Octopath Traveler 2

Rating: 8/10

TLDR at the end!

I went into Octopath Traveler 2 right after the completion of Triangle Strategy which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, this transition was with some apprehension due to my previous experience with Octopath Traveler 1 in 2019. Unfortunately, I got to only about 30% of OT1 before deciding not to press on. I wasn’t getting any excitement from the gameplay, nor did i think that the strategy component was particularly challenging. Part of me also assumed that i had outgrown turn based games because well, Pokemon was also starting to bore me. But enough grumbling. I am glad i got started on Octopath Traveler 2.

I went into the game blind. The game gave me about 52 hours of gameplay, not including battles i lost (there were a few haha). I stuck to the 8 main story lines without spending much time doing sidequests. I am by no means a 100% completionist, nor did i bother to actively search for Easter eggs. This gameplay experience was solely dictated by serendipity (and also the developers’ whims haha). Whether this was for the better or not I couldn’t tell you, but I did get a little tinge of regret from watching walkthroughs after i was done with the game. I tend to not use my brain much when gaming (or at all haha), so my party was formed from characters i had a soft spot for, rather than the most potent strategies. However, i found out later online that there are tons of interesting pairings and combos! So play the game however you like, it isn’t that hard, though it can be a little grindy.

Temenos used Spoilers Shield!

The game revolves around 8 different characters whose paths interwines as they travel. Each storyline starts out with each character’s personal struggles. As the story progresses, there is a subtle foreshadowing of a greater mastermind at work - each confict is a microcosm of a grand evil plot. For instance, Hikari (my starter character, also japanese 光 for light ) is a young kindhearted but idealistic prince who was overthrown by his own brother for the crown. He sets out to recruit his former allies to regain what is rightfully his. However, his blood is cursed - demons threaten to take hold of him and tries to talk him down the dark past. His latent power is fittingly named “Shadow’s Hold”, and after he conquers his demons, it changes to “Light’s Radiance”. This good but bad dichotomous trope seems to be a recurring concept in each character. Hikari is kind, but ironically tainted by evil. Throné is a proficient assassin, but an unwilling one. Castti’s apothecarial knowledge has saved many people, but she was unable to save her own band of apothecaries. Generally, the writing is decent, much more cohesive and interesting than Octopath Traveler 1 for sure. This time, the game felt closer to a group of 8 travelers working together to gradually fight against the big bad evil, rather than a random party hammering away on parallel threads which never seem to intersect.

This is particularly apparent in the final boss, which uses introduces a new battle mechanic which makes all 8 characters fight with an “Avengers Assemble” showdown against Thanos vibe. I do wish that they had used this mechanic with other big bosses as well, but maybe they wanted to make this final boss feel extra special.

Battles are heavily influenced by the Boost Points(BP) economy, which either gives you access to stronger skills or increase the number of hits you deal on the enemy. Enemies have their own shield counter which can be whittled away by the correct weapon type or elemental magic. I don’t think there is anything novel about the battle system as it seems to be mostly similar to Octopath Traveler 1. The whole battle system is a little tired to me honestly, but hey it is not a deal breaker.

Each character has an unchangeable latent power, as well as an unchangeable a main job. Upon unlocking all skills in the main job, you get to unlock a divine skill. There are also 2 EX skills which are story-gated. The distinction between the divine skill and the EX skills are a little unclear to me to be honest, since they are meant to be powerful skills learnt by surpassing one’s limits. The travelers can also have a changeable secondary job. This opens up exciting strategies and combinations. For instance, Temonos is a Cleric, and his latent power, Judgement, allows him to reduce the enemy’s shield counter regardless of the weapon or element he is using. Using Judgement with a high hit count skill like the Scholar’s Elemental Barrage is an easy way to shred the opponent’s shield. I did feel like some characters’ latent power weren’t very strong. Hikari’s Shadow Hold seems to be mostly outclassed by his stronger skills later in the game. Even so, there weren’t any awful latent skills and the job combinations are up to your experimentation. Unless you are lazy (like me), I would encourage figuring your favorite strategy out on your own without googling.

There are also secret secondary jobs which are meant to be sort of the pinnacle of each archetype. During the game, I came across Armsmaster which is a hard hitting physical damage dealer that allows the character to equip all weapons types. After i was done with the game, i found out that there was three others, Arcanist, Inventor, and Conjurer. I don’t think i missed much, but it was interesting to watch on youtube the new strategies availed from these secret classes. The game wasn’t particularly hard, but it was a tad grindy - traveling between towns or trying to do some exploration could be tedious at times as battles fast forward setting only maxed out at 2x.

While Octopath Traveler 2 had decent writing and storytelling, there were a few annoyances. First off, the dialogue in fast-forward mode wouldn’t pause long enough for me to read. Speech bubbles with short sentences were fine, but it was impossible to read longer sentences. I am a pretty fast reader so I don’t have the patience to wait for the text to appear, so I ended up missing out on several sentences in fast-forward mode. I still got the gist of the stories, but some flavor was lost. I also wish there was a faster battle speed, 2x honestly isn’t enough for grinding, 4x would be nice. Lastly, i feel like some side quests were impossible to do without googling! There was this quest that required me to recruit villagers from different towns. How would i remember that when i don’t even remember what i ate for breakfast?

Overall, Octopath Traveler 2 is a classic JRPG with a tried and tested battle system that allows for experimentation with strategies. With decent writing, you are bound to have a soft spot for at least 1 character. Personally, my favorite story was Tenemos’, and my favorite character to play was Ochette. However, the stories can be a slow burn, so you might need some patience before the game reaches its full potential.

TLDR (by ChatGPT)

I initially hesitated to play Octopath Traveler 2 due to my lukewarm experience with the first game, but I was pleasantly surprised. With 52 hours of gameplay, I focused on the main storylines without delving into side quests. The writing was more cohesive than the first installment, featuring 8 characters whose paths intertwine in a battle against a grand evil plot. The final boss battle introduced a unique mechanic with an “Avengers Assemble” vibe. The Boost Points (BP) economy heavily influenced battles, and characters had fixed latent powers, main jobs, and unlockable divine skills. The game allowed experimentation with changeable secondary jobs and secret secondary jobs for each archetype. While the writing and storytelling were decent, there were annoyances like fast-forwarded dialogue and limited battle speed. Overall, the game was enjoyable, offering diverse strategies and combinations.

References:

1. image: https://www.reddit.com/r/octopathtraveler/comments/11rhr8p/final_end_game_boss_is_crazy/