack that not solely meets the unique title’s extremely excessive bar, however surpasses it. The characters’ foremost themes will lodge themselves into your mind and refuse to allow you to go. the over-world tracks are groovy, and the boss tracks are excellent. Preserve your eyes peeled whereas in your travels, since you would possibly simply discover a solution to entry an in-game music participant.
Is there nonetheless some room for enchancment, ought to a 3rd mainline Octopath ever arrive? Sure. Dungeon design is simply barely much less linear now. Additional protagonist story integration can be welcome. Enemy art work is nice, however a extra numerous bestiary can be good.
All advised, although, Octopath Traveler II is a monumental achievement. I look ahead to seeing what different gamers consider this recreation virtually as a lot as I’ve loved the sport firsthand. I’m curious to see if my perspective — that that is a type of ‘Murderer’s Creed to Assassins Creed 2‘ moments in gaming historical past, the place the sequel blows away the prequel — finally ends up an anomaly, and the reception is just not fairly so sturdy. Regardless, I believe at the very least some of us who dropped the primary recreation halfway will eagerly see this by means of to the end line.
I went in anticipating a superb recreation. I got here out with an early Recreation of the Yr front-runner in thoughts. Fantastic work, Sq..
Disclaimer: Evaluation code for Octopath Traveler II was supplied by the writer Sq. Enix.