Melding nostalgia and modernity, the first Octopath Traveler felt like having one foot in the past and one in the future. Mixing pixel art sprites reminiscent of SNES-era Final Fantasy with a richly designed 3D world felt novel and intriguing in 2018. Everyone wanted to see what the next generation of turn-based JRPGs would have in store.
Octopath Traveler 2 takes what its predecessor did and expands on it, creating a more fine-tuned experience. You don't just get better combat — this is a bigger, more ambitious game that somehow manages to weave its eight storylines together well. While it's not a perfect game, it's a reminder that you don't need realistic graphics or cutting edge technology to create an effective experience.
7 Decisions, Decisions
The thing about Octopath Traveler 2 (and, indeed, its predecessor) is that you have eight starting points to choose from — which should come as no surprise, considering the game's name. And, with eight choices, each different from the last, encompassing varying goals and personalities, it can feel impossible to decide between them. Do you want to be a dancer? A warrior? A scholar? The opportunities feel endless.
So you hover between them all, tapping your fingers as you carefully read each biography and character goals, overwhelmed with seemingly unlimited choices. How can you be expected to decide between these cute little sprites? You just want to start out on the right foot, with the character that feels best to you. Don't worry — no matter who you pick, your adventure will be worth it.
6 Owl Or Jackal?
This is specific to Ochette's storyline on Toto'haha, but from the moment you're presented with this decision, it haunts you. And not just because it has gameplay elements to consider. Choice is a key factor in video games as a medium, but when it comes to decisive action, many of us find ourselves hemming and hawing.
So no, it's not just the way the mechanics will shift to complement your choice — it's the fact that you have to choose between two animal companions. They will be your ally and your most faithful friend. It feels cruel to be forced to pick between them. Yet you must. There is no escaping it.
5 Feeling Chatty
This is a traditional, SNES-style JRPG; as such, you will feel the need to talk to everyone you come across, whether they have information or not. While they may not offer you much in terms of conversation, there's something deeply satisfying about greeting everyone within an area. You feel like a good neighbour, which intensifies the storylines of characters like Agnea, whose desire is to bring joy to others.
Besides, games like Octopath Traveler are often so well-written that it feels like a shame to ignore even the most inconsequential characters. They don't need to contribute to your quest meaningfully — if you get a laugh out of their little jokes or feel moved by their heartfelt comments, isn't that enough?
4 Fast-Forwarding
An excellent mechanic in Octopath Traveller 2 is the ability to set the speed in cutscenes to a point. So rather than forcing you to skip the entire thing if you're eager to get back into the thick of things, you can instead elect to use its speed-up feature, which appears when you push virtually any button during a cutscene.
This can really help the pacing of your quest feel more in tune with your needs at the time — not everyone has the time to read or listen to every piece of dialogue as much as they want to. But skipping scenes feels out of the question unless you're already familiar with this branch of the story. The slight speed-up feels like it's made to make your experience as pleasant as possible.
3 Running Everywhere
It is a truth universally acknowledged that players will default to the faster option when any video game offers two-movement speeds. This is no different in Octopath Traveller 2, though there is a catch to being able to run quickly — you're more likely to come across beasties and enemies. Yet, who can help themselves when the ability to run is present? You have places to go and people to fight, recruit, bribe and whatever else — this is no time for the scenic route.
Still, the minor threat that running poses make this an interesting mechanic. When it comes to JRPGs, movement, at whatever speed, always feels like a free action. This isn't a stealth game that factors in the echoes of footsteps when sneaking through grimy halls; this is a pixel-art game that emphasizes communication and turn-based combat. Yet, even with that extra caution, you know you will run everywhere anyway.
2 Boosted
Battling enemies is cool and all, but what if you could make it cinematic? Or, at least, as cinematic as pixel art can be, anyway. You can hold down the button for the boost ability to deal a little extra punishment when you're in the heat of a fight. It doesn't just make your party more effective fighters, either. It drenches the screen in red, a stylish flair that makes the mode feel a little more unique, only adding to its potentially devastating effects in battle.
Who cares about any of that when it just plain looks great? Of course, Octopath Traveler 2 is a gorgeous game, but there's something about making the screen red while you calculate your next move that makes the whole game shine. Besides, boosting can make the overly-frequent random battles pass by quicker.
1 Grind Mentality
Anyone familiar with JRPGs or, indeed, RPGs, in general, is familiar with this time-consuming activity. Whether you call it grinding or EXP-farming is neither here nor there; in the end, you're still doing the exact same thing. Namely, running around in circles, searching for random battles to boost your EXP. While this process doesn't have to be painful (for you - it's best not to think about how you're making your little sprites suffer for experience points) it can be a tad bit time-consuming.
Luckily, Octopath Traveler 2 offers some great places to grind, with more challenging enemies that offer more experience points per battle. Using its day night cycle, you can set out into the dark of the night and find some foes to fight — and these foes are a little tougher than the daytime fare. It can be tedious, but you'll be thanking yourself when you're overlevelled for an especially challenging boss battle.