The character names nonetheless spell Octopath

Once I began the Octopath Traveler II demo from this week’s Nintendo Direct, I assumed “nicely, that is actually extra Octopath Traveler.” I technically wasn’t fallacious, however I used to be massively underestimating what I used to be stepping into.

On the floor, Octopath Traveler II feels the identical. Considered one of eight characters might be your protagonist, the menus are equivalent, and the core options from earlier than stay. This initially full of me trepidation. Octopath Traveler is a sport I like nicely sufficient. In spite of everything, I even bought invested within the cell spinoff final yr. Nevertheless it was a sport that I took in bite-sized doses. I cherished the artstyle and the battle system, nevertheless it didn’t have that particular one thing that hooked me just like the golden age RPGs it was attempting to invoke. I used to be instantly afraid that Octopath Traveler II can be a secure sequel, delivering extra of the primary sport whereas not addressing its basic points.

Happily, after taking part in all three hours that the demo permits, it’s wanting like Octopath Traveler II is as a lot of an enchancment as Mega Man 2 was for its predecessor. It doesn’t shakeup the unique’s system, however there’s sufficient polish to show the core of Octopath Traveler is nicely value returning to.

The identical, however higher

To begin, let’s speak in regards to the characters’ distinctive path actions.

Octopath Traveler II doesn’t technically add new path actions to the sport, however the mechanics added to them are transformative. For instance, I chosen the warrior Hikari as my protagonist, largely as a result of I’m as vanilla as a Frappuccino. His Problem command allows you to battle NPCs simply as Octopath Traveler‘s Olberic did, however now you may study abilities from defeated foes. It’s a small change with big implications, since NPCs with helpful abilities have been as thrilling to seek out as treasure chests.

Moreover, each character’s path motion adjustments relying on whether or not it’s day or night time. Swapping occasions occurs immediately with a press of the R2 button, assuaging any potential tedium of discovering inns to cross the time. Small touches like these actually present the builders need to lower away the trivialities and preserve you questing.

Fight additionally feels fluid in comparison with the unique. The plain quality-of-life boon is the choice to hurry up fight animations, dramatically serving to the tempo of random battles. I used to be sometimes out of fight in about 20 seconds, although this admittedly isn’t that spectacular for the early sport. The large new characteristic is Latent Energy, which capabilities equally to restrict breaks from Closing Fantasy 7. As characters take harm or break enemy shields, a gauge will fill that grants distinctive properties when activated. For Hikari, this includes highly effective assaults that value no MP. For the service provider Partitio, Latent Energy fills his BP gauge immediately. It’s an amazing system that helps characters really feel distinctive, and it’s one other instrument to dispatch widespread foes even quicker.

Individually, these additions don’t make Octopath Traveler II a strong sequel. But these parts put collectively dramatically improves the sport’s tempo. That mentioned, if story was your sticking level from the primary sport, it’s not clear lower if Octopath Traveler II will present the change you’re in search of.

Right here comes one other eight tales

As futile because it sounds to debate the opening hours of a story, first impressions go a good distance. Whereas the promised Crossed Path occasions will allegedly join the character plots, these didn’t present up throughout my playtime.

The early sport nonetheless strikes from one disconnected story to the subsequent as you recruit allies. If that construction rubbed you the fallacious means final time, it probably will right here too. That mentioned, from what I’ve seen, Octopath Traveler II takes deliberate steps to work inside this format higher. Hikari’s introduction thrusts you into the motion with wars, betrayals, and climactic showdowns earlier than the chapter’s finish. In the meantime, although Partitio’s prologue was slower paced, it adopted a self-contained arc that largely resolved by the conclusion. There’s a tangible effort to assist segue the person tales higher so that you don’t really feel disoriented as plot threads abruptly drop.

The writing is stronger in comparison with the unique’s early sport. Each narratives I skilled have been predictable, however there’s higher course this time round. Characters emote with fluid animations to inform tales visually with out counting on dialogue bins. Equally, the sport leans into its stunning HD-2D artwork to supply many beautiful vistas that improve key moments. The primary sport was already breathtaking, so I don’t say frivolously that Octopath Traveler II is a exceptional graphical enchancment.

I did benefit from the variety of backstories to this point, however I’ll reserve additional judgment till I see the total sport. Truthfully, I can’t think about I’ll be calling Octopath Traveler II’s storytelling nice. However for now, I’m studying in the direction of calling it good.

Must you attempt Octopath Traveler II?

Finally, the Octopath Traveler sequence is meant for RPG followers who grew up within the SNES period. I don’t assume Octopath Traveler II will flip any skeptics into believers, however to this point, it’s a elegant journey that followers of the style will love.

All the things that was good about Octopath Traveler shines brighter. The strategic fight flows smoother, the artwork is unbelievable, and Yasunori Nishiki is in peak type along with his most various soundtrack but. Every small flourish goes a good distance, even all the way down to the additional sprite animations when enemies carry out signature assaults. It does such a great job evoking how SNES RPGs felt as a child that I might go as far as to name it epic. I didn’t discover how briskly the three hours restrict glided by, and it’s a disgrace my save file is now locked midstream within the dancer Agnea’s prologue.

It’s a robust begin for certain, however the true problem will probably be whether or not Octopath Traveler II can maintain this momentum into its midgame. Personally, I’m desperate to take that journey to seek out out. If you happen to have been somebody who needed to love the primary sport however simply couldn’t fairly get into it, I’d say give this demo a shot. If the total sport can stay as much as this commonplace, Octopath Traveler II could possibly be Workforce Asano’s finest sport but.