Gametraders Live September Magazine

Although each of these
overworld skills is effectively
repeated in another character
(for example, both H’aanit
and Olberic challenge NPCs
to do battle), there’s more
than enough variety to go
around, and you can mix and
match amongst the 8 potential
party members to fill your
4-character party to your
liking, and switch between
characters throughout your
adventure for the optimal
experience.
The big draw of Octopath
Traveler is, of course, what’s
alluded to in the very title;
namely that there are eight
paths, with each of the eight
characters having their very
own adventure to embark on,
with the rest of the characters
serving as little more than
hired help to achieve their
goals.
That said, the characters’
stories are definitely solid
enough to intrigue you on
their own, and while the rest
of the cast mostly feel like
supporting cast members
when they’re on somebody
else’s chapter, you definitely
get a strong feel for their
motivations, backstory, and
personal journey during their
own intricate storylines.
The player gets to choose
which path to pursue,
with each character’s next
story chapter being clearly
marked out on the world
map, meaning that you can
continue a certain character’s
storyline and ignore the rest
if you want to, although you’d
probably have to do a fair
amount of grinding to be able
to successfully pull off such a
focused playthrough. Because
of the interesting characters,
it can almost be difficult to
decide which storyline to
advance next.
Regardless of whether you
decide to go all-in on each
of the characters or not,
Octopath Traveler is a pretty
big game with lots of things
to do. Besides the main
stories, there’s an abundance
of sidequests and interesting
areas to explore, but if
you’re a player who prefers
linearity, the game indicates
what’s good to do next by
displaying main quests on the
world map, including level
recommendations for each of
them, giving you a clear sense
of guidance if you’re just
trying to get through the main
stories.
All in all, Octopath Traveler is
an ambitious game in a lot of
ways but doesn’t necessarily
cause a huge shake-up to the
genre. Rather, it goes back to
basics and does everything it
attempts to do exceptionally
well. The battle system feels
rewarding and nostalgic, but
without any of the old qualms
that retro RPGs can bother
you with when you replay
them, and the characters are
quite varied in their abilities.
On top of this, you can later
unlock subjobs and advanced
jobs, allowing you to evolve
your party even further, which
gives you a distinct sense
of choice even beyond just
picking which story to unravel
next.
In an era where people have
lamented the lack of RPGs
which maintain that old
school feel from many of our
childhoods, Octopath Traveler
is an extremely welcome
breath of fresh air, and it’s
hard to imagine it going down
as anything other than a true
classic both for Square Enix
and for Nintendo.
By Nicholas Taylor