Octopath Traveler | Review ... Sorta

Octopath Traveler is Square-Enix's latest RPG, and was recently released for the Nintendo switch, and actually had quiet a bit of hype behind it, at least amongst RPG enthusiasts.

So the question is, does it live up to that hype? Well, read on to find out...

One thing note before we begin properly, is that I haven't actually completed the game yet; however, I have sank more than a few hours into it, so feel that I am able to give an opinion. I might do a follow up post if my opinion changes once I reach the endgame, but at the moment I really don't foresee that happening. So for now, I guess you could consider this a provisional review if you wanted.

The short answer to the question above, is yes. In my personal opinion, Octopath Traveler is one of the best JRPGs that we have seen in years.

The general aesthetic of the game harkens back to the SNES-era Final Fantasy games, with the characters being made of sprites, and pre-rendered backgrounds. They've even gone to the trouble of making them seem pixelated, which adds to the charm. Yet, despite the seemingly simply graphics, there is still a level of stylisation, and detail that even a lot of modern games with their high-fidelity graphics lack.

The soundtrack is good too, not outstanding, but good. Whilst none of the tracks I've heard so far would would stand on their own, they meld well with everything else about the game, to create an effective atmosphere.

The story is pretty solid, and way above the level of story that would have been present in a JRPG during the nineties; or even in the modern day really. Each character's has there own personal story, and each story thread weaves together into the greater narrative, as the central story of the game slowly reveals itself.

On top of this each is of the characters is compelling in their own way, and it is a treat to see their individual stories play out. Each character has a deep personality, with facets to their character that you wouldn't expect.

The can be quite dark most of the time, but it never becomes unrelentingly grim. The narrative keeps a thread of light running through it, maintaining a sense of hope that things can get better, and giving the player a reason to keep going. The character, for all their grim circumstances, do have moments of levity; it's not a joke a minute, but it does help to give the characters fully rounded personalities, and keep them likeable.

My only complaint is that I don't feel like the characters interact with each other enough. The only time they really talk to each other is during optional party banter skits; the actually narrative segments tend to focus solely on one character, and the others become almost non-existent. Whilst it does allow the game to go in-depth on that character's story, it does sometimes make it feel almost like none of these characters exist in the same world.

The gameplay is split into two sections, combat, and exploration. Exploration is obviously the part where the player wanders around a town or dungeon, talking to people, and looking for treasure. However, there is a new twist on this part of the game.

Each character has a path action, like a Primose being able to “allure” NPCs into joining the party, or Therion being able to steal from almost NPC. This means that which characters are in your party can be important outside of combat, and some can be essential for side-quests, or at least make them easier. This works because it feels like you have an actual reason for having the character in your party, rather than the game mandating that you must do this part with a certain character for no other reason than it says so.

Naturally, each character has their own class, which comes with its own set of spells and abilities for combat. However, several secondary job classes can be discovered, and you are free to switch between these at will. Meaning you can switch Primrose from being a dancer, to a merchant, to a hunter pretty much at will. This makes each character pretty versatile, and allowing you to stick with your favourite party members much of the time.

However, to gain abilities in a job requires you to accumulate job points in combat, and then spend those points to buy abilities. This means that the more jobs you have a character take on, the longer it will take for them to become proficient in them, so it is possible a better idea to have each character stick to one or two jobs. Not to mention you can have merchant character learn an ability that lets them just randomly find money on the floor.

Combat is your standard turn-based affair, although you can use certain abilities to et your turn quicker. There are also a couple of other twists on the formula:

Enemies have an armour stat, and whilst their armour is intact the damage they receive will be mitigated. However, hitting the enemy with its weakness (and most have more than one weakness) will lower its armour by one, reduce it to zero and it will be broken. During this period they will receive much more damage from attacks, and be unable to take any action on their turn.

However, armour only stays broken for a single turn, before it repairs and have to break it again, so use it wisely.

The player party also has boost points, which either allow characters to attack multiple times in a single turn (up to four times), or increase the power of a spell. It's a mechanic that players of the Bravely Default series might recognise. So you can use this system to hit enemies with their weakness multiple times in a single turn, thus breaking them faster; or use it after they've been broken, and really pile on the damage.

Overall I like this system, as it adds an extra layer of depth to a tried and true system, without overly complicating it.

So with an engaging plot, likeable characters, and fun gameplay, Octopath Traveler is one of the most entertaining RPGs to be releases in a while. I'd almost go as far as to call it a masterpiece.

Until next time,

PhoenixAct.