Neither parkour, nor Hollywood stars, nor open worlds, nor milk. The two key ingredients to making a good RPG are good stories y protagonists who really matter. At least, to who is on the other side of the screen. Achieving this is much more difficult than putting a mammoth budget on the table, since talent required. And yet these achievements play out in Octopath Traveler 2 so naturally that it seems insultingly simple. As if bringing soul to games wasn’t a challenge. Nothing is further from reality.
For some time now, Square Enix has given us one of lime and another of sand. That’s how it is. And to the joy of those who are passionate about the classics, hit the mark with the new installment of Octopath Traveler. Betting very strongly on an interesting premise: everything must change so that nothing changes. That said, the fact that it’s also so easy to get lost with your gaze in his 2D-HD world betrays his -very reasonable- intentions to become a timeless classic.
In iGamesNews we’ve had the chance to dive into the unexpected but very welcome sequel to Octopath Traveler. How to resist? We enjoyed every minute we spent playing the original, and through each of Square Enix’s subsequent forays into 2D-HD we’ve been reminded of the essence of the great Squaresoft and Enix classics.
Not because of that style that combines traditional pixel art with 3DCG, but because of how do you get to the true essence of the JRPG and, from there, it revalidates the greatness of good games above the rest. From here, a double question of obligatory course: what has changed in this sequel and what remains of the original?
Octopath Traveler 2: a deliciously classic new JRPG
eight new restless souls, with its own happy and sad notes. Eight destinies called to intertwine in a world in full transformation and to the beat of great revolutions.
As with several of the best role-playing sagas from the mythical Squaresoft and the successful Enix, the sequel to Octopath Traveler it puts new protagonists ahead of us in favor of extending the story of original heroes. That, by far, is his first great success. The second is to use this blank canvas to retain each and every one of the successes of the 2018 game. From the artistic and the narrative, through the playable and, of course, the turn-based combat.
Jumping straight into the game’s main draw, Square Enix once again demonstrates its exquisite taste in bringing the pixel art of classic JRPGs to three dimensions.
Not only because of some captivating settings, which evoke the dioramas created by hand, but also through the constant effort to please the player with attractive designs, a great use of lighting and the use of effects and, of course, a sound section that, we already told you, is ten.
Both for its soundtrack and for those dialogues (in English) that breathe soul into its eight protagonists. The eight axes on which it rotates precisely Octopath Traveler 2 and that far from overlapping the previous ones, they are determined to leave their own mark on the player. And that is where that piece that fails so much in current role-playing games fits so wonderfully: its plot. Logically, whether we played the original or if we had seen any trailer, we had all of the above. What has changed?
Everything you already liked about Octopath Traveler returns in a game with its own personality
Although the artistic and visual style of Octopath Traveler 2 It follows the line of its predecessor, the aesthetics and the theme are very different: in the 2018 game the medieval style of the JRPGs was recovered with a touch of fantasy. Now, in this sequel, we not only discover a new map, but the world that opens before us is immersed in a bespoke version of the same universe with a twist: an industrial revolution is taking place. And that, logically, is part of the essence of the game.
From the start, we will see that the enormous variety of protagonists are inspired to a greater or lesser extent by this. We will see that there are regions that have ties to the Far West, the Europe of the century of industrialization or that exotic Japan that welcomed modern times at its own pace. What’s more, there are even margins for the occasional character who lives in a more or less feral environment.
Without going into greater details, since it is not the moment, in Octopath Traveler 2 there is no main hero, but all are equally protagonists and we ourselves choose who to start with. We had already seen this in the original, of course. But now much more interesting new nuances have been added: there are more unique resources for each protagonist, new interactive elements on the stage and even interesting additions to the combat system. Finding a great balance between the new and what was already liked.
Starting with the game, there is a day and night cycle that affects the entire game. This is not only obvious, but can even be done from the game menu itself. We can switch by pressing a button (R2 on PlayStation) and not only will we witness a change in the setting and all the lighting in the game, but the places we will visit will offer new ways of interacting or a different predisposition in the locals. In fact, we ourselves will have different resources to interact with.
Path actions return, the unique abilities of each of our heroes along with the talents. And not only that: we have them in duplicate. Depending on whether it is day or night we will have access to different abilities.
Differences in the paths and talents of Throné, the thief
To give an example, in the case of the merchant Match By using the day path action we can buy items from almost any character with a speech bubble. At night, however, we can recruit them as mercenaries and use them in combat. Its background, its history and its motivations are the same, but the game that it offers us facing the scenario or the plot is different.
The interesting thing happens when we go from having a single hero to having two plots, or three, or more in parallel. So that we can combine your skills both to interact with the habitable zones and in combat, as well as a new system to travel through the inaccessible zones through canoes and boats.
And yes, there are also new features in terms of turn-based battles: all the protagonists have a unique potential that gives more excitement to those chance encounters or when it comes to bringing the final bosses to heel. Achieving exactly the desired effect: the almost irrepressible desire to continue playing for a little while longer. Either to move forward or for something as simple as testing what you have won, bought or learned after the last one. Exactly like in those JRPGs that obsessed us in the 90s.
Octopath Traveler 2 facing the challenge of measuring itself against the classics
The good thing about finding so many new things out of the blue and so many new stories to discover is that you want to try them all at the same time. Moreover, our first hours in Octopath Traveler 2 they have flown past The not so good: We really want more. Of course, we will not take long to offer our final impressions.
For our part, we will continue delving into the destinies of the eight heroes who star in Octopath Traveler 2 between now and its launch, scheduled for next February 24 on Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4 and PC. However, and following the tradition, Square Enix has prepared a very exceptional aperitif: a free demo has been enabled that offers the first bars of the game.
Octopath Traveler 2 It already has what it takes to live up to the original and capture those who are nostalgic and passionate about turn-based battles. Perhaps the surprise factor has been lost in favor of very well distributed news. In any case, what is inherited and what is added play in their favor.
The nostalgia for the best games in the house rounds off its proposal and the care for detail and the characters will define its position as the next 2D-HD whose formula chains streaks or, with luck, one of those JRPGs that must be passed through.
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4 y PC (Steam)
- Multiplayer: No
- Developer: Square Enix
- Company: Square Enix
- Launch: February 24, 2023
