This is what I wanted the original Octopath Traveler to be.
What They Say:
In this faraway realm, eight travelers hailing from different regions venture forth for their own reasons. Step into their shoes and explore the land as you see fit, using their unique talents to aid you along your journey.
Embark on an adventure all your own.
Content:
Octopath Traveler 2 is the glorious marriage of the old and the new. Like its predecessor, it is the future of the 16-bit golden era of JRPGs but in the modern 3D golden resurgence. This game takes everything that was in the first Octopath Traveler and bumps it up to the max.
For some, this could be a game that will disappoint due to the fact that it does so little to differentiate itself from its predecessor. But, on the other hand, there are players like me. I find that Octopath Traveler 2 is noticeably better than the first game because it addressed nearly every issue I had with the original.
In turn, Octopath Traveler 2 proves that, sometimes, bigger is better in the grand scheme of things. Combat has a few more intriguing options this time; the characters are vastly better, the stories are more intriguing, and the freeform exploration across the stunning world of Solistia is unforgettable. But that isn’t to say it is perfect by any means.
Immediately upon booting up Octopath Traveler 2, the first element of this wondrous JRPG you’ll likely notice is the grand return of the signature HD-2D art style. Without a doubt, this is the best graphical style in all video games, and you can’t convince me otherwise.
Even though we are nearly five years off from its debut at this point, it still never gets old to me. The blend of incredibly detailed pixelated environments with rich coloration and 3D structures never loses its flair. It reminds me of a pop-up storybook in a way.
You have the faux 2D characters at the forefront of your vision and the gorgeous settings of forests, rolling hills, snowy mountains, beachside cities, and grueling deserts. Octopath Traveler 2 never failed to be like the sweetest candy for my eyes.
What you’ll spend most of your time doing in Octopath Traveler 2 is fighting monsters and other enemies in random encounters. Admittedly, I’m not sure I like that random encounters returned in this game, as I am certainly of the ilk that believes it’s time for this feature to be retired for good.
That said, there are at least some quality-of-life features you can unlock, like reducing random encounters, that help to ease this nature. And even when I was in the random battles, I had a great time with the return of the original game’s tactical turn-based systems and a few crucial improvements.
Up to four characters (of the total eight) can be in the party at one time. Each character takes its turn, as noted by the turn order at the top of the screen. During a character’s turn, they can attack, use a skill, pull out an item, summon a friend, and all that.
These are all the standard gameplay mechanics you’ll find in most JRPGs. However, this game stands out in its unique mechanics, like the stars each character gains per turn, up to five. These let the character boost, making their attacks much more powerful and occasionally allowing for more than one of the same moves in a turn.
This is where the combat in Octopath Traveler 2 started to frustrate me. The boosting mechanic is the same as the first game, and I still appreciate its risk-and-reward approach. Do you boost now to break the foe’s defenses, so they are weakened? Or do you hold out and wait for an even more powerful attack?
This system is fun and intriguing, derived from the Bravely Default combat, but it still pales in comparison. For instance, Bravely Default lets you mix and match moves when you boost (or brave in that case), whereas you are limited to a single move in Octopath Traveler 2.
Worse still, not all moves do it four times in a row, despite you boosting four times. For instance, take the Icicle ice elemental skill that the Apothecary Castti has at her disposal. Say you boost her four times and then use this move. While you might hope it goes four times in a row, that isn’t the case, as it will simply boost the single action four times.
But then, ironically, you have moves like the basic attack in the game. If you boost a basic attack four times, it is guaranteed to land four times instead of one sizeable singular hit. The worst part is that the game doesn’t always make it clear what happens when you boost a particular move, leaving it to guides and guessing to figure it all out.
The point of all of these different elements and weapon types, such as swords, spears, and axes, is to focus on the break system. Each enemy you face has at least one move type they are weak to. It could be an element, like dark or wind, or it could be a weapon type, like daggers and staves.
Most of the time, though, enemies generally have at least three weaknesses, and sometimes they are even tied to specific characters if they are in a story dungeon for them. But at first, you don’t know the weaknesses and must guess.
This adds a layer of difficulty to the game since you’ll have to experiment and find out what an enemy is weak to. In reality, though, it is a little unfair that there is only one way to alleviate this problem: to bring the Scholar Osvald with you at all times, who can reveal a weakness each time the battle starts.
Then there are the noticeably missing features that should have been here in the first place, such as faster combat speeds and auto-battling. There came the point where my gear was too powerful for the areas around my party’s levels, yet I still had to mash buttons to win impossible-to-lose fights due to the random encounters. All the while, auto-battles could have fixed this problem.
This group of eight is so incredibly better than the original cast in Octopath Traveler. I cared far more about most of the tales this time, with vastly improved writing all around. I especially appreciated that the team tried hard to give the worst characters a somewhat entertaining story.
I only cared for Primrose, Olberic, and Therion in the original game. On the other hand, I enjoyed every single story from start to finish in this sequel, except for Ochette and Partitio, which were a bit predictable. Even still, they were better than their counterparts in the previous game.
Some of them surprised me, too. While Agnea is on the lower end for me, her dancer storyline showcases how different each tale feels this time around. Her story could be seen as a full-on musical in a way, with dance numbers and opera singing throughout the chapters.
Then you have someone like Throne with her heart-breaking assassin storyline that feels like it is deserving of her own game. This is all before bringing in the character I chose first, Hikari, who has the most epic story about gathering strength and allies to return and take down his evil brother who took over his kingdom.
There were even two other characters who had some somewhat surprising storylines that I won’t spoil but offered some intriguing twists, even gameplay-wise, that you may not see coming. Without a doubt, the developers flexed their creative muscles, and it showed in improving upon my biggest gripe of the first game: the story.
I enjoyed at least 80% of the narrative in Octopath Traveler 2, as opposed to a much smaller number in the first game. This was also helped by the new Crossed Paths storylines that do a better job of bringing party members together. There are four extra tales that pair up two members of the party.
You get some delightfully weird combinations in the process, such as the happy-go-lucky Merchant Partitio and the criminal Scholar hellbent on avenging his family, Osvald, pairing up for a surprisingly goofy side adventure.
This is even before bringing up the postgame of this title, which once again brings the entire party together in a smoother way. In the end, Octopath Traveler 2 is the epitome of being about the journey, not the destination, and the journey was much more enjoyable this time around.
In Summary:
When it comes to the idea of a sequel, few games nailed this otherwise simple concept, as well as Octopath Traveler 2. For some, it may be too much of the same execution as the first game, but for me, that was exactly what I wanted.
All I wanted to see from this game was an expansion of the ideas from the first game branched out into a more enjoyable and cohesive experience. And Octopath Traveler 2 carried that idea from start to finish. It’s present in everything from the narrative to the characters to the world.
The open exploration is better than ever, allowing players like me to break the game as much as I want. The characters are so much more intriguing across the board, with stories worth checking out. And the gameplay has minor improvements that help it feel better.
Though some glaring omissions, like lack of difficulty options and no auto-battles, are annoying, this is one of the best JRPGs you’ll find in this generation.
Grade: A
Developer: Square Enix, Acquire Corp.
Publisher: Square Enix
Age Rating: 13+
Release Date: February 24, 2023
MSRP: $59.99
Platform: Switch (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
