Octopath Traveler Full Review! - The Game Collection
1,321Octopath Traveler is the game many RPG fans have been waiting for years to enjoy, and now that I've finally finished my own playthrough, I can tell you exactly why that is!
Welcome back to The Game Collection! I am SuperDerek, and this is Octopath Traveler!
For those of you out of the loop, Octopath Traveler is a turn-based RPG developed by Square Enix's Business Division 6 & Acquire, and was published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch in July of 2018. The game was directed by Keisuke Miyauchi, designed by Kota Osaki, and composed by Yasunori Nishiki, a relatively unknown group of developers. The game was produced by Tomoya Asano and Masashi Takahashi, both notable for their work on the Bravely series. Upon release, the game sold so well in Japan that it actually sold out, prompting an apology from Square Enix... twice. During the development the producers and developers were actually put into a new division all of their own, becoming Business Division 11. But let's get back to the game.
In Octopath Traveler, as the name would imply there are 8 paths within the game. Each of these paths, or stories, is comprised of four chapters, and features their own protagonist. At the beginning of the game you choose one of these eight heroes and upon completing their first chapter the world opens up for you to explore as you please. Along the way you can visit the remaining 7 characters, and upon assisting with their first chapters you recruit them to assist you on your journey. The order in which you recruit these characters is up to the player, and recruiting them is entirely optional. It should be noted that each of these paths within the game are self-contained, at least on the surface. Because of the freedom to play the game as you desire, the stories were written to overlap very little, though certain connections can be inferred after completing several chapters. But because these stories are siloed, not all of their stories were created equally, though the attempt was admirable.
The story of Primrose Azelhart in particular was the standout of the game. Hers is a story of revenge which doesn't take long to go to some pretty dark places. Of the conflicts among all of the other stories, hers was the one that felt the most real, the one that felt like it was pushing boundaries that a big-budget Final Fantasy title wouldn't dare to push.
Another standout character for me was that of Alfyn Greengrass, a traveling Apothecary who's just out in the world to do as much good as he can. And while the story does have some dark points here or there, moments of self-doubt and reflection, overall it is a light-hearted tale about meeting and helping people because that's just the kind of guy he is!
The result of this storytelling method is that the game feels sort of like a collection of short-stories that explore telling an adventure from different angles, and the result is a wholly unique and enjoyable experience.
The storytelling within Octopath Traveler has some slight drawbacks though. It would have been really nice to see more time and care put into the recruitment stages of Octopath, where characters meet up and join the party. As things are now, when characters meet, you are given a brief glimpse of what that character is up to, and then you are asked if you want to join them. When you choose to join them, there's no real interaction to speak of, their chapter simply starts, and you tag along for the ride. It isn't until later chapters when you'll start to see characters interact with one another during optional cut-scenes. These scenes typically trigger in taverns or after key events when you have certain combinations of party members in your group of four, and pressing the + (Plus) button allows the interactions to play out. It is within these scenes that characters interact with one another, learn about each other, and offer advice to one another. These don't affect the stories of the game or the direction they go, you don't make choices within them, but by observing them you can start to get a better feel for the characters themselves. And in my time with each of the characters, none seemed particularly grating.
The least enjoyable story arc for me probably belonged to H’aanit, the hunter. And that has nothing to do with her as a character, and her story was in fact pretty great. But her strange Olde English dialog was difficult to read aloud, and her voice actress deserves a medal for her efforts. But that dialect is limited only to H’annit who speaks rarely, and her master who only makes brief appearances, so it’s forgivable. And you know when I have to dig that far to pull up a negative about a story arc, the rest of the story has gotta be pretty darned good!
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