Square Enix presents Octopath Traveler 2, a well-finished and quality title but not too different from the first chapter. Here’s what’s new in the sequel.
Originally released on Nintendo Switch and later ported to other platforms, Octopath Traveler is a title that split the community in two in 2018 . Not only was the JRPG packaged by Square Enix and Acquire the very first to show off the delicious HD-2D style, which could already be unpleasant in the eyes of the new recruits and anyone who didn’t harbor an unbridled passion for pixel art, but the product proposed a far from perfect narrative structure, which asked the player to impersonate eight different wayfarers and complete as many stories, which moreover intersected in a rather marginal way only in a secondary mission that can be tackled after reaching the post-game.
To the announcement of Octopath Traveler II, which on February 24, 2023 will debut on PC, PlayStation 4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch, the partnership immediately specified that the storylines from the second numbered chapter of the saga would be more intertwined (we told you about it in our test of Octopath Traveler II), which is why in the weeks spent playing it we tried to verify the truthfulness of the information declared. Although the eight individual stories are encountered much more often, we must recognize that the extravagant structure of the narrative structure has retained most of the defects found in the original .
Same formula, same problems
Abandoned the kingdoms and principalities of Orsterra, which were the backdrop to the first episode (for more details, go to the Octopath Traveler review), its successor is set in the world of Solistia, which includes two vast continents separated by the sea.
Being this totally unpublished, it is therefore possible to approach Octopath Traveler II and appreciate its eight original storylines even without having played the progenitor. Following in his footsteps, at the beginning of the campaign, Square Enix’s new proposal provides for the user to choose a main protagonist, to then recruit – in no particular order – the other seven wayfarers and follow their individual narrative lines: after enlisting the companions, in fact, the player can resort to the services of the tavern to pause the story of the hero selected in the opening and take on the role of the others from time to time. Although on paper the system does not prevent you from following a story in its entirety, in practice a user intending to complete one campaign at a time, thus avoiding that these are annoyingly fragmented, soon finds himself having to deal with peaks of difficulty at sometimes exaggerated. If initially the recommended level to move from one chapter to another is all in all reasonable, as the hours go by the requirements to continue tend to become quite demanding. Also bearing in mind that, like all old school JRPGs , in Octopath Traveler II money is never enough and that the price of equipment is always high, unbridled grinding is the only viable solution to avoid constantly jumping from a character to the other.
A frankly obsolete solution that we feel we advise against, also because, compared to the original episode, Octopath Traveler II presents the so-called Crossed Paths, that is to say secondary missions (quite trivial and marginal) which have two wayfarers as protagonists each, and which compare their different ways of doing. Despite the presence of the aforementioned and the final act in which the eight individual storylines converge, the new Acquire creature is still lacking in terms of cohesion , it is no coincidence that the events proposed by the chapters of the individual wayfarers still seem too disconnected and do not fit together as they should.
If overall the structure of Octopath Traveler II continues to offer little interaction between its protagonists, we have to break a spear in favor of the various narrative lines. Net of some extremely stereotypical protagonists, clichés such as the forgetful character and not always very original incipits (for example the first chapter of the campaign of the warrior Hikari, second-born prince of the Kingdom of Khu, seems to tell a film already seen), as the hours go by the plots of Octopath Traveler II have gradually become deeper and more engaging, also because in this round the writers have touched decidedly mature themes , such as murder and slavery, which as a result keep the player glued to the screen for about sixty about hours.
A world that changes from day to night
The feeling that the combat system and the exploratory component were once again the most successful aspects of the package had already tickled us during the preliminary test of the product. Well, traveling far and wide through Solistia, we were able to confirm our initial suspicions, savoring the small – albeit not always spot-on – innovations that the Acquire developers have brought to the original formula.
Of all of them, the most important is undoubtedly the inclusion of the day/night cycle, as it determines the monsters (which are generally more resistant and aggressive after sunset!) and even the sidequests that can be tackled. Curiously not in real time, but triggered by pressing a key , the alternation between day and night in fact changes the position of the NPCs in human settlements, making certain secondary activities accessible only at specific times of the day. It goes without saying that to complete each optional content and discover all the secrets of the city visited, it is necessary to explore it from top to bottom both by day and by night, paying close attention to even the smallest differences. Even Travel Actionsof the wayfarers, who this time have two each, change according to the time of day.
If, for example, the villain Throné Anguis is able to rob passers-by in the morning, at sunset she can instead attack them to knock them unconscious and clear their way; continuing, during the day the merchant Partitio Yellowill, who is probably the best written character, has the right to buy items from the NPCs he meets, while during the night he can hire them to assist him in battle.
Considering that there are eight protagonists, for a total of sixteen Travel Actions, Octopath Traveler II delegates to the user the task of choosing from time to time which individuals to include in the titular party (through the services of the nearest tavern), in order to exploit not only their war potential, but also their talents related to interaction with NPCs.
It’s just a pity that the Travel Actions are less imaginative than expected: most of these come directly from the first Octopath Traveler and therefore do not represent a novelty, while the “unpublished” ones are often variations of those already known . For example, both Oswald and Castti can obtain information from the inhabitants, but only the latter has a 100% chance of success; the former’s action, on the contrary, may fail and worsen his reputation in the village where it is used.
Unless the player has the patience to change the composition of the party every time and add the most suitable character to perform a certain task, there is no single reason why you should rely on skills with uncertain outcome instead of using surefire ones. Therefore, if on paper the feasible combinations are very numerous, in practice the Travel Actions are very redundant , which is why the adoptable solutions are not all that different. In short, we would have liked a greater diversification of skills on the pitch.
Rounds, random encounters and latent powers
Strictly turn-based, the combat system of Octopath Traveler II is almost identical to that of the original and therefore uses the ” Dominion and Power ” mechanics already appreciated in the progenitor.
Let’s go step by step, specifying that hitting the opponent with a weapon or an element to which he is vulnerable reduces his shield points , which once dropped to zero inflict ” Domination “: a deadly state of break lasting two turns, during which the enemy, in addition to suffering considerable damage, is also stunned and cannot react to the attacks suffered. Obtainable regardless of the action performed, the ” Power Points ” are instead the precious resource that the user can spend to score up to four consecutive standard hits or in any case increase the power of an offensive skill by three levels, causing in a single turn quadruple damage. If exploited intelligently, the aforementioned mechanics offer a more than valid role-playing component and can also turn the tide of a desperate battle. Anyone already familiar with the Bravely Default saga (you are one click away from the Bravely Default II review) might find some similarity between the Dominance and Power conditions of Octopath Traveler and the mechanics of ” Brave and Default “, but it should be noted that the similarities are only apparent.
Where in the episodes of Bravely Default it is possible not to act for several turns or even sacrifice the following ones to follow a certain number of actions in rapid succession, Octopath Traveler’s Power Points are assigned automatically at the beginning of each turn and do not oblige the party members to give up the idea of ​​taking the initiative. Unrelated to the concept of ” high risk, high reward “, the combat system is therefore much less profound than that boasted by the other famous Square Enix saga, which allows you to implement equally articulated offensive tactics.
Putting aside the EX Abilities and the four new classes, which unfortunately we are not allowed to tell you about here, in terms of warfare, the only real novelty of Octopath Traveler II must be found in the Latent Powers of the travellers, which after having filled the special bar are able to perform special actions.
If, for example, Agnea’s ” All Together ” allows you to hit all enemies with techniques that would normally cause damage to a single target, on the contrary, Oswald’s ” Magic Convergence ” increases the power and concentrates the spells that theory they would hit the entire group of monsters, while Temenos’s ” Condemnation ” allows you to steal shield points from your opponents with any type of attack, regardless of their actual weaknesses.
Since the bar that limits their use recharges very quickly, the Latent Powers are not the usual special moves that in JRPGs we tend to keep waiting for the right moment, butthey were conceived as a resource to be drawn on very often ; after all, precisely their inclusion has helped the overall balance of the difficulty, which compared to what we saw in the progenitor seemed more reasonable to us, albeit above average.
A feast for the eyes
In recent times we have been able to admire the iconic HD-2D style of the series also in the remake of Live a Live and in the unforgettable The Triangle Strategy (jump on the review of The Triangle Strategy), however Octopath Traveler II seems to have an extra gear : compared to the original and the other games mentioned, the settings are even more detailed, the animations take advantage of a greater number of frames, and overall the study of lights and shadows guarantees a truly impressive show.
We conducted our tests on Nintendo Switch, which unlike the PS4 and PS5 versions runs at 30 frames per second (with almost imperceptible stumbles when particles invade the screen), appreciating its performance both in handheld and in dock mode; however, we remain of the opinion that the refined pixel art of Octopath Traveler II and similar productions is more suited to portability.
Artistically sublime, the title can also count on the soundtrack composed by Yasunori Nishiki, which after having created the splendid songs of the progenitor has given the product an even more memorable and varied accompaniment. Always careful to underline the tones assumed by the narrative, this proposes truly extraordinary battle themes, which we are convinced will remain with you for a long time. Finally, some excellent tracks spoken in English and Japanese are accompanied by a valuable localization of texts and menus in Italian , which, net of some somewhat literal translations, seemed precise and always flowing.
Octopath Traveler 2 Analyzed Version :
Nintendo Switch Octopath Traveler II is basically a “more of the same”. Although the Acquire guys have made various adjustments to the original formula, implementing interesting innovations such as the day / night cycle or the latent powers, none of them can be defined as really impactful. All the more reason, the strengths and weaknesses found in the product are practically the same that afflicted the 2018 title and can mostly be identified in a not entirely satisfactory story. Net of sometimes weak incipits and a few too many clichés, the eight storylines are not badly written, on the contrary, in our opinion some of them surpass those of the first episode in quality and drama; however, the bizarre narrative structure that split the community in two at the time sadly continues to lack cohesion. Definitely,
