When the first Octopath Traveler was released for Nintendo Switch in 2018, it caught the eye of many RPG fans. The 2.5 HD visuals and the feel of an old-school JRPG enticed many. Upon release, however, some were turned off by the game’s grindy nature and disconnected plot.
Despite providing eight protagonists, their stories didn’t interconnect in any real manner. As a result, despite enchanting graphics and a memorable core, Octopath Traveler failed to ascend to the upper echelon of JRPGs. The sequel, however, refines the experience to a near-immaculate shine.
It’s not perfect, but Octopath Traveler 2 is the best JRPG of this console generation.
Octopath Traveler 2 Makes You Care About Its Characters
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Does the story of the eight playable protagonists connect in the end? Yes.
Kinda. Sort of.
It’s not as interwoven as I would have preferred, but the game does find a way to wrap a bow around everyone’s adventure. Furthermore, there’s a lot of back-and-forth play between characters during battle. This is enhanced by how much I care about these characters. While some of their stories are filled with typical genre tropes, I’m engaged throughout the game.
I would have enjoyed more banter outside of combat, though. Something akin to the Tales series, where talking heads discuss recent story events in the overworld, would have been perfect. This is especially so because, for whatever reason, the rest of your party disappears when you’re diving into a specific chapter for a character. Of course, it makes sense when we look at their past, but seeing seven characters disappear is a bit jarring.
Still, it’s a testament to the strength of the writing in Octopath Traveler 2 that I care so much. Is any of it going to win awards? No, but I found myself rooting for these characters. I developed a relationship with them in ways few games can foster.
The Turn-Based Combat Is Excellent
The initial appeal of the Octopath Traveler games is the visual style, but in reality, the combat is what hooks you. The turn-based system feels like a traditional JRPG combat system, but some tweaks and nuances help make it stand out.
Battling enemies feels like an expanded game of “rock paper scissors.” Your job is to discover and exploit an enemy’s weakness. Not only will this do extra damage, but also help stagger enemies. This is part of the “break system,” and it allows you to open up and survive longer in the more challenging encounters. Additionally, with each turn, your characters receive a boost point. Boost points let you strengthen your moves, whether it’s performing a more powerful attack or casting a bigger heal on a damaged party member.
These two systems go together perfectly, like peanut butter and jelly. Once you’ve learned enemy weaknesses and isolated the most intimidating foe, you can build up boost points to break them in one attack. Usually, it may take up to four or even five hits to break an enemy. Why does this matter? Because a broken enemy does attack you. Therefore, you can be tactical in combat and pick your poison, isolating certain enemies and attempt to either one-shot them or keep them down for the count.
Octopath Traveler 2 Removes The Grind, But There’s Still Difficulty Spikes
It needs to be noted, though, that battles tend to run on the longer side. Trivial enemies will put up a fight while you’re under-leveled. Over time, however, they can be effortlessly defeated. Thankfully, this can be done without endlessly grinding out levels. That being said, the difficulty will randomly spike occasionally. It doesn’t disturb the flow, but it was noticeable throughout my playthrough. Out of nowhere, I’d run into what felt like a roadblock. The simplest of enemies would require a five to ten minute battle. While this isn’t normal for random world encounters, it is for boss battles.
Now, I like a long boss battle that tests my wits. Others, however, will be turned off by seeing fifteen or twenty minutes of their time go to waste should they die in combat. Given how the game tends to lean hard on dialogue and story, this sometimes gives the feel of uneven pacing. You’ll have a lengthy combat scenario, then a lengthy sequence reminiscent of a visual novel. Thankfully, as mentioned before, each character’s story is strong enough to keep me engaged. Should others fail to have the same connection, though, your experience will suffer.
You Can’t Talk About Octopath Traveler Without Discussing Its Graphics
Despite the Nintendo Switch starting to show its age, Octopath Travel 2 is an absolutely beautiful game.
It’s a work of art that comes to life. The 2.5 HD visual sprites jump off the screen, whether you’re playing in handheld mode or docked. This is a beautiful game, even on my original day-one Switch model. I can only imagine how the colors pop on the OLED model.
As strong as the graphics are, the same can be said for the game’s soundtrack. Octopath Traveler 2 delivers a moving orchestral score that enhances the story. It hits all the right notes as it tugs on my heartstrings, drawing me in even more to a game I’ve already fallen in love with.
Wrapping Up
The original Octopath Travel was a good idea that didn’t always come through. Octopath Travel 2 addresses most of the original’s issues and delivers an incredible experience. Does the story fully connect in a way I would have liked? Not quite, but there’s a more concentrated effort made, at least.
Should Square Enix find a way better to interconnect the eight protagonists throughout the entire experience while innovating an already enjoyable gameplay experience, we could be looking at an all-timer. There’s an emphasis on using each character’s unique abilities to progress through the game. Beyond that, however, things are still a little lacking. Ultimately, I’m nitpicking here.
For now, Octopath Traveler 2 is a fantastic JRPG that is sure to delight. If you missed the original, you can skip it and get straight into the superior sequel.
The publisher provided a code for this review.
