This game is the pinnacle of production values for a 2D JRPG. Incredible visuals and voice acting. One of the best JRPG soundtracks of all time. Gameplay is overall fine, with a decent story and a big improvement from Octopath 1. Gameplay became tedious eventually.
Octopath 2 is an incredible game, and the culmination of a number of lessons Square Enix learned from its predecessor.
This games' stories feel on average more engaging, and the gameplay's also seen great improvement with the addition of latent powers, day/night cycles and so much more. Every moment I spent in this world was absolutely magical, from the breathtaking visuals and OST, stellar voice acting, amazing exploration and engaging combat. Not all stories and characters here are made equal, which is unfortunate, but inevitable in a game with eight different stories to tell. Though Castti's one of the more fun and unique characters to play, her story left quite a lot to be desired for me. And Partitio's shining personality and engaging tale was bogged down by his relatively simple combat uses.
I still loved almost all of the characters in terms of both gameplay and story. From Ochette's relatively simple adventure mixed with the crazy beast summons to Castti's relatively forgettable story but amazingly unique latent power or Throné's marriage of debuffs and damage with an engaging tale, Osvald's crazy magic damage and gripping revenge plot, Partitio's BP dealing and ridiculous charisma, Agnea's heartwarming coming of age mixed with great buffs, Temenos' great mystery and white magic, or Hikari's charming shonen tale and massive damage numbers. I loved almost all these characters had to offer.
In any case, the group dynamic between these eight was much better explored in this entry, though I wish it could have somehow gone just that little bit further. Just that little extra push to make this game a true masterpiece. In any case, irrespective of some minor shortcomings, the world of Octopath 2 is definitely not one I'll be forgetting any time soon.
This games' stories feel on average more engaging, and the gameplay's also seen great improvement with the addition of latent powers, day/night cycles and so much more. Every moment I spent in this world was absolutely magical, from the breathtaking visuals and OST, stellar voice acting, amazing exploration and engaging combat. Not all stories and characters here are made equal, which is unfortunate, but inevitable in a game with eight different stories to tell. Though Castti's one of the more fun and unique characters to play, her story left quite a lot to be desired for me. And Partitio's shining personality and engaging tale was bogged down by his relatively simple combat uses.
I still loved almost all of the characters in terms of both gameplay and story. From Ochette's relatively simple adventure mixed with the crazy beast summons to Castti's relatively forgettable story but amazingly unique latent power or Throné's marriage of debuffs and damage with an engaging tale, Osvald's crazy magic damage and gripping revenge plot, Partitio's BP dealing and ridiculous charisma, Agnea's heartwarming coming of age mixed with great buffs, Temenos' great mystery and white magic, or Hikari's charming shonen tale and massive damage numbers. I loved almost all these characters had to offer.
In any case, the group dynamic between these eight was much better explored in this entry, though I wish it could have somehow gone just that little bit further. Just that little extra push to make this game a true masterpiece. In any case, irrespective of some minor shortcomings, the world of Octopath 2 is definitely not one I'll be forgetting any time soon.
This game actually goes pretty crazy. It's got the cozy JRPG vibes down, the mechanics have a lot of depth and customizability to snap the game in half(in a good way), and the characters and stories are great. The cast manages to feel like a cohesive party as part of a greater story in spite of its structure.
I guess the main draw of these games are the eight separate stories that you play through, that all take place within one world and all basically at the same time. It is a bit weird to play through the game and the characters not really acknowledning each other whatsoever despite appearing in the party during each other's stories (the old FF6 problem of maybe being a bit too ambitious and open to the player), but after accepting that's just how it is, I definitely appreciated these bite-sized RPG stories each character took part in. I wouldn't say any of them are fantastic and all of them suffer from being a bit wordy, cutscenes tending to be slower than they probably should be, and having at least one very stupid plot point (except for maybe Throné, now that I think about it). But they're mostly a good time since each of the eight main characters are really compelling in their own right, and their stories are all really good at setting things up that I as a player look forward to see the conclusion of, or mysteries that I want to see solved. The end-game where all eight characters do intersect sadly feels a bit rushed, though, and feels like it pulls out a bunch of twists more for the sake of having twists than them being properly set up at all, but at least the game ends on a high note. The english voice cast is also really good, so even the lesser material they work with is delivered with a lot of conviction, and the HD2D ensures that even the most static of conversations manage to look very, very good.
So while enjoyable, the game but stumbles a bit in the story department. However, not only does Octopath Traveler II have the best soundtrack of last year, it is also an extraordinarily well designed game to actually play (which is why some might say it was the sixth best game of 2023.) It is sort of difficult to explain why a turn-based battle system is good without showing it off, but something I really appreciate about OTII is how flexible it is. Like, every single character and subclass feels viable, and each of the eight have a couple of really good unique skills that make them useful in most situations. Of course, that's partly because the game is certainly not the hardest JRPG out there, but I do also want to commend the developers for how they've seemingly taken almost every party constellation into account and making sure that the ones you enjoy playing with are also going to work in basically every scenario, and that those left on the bench will feel useful and actually pretty fun those few times the game wants you to use those as well.
The battles themselves are also really quick and snappy (doesn't hurt that you can turn on double speed in combat, which every game like this really should have), the animations are great and attack pack some punch. It's also just plain fun to use up all battle points (you get one per turn and can use up to four to charge up abilities) and destroy enemies with attacks that, while previously looking pretty cool, now has the cinematography of an attack that would kill a god at the end of a game like this. Enemies look good, boss look great, and it's somehow here we get the only party interactions for most of the game, with party members actually cheering each other on (by name! Partitio's "You're a star, Agnea" gave me quite the shock when I first heard it)
The exploration is really good as well. OTII is basically an open world JRPG so you can go anywhere at any time (though different areas have different level recommendations, so maybe don't go into a lv 40 area after beating a character's first chapter), and the developers were really smart to make it large enough that it does feel like an adventure to traverse the entire world and see all the different biomes with their own, very distinct looks and atmospheres, but it's also small enough that travelling never feels like a slog, and basically every screen has something new to discover, whether that be an optional dungeon or a side quest. Just like the combat, movement on the overworld just feels so snappy and fast in a way a lot of other JRPGs just aren't. Encounter rates can feel a bit high at times, admittedly, but no dungeon or non-town screen is large enough that it ever becomes a big issue. So nice to have a lot of different towns, by the way. From large industrial cities, to small forest villages, there's a lot of variety here, but they all feel lived in, and are full of weirdly interesting NPCs (seriously, use any type of interrogation skill on townspeople and you'll get to read some of the most interesting character bios that have ever been put into a game, and there is one written for almost every single NPC in the game!)
So while enjoyable, the game but stumbles a bit in the story department. However, not only does Octopath Traveler II have the best soundtrack of last year, it is also an extraordinarily well designed game to actually play (which is why some might say it was the sixth best game of 2023.) It is sort of difficult to explain why a turn-based battle system is good without showing it off, but something I really appreciate about OTII is how flexible it is. Like, every single character and subclass feels viable, and each of the eight have a couple of really good unique skills that make them useful in most situations. Of course, that's partly because the game is certainly not the hardest JRPG out there, but I do also want to commend the developers for how they've seemingly taken almost every party constellation into account and making sure that the ones you enjoy playing with are also going to work in basically every scenario, and that those left on the bench will feel useful and actually pretty fun those few times the game wants you to use those as well.
The battles themselves are also really quick and snappy (doesn't hurt that you can turn on double speed in combat, which every game like this really should have), the animations are great and attack pack some punch. It's also just plain fun to use up all battle points (you get one per turn and can use up to four to charge up abilities) and destroy enemies with attacks that, while previously looking pretty cool, now has the cinematography of an attack that would kill a god at the end of a game like this. Enemies look good, boss look great, and it's somehow here we get the only party interactions for most of the game, with party members actually cheering each other on (by name! Partitio's "You're a star, Agnea" gave me quite the shock when I first heard it)
The exploration is really good as well. OTII is basically an open world JRPG so you can go anywhere at any time (though different areas have different level recommendations, so maybe don't go into a lv 40 area after beating a character's first chapter), and the developers were really smart to make it large enough that it does feel like an adventure to traverse the entire world and see all the different biomes with their own, very distinct looks and atmospheres, but it's also small enough that travelling never feels like a slog, and basically every screen has something new to discover, whether that be an optional dungeon or a side quest. Just like the combat, movement on the overworld just feels so snappy and fast in a way a lot of other JRPGs just aren't. Encounter rates can feel a bit high at times, admittedly, but no dungeon or non-town screen is large enough that it ever becomes a big issue. So nice to have a lot of different towns, by the way. From large industrial cities, to small forest villages, there's a lot of variety here, but they all feel lived in, and are full of weirdly interesting NPCs (seriously, use any type of interrogation skill on townspeople and you'll get to read some of the most interesting character bios that have ever been put into a game, and there is one written for almost every single NPC in the game!)
Improves on nearly every issue the first game presented, which is incredibly refreshing to see! It still doesn't quite hit the mark in terms of overall story quality and consistency, though it is leagues better than OT1 in that regard. Since Square Enix obviously took feedback into heavy consideration when developing this game, I'm super hopeful that a third installment will be an absolute home run. The love that goes into games like this needs to be experienced by more people.
This review contains spoilers
When the first Octopath game came out in 2018, I was excited as a big 16-bit JRPG fan. Terrible title aside, fans were hoping this new Square Enix franchise could be a return to form of sorts. Said fans were disappointed en masse to discover that all 8 character's stories were completely independent of each other and they barely interact at all.
This honestly didn't bother me much as I had no preconceived notions about what Octopath was supposed to be. So when Octopath Traveler II released in 2023 as a direct upgrade in almost every way I was absolutely thrilled.
The eight characters all still have their own stories, but with some real overlap now in the form of "Crossed Path" duo chapters. Little dialogue moments are also present mid-battle where the characters address each other directly, complimenting each other after defeating a monster or thanking the party member that healed them. It's a little detail that goes a long way compared to the first game where these characters refused to acknowledge each other and carry on as if they're all alone. This isn't a perfect solution, as the player can still tackle any of the traveler's stories in any order, and fans that hoped for a dynamic story changing significantly depending on which characters are present will have to look elsewhere.
The cast is lively this time around, I started with Agnea (apparently people think her story is the least interesting, but a unique standout final battle in her last chapter made the payoff worth it, I don't regret my decision in the slightest.) Partitio the merchant is a standout, his goal being to somehow eliminate poverty itself from the world after witnessing his once-prosperous town fall on hard times. Osvald the scholar begins his story in prison on an isolated frigid island, imprisoned for years for the murder of his wife and daughter that he didn't commit. A heavy and serious tale especially compared to travelers like Agnea who just wants to become a great dancer like her late mother, or Ochette who basically is setting out to become a Pokémon trainer (complete with choosing a starter companion, in this case either a fox or an owl).
Initially I rolled my eyes at Castti's story beginning with the dreaded amnesia trope, but found myself pleasantly surprised as she ends up with one of the best and most emotional stories of the bunch. Hikari's chapter 1 on the other hand had me instantly hooked, while Temenos the cynical and witty priest spends his story playing Sherlock Holmes the whole time, its entertaining stuff. That just leaves Throné, who in my opinion has the only uninteresting tale, there's some standout scenes and the premise has promise, but her twist ending is so terrible and unexplained that it ruins hers for me.
Eight stories each with at least 4 chapters is far too much for me to go over in an already lengthy review, but the presence of a bonus epilogue chapter pushes Octopath II from good to great. With their individual journeys finished, all eight travelers come together for one final mission as a group. Seeing everyone actually travel together finally delivers on the ideas so many people were hoping to see come to fruition in the first game. It does feel a little rushed, and the epilogue tries way too hard to make all eight stories seem relevant to the final chapter, when many of them were better off left as concluded (the game telling me all eight previously unrelated stories had villains involved in a grander overarching conspiracy really tested my suspension of disbelief.)
I'm often harsh in my critique of JRPGs, but Octopath Traveler II gets so much right. The job system mechanically is great, new features like latent powers and a day/night cycle are refreshing, and the game visually is beautiful, 16-bit bliss reminiscent of a bygone era. Lastly, the soundtrack is some of the very best I've heard from a video game, ever. Not something I say lightly.
4.0/5.0
This honestly didn't bother me much as I had no preconceived notions about what Octopath was supposed to be. So when Octopath Traveler II released in 2023 as a direct upgrade in almost every way I was absolutely thrilled.
The eight characters all still have their own stories, but with some real overlap now in the form of "Crossed Path" duo chapters. Little dialogue moments are also present mid-battle where the characters address each other directly, complimenting each other after defeating a monster or thanking the party member that healed them. It's a little detail that goes a long way compared to the first game where these characters refused to acknowledge each other and carry on as if they're all alone. This isn't a perfect solution, as the player can still tackle any of the traveler's stories in any order, and fans that hoped for a dynamic story changing significantly depending on which characters are present will have to look elsewhere.
The cast is lively this time around, I started with Agnea (apparently people think her story is the least interesting, but a unique standout final battle in her last chapter made the payoff worth it, I don't regret my decision in the slightest.) Partitio the merchant is a standout, his goal being to somehow eliminate poverty itself from the world after witnessing his once-prosperous town fall on hard times. Osvald the scholar begins his story in prison on an isolated frigid island, imprisoned for years for the murder of his wife and daughter that he didn't commit. A heavy and serious tale especially compared to travelers like Agnea who just wants to become a great dancer like her late mother, or Ochette who basically is setting out to become a Pokémon trainer (complete with choosing a starter companion, in this case either a fox or an owl).
Initially I rolled my eyes at Castti's story beginning with the dreaded amnesia trope, but found myself pleasantly surprised as she ends up with one of the best and most emotional stories of the bunch. Hikari's chapter 1 on the other hand had me instantly hooked, while Temenos the cynical and witty priest spends his story playing Sherlock Holmes the whole time, its entertaining stuff. That just leaves Throné, who in my opinion has the only uninteresting tale, there's some standout scenes and the premise has promise, but her twist ending is so terrible and unexplained that it ruins hers for me.
Eight stories each with at least 4 chapters is far too much for me to go over in an already lengthy review, but the presence of a bonus epilogue chapter pushes Octopath II from good to great. With their individual journeys finished, all eight travelers come together for one final mission as a group. Seeing everyone actually travel together finally delivers on the ideas so many people were hoping to see come to fruition in the first game. It does feel a little rushed, and the epilogue tries way too hard to make all eight stories seem relevant to the final chapter, when many of them were better off left as concluded (the game telling me all eight previously unrelated stories had villains involved in a grander overarching conspiracy really tested my suspension of disbelief.)
I'm often harsh in my critique of JRPGs, but Octopath Traveler II gets so much right. The job system mechanically is great, new features like latent powers and a day/night cycle are refreshing, and the game visually is beautiful, 16-bit bliss reminiscent of a bygone era. Lastly, the soundtrack is some of the very best I've heard from a video game, ever. Not something I say lightly.
4.0/5.0
Octopath Traveler II is a huge upgrade from the original game, while keeping a similar premise: you play as 8 different characters who you find along the way, each with their own stories and gameplay abilities. Each of the stories are varied and different from each other, and all are written well. When I think about playing Dungeons and Dragons, part of the fun is finding out each character's backstory, and that is half of the fun of this game, as finding a new character and delving into what's making them tick is consistently engaging. I have not yet finished the game, but I can already see ties that will bring these characters and stories together eventually, which is a big difference from the first game.
The combat is a very comfortable JRPG turn-based system, with a few extra wrinkles. Every character has a resource called Boost Points that build up over rounds of combat. You can choose to use up to 3 Boost Points on a round to beef up any ability you use in that round, so there is a push-pull strategy to knowing when to use those points, or when to save up. This rewards thinking a few rounds ahead, and is absolutely crucial in harder fights. Each character also has a Job, which is essentially a subclass that comes with its own abilities. These abilities are often tied to outside-of-combat actions as well, such as recruiting a townsperson to help you once you are in combat. These extra systems in combat help it to remain fresh and engaging without getting bogged down. Thankfully, there is also a combat speed option to help fights go quicker, which is incredibly helpful when trying to grind levels (every JRPG should have this!!!).
There is not much in this game that isn't engaging, and while at heart it is a traditional JRPG, Octopath Traveler II nails every aspect, and is a jewel in a stacked year for RPGs. I'm not sure it is the most innovative game, but it is consistently excellent at everything that it tries to do. This is top-tier Comfort Food gaming, and even in a year packed with experiences that were swinging further for the fences or pulling off more ambitious goals, it was still nice to play a game that understands its groove, and never stops being fun.
The combat is a very comfortable JRPG turn-based system, with a few extra wrinkles. Every character has a resource called Boost Points that build up over rounds of combat. You can choose to use up to 3 Boost Points on a round to beef up any ability you use in that round, so there is a push-pull strategy to knowing when to use those points, or when to save up. This rewards thinking a few rounds ahead, and is absolutely crucial in harder fights. Each character also has a Job, which is essentially a subclass that comes with its own abilities. These abilities are often tied to outside-of-combat actions as well, such as recruiting a townsperson to help you once you are in combat. These extra systems in combat help it to remain fresh and engaging without getting bogged down. Thankfully, there is also a combat speed option to help fights go quicker, which is incredibly helpful when trying to grind levels (every JRPG should have this!!!).
There is not much in this game that isn't engaging, and while at heart it is a traditional JRPG, Octopath Traveler II nails every aspect, and is a jewel in a stacked year for RPGs. I'm not sure it is the most innovative game, but it is consistently excellent at everything that it tries to do. This is top-tier Comfort Food gaming, and even in a year packed with experiences that were swinging further for the fences or pulling off more ambitious goals, it was still nice to play a game that understands its groove, and never stops being fun.
I remember when the first Octopath Traveler was announced, I thought it looked interesting. Never got around to playing it, though. So, originally, I wasn't going to pick up the sequel.
Then I had a dream about playing it - more than that, LIKING it - so I took that as a sign from God that I should pick this game up.
Holy goddamn am I glad I did, as this is one of the best fuckin games (that isn't a remake or a remaster) that I've played in AGES.
The characters are immediately likable, their eight stories having me hooked from beginning to end, all culiminating in some plot twists that had my jaw FIRMLY dislocated. To say nothing of the gorgeous art style, or the incredible soundtrack accompanying it all, or even the really, REALLY fun combat!
God damn. God DAMN. One of the best RPGs I've ever played.
Then I had a dream about playing it - more than that, LIKING it - so I took that as a sign from God that I should pick this game up.
Holy goddamn am I glad I did, as this is one of the best fuckin games (that isn't a remake or a remaster) that I've played in AGES.
The characters are immediately likable, their eight stories having me hooked from beginning to end, all culiminating in some plot twists that had my jaw FIRMLY dislocated. To say nothing of the gorgeous art style, or the incredible soundtrack accompanying it all, or even the really, REALLY fun combat!
God damn. God DAMN. One of the best RPGs I've ever played.
Everything feels a bit too disconnected and I am not a fan of the break system. Still a fun game
I was a very early adopter of Project Octopath Traveler hype. That first trailer all the way back in September of 2017 sold me instantly. From the beautiful graphics to the amazing music, I knew i would be buying it day one. And I did. And I dropped it almost immediately.
Aside from the soundtrack, which of course, was still amazing, and the visuals, which were also still very, very good, nearly nothing about the game hooked me. I found the combat to be just okay, and the the characters and story to be super boring. I think what turned me off most, though, was the lack of a connecting story. In the small amount of the game that I experienced, the characters didn't interact at all. That's when I decided it just wasn't for me, and went on with my life.
Flash forward to 2022, and Octopath Traveler II was announced. I once again, was interested, but this time, I was a lot more wary about it. When it was announced, I think I said something along the lines of "Man, I really hope this is good, but I'm not counting on it." When it was announced that characters would get crossover chapters, though, is when it really caught my attention. I still didn't buy it on launch, but I did get it for my birthday. and then didn't touch it for 7 months.
Listen, in my defense, my birthday came right after the Xenoblade 3 dlc came out, and right before Tears of the Kingdom came out. I had other priorities! Still, I regret not playing it sooner, because holy. fucking. shit.
This game is incredible. It's a completely magical experience, and an absolute love letter to JRPGs in all the best ways. This game somehow swept Digital Devil Saga 1/2 off its feet to become my new favorite turn based combat system out there. The break system is levels of genius game design my mind can't even begin to comprehend. And the gameplay twist that happens in the final boss? I don't remember the last time I've squealed like that because of a gameplay twist. I lost my shit. 10/10 combat.
The stories here are much improved from the first game. I wouldn't call them all fantastic, but all of them are at least great, with multiple making me tear up (Castti, Temenos, Throné, iykyk) and multiple making my jaw hit the fucking ground with their twists (OSVALD, THRONÉ, IYKYK), and the final chapter was, I think, a very nice ending, with quite possibly the greatest and most heartwarming title drop I've ever seen.
The cast here is a lot of what really makes this game special to me. Straight up, I think this game has one of the greatest casts in gaming. Or recent history, at least. I love every single one of them (especially Partitio, my fucking GOAT, greatest character of all time) and it makes me incredibly sad that I probably won't ever see them again unless octopath 3 has more connections to 2 past one boss fight. The travel banter, battle voice lines, and crossed paths really make this cast something special. Moments like when Partitio tried giving all his money to Agnea so she could live out her dreams, or when Ochette told Osvald the sixth source was meat, or every time Ochette called Castti Ma (MY FUCKING HEART AHHHHH), and everything inbetween. It's all so special. I can only hope Octopath 3's cast is half this good.
The last thing I'm gonna gush about here is the soundtrack. This motherfucker Yasunori Nishiki COOKED. All of the character themes are amazing, with Partitio, Castti, and Osvald's being straight up brilliant pieces of music, the environment and town themes are incredibly beautiful and atmospheric, and the battle themes. Oh my god the battle themes. Normal Battle III?? CRITICAL CLASH II???? FUCKING FOR THE DAWN????????????? peak. goated. raw. Ungodly levels of perfection here. Nishiki has to be a wizard or something. Don't even get me started on the remixed character themes before boss fights and how they transition perfectly into the boss theme. I could talk about this soundtrack, and frankly, this game, for hours, but I think I've about written enough.
In a comeback story for the ages, Octopath Traveler II has managed to steal my heart and become one of the best games I've ever played. Top 15 at least, if not higher. I cannot stress enough how special this game is. All I can hope for at this point is that this game somehow gets story DLC, and/or that Octopath 3 is at least half as good.
SPOILERS BELOW BECAUSE I HAVE AN INSANE STORY TO TELL.
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ok so that final boss yeah? the greatest fucking boss fight in gaming?
I shit you not I've spent like the last two weeks of my life trying to defeat this fucker. this absolute bastard. this complete son of a bitch who can stop you from reviving and kill pretty much anyone in one turn because of ruinous light and that other attack in phase 2. I had no idea that you had to use all 8 characters in this fight. I had used the same 4 characters for pretty much the whole game, the other 4 were all like level 35 when I strolled up to the final boss. I've been grinding and doing side content for two weeks straight and still this boss fight was the most brutal thing ever. the most raw fucking tooth and nail fight I've ever done in a video game. I've experienced nothing like it and I don't think I'll experience anything like it ever again. I was constantly on the verge of losing. I struggled to get past the first phase every attempt. my winning attempt though, oh my GOD. I had just about gotten the jackass to half health so he could initiate phase 1.5 and drag out the other half of my party when he killed two of my current party members and got another one to like, 50 health or so. I thought I was boned. I was so tempted to just restart. but I'm so glad I didn't. because I MANAGED TO BRANDS BLADE HIS NOT EVEN BROKEN ASS INTO PHASE 1.5 AND BROUGHT BACK AND HEALED MY WHOLE PARTY BEFORE THE SWITCH HAPPENED. I literally couldn't believe my eyes. I felt like a fucking god gamer. also the fight took me two fucking hours. 10/10 never fucking doing that ever again but its peak. ok reviews done now bye
Aside from the soundtrack, which of course, was still amazing, and the visuals, which were also still very, very good, nearly nothing about the game hooked me. I found the combat to be just okay, and the the characters and story to be super boring. I think what turned me off most, though, was the lack of a connecting story. In the small amount of the game that I experienced, the characters didn't interact at all. That's when I decided it just wasn't for me, and went on with my life.
Flash forward to 2022, and Octopath Traveler II was announced. I once again, was interested, but this time, I was a lot more wary about it. When it was announced, I think I said something along the lines of "Man, I really hope this is good, but I'm not counting on it." When it was announced that characters would get crossover chapters, though, is when it really caught my attention. I still didn't buy it on launch, but I did get it for my birthday. and then didn't touch it for 7 months.
Listen, in my defense, my birthday came right after the Xenoblade 3 dlc came out, and right before Tears of the Kingdom came out. I had other priorities! Still, I regret not playing it sooner, because holy. fucking. shit.
This game is incredible. It's a completely magical experience, and an absolute love letter to JRPGs in all the best ways. This game somehow swept Digital Devil Saga 1/2 off its feet to become my new favorite turn based combat system out there. The break system is levels of genius game design my mind can't even begin to comprehend. And the gameplay twist that happens in the final boss? I don't remember the last time I've squealed like that because of a gameplay twist. I lost my shit. 10/10 combat.
The stories here are much improved from the first game. I wouldn't call them all fantastic, but all of them are at least great, with multiple making me tear up (Castti, Temenos, Throné, iykyk) and multiple making my jaw hit the fucking ground with their twists (OSVALD, THRONÉ, IYKYK), and the final chapter was, I think, a very nice ending, with quite possibly the greatest and most heartwarming title drop I've ever seen.
The cast here is a lot of what really makes this game special to me. Straight up, I think this game has one of the greatest casts in gaming. Or recent history, at least. I love every single one of them (especially Partitio, my fucking GOAT, greatest character of all time) and it makes me incredibly sad that I probably won't ever see them again unless octopath 3 has more connections to 2 past one boss fight. The travel banter, battle voice lines, and crossed paths really make this cast something special. Moments like when Partitio tried giving all his money to Agnea so she could live out her dreams, or when Ochette told Osvald the sixth source was meat, or every time Ochette called Castti Ma (MY FUCKING HEART AHHHHH), and everything inbetween. It's all so special. I can only hope Octopath 3's cast is half this good.
The last thing I'm gonna gush about here is the soundtrack. This motherfucker Yasunori Nishiki COOKED. All of the character themes are amazing, with Partitio, Castti, and Osvald's being straight up brilliant pieces of music, the environment and town themes are incredibly beautiful and atmospheric, and the battle themes. Oh my god the battle themes. Normal Battle III?? CRITICAL CLASH II???? FUCKING FOR THE DAWN????????????? peak. goated. raw. Ungodly levels of perfection here. Nishiki has to be a wizard or something. Don't even get me started on the remixed character themes before boss fights and how they transition perfectly into the boss theme. I could talk about this soundtrack, and frankly, this game, for hours, but I think I've about written enough.
In a comeback story for the ages, Octopath Traveler II has managed to steal my heart and become one of the best games I've ever played. Top 15 at least, if not higher. I cannot stress enough how special this game is. All I can hope for at this point is that this game somehow gets story DLC, and/or that Octopath 3 is at least half as good.
SPOILERS BELOW BECAUSE I HAVE AN INSANE STORY TO TELL.
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ok so that final boss yeah? the greatest fucking boss fight in gaming?
I shit you not I've spent like the last two weeks of my life trying to defeat this fucker. this absolute bastard. this complete son of a bitch who can stop you from reviving and kill pretty much anyone in one turn because of ruinous light and that other attack in phase 2. I had no idea that you had to use all 8 characters in this fight. I had used the same 4 characters for pretty much the whole game, the other 4 were all like level 35 when I strolled up to the final boss. I've been grinding and doing side content for two weeks straight and still this boss fight was the most brutal thing ever. the most raw fucking tooth and nail fight I've ever done in a video game. I've experienced nothing like it and I don't think I'll experience anything like it ever again. I was constantly on the verge of losing. I struggled to get past the first phase every attempt. my winning attempt though, oh my GOD. I had just about gotten the jackass to half health so he could initiate phase 1.5 and drag out the other half of my party when he killed two of my current party members and got another one to like, 50 health or so. I thought I was boned. I was so tempted to just restart. but I'm so glad I didn't. because I MANAGED TO BRANDS BLADE HIS NOT EVEN BROKEN ASS INTO PHASE 1.5 AND BROUGHT BACK AND HEALED MY WHOLE PARTY BEFORE THE SWITCH HAPPENED. I literally couldn't believe my eyes. I felt like a fucking god gamer. also the fight took me two fucking hours. 10/10 never fucking doing that ever again but its peak. ok reviews done now bye
THE TRUE RPG OF THE YEAR 2023
After being somewhat let down by the first game (didn't even finish it), I was hesitant about taking on the sequel. Turns out it's pretty good! My biggest complaint was the lack of connection between the characters, and while this entry doesn't significantly change that dynamic, it does make great strides at making the party connect with each other more often. It is still largely individual stories, but I found most of them much more compelling than the first game. I also think they tried to make the individual chapters more unique and not quite as repetitive. Overall, a fun experience!
My favorite game that I didn't actually care enough about to finish. The soundtrack is an actual 10/10 and should be winning awards left and right.
My favorite turn-based RPG combat in any game ever. Beautiful and diverse environments, and stunning art style. Character stories are a bit inconsistent in quality and attention put into them but overall great.
The gameplay and combat are pretty simple but still engaging, the visuals and music are incredible. Similar to the first game, there's hits and misses in terms of storylines, but overall they were stepped up by a lot. Had they given more interesting character depth to some of the evil guys beyond "they magically turned evil or just always have been" with random turnarounds, it could have gone even higher, so take this as being closer to 4 than 5 stars.
In general, this is a really well made successor. And god DAMN the music has hits.
In general, this is a really well made successor. And god DAMN the music has hits.
Truly a masterclass jrpg
JRPG in 2.5D beauty.
Octopath Traveller II took me by surprise when I first played its demo, as I remember disliking Octopath Traveller I's demo. This led me to purchasing the game and it was pretty good. The score and graphics are very pretty with nice game direction.
The gameplay is very much traditional JRPG turn-based combat but its own unique spin. This is in the form of enemy shield points where you have to break them down with the correct weakness of a certain weapon type or spell type. It also has a few other systems where you can power-up your attacks and have unique abilities to each character, which help make the game more strategic at times, especially with boss battles. Plus, the exploration is fun and you can interact with NPCs differently based on the characters' unique abilities. Also, the secret jobs were pretty cool to discover and to play with during battles. However for the most part, the game is quite easy with decent pacing as I never had to grind once during the character stories. The only time I had to grind was the final chapter of the game and the final chapter didn't have great guidance towards what your suppose to do which left me quite lost.
Story-wise it was pretty good for having 8 different stories in one game. Each story I found to be good and it had a mix of genre and themes, which allowed it to be a refreshing change of pace at times. Although, it did feel weird that party never really interacted with each other properly in each others main stories, outside the side stories. The only bad writing was the final chapter which felt like it was trying too hard to involve all 8 characters in a rushed way.
All in all, Octopath Traveller II is a very good and well-made JRPG due to the lack of grinding, good story, score and graphics but suffered from a lacklustre final chapter.
Top Games of 2023: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Aj_Waran/list/top-games-of-2023/
Octopath Traveller II took me by surprise when I first played its demo, as I remember disliking Octopath Traveller I's demo. This led me to purchasing the game and it was pretty good. The score and graphics are very pretty with nice game direction.
The gameplay is very much traditional JRPG turn-based combat but its own unique spin. This is in the form of enemy shield points where you have to break them down with the correct weakness of a certain weapon type or spell type. It also has a few other systems where you can power-up your attacks and have unique abilities to each character, which help make the game more strategic at times, especially with boss battles. Plus, the exploration is fun and you can interact with NPCs differently based on the characters' unique abilities. Also, the secret jobs were pretty cool to discover and to play with during battles. However for the most part, the game is quite easy with decent pacing as I never had to grind once during the character stories. The only time I had to grind was the final chapter of the game and the final chapter didn't have great guidance towards what your suppose to do which left me quite lost.
Story-wise it was pretty good for having 8 different stories in one game. Each story I found to be good and it had a mix of genre and themes, which allowed it to be a refreshing change of pace at times. Although, it did feel weird that party never really interacted with each other properly in each others main stories, outside the side stories. The only bad writing was the final chapter which felt like it was trying too hard to involve all 8 characters in a rushed way.
All in all, Octopath Traveller II is a very good and well-made JRPG due to the lack of grinding, good story, score and graphics but suffered from a lacklustre final chapter.
Top Games of 2023: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Aj_Waran/list/top-games-of-2023/
fockin masterpiece.
This game could've been so good if it hadn't fucked up. It's the antithesis of a linear plot and self-insert. After the prologue ends, the game also ends here. Basically, you're free to explore the world without a specific goal or linear structure. You may choose to search for all the characters on the map (though it's not mandatory), and in various locations around the world, there are quests related to each character. However, you can only unlock these quests at specific levels, requiring you to teleport or travel between places, and grinding. In summary, you lose the continuity and rhythm of one story to start another with no connection. In other words, the cast of characters in the game's thumbnail is basically a lie, as they practically don't even know each other well, or there is very little natural interaction.
I've now entered a story where the characters knew each other but actually there weren't any dialogues between them so I was like wtf. Not only that, but after recruiting all characters, they become part of your party. Yet, when you start any story, they all disappear in cutscenes, leaving only the protagonist of that particular story. Additionally, characters from the story's protagonist you're playing appear and have story-wise fights, but you don't play with them. Instead, you play with 'filler' characters (the protagonists of other regions, the other travelers)
It's a shame because it has very interesting characters and the game itself is very beautiful
so yeah the game is good but for having such asshole abyss fiction structure, it made the game ass
I've now entered a story where the characters knew each other but actually there weren't any dialogues between them so I was like wtf. Not only that, but after recruiting all characters, they become part of your party. Yet, when you start any story, they all disappear in cutscenes, leaving only the protagonist of that particular story. Additionally, characters from the story's protagonist you're playing appear and have story-wise fights, but you don't play with them. Instead, you play with 'filler' characters (the protagonists of other regions, the other travelers)
It's a shame because it has very interesting characters and the game itself is very beautiful
so yeah the game is good but for having such asshole abyss fiction structure, it made the game ass
Octopath Traveler II is a massive adventure packed to the gills with juicy, delicious SYSTEMS. Its deep turn-based RPG mechanics practically beg you to break them and build your little guys into single turn boss-killing machines. If you’re the kind of person that gets a dopamine hit from seeing the numbers go up, then get excited. You’ll be unlocking new weapons and skills and abilities left and right until you’re dealing just dumb amounts of damage. There is always some new synergy or strategy to unlock, and Octopath has a billion different bosses with their own unique mechanics to put your skills to the test, including a post game superboss that basically requires you to break the game to survive.
Where Octopath Traveler 2 doesn’t quite shine (for me anyway) is in its narrative and characters. By all accounts it's an improvement on the original (though I haven't played it), but the protagonists are just so shallow. Everyone has their one character trait, and they talk about it all the time. Osvald is stoic and gruff and out for revenge, Castii can’t remember anything, Temenos is a sassy crime-fighting detective, Ochette is hungry, Partitio loves making fat stacks, Throné wants to NOT be a slave, Hikari hates any bloodshed that he’s not personally committing, and Agnea just wants to dance. Seriously, what are you doing here, Agnea? Go. Go dance. Be free. This all goes doubly for the bad guys, who are generally so cartoonishly evil they’re impossible to take seriously.
To be fair, this seems to be the vibe the game is going for, emulating the simple tales of good vs evil from JRPGs of old. The characters aren’t shallow, they’re archetypal. Mythic figures standing (dancing?) against impossible odds. But when the characters are so one-note it can be difficult to become invested in their journeys. It doesn’t help that the interactions between party members are limited to brief text exchanges and a few crossover chapters that make up a vanishingly small percentage of the game’s overall length (though the final chapter IS very cool).
That’s not to say that the stories being told here are bad. They’re just kind of... there. They give the characters reasons to collect new skills and swords to make their numbers go up so they can kill bigger guys. And at the end of the day maybe that’s all Octopath Traveler II needs to be. The mechanics and systems at play are so good and satisfying that I was more than happy to spend 100+ hours defeating ancient evils and brokering business deals and collecting pokemon and dancing and whatever else.
Where Octopath Traveler 2 doesn’t quite shine (for me anyway) is in its narrative and characters. By all accounts it's an improvement on the original (though I haven't played it), but the protagonists are just so shallow. Everyone has their one character trait, and they talk about it all the time. Osvald is stoic and gruff and out for revenge, Castii can’t remember anything, Temenos is a sassy crime-fighting detective, Ochette is hungry, Partitio loves making fat stacks, Throné wants to NOT be a slave, Hikari hates any bloodshed that he’s not personally committing, and Agnea just wants to dance. Seriously, what are you doing here, Agnea? Go. Go dance. Be free. This all goes doubly for the bad guys, who are generally so cartoonishly evil they’re impossible to take seriously.
To be fair, this seems to be the vibe the game is going for, emulating the simple tales of good vs evil from JRPGs of old. The characters aren’t shallow, they’re archetypal. Mythic figures standing (dancing?) against impossible odds. But when the characters are so one-note it can be difficult to become invested in their journeys. It doesn’t help that the interactions between party members are limited to brief text exchanges and a few crossover chapters that make up a vanishingly small percentage of the game’s overall length (though the final chapter IS very cool).
That’s not to say that the stories being told here are bad. They’re just kind of... there. They give the characters reasons to collect new skills and swords to make their numbers go up so they can kill bigger guys. And at the end of the day maybe that’s all Octopath Traveler II needs to be. The mechanics and systems at play are so good and satisfying that I was more than happy to spend 100+ hours defeating ancient evils and brokering business deals and collecting pokemon and dancing and whatever else.
While I haven't played Octopath 1 yet, I've always been a huge fan of the style and especially the soundtrack, so I was very excited to play this. I'm so glad I did.
There are a lot of specific things I want to praise this game for, but I'll get the one flaw I can think of right now out of the way first, that being that with good preparation and skills/equipment loadout, a lot of boss encounters can be made very easy. This wasn't really a problem for me, as random encounter and the boss fights are still really fun, but I can see how it'd be a problem.
The first thing I'll praise is the one most specific to this game, that being the path action + day/night system. Getting to a new town and being able to inquire, allure, challenge, buy, whatever from almost every npc is such a fun system. I found myself inquiring and bribing every single one not even for hidden items, but just to learn their backstories. Seeing that this guy's a thief with a heart of gold, that this person is secretly respected by the whole village for their hard work, that these two want to confess their feelings for each other but can't, it all really makes the game's world feel more diverse and interesting, even if all I'm getting moment-to-moment from these little tidbits of information are a chuckle or a "huh."
I also really like the way the world is laid out and how it lets you explore and even kind of encourages you to go to higher level areas. The biggest example of this is acquiring the boat, which opens up the sea, a level 34 area that leads to some bosses and higher level areas. Getting beat up in a higher level area never feels unfair because it's fun to gamble on your luck to get good gear earlier on.
I also really liked the characters and how their individual stories tied together. A problem people might have with the story is the wildly differing stakes between characters (this girl wants to be a famous dancer, this guy needs to save his kingdom from his evil brother), but each are very enjoyable, which is added to with great voice acting in both Japanese and English. This is one of the few games I actively chose to play in English a majority of the time. My favorite character was changing constantly, and I still don't really know who it'd be (right now it's Partitio the Merchant and Castti the Apothecary, but that could change whenever). I've heard the first game had a problem with tying the characters and stories together, which this game remedies with the "crossed paths" stories involving a pair of characters, along with the travel banter that you can view along your journey. I had no problems viewing the 8 main characters as a real group of friends by the end of the story. Love some of the pairings that develop from the crossed paths and banter working in tandem.
Maybe my favorite aspect of this game is the music. Going in, I really doubted that Yasunori Nishiki would be able to top the first game's soundtrack, but he absolutely did. There isn't a single track in this game that isn't both amazing in and outside of the game (my favorite song is still The Sunlands from the first game though). Praying that Nishiki is at some point held in somewhere near the same regard as Uematsu when it comes to jrpg soundtracks.
I think a phrase that's really easy to throw at this is that it's a "love letter" to jrpgs, this is one of the most overwhelmingly happy games I've ever played. Love it and hope they'll make a third one that makes this seem like a prototype the same way this made 1 seem like a prototype.
There are a lot of specific things I want to praise this game for, but I'll get the one flaw I can think of right now out of the way first, that being that with good preparation and skills/equipment loadout, a lot of boss encounters can be made very easy. This wasn't really a problem for me, as random encounter and the boss fights are still really fun, but I can see how it'd be a problem.
The first thing I'll praise is the one most specific to this game, that being the path action + day/night system. Getting to a new town and being able to inquire, allure, challenge, buy, whatever from almost every npc is such a fun system. I found myself inquiring and bribing every single one not even for hidden items, but just to learn their backstories. Seeing that this guy's a thief with a heart of gold, that this person is secretly respected by the whole village for their hard work, that these two want to confess their feelings for each other but can't, it all really makes the game's world feel more diverse and interesting, even if all I'm getting moment-to-moment from these little tidbits of information are a chuckle or a "huh."
I also really like the way the world is laid out and how it lets you explore and even kind of encourages you to go to higher level areas. The biggest example of this is acquiring the boat, which opens up the sea, a level 34 area that leads to some bosses and higher level areas. Getting beat up in a higher level area never feels unfair because it's fun to gamble on your luck to get good gear earlier on.
I also really liked the characters and how their individual stories tied together. A problem people might have with the story is the wildly differing stakes between characters (this girl wants to be a famous dancer, this guy needs to save his kingdom from his evil brother), but each are very enjoyable, which is added to with great voice acting in both Japanese and English. This is one of the few games I actively chose to play in English a majority of the time. My favorite character was changing constantly, and I still don't really know who it'd be (right now it's Partitio the Merchant and Castti the Apothecary, but that could change whenever). I've heard the first game had a problem with tying the characters and stories together, which this game remedies with the "crossed paths" stories involving a pair of characters, along with the travel banter that you can view along your journey. I had no problems viewing the 8 main characters as a real group of friends by the end of the story. Love some of the pairings that develop from the crossed paths and banter working in tandem.
Maybe my favorite aspect of this game is the music. Going in, I really doubted that Yasunori Nishiki would be able to top the first game's soundtrack, but he absolutely did. There isn't a single track in this game that isn't both amazing in and outside of the game (my favorite song is still The Sunlands from the first game though). Praying that Nishiki is at some point held in somewhere near the same regard as Uematsu when it comes to jrpg soundtracks.
I think a phrase that's really easy to throw at this is that it's a "love letter" to jrpgs, this is one of the most overwhelmingly happy games I've ever played. Love it and hope they'll make a third one that makes this seem like a prototype the same way this made 1 seem like a prototype.
Truthfully I’m not completely sure why this isn’t a 5 star and just short. But then it hit me, as amazing as this game already is (combat, pacing, challenge, discovery) it somehow still has room to grow. And that’s exciting.
When it got to the weirdness around the 3/4 point, I was like yes, this is a good RPG.
Sencillamente... La secuela perfecta. Mejora y arregla cada uno de los aspectos del original y lo lleva a la 5ª esencia. Jamás olvidaré a este fascinante elenco de personajes. Es indiscutiblemente en mi juego favorito por encima de todos los demás.
Fantastic
Partitio for smash
Friendship
banger again
I had a weird experience with this game. I played the original Octopath Traveler a few months before playing this, and I was really hyped after having a good time with it. Let me say right now, Octopath Traveler II is a phenomenal game, and improves on the previous game in every way. It has great stories, the game play is addicting and overall narrative is fantastic. That all being said, it didn't hook me like it did the first one, I wasn't sucked into the world and I often had to force myself to push through the game, even though I could tell it was a great video game.
By the time I was completing the uninteresting and unimaginative intro section to a JRPG character for the 4th time I got incredibly sick of the concept. Perhaps it would be better playing in small chunks and doing a chapter a session, but the idea of going back and doing another 4 of them is one of the least appealing things I can think of right now. Maybe I'll try that at some point but not for a while (I also don't really like the art style OOPS)