Soapbox features allow our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random things they’ve been chewing on. Today, Alana talks about her favorite RPG from 2023, which everyone seems to have completely forgotten about…
Eight passengers. Eight stories. The paths of these eight adventurers cross, their lives very different from each other, but soon their destinies become intertwined as they walk the same path. No, I’m not talking about Octopath Traveler – I’m talking about Octopath Traveler II.
2023 was a pretty amazing year for RPGs – Sea of Stars captivated many JRPG fans; Star Ocean: The Second Story R is a dream remake; and speaking of remakes, who saw super mario rpg coming back? And only on Switch. However, everyone seems to have forgotten about Octopath Traveler II.
The game launched back in February 2023, and while it was met with some pretty lukewarm reviews, including from us, it seems to have come and gone in many people’s eyes. The Game Awards completely forgot about it and for the best RPG (which, admittedly, he never intended to win) and (more criminal) The best music and music – the award is absolutely he deserves to be ready and probably even win.
I haven’t forgotten though, as Octopath Traveler II stole my heart earlier this year and hasn’t let go.
The premise is the same as in the original – you choose to start as one of eight characters, and all eight share the same jobs as the original octet. Once you’ve chosen your character, they stay in your party as the main one until you complete their story, but you’re free to explore and recruit the remaining seven characters, each with their own multi-chapter story to go through. There are four optional jobs, the ability to equip a second job, and a host of other features that return from the first game.
…Octopath Traveler II stole my heart earlier this year and hasn’t let go.
I could wax lyrical about the mechanical improvements – the Inventor secret job is an early game godsend; day-night system helps in leveling; and now i can speed up the battles? hooray! But Octopath Traveler II’s biggest improvements come with the writing. I like the Chaucerian setting of the original and this sequel, the idea of eight travelers from different walks of life coming together and sharing their experiences together (even if they’re not, er, all on screen at the same time). And these stories are not about saving the world – they are about people and their experiences. But Octopath II does the “story” much better.
I started out as Throné, the thief – mysterious, cold and, by the end of the first chapter, emotionally broken and desperate for freedom. As a member of the Blacksnakes, Throné is tricked into killing one of her companions to prove who can take over the leadership of the guild. It’s quite a stark contrast to Therion, the thief from the story of Octopath 1, who begins his adventure with a heist.
Throné’s opening chapter perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the game for me. Yes, Octopath Traveler II is darker overall, but it’s more that each story deals with the personal, the human. Despite how dramatic each story can be, each story feels much lighter. None of us was forced to kill a friend, I’m sure, but we can all relate to Throné’s story of feeling trapped and helpless and wanting to seek the truth. We all want to feel like we have a place in the world, and that’s what Throné is trying to do – make a life for yourself and claim your freedom.
Hikari, a warrior, is banished from his home after his father is murdered by his half-brother, Mugen. Hikari isn’t your typical warrior archetype – he’s kind, gentle and empathetic, but he’s also troubled by the curse that’s been placed on his family. Again, these are not things we do directly real life experience but family conflict and responsibility are the things we have to deal with – it’s just those problems magnified and fleshed out through beautiful HD-2D spritework and over-the-top narratives.
We all want to feel like we have a place in the world, and that’s what Throné tries to do
The way Octopath Traveler II plays with our preconceptions about jobs and characters is one of my favorite things. When we think of a merchant, we probably just think of someone who sells things to make money—ie. not who is Partitio. This sunny salesman had to watch his hometown fall into poverty as the landowner raised taxes on silver, an ore the city was known for in abundance. His Chapter 1 basically ends with him punching the landlord, taking the city back to the people of Oresrush, and embarking on a journey to put money in the hands of those who need it, to eradicate poverty.
It’s a pretty rosy, JRPG idealistic way of presenting problems and solutions, but it’s so serious — it warms my heart to see Partitio call someone a “chicada” and work tirelessly just to help people and make them happy. The same applies to Agnea, a dancer, who just wants to be a star and “bring smiles” to people. She played pretty true to her archetype – Primrose (from Octopath 1) was definitely an inversion of that job, so Agnea is the complete opposite to fit. She is joy incarnate, endlessly contagious and endearing. Even when Agnea is struggling, she can stand up because, like Paritio, she wants to help people. She is the beating heart of Octopath Traveler II and embodies the message of hope that the game generally strives for.
I feel warm when I see Partitio calling someone a “chicada” and working tirelessly just to help people
I could honestly talk about every single character (I feel sorry for Ochette, Castti, Osvaldo and Temenos) because they all go through great characters and every story feels different, even when they play it by the book. It probably helps that not every single character has four chapters – some have five, while others have multiple parts in one chapter that can be done in any order. It makes the whole game much more free.
Granted, there’s still a disconnect between all eight stories as the characters don’t appear in each other’s stories, but there’s more ‘Travel Banter’, where the characters at least talk and react to events that happen throughout the game. And Crossed Paths sort of corrects that sharp dissociation that I (and pretty much everyone else) had with the first game.
Each ‘pair’ of characters has their own little mini-story that pops up a few times throughout the game, usually after you’ve progressed far enough through each respective character’s story. They range from short cutscenes to mini-dungeon trips, and they’re all very good. The crossed path of Hikari and Agnee is about song, dance, death and celebration of life. It touches on aspects of characters and cultures, and it’s really beautiful. Elsewhere, Partitio is paired with the vengeful, shrewd scholar Oswald, who ends up helping the struggling researcher fund the project.
These tie-ins really help spin the story of Octopath Traveler II. Each character works toward a goal, and almost all of those goals are focused on helping people, bringing hope to people, and giving hope to ourselves. All of this comes to the fore after you’ve completed all eight stories and all four Crossed Paths. By the climax of Octopath Traveler II, there are many more breadcrumbs in all eight shops – some more than others, but they’re all there. I won’t go into that what happens accurately, of course, but the image of eight characters sitting around a campfire while the world goes to pot is a pretty perfect distillation why I love Octopath Traveler II.
It is about eight characters who have lived through a lot alone and together. They laughed, cried, grew up – separately and together. And now the fate of the world rests on these eight “ordinary, extraordinary” people.
I wasn’t looking for the ‘save the world’ plot from Octopath Traveler II, because I think its strengths lie in telling smaller, more personal stories – after all, I don’t always want to take on the responsibility of saving the world. But it occurred to me here that the reason we have stories like this in JRPGs is because the genre is a great vehicle for telling stories about personal growth, no matter how big or small that growth or journey is. It’s all those little moments that make you capable of doing something amazing, whether you’re a dancer, a salesperson, or a member of the royal family.
eight characters sitting around a campfire […] is a pretty perfect distillation why I love Octopath Traveler II
Octopath Traveler II’s gameplay should sell itself – there’s a three-hour demo on the eShop if you’re not sure if the alternating ‘Break’ and ‘Boost’ system is for you, and there are some nice side quests, secrets and a completely stunning world to discover. All the little mechanical improvements were more than welcome, but the Asano team listened to the few complaints I had and brought me a rich world with beautiful characters that feel like people and friends.
In my eyes, even with the few flaws it still has, this makes Octopath Traveler II one of the best turn-based RPGs I’ve ever played. And look, if you’re not going to play it, at least listen to music.
Have you played Octopath Traveler II? Who is your favorite of the eight? Vote in our poll below and be on the lookout for our ongoing Games of the Year 2023 over the coming days!
