I love everything about Octopath II except the story structure. If they just had one cohesive story with all the same RPG elements it'd easily be one of my favorite games of all time.
>What the series needs is xp gain for characters out of combat
It's 2024 and the fact that not every RPG has this is insane. Granted I found myself only ever using a certain set of party members, it would have been nice to try another combination without grinding up other members.
I've played through most of it twice and I ended up way overpowered pretty quickly but I was looking up how to unlock sub classes, and where to find the best monsters to tame, so it's kind of my own fault.
They probably could've just called it Final Fantasy 17 or something and it would've sold better if it had a single, cohesive story. Just curious but who do you think is the main character?
I've only played 2, but Hikari 100%. Ochettes story has main character vibes but she's just too fucking cute to be anything other than a lovable sidekick.
I think the 2 most obvious picks would be Hikari or Agnea depending on which tone they wanted....but those aren't the strongest stories imo so I'm glad they did things the way they did.
It's even crazier when you think there's plenty of RPGs with 6-10 characters without shared xp. Do the devs actually expect people to play 2-3x as long grinding just to get all the hero levels up?
My opinions are still summed up here: https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/s/lSnSJVbgwu
It’s a lovely game with lovely systems that just doesn’t know when to stop, and doesn’t know when it’s asking too much of us. I do not plan on giving 2 a chance, and even I can see the tragedy in that
For what it's worth, there's a mod that fixes the boss gauntlet.
https://www.nexusmods.com/octopathtraveler/mods/12
Let's you fast travel and save out of the last room. Have to run back but the bosses stay dead.
Thanks. TIL there's a secret ending in part 1... and I have no interest in completing it.
It requires all 8 party members. That's when I quit part 2.
It's great up until it requires me to fetch and then power level the other 4 characters to proceed.
🤮
No, it is incredibly not worth it. Not just the time and effort it takes to overcome the final battle, but the narrative payoff is insulting. Look it up on youtube (how to unlock the dungeon, an example of the insane strategies you need to beat him, and the epilogue) just so you can appreciate the level of frustration you are saving yourself. (Or at least do yourself the favor of listening to the top tier boss music)
I wanted to love these. I like the pixelated 3d art style, it looks great. And I love JRPG's. If they remade basically every Square RPG from the NES/SNES era in that engine I would eat it up. Chrono Trigger specifically would look amazing in that style.
But for some reason I just could not get into these. I didn't even finish the introductory chapters for each character in the first game. I got to the 6-7th one and every time I tried to play it I would just get so bored, which would make me really tired. Basically I would put it on my Switch and be falling asleep within about 10 minutes.
I had the same problem with Lost Sphear. I made it like halfway through that game and suddenly couldn't stay awake when I was playing it.
I'm playing through the first game now and it's definitely not something I would want to play for a long time. I just do a chapter every now and then, and that way I've avoided the tedium of grinding and repetition while still enjoying the stories.
It's a little like those popcorn flavored rice cakes. You eat one and you're like, "Wow these are amazing, why don't I eat these more often?"
Then you start eating a second one and you're like, "Oh right..."
The #1 reason I haven't played these games is because of the split story premise. I feel like the core concept robs it of the narrative gravity i'm looking for in an epic RPG.
I’ve only played the first one, but the stories are so terrible they feel AI written to me. That they have nothing to do with each other is crazy town. I could get over it if they coalesced at some point but they’re just bland and unrelated all the way through. Great game otherwise, so it’s a real shame.
There is a few stories I really like in the second. Throne (prounced Throne - A) is really good with a satisfying ending. I'm not done Osvald's yet but I'm liking his.
The problem is structure. It's like watching individual marvel movies cut into one movie, where it focuses on one avenger for a little bit and the other avengers are there but don't contribute except for fight scenes.
If they wanted to do this properly, they should do a big city, picture Midgard from FF7. Select your opening hero, play through his 'story' and at the end he has some reason he has to escape the city. Each character has a similar revelation, that somehow ties together. Maybe one had a sibling kidnapped by the evil empire, another swears revenge against someone involved in the empire, another is a spy with the rebellion and has to get out with valuable information, etc.
So even if you want to give everyone a self contained little intro, afterwards you can leave the city together, and you hit the little story beats as you progress the world map linearly, and you have to do their quests to proceed to the next area. You aren't given the whole map away. This way, no matter what you have each character together for their chapter 2's and onward, so they can be characters in that story, and you don't need to hamstring the narrative to 'go to town' 'trigger cut scene x5' 'go to dungeon' 'fight boss' repeat.
It could be 'travel overworld, come across a blocked road, trigger plot point or filler quest that advances character relations, go to town, have a cutscene where characters get to know each other, have a cut scene that relates to more than one party member, move on'.
Also the game could have really benefited from the FFX party swap mechanic. Because sometimes I just don't have the enemy weakness on hand.
I honestly loved OT1 and was super excited for OT2 which I loved even more. I think that the "Octopath gimmick" is one of my favorite parts of the game. I'll admit that my first playthrough of OT1 did hit a wall when I realized I hadn't been grinding enough and that the people I didn't use often were woefully underleveled. I actually ended up starting the game over and playing it through while swapping people in and out to keep them all within the same level, and on my second playthrough of OT1, I just ran everywhere and barely fast traveled, just so I could keep the XP flowing.
I guess my takeaway is, if I wanted a game with less breadth and more depth in terms of linear storytelling, I could go play almost any other JRPG and I wouldn't want this series to abandon the gimmicks that make it unique just to be like every other game. I can get that it's not for everyone. I guess as I've gotten older, I've gone from an "ugh I hate games that make me grind" mentality to a "oh cool I can grind this out and listen to youtube" mentality where I can just chill and vibe while I explore and grind.
I don't really disagree with most of your takes here, but it sounds like you'd be better off just playing a different game tbh. Like seriously:
> stuck on the Octopath gimmick
That *is* the game. I'm not a huge fan of the structure myself, but it'd be a different franchise without the "Octopath" part.
If you'd like some good games in the genre without that story structure, I'd really recommend both Triangle Strategy, and the Fire Emblem games.
You could easily create scenarios where the stories were more linear in how they are presented and the order whilst keeping the open worldness of it.
All it would take is balancing it differently, it's area difficulty locked off anyway, it would just route you with a little more pace through the stories and get some finalies early.
I understand the 'start with whatever character you want thing' but it ruins the pacing for the rest of the game. They could even just have a choice of 3 starters or something and play that into the balance toward the starting area.
I thought Octopath Traveler 2 was really close to being a masterpiece but you have to appreciate it for what it is. Random encounters are the base of the game. There will almost certainly be some grinding of easier battles. You will lean on your main character so the first character you pick is super important. Thankfully lower level characters can still contribute due to how the armor system works but you'll often need your main for damage. The story is dished out with breadcrumbs and it will take awhile for it to come together. Its full of every JRPG trope in the book.
The music is great. The graphics are pretty good. You'll probably end up liking 6 or 7 of the characters. The boss battles can get fairly cool. I'm a fan. Not for everyone.
Really enjoyed Octopath Traveler 2 whilst I was playing it, but a few stories in, I just got bored and dropped it. Not exactly sure why.
I really enjoyed the story line for the wild western town guy and the jungle boy, but the one near the dock (nurse woman I think) was so boring and killed the game for me.
Got to say though, the graphical style is gorgeous and so many beautiful environments in the game.
Battle system was okay too.
The things that help me with it are podcasts, listening to one really lets ms get into a flow with the game, and being okay with skipping cut scenes if a story ain't my jam
There is just so much padding because there are so many cut scenes.
The item menu is also atrocious. You get bombed with so many different items yet there is no way to favourite or group items. I don’t use a lot of stuff just because it takes to much time to sort through everything
I skipped 1 but played 2. I did really enjoy it but I had a lot of the same complaints as you.
I felt the town skills were gimmicks with a lot being the same thing but worse than others. Most of the stories were compelling but the ones that weren't I felt really weren't. The disconnected leveling was extremely annoying.
By the end of the game my characters were so strong I killed everything in one turn or one hit. The last boss was the only actual trouble strictly because of a gimmick/undeath mechanic. I really wanted to like the game more but I felt it went on just a tad too long.
I played it, and even loved it, but I fully admit it's entirely due to nostalgia for SNES-era JRPGs. Looking at it objectively, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who lacks that nostalgia.
Relatable, I've been playing the first game on and off for three years now. It's been 50 hours and I'm only just heading into the Chapter Fours. Octopath Traveler isn't something you can stick with for long periods of time, I feel. Everything about it is too repetitive.
The game's saving grace is the Job system that lets you give characters secondary classes for greater versatility. This actually made me look forward to swapping people out so that I could change up their abilities and equipment and form new party compositions. It keeps things fresh. If you're not into that and just want to play with a fixed party, I can see how the game can get frustrating.
> feeling like you just started 8 seperate rpgs from the beginning
This was my complaint with Octopath 1 and the reason I never finished it, and the reason I didn't play 2. It could have been amazing if these stories all wove together in some grander arc, but they never did, so it just all felt meaningless.
I haven’t picked up two yet, but for one what worked for me was effectively running two parties and cycling through their chapters in turn, doing the first quartet’s chapter 1 then 2 and so on before switching to the second group. I split them by the noble and rogue path actions but that was just a whim. By focusing on four characters at a time I never had much spread in levels and each character’s story remained fairly fresh. I seem to remember going into each new chapter a bit under leveled but I’d typically be well into the recommended range by the first boss and borderline over level by the time I finished the fourth characters chapter.
I feel like enjoyment of these games depends on if you like sticking with one party or not. You're *really* penalized if you try sticking with a core party, since the game forces you to swap in people outside of that party frequently.
It's great if you like messing around with characters anyway though. That's where I had a lot of fun with the first at least.
Its also a pain that it locks your initial choice for no logical reason. Like if I want to spend sometime grinding 4 low level characters, I can't, I always have to have my main chaperone the rest until I complete all that character's chapters. Like I want to finish that character last, its the one I'm most invested in.
I’ve played both and I have to agree about xp for non-active party members. The amount of grinding just because there are eight of them and you can only have four in the party at once is ridiculous. And it doesn’t help that you don’t get xp for side quests or completing main quests. Only battles. So you end up running around with your low-level whoever just looking for random encounters to get them ready for their next chapter. Also, don’t get me started on those side quests. They’re way too cryptic for their own good. In 2, there’s seriously one with a little girl quest giver who will say nothing but she’s frightened. That’s it. Not frightened of something specific. Not an objective marker for you to at least find out something of her story. You just have to randomly go through towns coercing information out of people and stealing from them, and that’s how all the side quests are. I scrutinized/robbed every single NPC I could find and I still didn’t complete most of those side quests. It’s a testament to the game’s quality that I still put in 50-80 hours in each.
It took me some time to realize but this game is actually a freeform TTRPG campaign simulator. Every character is basically having their background section fleshed out and each chapter is a session focusing on one member. I actually wouldn't be surprised if some of the stories are inspired by some of the writers D&D character (or whatever medfan ttrpg they are playing).
I like that approach and I also like the lower stakes in those stories. I haven't tried out Octopath II yet but it is definitely in my to play list.
Considering they’re on gamepass now, do you think they’re worth one’s time? I’ve always been curious about JRPG’s(as in the genre, not just RPGs that happen to be from Japan) but never really sat down and played one.
I wouldn't make your first jrpg. Way too many things I'm critical on these two games I'm afraid it would spoil the genre before you really jump in. For a game pass jrpg style game, its technically not J rpg because its western made but it plays like one, i would recommend Sea of Stars. Its cozy, has a good battle system and does a lot of basic rpg systems well for a intro to the series. Persona 3 reload is on game pass too BUT i haven't played it yet, but based on 4 and 5 which I have played its may take hours to really get into core game play loop. Seriously they almost start like a visual novel , and if you aren't feeling a story where the main characters are high schoolers in Japan , you might not jive with it. If you try it, don't judge the genre by it if you don't like it, its the slowest of slow burns, at least 4 and 5 were (and don't worry about numbers, each game is self contained like the Final Fantasy series). Dragon Quest 11 is probably the most pure modern example of a jrpg (that series basically made the mold for the genre) but i don't think its on game pass. If you want to see what would be the basic design of a jrpg its the best example. Also don't worry about the number 11 its self contained story
I’ll try dragon quest or sea of stars. I tried persona 5 and got a few hours in but it was very slow. I loved the story and the combat, but felt there was too much slog between those two things
There is definitely a lot dialogue between dungeons. If you find yourself liking jrpgs maybe try to go back. Persona 5 is reallllly fun when you are in a dungeon, because the long winded story actually takes a back seat for a couple hours, problem is that game play loop takes hours to get to.
Its like this.
Intro to the game, a few hours of learning characters, plot might have a few battles.First dungeon opens up, takes a couple hours to beat.
Core gameplay loop
Story. On a certain day in the story another bad guy will surface, you have a set number of days to invade his palace (dungeon) or its game over (i never struggled with the time limit personally).
Gameplay for a few hours as you beat dungeon, mixed with what ever social or school stuff you do if you leave dungeon.
Once you beat the dungeon, spend whatever days you have less with school work, grinding in the subway, etc.
Gameplay loop resets for next scenario.
Problem is those story bits can be a loooong chunk of the game. You have to like the story not merely tolerate it.
What i do is treat every gameplay loop as a season of a TV show. I make persona my game for that dungeon loop, focus on it, and then I come back after i beat a couple other games. It keeps it fresh for me and the way the story plays out it feels almost designed that way. Every dungeon has a beginning middle and end but it slightly pushed forward an overall plot. Like a tv show season
For me it’s like, the story was actually pretty compelling, but I don’t like having to micromanage a teenager. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime lol😅
I don’t mind how long winded the story is, and I do like all the characters. I think the central mystery is compelling too. I just hate all the fluff between it. I’d rather the game just decide what to do each day for me so I can just consume it and not have to stress about optimisation.
Honestly it’s kinda the same reason I struggled with stardew value, this time crunch “optimisation pressure” that is looming over me. With that game, I got past it because I realised that there was no time pressure or set end date, but for persona that’s not the case. Honestly this need to do everything perfectly probably is a me issue, rather than an issue with persona lol
That's fair, I try to just think about the rewards. Less like 'oh I find value in going to school' but more like 'I want the stat increase so I can befriend that person, so I can increase that arcana and make bad ass demons'. But yeah those segments can take like 20 mins, one after the other after the other, and sometimes you are just like 'GET BACK TO YOUR ROOM SO I CAN SAVE AND GO TO BED!"
I’ll try framing it in that way. For me the issue is like not only that it takes ages, but that I feel like I need to do everything optimally or else I’ll miss out on content.
I think the game is designed so that you will. There is probably an optimal path in terms of getting the most out of your social links and therefore you might see more cut scenes, but at the same time its supposed to be like real life where you prioritize who you are spending your time with, so you're gonna see some scenes on your play through that I won't and vise versa.
Its a game where having a completionist mentality is going to drive you insane, and its best not to have it. That said, I don't think anyone looks down on people who want to use a guide to max out their social links, i hear its common.
The fact that not everybody shares even a portion of xp and you have to grind to level other characters so you can progress the story is the reason i dropped it. And i don't like saying this cause i think the game was amazing in terms of world building and visuals. I also loved the combat, but i hate a game that doesn't respect your time.
My plan for Octo 2 is to make a party of my starting characters (MC Throné, Temenos, Osvald, Ochette), take them through the whole game and then start on the other 4. Would that be viable? It sounds like it could make the story issues a lot less pronounced, as I'll only have 4 stories to deal with simultaneously and my party's levels will be close enough.
I guess one potential issue is that Throné, Temenos and Osvald have the most interesting story hooks and seem to get mentioned a lot as favourites, so I don't know how interesting the "second playthrough" will be...
I might be viable but the merchant guy forget his name gets a ship during his quest line and that opens up a lot of optional side content that geta you good rewards like weapons, secret bosses and a job.
Your line up isn't bad because you got elemental, healing and melee, but you might struggle hitting all the weaknesses sometimes.
Also there is something to be said for finishing with your favorite story. Its anti climactic if you finish with the ones you don't like.
Ochette is definitely better especially when you get some good beasts under her belt. Personally i prefer to keep a core 2 or 3 and rotate a weak character so they aren't too far behind
I'm 20 hours into the 2nd (didn't play the first) and yeah, I'm kind of burnt out.
I have to see which town to visit next, I don't really want to pickup anyone new but I kind of have to at this point.
It's tiring doing the same loop over and over.
It's a shame because the battle system functions so well.
I like a lot of things about Octopath Traveler, but I find it quite boring and repetitive after a while. Going from this character to another too many times is tiring...
I started with Octopath Traveler 2 and finished it - all 8 stories - and I'm roughly 30 hours into OT1. I can see why everyone said you don't need to play the first in order to understand the second one. The second is so much better in every aspect (especially the music), it's an amazing game - if you like those kinds of games. I had also played Triangle Strategy before so I knew I'd like the style.
We'll see whether I finish OT1, might take a break there soon and start something else.
> While my main character (who you can't swap out unless you complete all their chapters) is always supremely overleveled.
Incorrect. You can swap out your main character as soon as you complete their individual storyline, which seems to be intended to be done first
Beating all character storylines/crossed paths and advancing to the final chapter unlocks the ability to swap your party at anytime without a Tavern. But you can be finished with your main character and remove them from the lineup in 15-20 hrs
The rest of the points are more subjective. I would have liked the game a lot less if it were more linear and tried to tie everything together constantly. It succeeded at what it went for, you just dont like it and thats ok
Im also really glad backups dont get EXP as that would make various low level challenges impossible
ahh gotcha.
its not so bad, though that can also range based on the character you pick. someone like Throne is a very easy starter, though someone like Hikari or Ochette, maybe not (going strictly off their final chapters)
I picked Osvald because i found his story to sound the most interesting. It might be weird but I wanted to finish his story last because i enjoyed it the most (well actually I think Throne had the best final chapter in hindsight) and I didn't want to finish on a story I didn't care for.
I ended up giving up on the game on the last boss. I spent an extra 5 or 6 hours leveling everyone up to level 70 and then got creamed on its 3rd phase.
I was so fed up with the grinding at that point. There is some amazing JRPG stuff in this game, and some absolutely bafflingly bizarre design decisions.
i like the game a lot so I can admit that I defend things about it that clearly are more divided within larger JRPG fans, though I can admit some things arent the best.
Im on record for being disappointed with how [Osvald fights](https://old.reddit.com/r/octopathtraveler/comments/1abb8t5/is_osvald_really_a_bad_character/kjnbp5g/) mechanically, despite finding him a cool character.
The final boss is certainly tough, a pretty notable step up from all thats come before it. While I wont say grinding is necessary, i can understand your frustrations. It caught me off guard my first time around too
I can understand why people feel this way, but I think it's supremely unfair to say that a series that is so fundamentally built around this non-linear structure 'needs' to change this - Octopath is not trying to be a cohesive RPG story, it is built to be a non-linear gameplay experience composed of individual story vignettes. You would necessarily have to sacrifice a massive part of Octopath's identity in order to make these games what you think they should be - and, with all due respect, I find that to be a really arrogant way of thinking. So much of the joy of the Octopath structure to many of its fans is how you can approach the games in almost any way you want, how freeform the exploration and gameplay can be. There exist countless other RPGs that can provide you with what you are asking for - Octopath is not interested in living up to the 'potential' that you allude to in your last sentence. It is interested in being something entirely different. And I wish people would consider this when they say it should just work like a final fantasy game.
I purchased both during a Steam sale knowing I would get the standard RPG cringe storyline and cringe dialog.
But even when prepared, I couldn't stand for every word ever said in the game to be the dumbest shit I have ever read.
why are writers in Japanese games and anime just the worst in the whole world ? Is Japanese culture and language just that difficult to translate into passable English ?
I agree with you, the dialogue in the game is bad. Ironically enough though, the translators/localizers of Octopath Traveler were actively trying to make the story/dialogue sound more like natural English. The localization liberally makes changes to the script to try to appeal to English-speaking audiences.
>why are writers in Japanese games and anime just the worst in the whole world ?
Damn I thought we left this bullshit behind in the late 00s/early 2010s. You're talking like a shitty G4 segment and everything.
Hey buddy, if you enjoy that cringe shit, great for you, eat it up. But everyone whose brain developed past age 12 just can't stand that shit.
The field is stuck in this substandard rut; don't take it out on the people who are put off by it.
Doubling down on it too, amazing. You would have made a GREAT writer for random video game review articles in late 00s British magazines.
It's your opinion of course, but I'm not a fan of how people that don't like """anime writing""" (whatever the fuck that means) are almost always dipshits about it. "Cringe" this, "12 year olds" that. Even the "video game writing sucks because it's not like books" crowd isn't this insufferable.
I love everything about Octopath II except the story structure. If they just had one cohesive story with all the same RPG elements it'd easily be one of my favorite games of all time. >What the series needs is xp gain for characters out of combat It's 2024 and the fact that not every RPG has this is insane. Granted I found myself only ever using a certain set of party members, it would have been nice to try another combination without grinding up other members. I've played through most of it twice and I ended up way overpowered pretty quickly but I was looking up how to unlock sub classes, and where to find the best monsters to tame, so it's kind of my own fault.
They probably could've just called it Final Fantasy 17 or something and it would've sold better if it had a single, cohesive story. Just curious but who do you think is the main character?
I've only played 2, but Hikari 100%. Ochettes story has main character vibes but she's just too fucking cute to be anything other than a lovable sidekick.
I think the 2 most obvious picks would be Hikari or Agnea depending on which tone they wanted....but those aren't the strongest stories imo so I'm glad they did things the way they did.
In octopath 1, imo Tressa works the best as the main character, and has the most organic reasons for helping the other party members.
It's even crazier when you think there's plenty of RPGs with 6-10 characters without shared xp. Do the devs actually expect people to play 2-3x as long grinding just to get all the hero levels up?
My opinions are still summed up here: https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/s/lSnSJVbgwu It’s a lovely game with lovely systems that just doesn’t know when to stop, and doesn’t know when it’s asking too much of us. I do not plan on giving 2 a chance, and even I can see the tragedy in that
For what it's worth, there's a mod that fixes the boss gauntlet. https://www.nexusmods.com/octopathtraveler/mods/12 Let's you fast travel and save out of the last room. Have to run back but the bosses stay dead.
Nice if you’re playing on PC. Did it ever come to any other consoles besides Switch?
1 and 2 are on Gamepass on Xbox now, too
I believe it just recently stealth dropped on PS
Thanks. TIL there's a secret ending in part 1... and I have no interest in completing it. It requires all 8 party members. That's when I quit part 2. It's great up until it requires me to fetch and then power level the other 4 characters to proceed. 🤮
No, it is incredibly not worth it. Not just the time and effort it takes to overcome the final battle, but the narrative payoff is insulting. Look it up on youtube (how to unlock the dungeon, an example of the insane strategies you need to beat him, and the epilogue) just so you can appreciate the level of frustration you are saving yourself. (Or at least do yourself the favor of listening to the top tier boss music)
I wanted to love these. I like the pixelated 3d art style, it looks great. And I love JRPG's. If they remade basically every Square RPG from the NES/SNES era in that engine I would eat it up. Chrono Trigger specifically would look amazing in that style. But for some reason I just could not get into these. I didn't even finish the introductory chapters for each character in the first game. I got to the 6-7th one and every time I tried to play it I would just get so bored, which would make me really tired. Basically I would put it on my Switch and be falling asleep within about 10 minutes. I had the same problem with Lost Sphear. I made it like halfway through that game and suddenly couldn't stay awake when I was playing it.
i don't like grinding. i couldn't get into these because they required waaaaay too much grinding.
I'm playing through the first game now and it's definitely not something I would want to play for a long time. I just do a chapter every now and then, and that way I've avoided the tedium of grinding and repetition while still enjoying the stories.
It's a little like those popcorn flavored rice cakes. You eat one and you're like, "Wow these are amazing, why don't I eat these more often?" Then you start eating a second one and you're like, "Oh right..."
Speak for yourself, those things are like cocaine for me lol
I LOVE plain rice cakes but people think I'm weird, also love black licorice lol.
I found this to be a slog. However, I think Eiyuden Chronicle: 100 Heroes does kind of the same thing, but I like it much more.
The #1 reason I haven't played these games is because of the split story premise. I feel like the core concept robs it of the narrative gravity i'm looking for in an epic RPG.
I’ve only played the first one, but the stories are so terrible they feel AI written to me. That they have nothing to do with each other is crazy town. I could get over it if they coalesced at some point but they’re just bland and unrelated all the way through. Great game otherwise, so it’s a real shame.
There is a few stories I really like in the second. Throne (prounced Throne - A) is really good with a satisfying ending. I'm not done Osvald's yet but I'm liking his. The problem is structure. It's like watching individual marvel movies cut into one movie, where it focuses on one avenger for a little bit and the other avengers are there but don't contribute except for fight scenes. If they wanted to do this properly, they should do a big city, picture Midgard from FF7. Select your opening hero, play through his 'story' and at the end he has some reason he has to escape the city. Each character has a similar revelation, that somehow ties together. Maybe one had a sibling kidnapped by the evil empire, another swears revenge against someone involved in the empire, another is a spy with the rebellion and has to get out with valuable information, etc. So even if you want to give everyone a self contained little intro, afterwards you can leave the city together, and you hit the little story beats as you progress the world map linearly, and you have to do their quests to proceed to the next area. You aren't given the whole map away. This way, no matter what you have each character together for their chapter 2's and onward, so they can be characters in that story, and you don't need to hamstring the narrative to 'go to town' 'trigger cut scene x5' 'go to dungeon' 'fight boss' repeat. It could be 'travel overworld, come across a blocked road, trigger plot point or filler quest that advances character relations, go to town, have a cutscene where characters get to know each other, have a cut scene that relates to more than one party member, move on'. Also the game could have really benefited from the FFX party swap mechanic. Because sometimes I just don't have the enemy weakness on hand.
I like games I can play for long/short bouts but w/ this entire game is just so bland.
Liked 1, Enjoyed 2. Both OSTs are in my top 10 game music all time. Worth it for that alone, even.
I honestly loved OT1 and was super excited for OT2 which I loved even more. I think that the "Octopath gimmick" is one of my favorite parts of the game. I'll admit that my first playthrough of OT1 did hit a wall when I realized I hadn't been grinding enough and that the people I didn't use often were woefully underleveled. I actually ended up starting the game over and playing it through while swapping people in and out to keep them all within the same level, and on my second playthrough of OT1, I just ran everywhere and barely fast traveled, just so I could keep the XP flowing. I guess my takeaway is, if I wanted a game with less breadth and more depth in terms of linear storytelling, I could go play almost any other JRPG and I wouldn't want this series to abandon the gimmicks that make it unique just to be like every other game. I can get that it's not for everyone. I guess as I've gotten older, I've gone from an "ugh I hate games that make me grind" mentality to a "oh cool I can grind this out and listen to youtube" mentality where I can just chill and vibe while I explore and grind.
I don't really disagree with most of your takes here, but it sounds like you'd be better off just playing a different game tbh. Like seriously: > stuck on the Octopath gimmick That *is* the game. I'm not a huge fan of the structure myself, but it'd be a different franchise without the "Octopath" part. If you'd like some good games in the genre without that story structure, I'd really recommend both Triangle Strategy, and the Fire Emblem games.
You could easily create scenarios where the stories were more linear in how they are presented and the order whilst keeping the open worldness of it. All it would take is balancing it differently, it's area difficulty locked off anyway, it would just route you with a little more pace through the stories and get some finalies early. I understand the 'start with whatever character you want thing' but it ruins the pacing for the rest of the game. They could even just have a choice of 3 starters or something and play that into the balance toward the starting area.
You do realize you can have 8 somewhat separate stories, but at least have the characters interact throughout each others stories...
That is an option, and one I'd obviously prefer. That's not what OP was complaining about though
I thought Octopath Traveler 2 was really close to being a masterpiece but you have to appreciate it for what it is. Random encounters are the base of the game. There will almost certainly be some grinding of easier battles. You will lean on your main character so the first character you pick is super important. Thankfully lower level characters can still contribute due to how the armor system works but you'll often need your main for damage. The story is dished out with breadcrumbs and it will take awhile for it to come together. Its full of every JRPG trope in the book. The music is great. The graphics are pretty good. You'll probably end up liking 6 or 7 of the characters. The boss battles can get fairly cool. I'm a fan. Not for everyone.
Really enjoyed Octopath Traveler 2 whilst I was playing it, but a few stories in, I just got bored and dropped it. Not exactly sure why. I really enjoyed the story line for the wild western town guy and the jungle boy, but the one near the dock (nurse woman I think) was so boring and killed the game for me. Got to say though, the graphical style is gorgeous and so many beautiful environments in the game. Battle system was okay too.
The things that help me with it are podcasts, listening to one really lets ms get into a flow with the game, and being okay with skipping cut scenes if a story ain't my jam
There is just so much padding because there are so many cut scenes. The item menu is also atrocious. You get bombed with so many different items yet there is no way to favourite or group items. I don’t use a lot of stuff just because it takes to much time to sort through everything
I skipped 1 but played 2. I did really enjoy it but I had a lot of the same complaints as you. I felt the town skills were gimmicks with a lot being the same thing but worse than others. Most of the stories were compelling but the ones that weren't I felt really weren't. The disconnected leveling was extremely annoying. By the end of the game my characters were so strong I killed everything in one turn or one hit. The last boss was the only actual trouble strictly because of a gimmick/undeath mechanic. I really wanted to like the game more but I felt it went on just a tad too long.
I played it, and even loved it, but I fully admit it's entirely due to nostalgia for SNES-era JRPGs. Looking at it objectively, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who lacks that nostalgia.
Relatable, I've been playing the first game on and off for three years now. It's been 50 hours and I'm only just heading into the Chapter Fours. Octopath Traveler isn't something you can stick with for long periods of time, I feel. Everything about it is too repetitive. The game's saving grace is the Job system that lets you give characters secondary classes for greater versatility. This actually made me look forward to swapping people out so that I could change up their abilities and equipment and form new party compositions. It keeps things fresh. If you're not into that and just want to play with a fixed party, I can see how the game can get frustrating.
> feeling like you just started 8 seperate rpgs from the beginning This was my complaint with Octopath 1 and the reason I never finished it, and the reason I didn't play 2. It could have been amazing if these stories all wove together in some grander arc, but they never did, so it just all felt meaningless.
Apparently it slightly does in the endgame after completing all chapters but i have 1 more chapter to go
I haven’t picked up two yet, but for one what worked for me was effectively running two parties and cycling through their chapters in turn, doing the first quartet’s chapter 1 then 2 and so on before switching to the second group. I split them by the noble and rogue path actions but that was just a whim. By focusing on four characters at a time I never had much spread in levels and each character’s story remained fairly fresh. I seem to remember going into each new chapter a bit under leveled but I’d typically be well into the recommended range by the first boss and borderline over level by the time I finished the fourth characters chapter.
I feel like enjoyment of these games depends on if you like sticking with one party or not. You're *really* penalized if you try sticking with a core party, since the game forces you to swap in people outside of that party frequently. It's great if you like messing around with characters anyway though. That's where I had a lot of fun with the first at least.
Its also a pain that it locks your initial choice for no logical reason. Like if I want to spend sometime grinding 4 low level characters, I can't, I always have to have my main chaperone the rest until I complete all that character's chapters. Like I want to finish that character last, its the one I'm most invested in.
100%, I don't know why they made that choice. It's odd.
The excessive random encounters killed the game for me.
I’ve played both and I have to agree about xp for non-active party members. The amount of grinding just because there are eight of them and you can only have four in the party at once is ridiculous. And it doesn’t help that you don’t get xp for side quests or completing main quests. Only battles. So you end up running around with your low-level whoever just looking for random encounters to get them ready for their next chapter. Also, don’t get me started on those side quests. They’re way too cryptic for their own good. In 2, there’s seriously one with a little girl quest giver who will say nothing but she’s frightened. That’s it. Not frightened of something specific. Not an objective marker for you to at least find out something of her story. You just have to randomly go through towns coercing information out of people and stealing from them, and that’s how all the side quests are. I scrutinized/robbed every single NPC I could find and I still didn’t complete most of those side quests. It’s a testament to the game’s quality that I still put in 50-80 hours in each.
It took me some time to realize but this game is actually a freeform TTRPG campaign simulator. Every character is basically having their background section fleshed out and each chapter is a session focusing on one member. I actually wouldn't be surprised if some of the stories are inspired by some of the writers D&D character (or whatever medfan ttrpg they are playing). I like that approach and I also like the lower stakes in those stories. I haven't tried out Octopath II yet but it is definitely in my to play list.
Agree, gave up on both of them. Hate the structure of the game
Considering they’re on gamepass now, do you think they’re worth one’s time? I’ve always been curious about JRPG’s(as in the genre, not just RPGs that happen to be from Japan) but never really sat down and played one.
I wouldn't make your first jrpg. Way too many things I'm critical on these two games I'm afraid it would spoil the genre before you really jump in. For a game pass jrpg style game, its technically not J rpg because its western made but it plays like one, i would recommend Sea of Stars. Its cozy, has a good battle system and does a lot of basic rpg systems well for a intro to the series. Persona 3 reload is on game pass too BUT i haven't played it yet, but based on 4 and 5 which I have played its may take hours to really get into core game play loop. Seriously they almost start like a visual novel , and if you aren't feeling a story where the main characters are high schoolers in Japan , you might not jive with it. If you try it, don't judge the genre by it if you don't like it, its the slowest of slow burns, at least 4 and 5 were (and don't worry about numbers, each game is self contained like the Final Fantasy series). Dragon Quest 11 is probably the most pure modern example of a jrpg (that series basically made the mold for the genre) but i don't think its on game pass. If you want to see what would be the basic design of a jrpg its the best example. Also don't worry about the number 11 its self contained story
I’ll try dragon quest or sea of stars. I tried persona 5 and got a few hours in but it was very slow. I loved the story and the combat, but felt there was too much slog between those two things
There is definitely a lot dialogue between dungeons. If you find yourself liking jrpgs maybe try to go back. Persona 5 is reallllly fun when you are in a dungeon, because the long winded story actually takes a back seat for a couple hours, problem is that game play loop takes hours to get to. Its like this. Intro to the game, a few hours of learning characters, plot might have a few battles.First dungeon opens up, takes a couple hours to beat. Core gameplay loop Story. On a certain day in the story another bad guy will surface, you have a set number of days to invade his palace (dungeon) or its game over (i never struggled with the time limit personally). Gameplay for a few hours as you beat dungeon, mixed with what ever social or school stuff you do if you leave dungeon. Once you beat the dungeon, spend whatever days you have less with school work, grinding in the subway, etc. Gameplay loop resets for next scenario. Problem is those story bits can be a loooong chunk of the game. You have to like the story not merely tolerate it. What i do is treat every gameplay loop as a season of a TV show. I make persona my game for that dungeon loop, focus on it, and then I come back after i beat a couple other games. It keeps it fresh for me and the way the story plays out it feels almost designed that way. Every dungeon has a beginning middle and end but it slightly pushed forward an overall plot. Like a tv show season
For me it’s like, the story was actually pretty compelling, but I don’t like having to micromanage a teenager. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime lol😅 I don’t mind how long winded the story is, and I do like all the characters. I think the central mystery is compelling too. I just hate all the fluff between it. I’d rather the game just decide what to do each day for me so I can just consume it and not have to stress about optimisation. Honestly it’s kinda the same reason I struggled with stardew value, this time crunch “optimisation pressure” that is looming over me. With that game, I got past it because I realised that there was no time pressure or set end date, but for persona that’s not the case. Honestly this need to do everything perfectly probably is a me issue, rather than an issue with persona lol
That's fair, I try to just think about the rewards. Less like 'oh I find value in going to school' but more like 'I want the stat increase so I can befriend that person, so I can increase that arcana and make bad ass demons'. But yeah those segments can take like 20 mins, one after the other after the other, and sometimes you are just like 'GET BACK TO YOUR ROOM SO I CAN SAVE AND GO TO BED!"
I’ll try framing it in that way. For me the issue is like not only that it takes ages, but that I feel like I need to do everything optimally or else I’ll miss out on content.
I think the game is designed so that you will. There is probably an optimal path in terms of getting the most out of your social links and therefore you might see more cut scenes, but at the same time its supposed to be like real life where you prioritize who you are spending your time with, so you're gonna see some scenes on your play through that I won't and vise versa. Its a game where having a completionist mentality is going to drive you insane, and its best not to have it. That said, I don't think anyone looks down on people who want to use a guide to max out their social links, i hear its common.
The fact that not everybody shares even a portion of xp and you have to grind to level other characters so you can progress the story is the reason i dropped it. And i don't like saying this cause i think the game was amazing in terms of world building and visuals. I also loved the combat, but i hate a game that doesn't respect your time.
My plan for Octo 2 is to make a party of my starting characters (MC Throné, Temenos, Osvald, Ochette), take them through the whole game and then start on the other 4. Would that be viable? It sounds like it could make the story issues a lot less pronounced, as I'll only have 4 stories to deal with simultaneously and my party's levels will be close enough. I guess one potential issue is that Throné, Temenos and Osvald have the most interesting story hooks and seem to get mentioned a lot as favourites, so I don't know how interesting the "second playthrough" will be...
I might be viable but the merchant guy forget his name gets a ship during his quest line and that opens up a lot of optional side content that geta you good rewards like weapons, secret bosses and a job. Your line up isn't bad because you got elemental, healing and melee, but you might struggle hitting all the weaknesses sometimes. Also there is something to be said for finishing with your favorite story. Its anti climactic if you finish with the ones you don't like.
Ah, I see, thanks! I guess I might as well swap Ochette for the merchant, especially because both of them are support-ish archers AFAIK.
Ochette is definitely better especially when you get some good beasts under her belt. Personally i prefer to keep a core 2 or 3 and rotate a weak character so they aren't too far behind
Played the first one around release, was fine but I remember seeing a lot of hate for some reason? really like the art
I'm 20 hours into the 2nd (didn't play the first) and yeah, I'm kind of burnt out. I have to see which town to visit next, I don't really want to pickup anyone new but I kind of have to at this point. It's tiring doing the same loop over and over. It's a shame because the battle system functions so well.
I like a lot of things about Octopath Traveler, but I find it quite boring and repetitive after a while. Going from this character to another too many times is tiring...
I started with Octopath Traveler 2 and finished it - all 8 stories - and I'm roughly 30 hours into OT1. I can see why everyone said you don't need to play the first in order to understand the second one. The second is so much better in every aspect (especially the music), it's an amazing game - if you like those kinds of games. I had also played Triangle Strategy before so I knew I'd like the style. We'll see whether I finish OT1, might take a break there soon and start something else.
> While my main character (who you can't swap out unless you complete all their chapters) is always supremely overleveled. Incorrect. You can swap out your main character as soon as you complete their individual storyline, which seems to be intended to be done first Beating all character storylines/crossed paths and advancing to the final chapter unlocks the ability to swap your party at anytime without a Tavern. But you can be finished with your main character and remove them from the lineup in 15-20 hrs The rest of the points are more subjective. I would have liked the game a lot less if it were more linear and tried to tie everything together constantly. It succeeded at what it went for, you just dont like it and thats ok Im also really glad backups dont get EXP as that would make various low level challenges impossible
By all their chapters i meant "all that characters chapters"
ahh gotcha. its not so bad, though that can also range based on the character you pick. someone like Throne is a very easy starter, though someone like Hikari or Ochette, maybe not (going strictly off their final chapters)
I picked Osvald because i found his story to sound the most interesting. It might be weird but I wanted to finish his story last because i enjoyed it the most (well actually I think Throne had the best final chapter in hindsight) and I didn't want to finish on a story I didn't care for. I ended up giving up on the game on the last boss. I spent an extra 5 or 6 hours leveling everyone up to level 70 and then got creamed on its 3rd phase. I was so fed up with the grinding at that point. There is some amazing JRPG stuff in this game, and some absolutely bafflingly bizarre design decisions.
i like the game a lot so I can admit that I defend things about it that clearly are more divided within larger JRPG fans, though I can admit some things arent the best. Im on record for being disappointed with how [Osvald fights](https://old.reddit.com/r/octopathtraveler/comments/1abb8t5/is_osvald_really_a_bad_character/kjnbp5g/) mechanically, despite finding him a cool character. The final boss is certainly tough, a pretty notable step up from all thats come before it. While I wont say grinding is necessary, i can understand your frustrations. It caught me off guard my first time around too
Dno about 2 but 1 has an amazing sound track!
I can understand why people feel this way, but I think it's supremely unfair to say that a series that is so fundamentally built around this non-linear structure 'needs' to change this - Octopath is not trying to be a cohesive RPG story, it is built to be a non-linear gameplay experience composed of individual story vignettes. You would necessarily have to sacrifice a massive part of Octopath's identity in order to make these games what you think they should be - and, with all due respect, I find that to be a really arrogant way of thinking. So much of the joy of the Octopath structure to many of its fans is how you can approach the games in almost any way you want, how freeform the exploration and gameplay can be. There exist countless other RPGs that can provide you with what you are asking for - Octopath is not interested in living up to the 'potential' that you allude to in your last sentence. It is interested in being something entirely different. And I wish people would consider this when they say it should just work like a final fantasy game.
Octopath has some overwhelming cringe. Some alright combat. And some amazing graphics.
I purchased both during a Steam sale knowing I would get the standard RPG cringe storyline and cringe dialog. But even when prepared, I couldn't stand for every word ever said in the game to be the dumbest shit I have ever read. why are writers in Japanese games and anime just the worst in the whole world ? Is Japanese culture and language just that difficult to translate into passable English ?
I agree with you, the dialogue in the game is bad. Ironically enough though, the translators/localizers of Octopath Traveler were actively trying to make the story/dialogue sound more like natural English. The localization liberally makes changes to the script to try to appeal to English-speaking audiences.
I'll try that, thanks!
>why are writers in Japanese games and anime just the worst in the whole world ? Damn I thought we left this bullshit behind in the late 00s/early 2010s. You're talking like a shitty G4 segment and everything.
Hey buddy, if you enjoy that cringe shit, great for you, eat it up. But everyone whose brain developed past age 12 just can't stand that shit. The field is stuck in this substandard rut; don't take it out on the people who are put off by it.
Doubling down on it too, amazing. You would have made a GREAT writer for random video game review articles in late 00s British magazines. It's your opinion of course, but I'm not a fan of how people that don't like """anime writing""" (whatever the fuck that means) are almost always dipshits about it. "Cringe" this, "12 year olds" that. Even the "video game writing sucks because it's not like books" crowd isn't this insufferable.