Octopath Traveler 2, a bigger and better sequel

2018 was a year that players remember fondly. This period was marked by an explosion of successful titles such as God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. But there were also a number of mind-opening indies like Celeste or Return of Obra Din.

At that time, moreover, we were going through the first year of life of the -still in force- nintendo switch, a console that would have a strong impact on the gamer industry. This product of the big “N” has gradually established itself as the preferred platform for RPGs and all their variants, especially since they are generally titles in which we invest many hours and what better than playing it in the comfort of your bed or while travelling. Therefore, seeing this potential, many companies have entered into the business of exclusivity on this small console.

Square-Enix was one of the first companies to give the Switch its vote of confidence and that’s when we saw the arrival of octopath traveler. This new IP sought to captivate players with brand new graphics, epic stories, and innovative mechanics. Its success was ridiculously high, and it immediately generated a fanbase that expanded its universe with art books, theory forums, endless sequel requests, and ports to other platforms.

Five years after this first emblematic publication, comes Octopath Traveler 2. To contextualize without spoilers, the original and this sequel are classified in the role-playing genre and invite us to travel eight journeys full of magic, monsters and all the components that encompass epic fantasy. Now focusing precisely on this second part, upon starting a game we will be presented with the map of Solistia, a magical land of continents, islands and a considerably large expanse of water to navigate with the star actors. We immediately have eight classes available to choose from, each offering a very different starting point than the others. So that you can plan where to start, we summarize this octagon of possibilities here:

Apothecary: we are the spitting image of Castti, an adventurer with a unique talent for craftsmanship. Above all, it is characterized by the use of a wide variety of ingredients to create offensive or healing objects. Her story is geared towards socializing with other NPCs on a journey of seeking and rediscovering herself.

Merchant: Partitio is a guy who exudes charm, kindness and style. In his mind lives only the goal of eliminating poverty in the world. She has spent her 24 years of life in the wild lands and wants with all her might to get out and see the rest of the world. Thanks to his unequaled charisma, many secondary characters want to accompany him in his adventures. It will be our job to formally recruit them to march and fight alongside us.

Ballet dancer: Agnea has a very curious dream. This teenager redirects all her efforts until she is the most appreciated dancer in the world, just like her mother. Logically, his talent is dancing and depending on the people we meet during the trip, we will benefit from different types of temporary advantages.

Guerrero: Hikari Ku is a prince of the kingdom of Ku, a community devastated by endless wars. This story seeks redemption, and accompanied by his group of closest friends, he delves into the bowels of his city (and beyond) to achieve peace.

Hunter: If we love heavenly beaches and searching for caves, the story of Ochette is for us. I particularly felt that there was a lot of inspiration in the literary series Narnia by CS Lewis. We will be members of the “terios”, a race presented as “semi-humans” who live in constant confrontations with humans, who seek to harm the sacred forest out of greed. As players, our task is to search for three legendary beasts that bring tranquility to their territory.

Thief: the Black Serpent gang is highly feared throughout Solistia. If we choose this class, we will play Throné Anguiss, a thief who is going through a very difficult period in her life. She has many strengths and is very powerful, but she carries a strange evil within her.

Cleric: This is probably the most complex story to begin with, and one of the most intriguing. We take on the role of Temenos Mistral, a curious member of the clergy. His faith goes beyond healing, as he has the ability to inflict damage on his enemies. The ecclesiastical organization – of which she is a part – is implicated in an extremely serious matter. His journey aims to discover who are the real actors of this mystery.

Scholar: Osvald V. Valnstein is a captive prisoner in the Winterlands tundra. He was betrayed and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and daughter. Since then, he has spent 1,879 days locked in a frozen cell. When he finally gets out, his long story of revenge begins.

In terms of gameplay, the work is continuous, without major changes and preserves the turn-based combat system. The new entries are given by the addition of the day and night cycles. This provides a wider range of possibilities for exploration and discovery, since NPCs have different behaviors depending on the time of day. Also added is Latent Power, a new skill that recharges after a few turns called “ulti”. As happened in the first episode, no matter where we begin the journey, the paths of the eight characters will always cross, both in the main missions and in the alternate paths. Once all the chapters are completed, a final episode leads us to the secret ending.

Graphically HD-2D is a visual spectacle and an update to this edition. While the 16-bit, retro aesthetic with deep touches is preserved, there’s new particle work that adds a nice flavor to the whole experience. The soundtrack is conducted by the same composer as the first game, but the tunes are now a bit more epic. It becomes fuel to fight, explore or get excited with the stories of the charismatic pixelated protagonists. They all also have English and Japanese dubbing, with Spanish subtitles.

Octopath Traveler 2 can be summed up in the sentence: “bigger and better”. If there are still any doubts about this RPG masterpiece, all consoles have a free demo available. Acquire and Square Enix will be remembered for years to come, for this great project loaded with great ideas and great execution.

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