Eight characters, eight stories. The concept of Octopath Traveler hasn’t really changed since 2018. Part two also places pixel figures in a medieval fantasy setting, and lets them travel together to all corners of the game world to follow their own story threads. Your team always consists of four members of the eight. Everyone has their own skills: people like to give the dancer gifts and the market vendor can hire helpers.
Stay in the fight Octopath also close to the base. Your characters take turns battling enemies, each with their own crippling weaknesses. After each round you get a doubler, with which you can perform more or stronger attacks.
Octopath Traveler II therefore does not make great strides – and yet this game plays much better than its predecessor. This is mainly because the flow has been well taken care of. The long-winded stories and the endless walk-and-fight sessions have been reduced to half an hour to an hour chunks. Suddenly dozens of hours fly by.
Do-gooders
Combat is more tactical and therefore more engaging: each character now has a power that slowly recharges. Planning ahead is a must, for example to the moment that pharmacist Castti can again make medicines without consuming ingredients.
The eight stories also feel like they fit together better. My entire team consists of do-gooders who talk to each other about the best approach for individual stories. Sometimes they even share a story moment that lends more depth to otherwise archetypal characters.
Octopath Traveler II so flawlessly puts its finger on the sore spots of the original – and solves them.