Review of Octopath Traveler II: If it broke eight
Our Verdict
If you like the first entry, a series of smart improvements mean there’s a very good chance you’re going to love Octopath Traveler II. This is still a grand, and traditional JRPG adventure, so get ready for nearly 100 hours of turn-based battles and deep, intricate stories. However, with dynamic visuals, addictive combat, and a deep and intertwining story that features all eight of your characters, Octopath Traveler II is an utterly sublime JRPG experience and now sits as one of the best of its kind on Nintendo Switch.
The HD-2D visual style from Square Enix is one of my favorite breakthroughs in contemporary gaming. It pays homage to vintage JRPGs such as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Dragon Quest III with its combination of pixelated characters and three-dimensional surroundings, all the while enabling Square Enix to create stunning worlds that fully use the Nintendo Switch's graphics capabilities.
The 2018 Nintendo Switch game Octopath Traveler, a classic JRPG in every way, is the original pioneer of this genre. The original Octopath tells the lives of eight distinct protagonists, each of whom travels to remote parts of the globe in their story, with stories that are interwoven over a vast continent. Additionally, it has turn-based fighting with a unique "break" concept that lets you employ or bank stronger strikes.
As everyone knows, Square Enix like producing sequels, and now, years later, Octopath Traveller II has been released. Following the release of Triangle Strategy and Live A Live last year, OTII, the latest HD-2D game from the Japanese publisher, transports you back to the era of vintage JRPG adventures. However, there are eight new characters to come to know and love in this group.
First off, to be quite honest, we haven't had time to finish Octopath Traveler II. This game goes on and on. Over the course of a few weeks, we have dedicated slightly over sixty hours to the title; nonetheless, we will soon publish a comprehensive piece on the conclusion. We want to talk about how the finale of the first Octopath Traveler ties all of the narratives together, and how the finale of the sequel differs from that. But don't worry, we've played enough to form an assessment and have experienced a great deal of the game's features.
Octopath Traveler II immerses you in the expansive universe of Solistia, offering a stunning and finely detailed environment with a pleasing array of landscapes to explore. I decided to begin with Hikari, a valiant young fighter from the country of Ku who had amazing fighting abilities. I've read the tales of all of the major characters after around 60 hours, and I really suggest starting with Hikari. The range of stories is excellent, and they all seem more intriguing than in Octopath Traveler, but in my opinion, Hikari is the most captivating and enjoyable.
It doesn't really matter who you chose since you'll soon be traveling the globe with a diverse group of explorers, all of them are trying to locate something or someone to further their own narrative. Partitio the merchant, a man driven by a desire to impress everyone with his business prowess, is one of the cast members.
There is Throné, the thief, who is trying to get away from a world full with crooks and impoverished people. Temenos, a cheeky priest with an eye for detail who can unravel a riddle and clear his identity, is another notable character in the meanwhile. Additionally, if you played the first game, you may have noticed that although the professions remain the same, each one now requires a distinct set of talents, which helps to keep things exciting and new.
The tale begins with whatever character you choose, and as you journey, you meet more people to join your company. As you play as the new hero at level one and get familiar with their narrative and abilities, you have the option to hear their story and experience it up to this point, which puts an end to your current group. You may, however, choose to forego their journey and continue the adventures of your current party in an attempt to shorten the opening hours. Don't worry about missing anything; you can always return at any moment to relive these beginning tales at the neighborhood bars.
These tales provide a good balance of danger, grandiose conflicts, and lighter moments that serve to complete the ensemble. While the turn-based fighting in each tale is the same as in the others, there is enough variation in roles, abilities, and weaponry to keep you on your toes and educate you about the game's various elements. Now, when balancing eight distinct storylines, some go better than others. That's just the way it is. At times, when I have to include a few partygoers and continue their story, I catch myself being slow.
The tales of Agnea, the dancer, and Castti, the pharmacist, don't particularly appeal to me. Specifically, Castti's narrative follows a very standard plot: she loses her memory and has to gather clues all across the kingdom to learn more about herself. Sadly, I steer clear of the narratives that include her since I find the character to be a little flat. Though the tale is likewise a little boring, at least Agnea has a little more life to her as a passionate dancer with some appeal.
But the story is amazing when it works. Perhaps the best parts of the first two chapters of Osvald's narrative can be found in either the original Octopath Traveler or its sequel. Because of his excellent voice acting and clever writing, Temenos is a wonderful character whom I adore. In the meantime, Ochette's positivity and charm are contagious, and reading her tale of beasts is a delight. Even if there are eight tales to read, some can't be as excellent as the others, but the voice acting, story quality, and even the characters themselves seem like a significant advance over the original.In other words,Octopath Traveler II's narrative and graphics are what set it apart, but it also has some intense turn-based fighting, with stunning particle effects and a pixelated aesthetic that make for an amazing battle experience. Every opponent has a set of elemental and physical vulnerabilities that, if hit, will leave that adversary permanently exposed in a box underneath it. Repeatedly striking their vulnerability causes their shield to finally shatter. Stronger adversaries survive many more hits than weaker ones, who only absorb one.
When you damage an enemy's shield, you stun them, making them more susceptible than usual. You should also take use of your boost points, which increase with each round, at this time. Determining whether to bank your points and when to utilize them requires careful consideration since going into boost mode may multiply your attack strength up to four times. Nothing here is new to those who know the original title. But it should come as no surprise that the fight scenes from the first Octopath Traveler stay mostly unaltered, since they are one of the game's greatest moments.
Secondary occupations are another recurring element. At some point, every character is able to assume a secondary function, which grants them access to additional abilities, weapons, and other things. My fighter Hikari is now an inventor in addition to their primary function, which allows him access to a few interesting new fighting maneuvers. Characters acquire additional occupations and support abilities as well as increased strength via experience points, which allows them to acquire a greater range of fighting strategies. Therefore, you may give Osvald the scholar the merchant secondary job and use the merchant skill "grows on trees" in the near future to enable you to make more money even while Partitio isn't there.
Latent powers is a recent feature. Although occupations, gear, and talents may be swapped out quickly, each character possesses a hidden strength that is exclusive to them. Characters who sustain damage may use these abilities to charge them up before using them in combat. For example, Temenos's ability to reduce the enemy's shield points with any weapon employed, while Throné's power enables her to act twice in combat. It adds an intriguing new dimension to tackle and gives each individual a lovely unique flair. Additionally, latent power is carried over from fight to battle, which gives you a significant edge if you want to charge it up before a monster.
Playing around with the variety and depth of occupations, weaponry, and talents is a lot of fun. In addition, overcoming a genuinely repulsive cast of foes—which includes some amazing bosses and bigger enemies—is entertaining. Like in the original game, the pixel graphics is amazing, and it stands out most among the bigger opponents. Like the original title, the latter chapters include some spectacular boss battles with even more beautiful artwork, and they just become crazier as you continue.
The HD-2D style is more attractive this time around, which makes battles seem amazing as well. Character posing options, a constant stream of particle effects, and more dynamic camera angles make this pixelated world seem more alive than some completely 3D adventures. Since the previously described camera angles are an improvement over the sometimes rigid viewpoints of the original Octopath, Square also enhanced town exploring. This is a very beautiful game, and considering how much the HD-2D style has improved from the last iteration, I can't help but wonder where Square Enix will take this aesthetic in the future. We can't wait for the Dragon Quest 3 remake to release.
Speaking of exploring cities, you may engage with NPCs in each region differently depending on the route action that each member of your party can do. Since Throné is a thief, she may take things from others, but failing will damage your reputation in that community. Since Hikari is a warrior, he may challenge obstinate villagers to a fight; if he wins, they will be forced to give way and may even disclose another route. Agnea may entice NPCs to fight with your group by persuading them to do so in the interim. But at night, every character has a separate route action, so your group may engage with even more characters than with the original Octopath Traveler.
It's exciting to explore each new location because of the plethora of talents available, but it may be challenging to balance your party's overworld and fight capabilities. Fortunately, there appears to be a decent balance regardless of who you choose, but if you have a few favorites, it might be difficult to reduce your eight characters to a group of four. It's much simpler to fall in love with each hero since there seems to be a lot more voice acting this time around, and it's voice acting of a better caliber.
Compared to the original, Octopath Traveler's universe, narrative, and relationships are better. There are many distinct countries and locales in the realm of Solistia, each with a unique appearance and fresh foes to vanquish. The storylines themselves are full of incredibly entertaining turns and surprises, and this time around's voice acting and presentation are of an extremely high caliber. Compared to its predecessor, Octopath Traveler is more lively, intriguing, and alive.
Specifically, I find great satisfaction in the way Partitio engages with the world and the transformations his tales bring about. In addition to adding some incredibly entertaining aspects to the game, such as a customizable ship that lets you explore the wide ocean, the merchant detects business throughout the world. Although I like Octopath Traveler, I finally found it to be tedious and a hassle to finish. After playing the sequel for around sixty hours, I'm still totally hooked and learning new stuff all the time. I find the complex storyline intriguing and gratifying, and I find myself wanting to follow every potential connection between the eight distinct stories.
Furthermore, it's obvious that concerns about the inconsistent quality of the first eight narratives have been heeded. In addition to presenting eight fantastic unique narratives, Octopath Traveler II deftly includes endearing chapters in which characters collaborate to resolve other plot aspects. These are so much fun, and it's a complete delight to see these characters interact on screen with amusing banter and screen time. To add even more engagement to the package, you may choose to listen to travel jokes as you tour.
Octopath Traveler II is still a heavy and highly typical JRPG, with plenty of conversation and somewhat unintelligible mechanics for you to learn, for those who were turned off by the first one. However, the modifications made to the gameplay, narratives, and player-world interactions make this an experience that is much more fulfilling and captivating. I really hope you would give this game a try since it includes a lengthy trial that lets you import your save data into the full game. If you like the original title, this is a better in every aspect, but I don't believe there's enough here to win over critics.
If you're itching for more turn-based combat, be sure to read our recommendations for the top Switch strategy games (best Switch strategy games) and greatest RPGs (best Switch RPGs).