Octopath Traveler II preview – if it eight broke
Square Enix’s art style, known as HD-2D, is one of my favourite innovations in modern gaming. As a blend of pixelated characters and 3D environments, it evokes the spirit of classic JRPGs like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Dragon Quest III; while still letting Square Enix create gorgeous worlds that showcase the graphical potential of the Nintendo Switch.
The original herald of this style is Octopath Traveler, a 2018 release for Nintendo Switch and a traditional JRPG in every sense. Following the stories of eight different characters, The original Octopath features intertwining stories over a large continent as each person’s narrative takes them to the far reaches of the world. It also has turn-based combat with an interesting ‘break’ mechanic that allows you to bank or use more powerful attacks.
Well, we all know Square Enix loves a sequel, and here we are years on, awaiting the release of Octopath Traveller II. The next HD-2D entry from the Japanese publisher after last year’s Triangle Strategy and Live A Live remake, OTII takes you back to the classic JRPG adventures of old. But, with a brand new cast of eight characters to get to know and love.
Set in the vast world of Solistia, Octopath Traveler II allows you to explore a gorgeous and meticulously detailed world with a nice variety of vistas. I chose to start with Hikari, a young warrior from the land of Ku, who’s courageous with envious skills in battle. After around twenty hours, I’m familiar with each of the main cast’s stories, and I highly recommend people begin with Hikari. The variety of tales is great, and each feels more interesting than in Octopath Traveler, but Hikari is the most gripping and fun in my experience.
It doesn’t matter too much, as no matter who you choose, soon you get to explore the world at large with a motley crew of adventurers, each looking to find someone or something in the world to help their own story. The cast includes Partitio, the merchant, a man obsessed with commerce, out to prove his skills to the world.
There’s the thief Throné, stuck in a world of criminals and low lives, looking to escape. Meanwhile, another standout is Agnea, a cheery dancer who simply wants to become a star in every corner of the nation. Much like the first game’s cast, some are stronger than others, and I can’t wait to see which end up as fan favourites.
Whichever character you choose jumpstarts the story, and then you pick up additional party members as you encounter them on your travels. You can choose to hear their tale and experience their story so far, which stops your current party in their tracks as you play as the new hero at level one, getting to grips with their tale and skills. However, in an effort to speed up the opening hours, there’s the ability to skip their story and simply carry on the adventures of your current party. Don’t worry about missing anything, as the local taverns always offer the chance to experience these opening stories again any time you choose.
So far, these stories have a nice mixture of peril, epic clashes, and more whimsical moments that round out the cast nicely. Each prologue features the same turn-based combat as the others, but the variety in jobs, skills, and weapons is enough to keep you on your toes and teach you about the game’s many mechanics. After a few different stories, I’m occasionally itching to get back on the road with my main party though, so I appreciate the option to skip these stories and head straight back into the action. I’m sure some players may have less patience than me.
While the visuals are the defining feature, Octopath Traveler II is also home to some gripping turn-based combat, and the battles are a blast thanks to the gorgeous pixelated style and beautiful particle effects. Each enemy has a series of physical and elemental weaknesses, and a shot to one of those weaknesses exposes them forever in a box below that enemy. Striking their weakness repeatedly eventually breaks their shield. Some enemies take one hit, while stronger ones withstand many more.
Break an enemy’s shield and you stun them, meaning they’re more vulnerable than normal. This is also a fantastic time to use your boost points, which accumulate with each turn. Entering boost mode multiplies your attack power up to four times, so there’s a delicate balance in deciding when to bank your points and when to use them. For anyone familiar with the original title, none of this is new. However, the battles in the original Octopath Traveler are a huge highlight, so there’s little surprise they remain largely intact.
What’s different is the addition of secondary jobs, as each character eventually unlocks the ability to take on a secondary role, giving them access to new weapons, skills, and more. This is in addition to their main role, so my warrior Hikari is also an inventor at the moment, giving him access to a few fun new twists in battle. As you gain experience, you also earn JP to learn new jobs and support skills, meaning characters don’t just get stronger but also learn a wider variety of battle tactics.
The depth and breadth of different jobs, weapons, and skills, are all a blast to play around with. Plus, a truly gross crew of enemies are fun to work your way through, including some fantastic larger enemies and a few grotesque bosses. The pixel art is phenomenal, just like the first game’s, and the larger enemies are where it’s most proudly on display.
Battles also look fantastic, as the HD-2D style is prettier this time around. More dynamic camera angles, a wider variety of poses for characters, and a steady stream of particle effects mean that this pixelated world feels more alive than some fully 3D adventures. Square also improved exploring towns, as the aforementioned camera angles are a step forward for the sometimes stiff angles of the original Octopath. This is an absolutely gorgeous game, and given the improvements to the HD-2D style from the predecessor, I’m already greedily imagining where Square Enix takes this style in the future. That Dragon Quest 3 remake can’t come soon enough.
Speaking of exploring towns, the cast’s jobs aren’t just for battle, as each member of your party is capable of different skills, which change how you interact with NPCs in each area. Throné is a thief, so is able to steal items from folks, though a failure does cause you to lose your reputation in that town. Hikari is a warrior, so can challenge stubborn townsfolks to a duel, with a victory knocking them out of the way and possibly revealing an additional path. Meanwhile, Agnea can allure NPCs into battle with your party, convincing them to join you in fights.
This litany of different skills makes it a joy to explore each new area while also making it a strategic minefield trying to balance your party both in battle skills, and overworld abilities. Luckily there seems to be a good balance no matter who you choose, but narrowing your eight characters down to a party of four is a struggle once you have a few favourites. There seems to be much more voice acting this time around as well (and of a higher quality), making it even easier to fall in love with each hero.
So far, so good. Octopath Traveler II is a smart evolution of everything that makes the original great, and it looks even more gorgeous than we thought possible. One major complaint for the original is the segmented nature of the stories, as it sometimes feels like those eight stories exist in their own vacuum, without much interaction between your party of misfits.
Square Enix is on record saying that Octopath Traveler II aims to balance this, as your characters meet and interact more than ever before. However, as we’ve only just got to know our new crew, we can’t speak much about how much they interact as the story progresses. They might well set off on grand adventures together, but so far, we have only seen an inkling of this greater connection between the cast. It’s an improvement to be sure, but we hope to see a clear step up as we complete the sequel.
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. As we play more, we hope to see these loveable travellers spend some more time together, but this is already a prettier, richer, and more addictive entry in the franchise that we can’t wait to complete.
For more content like this, take a look at our Octopath Traveler 2 characters and Octopath Traveler 2 release date guides.
