Octopath Traveler II, for me personally, dethroned Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, something I did not expect to ever happen. So yeah, OT2 is game of the year for me.
As regards the characters interacting with each other, I of course loved the crossed paths idea and would like to see a lot more of those, but even the small detail of each character commenting on the events of the battles did a lot for me. Hearing Throné casually compliment Osvald with a smirking "Brilliant, Professor" or the matter-of-fact "Excellent work, Hikari" from Castti gave me the impression that these people care about and spend time with each other.
It's my GOTY too, and even though a lot of great games have released and are releasing this year, I don't think that will change. It's become one of my all time favorite JRPG's now. Everything just feels improved from the original. Environments feel more lively, lots of great places to explore in the world, combat has a lot of cool improvements, stories are all pretty interesting. Most of all though I love the characters. The crossed paths and the final quest at the end of the game do a lot to help them all feel like a proper party, and the travel banter between them all was great too. Btw I also started with Hikari, bc his quest of finding allies to help him take back his kingdom felt like the perfect reason for him to form a party with everyone you meet. It was also a nice touch that every time you get a new party member a little cutscene or event occurs that shows how you meet and why they decide to join you. It's a small change, but it's a lot better from the original where you just join them during their first chapter for almost no reason.
I loved the first game but this one so much more. The amount of effort compared is actually crazy. Surprisingly enough I didn’t find the grind to be too bad. When I wasn’t doing story I was busy exploring the extra dungeons when I was high enough level. After beating those I was ready for the story mission. Nothing really felt like mindless grinding. Idk, could be just me.
Do you still have to keep re-arranging your party over and over to make them all level up? I've been interested in Octopath 2 but that really bothered me while playing the first one and made me stop playing it
Octopath 1 was a game I adored on release, so many aspects of it I fell in love with, the ost is still a staple in my music library. When I saw the trailer for 2 I couldn't believe my eyes, I had no clue how it could better the first. And yet, it did, now this doesn't take away my love for 1, I still adore that game, 2 I just adore more. The changes to the Hunter capture system, the visuals, the togetherness feel of the party, god the partys characters were gripping, the usefulness of Alrond for end game grinding was huge. Octopath 2 has very quickly become one of if not my favourite switch game
I just completed the main stories and sorting through post game content and side quests now. I’m in love with this game. It’s a perfect balance is simplicity and complexity. I hope they made a 3rd game.
I chose Throne first and it was so worth it! Not only that you get the offensive boosts at the beginning of a fight at night, but also the last passive ability of the thief class that gives you more exp and LBP (thats what the ability learning points are called in german, not sure what it is in english). Combined, i had no problems to defeat random encounters in one turn, which made them less annoying, and through the passive i almost never had to grind. Throne is also great for Bosses as she will have high stats for being the main main character and deal tons of damage through the godly ability of the thief class with speed boosting equipment. But there is still more. She can also support the damage the other three characters by lowering the bosses stats, making the others get less damage or deal more damage. The latent ability also allows to drop the defense of an enemy before dealing even more damage with her. On top of all of this, always having the stealing path action comes in very handy and is very convenient.
The worst thing I could say about this game is that "it's not for everyone". People who don't like turn-based RPGs are not likely to enjoy this game at all. But if you liked Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, or any of those blast from the past games, this will be your game of the year as well. It's probably gonna be mine, if I'm honest.
Completely agree. I’d probably never recommend this game to my friends who only play 3D mainstream games because they probably wouldn’t like Octopath very much. Having a preference is totally normal and not everyone needs to play every game. Thanks for the comment!
funny enough i have a little insight on this. i had never played any jrpg before this game besides a little ff15 and watching like 3 hours of persona 5. and i don’t usually like games like this whatsoever, but octopath just sucks you in instantly. i’m 35 hours deep now and have loved every second. the random encounters do become abrasive tho
I absolutely WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree! I knew I’d like this game but I didn’t expect to fall in love with it and all the characters as much as I did. As a woman I wanted a female lead protagonist and I had such a hard time choosing as all the females were viable with cool stories to different degrees to different players, have really cool abilities and powerful moves. I had a hard time choosing between all 8 characters and I’m glad I got to play through all of their stories. Well I’m just short of halfway but I mean I didn’t miss anyone’s story by choosing one character. I though Temenous would be a bland, boring, pious cleric… but nope, he toes the line between good and evil and is absolutely hilarious. I thought I’d dislike Partitio and that he’d be a sleezy, selfish money grubbing merchant, but nope! He just wants to end poverty and bring prosperity to everyone. Hikari’s fight against evil in his family and within himself, Throné trying to end human slavery, Ochette playing IRL Pokémon and Agnea just wants to dance baby! This game is a blast and I love it. The pacing is great and any grinding is fun and I learn a ton every time. There’s different ways to finish quests so no 2 playthroughs will ever be the same. I ADORE this game and haven’t been able to put it down. Even when I’m not playing I am thinking about it and new strats and new places to explore. This game is amazing and depending on Tears of the Kingdom and the rest of the year, is either my game of the year or JRPG of the year. All I can say is that it’s been ages since a game made me feel the way this one did, maybe not ever. I’ve played a lot of great games lately but this one is something special. Imagine if they make a third… Love the video and wholly, fully agree.
@@user-mm2zj3mz3u I didn’t want to mention Osvald because I didn’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t yet played. His is the most emotional I think. Some stories are pretty surface but charming but his dogs pretty deep. The ending made me feel… vindicated? I guess. Anyway I personally was very invested in his story. He had so much loss and so far to go to avenge it and he learned that he hadn’t lost everything and that revenge can be pretty hollow. And the frustration he must’ve felt in the beginning being wrongly convicted and stuck with no way to even begin to fix anything. Very triumphant feeling at the end of his story
Hi, I didn't want to watch the video because I want to have everything fresh and new to me. However I have one question - is there something in the game that I should focus on? I've never played any JRPG before, but I just wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. I'd rather just let it all flow naturally, but if there are certain aspects I shouldn't ignore, I'd like to know about them. Thank you.
@@cheekydemon6131 I genuinely just put this same sentiment into a comment on another video I saw for beginners of Octopath 2. My only advice is to not watch much at all and only look up written guides when absolutely necessary. The main focus of this game is its characters, their stories and their roles in combat. The game will give you everything you need to know as far as information and ample opportunity and time to figure out combat. There are certain mechanics of rpg combat but there’s sooo many different combinations of characters and job combinations skills and equipment and play styles that no 2 people will ever play exactly the same. There’s not much to be gained from learning from anyone else’s play because yours may be totally different. You only get one first playthrough and the story and characters are amazing. You’re not timed or graded, so enjoy the story, don’t rush it. If you want to min/max the game afterwards you can always playthrough it again, and then you’ll be well versed in weapons, characters and combat. Don’t be intimidated. Just jump in. There are things I found out about way later on in the game that didn’t effect my game at all for not having known. My ONLY advice is to try to play every characters first chapter, then second, etc. Osvald is the only character who has an automatic second chapter attached to his first but it’s short and doesn’t effect anything else. I think the best way to enjoy it is to explore, go around and collect all your characters and play through their first chapter and then chase down the story chapters in the order you find most interesting. And some people will have their opinions on their main character but just pick the one you like the most. They’re all powerful and have their unique pros and cons but you will have them locked to your party until you finish their full story so just make sure you pick the one you like the most. Just don’t ruin your first playthrough trying to make it perfect. You can always have a more efficient run later. I’m 100 hours in and I’m just now wrapping up the last 4 characters last chapters. I play slowly and explore and do side quests. I hope you find that you love it. I felt lost at first but I loved it so much I kept with it. I think I mostly felt lost because everyone online seemed to be a pro. So don’t compare and just enjoy it. I genuinely hope you love it and have fun exploring. There’s 9 save files so you can always start again and branch off if you feel like you might die or want to try something else. There’s a few auto save points when you go through loading screens into new areas but it’s mostly checkpoint manual saves so you can save to multiple slots and try again and again from there. 🖤
I loved this game a lot. I personally chose Temenos, and I honestly couldn’t imagine having picked anyone else. Super useful class and skills, most consistently entertaining character to watch in cutscenes (in my opinion, at least; Agnea has a bit more charm and Partitio is obviously funnier, but I think Temenos is just the most solid overall), and one of the best personal narratives that is very clearly the most important to the overall connected final chapter (it’s to the point that I saw someone early after it released asking if the final battle was only the way it was because they started with Temenos; I think the devs liked Temenos, too).
I definitely see Temenos as the true main character, who while helping it her travelers starts piecing together not only the main conspiracy he’s after, but the whole over arching schemes happening behind the scenes. Also the intro of his chapter 1 is a perfect intro for the game
I totally agree with your Octopath Traveler 2 review. The talented developers have really listened to their fans feedback and the end result is a beautifully crafted game that is a total joy to play and experience. We can only hope and pray that there will be an Octopath Traveler 3 sometime very soon!
I just want to add that I didn’t have to grind at all, and I just beat Galdera. I just chose the 3 nearest characters to my main Osvald, Temenos, Throne, Ochette… and finished all the quests for them and constantly went to dungeons that were a few levels above mine and explored everywhere, even with Evasive Maneuvers on. Then when I started needing to go to the West continent, I picked up the 5th character and then swapped out my highest who was not my main character and went quickly to make team 2, switching out the old members as soon as possible. Then I finished the stories of all team members using their teams to do it and all the dungeons on the east and west with teams 1 and 2, respectively. They both finished around the same level and then I finished all the side quests and I did grind a very small bit to finish out the JP for each job on each character, but it wouldn’t have been necessary. Then I finished Galdera at level 70, dying about 4 times and revising my strategy without using any online resources for him. Honestly, it’s a perfect game and I never once felt it wasn’t fair or that I was intentionally grinding. I used the internet for some side quests. They were a little tricky to figure out but gave great reason to actually talk to every townsperson.
Although I did do this while equipping all the EXP and JP boosting equipment and skills as soon as I found them which could explain the difference. I suppose my only criticism with the game is the Life in the Shadows skill which relegated me to mostly playing at night. Without it I could have seen some monsters I missed, etc.
Also, Partitio’s voice acting was amazing and this is the only game I have ever played where I listened to the dialogue and didn’t skip the voice acting when I was done reading it.. it was so fun to hear all the good voices and stories.
I was so interested in Octopath 1 when it was coming out, but just never got into it. But honestly I'm looking forward to giving this a go. It sounds awesome as an experience too
I didn’t realise my first character would stick with me until the end but I chose Throne, she can’t hit all monsters at once it just meant I had to use a lot of strategy which I really enjoyed. Partitio and Agnea stories I enjoyed most.
Honestly I never had a problem with how the 8 stories were separate in the first game. Like, that's new compared to other games of the genre, but that was interesting, having 8 small stories rather than one big story. Plus, as far as character interaction goes, the Travel Banters were enough to make it believable for me. To each their own I know! I'm just saying, it's a different way to tell the story, but I like it! :)
Grinding? I found myself constantly running from battles to avoid getting overleveled and was still breezing through many boss battles 5 to 10 levels under the reccomended. I think we coulda really used a hard mode option. I chose Ochette as my first traveler and her versatility with monster capturing was certainly useful.
Enjoyed this game so much, the music and HD/2D style was top notch and it got even better when I realized you could change job classes like in FFT. I took Ochette to start, I’m a sucker for the archer/hunter type characters. For new players, I would recommend only picking up 4 characters for your first playthrough, so that you can have a whole new story with your second one as well as avoid somepretty large level disparities when going back for the other stories
Tbh, I’m about halfway through the game, and I haven’t really had to grind. That’s partially because I feel Octopath does a good job at allowing strategy to make up for level, and partially because it’s so easy to over level in Octopath, but mainly because I kept doing the side content and trusting the recommended levels for each main story quest. Those help give you the equipment, stat boosts, and levels you need to keep up with the main story, and unlike Octopath 1 I felt really encouraged to do so because some dungeons had Side Quest or Job License requirements, and it’s a little harder to over level in this game than Octopath 1.
This is my 2nd favorite game of the year so far; to me nothing ever beats Tears of the Kingdom. And I have yet to play Sea of Stars, but Octopath Traveler 2 is a master-piece that was a huge improvement over the original. The original was an amazing game, but I do agree that most individual character arcs felt too simple. The only character whose story had any real depth from beginning to end was Primrose. Though Ophelia, Olberic, and Alfyn did have some surprise moments that made them interesting later on. And it was painfully obvious that what happens in canon is that all 8 protagonists did their respective 4 chapters alone. Side quests and crosspaths did involve characters interacting more, and it's final chapter was a huge improvement over the original. Instead of it being cryptic about quest requirement and it just being a big boss gauntlet that gives you one epic final boss with 0 chance to save. It at least has some direction and the certify to let you save before the final boss. The boss itself may have been a joke compared to Galdera, but there's also good news regarding Galdera too; a top secret superboss. Plus the Moonshade Order being an entire organization dedicated to Vide was still more depth than it just being one mystery girl behind closed doors. But yeah, OT2 is so much different where every character had an amazing arc. I chose Throne as my starter given my obsession with completionism and getting all the various items, and she really excels where Therion kind of lagged behind (Out of process of elimination, he was my least favorite party member in the 1st game and now wish I chose Tressa instead of him as my starter), but I'd probably would choose Osvald as my starter if I did a next playthrough. And here's a special challenge; defeat every chapter boss using just the respective protagonists, so that it follows what technically happens in canon. But another improvements the 2nd game really made over the original also is the visuals of the towns. OT1 had great looking sprites and backgrounds, but the towns and buildings like kinda meh; OT2 really improved those and the boss actually moving to attack was also a huge improvement. But yeah, Latent Powers and boss design also improved the combat. Also, you level up a lot faster in OT2 than you did in the 1st, so that's also a plus. (Especially with Osvald in the party and/or Throne at night).
The one thing Octopath 100% percent improved for me is the easier ways to grind XP. While I know it's annoying for people, there are more option for it. There are the obvious XP and JP modifier accessories like in the first game, but you also have the Extra experience and hard worker, which come a lot easier being on the dancer and scholar instead of the late game advanced jobs, we have life in the shadows, the exp and jp perk for the night, arrow of fortune, besides bewildering grace, we now have alrond and the octopuff/ chubby cait item jerky things Ochette can, so many more way to easily achieve exp... also grinding is easier with Vigorous Victor
I know Zelda and Silksong will probably end up a lot of people’s game of the year but I’m fairly confident that this will stay my favourite. I’d been longing for a sequel for years and when they announced it I was overjoyed. I loved the first and the second managed to top even that!
Loved the game too, I haven't had to grind at any point besides for the endgame superboss, and I even regret doing so since I obliterated it (still took 3 attempts but I feel that's way too fast). I did every chapter choosing the lowest level one and made sure I always had my weakest travelers in the party so that they would keep pace with my higher level ones, and on the few instances where I was too low level for the easiest chapter, I cleared a side dungeon and it did the trick without feeling like grinding.
This game is by far one of my favorites. I highly enjoyed OCTOPATH 1, and Champions of the continent, their mobile game. I truly hope this game gets another 🙌🏽
I picked Osvald because having the free weakness reveal is just so nice. I stand by my choice because I think he's the least likely characters to be a canon protagonist (similarly but coincidentally in the first game, my protagonist was Primrose). I can't really say I agree about the grindiness though. I never needed to grind (except for the superboss, but that's a different thing altogether). When I got to people's final chapters, I did need to gain some levels, but I just decided to back out of the chapter I was in and take my team to another tier 3 city. The levels I gained on the way were more than enough, and it wasn't really grinding because I was going to need to get to that city eventually anyway. Plus, I know someone who consistently did every chapter underleveled... The thing is that in both this and the first game, equipment is a bigger factor in your strength than levels are.
two friends and i bought it when it came out since we really enjoyed the first game, there was no end to the amount of wackiness we got up to, such as entering level 50 dungeons when we were level 20 and just getting lucky enough to get some of the gear in there, i 100%ed it in two weeks with just under 100 hours lol definitely one of my favorite games
My favorite game of the year, and one of my favorite games I ever played in 30 years. The only area that I think OT outpaces OT2 is the music. The music is really exceptional in both games, but OT's OST fares slightly better. I started with Throné and upon a replay, I would either stick to Throné or grab Hikari. Partitio's story was probably my favorite, and that surprised me a lot. Agnea's was a wash, and she's really the only one I didn't care for. Ironic after how much I LOVED Primrose and her story in the first game. I want to see OT3! I have already thought of some names too ;)
OP2 is such a vast improvement over the first game. I can't put the game down. My favorite improvements so far are the art direction and story depth. The sprites have more expression to them, even in battle. The stories are so fun to experience.
It’s definitely my GOTY for sure. I’m done with half of the stories so far and I’m going to finish Castti, Hikari, Ochette, and my starting character Osvald’s stories in that order. I completed Throne’s, Agnea’s, Temenos’, and Partitio’s stories thus far. I’ve spent more time in this game than the first one at around 68 hours I believe and I still haven’t completed all the stories or explored all the dungeons. This game definitely feels like it has more content (or maybe I just spend a bit longer on the bosses in this one, but either way I’m loving it) not to mention the soundtrack. Partitio’s theme and the boss theme that plays for every Chapter 4 are among my favorites.
I agree this game is amazing and definitely going to be top 10 for games of all time but I disagree that its grindy i didn't have to grind at all until the final boss. If you just fight every encounter you come across and explore you actually become overleveled very quickly
I knew this game is one of my GOTY is when i adore all aspects of it that i dread it comes to an end and i hope the journey doesn't end. i cant remember the last time i didn't want to reach the end of a game....
Lovely video and i very much agree. I also love how they added new stuff like the little boats and the big boat, also the map feels better interwoven in a way where you feel like you're actually traveling alot as well. The biggest selling point from 2 over 1 for me was the epilouge i felt like that was just done so much better in this game than the previous one.
100% agree. The first one was good for what it was, but it definitely had flaws. The developers really polished and fixed everything that was an issue for me in the first game, and Octo 2 is one of the best JRPGs I've played in recent memory. The characters, stories and the music are all so amazing, and I really hope this series continues, because I'm absolutely in love with it now. I also picked Hikari as my main, and he definitely feels like the "main character" to me, but I really like Agnea and Partitio too, and if I ever do a second playthrough, I'd probably pick either of them instead.
I think one of the biggest problems with video game sequels is sometimes it'll feel like "the story is cool and all and the combat is innovative, but I'm not sure why they made the sequel." For Octopath 2, I don't even have to think to tell you why they made a sequel. They knew that could do better with the feedback given and gave us a god send of a game. I loved every single second of my playthrough and am so happy with the game.
Actually, I kinda acceptable for a distinguished main story for each characters. I feel this is a thing for Octopath now. However, I hope they improved the banter skits by letting them in the scene after the cutscene ended with a full voice-over (same quality as character story). Make it more immersive but not break the character story. The crossed path is excellent improvement, but it is too big and we get 4 pairs instead of whole party. My suggestion is to have like 20-30 small side quests with versatile member pairing and all connected to the final boss. But one thing I love about this series (including Bravely Default II, Triangle Strategy) is they are actually care their fans which is become rarer in these days for a big company.
I tried to like this game so much. Great music, great stories, great graphics, love the combat. Spent about 10 hours in the game and then stopped playing. 2 dealbreakers for me are the fact that sometimes you absolutly have NO idea what to do in certain sidequest AND you can accept sidequests in low level areas that in order to complete them, you will need to be in high level areas...No idea what they where thinking there. If I accept a sidequest in a level 5 area and need to be level 30 in order to complete it... I would probably already have forgotten about this sidequest. Currently I am also playing Dragon Quest 11 on the switch. In this game when you accept a sidequest, you can actually complete it at that level and it also tells you what you need to do. I don't have the time to use the scrutenize skill across the entire map to complete a sidequest that, in most cases don't even give you that great of a reward. Turns out when browsing the internet, more people have the same feeling and search the answer for sidequests online... that really can't be the meaning of sidequests. I have no problem searching online here and there to find a solution to a specific problem.. but if I have the search online ALL the time... no thx.
You do realize you don't NEED to complete every quest at the time you pick it up? You might say that some quests in octopath TRAVELER might require you to TRAVEL to other places and talk to other npcs. For instance, the npc named "octopus-obsessed noble" might be important to remember for a quest later, maybe note that for later. I appreciated not having map markers for quests, otherwise it would just be fast-traveling between towns to complete quests.
I didn't expect to end up liking Temenos as much as I did! I was expecting a more cookie-cutter archetype for the cleric, with rigid morals and a holier-than-thou attitude. They caught me off guard with his characterization; he quickly became my favorite. Overall, I'm so glad I decided to try this game, it's become one of my all-time favorites.
Havent had as much fun with a game in a while, then i played Octopath Traveler 2. It bumped its way straight into my top 3. Gameplay was just way too fucking fun
After playing ff16 a part of me felt empty, I tried really, really hard to love the newer FFs but I just couldn't. That's when I came across Octopath Traveler 2, sure there's no chocobos or phoenix downs but this to me felt more like a final fantasy from my memories. Octopath might not have high polygon models or hyper realistic CGI, but holy sh*t it might be the most visually stunning game I've played in the past 5 years. Everything about the game such as the battle system, the characters, world exploration, I just love them all so much. Personally I hope SE will keep making these 'classic' JRPGs - even if they're not branded as Final Fantasy. Letting go is hard I'm not gonna lie, but I've come to accept that I'm no longer the main audience for the series. It's a bittersweet feeling but I'm genuinely glad to see Final Fantasy evolve.
I totally understand where you’re coming from and I agree that OT definitely fills a classic Final Fantasy sized hole in my heart. And yeah the amazing thing about pixel art is that it’s timeless, I don’t see why more triple a games wouldn’t go for that style
@@apoxfox I also think one of the many charms of the pixel art style is just how much you can get away with ridiculous game mechanics 😂 for example in OT you can literally mug a child, or duel a random elderly lady for no reason lmao I don’t see how it could work in a ‘realistic’ looking game.
I just started yesterday, I quite liked the first game despite it's flaws, and only found out couple days ago that that sequel released (again, no marketing?) I chose Osvald to start, I like those darker stories and figured that if I don't get hooked right away, I'll drop the game pretty fast
What an amazing game. I will say though if you do some side quests and exploring between chapters, you don't have to grind at all to complete the main story. I finished it with every character around lvl 50 (and my protagonist was lvl 70)
Either this or Tears of the Kingdom will be my GOTY. They improved on the first game in every way! My favorite change has to be that it’s less formulaic. Octopath 1 was very clear, that everyone had 4 chapters, every chapter had a boss and every town was equal in terms of questing. Even the world, while nice, was one big circle. 2’s worldbuilding feels more natural.
Agreed but when octopath traveler 2 did come out in February is was definitely up there for Goty contender imo but now that totk is out it’s obvious totk is winning goty 2023
“Didn’t see any marketing” my man I use TH-cam at work to listen to music and I got an ad every 20 minutes and was seeing it all over IG 😂 but o agree with the first game. It was okay. Just didn’t like how the stories didn’t connect until the end by side quest and even then it felt empty
a bit early to call it game of the year, but it's an amazing game (I'm only halfway through and it already feels 2 steps above the first one, which I loved as well)
Personally, I don’t think grinding is necessary at all in this game. Even though I was below the recommended level, the game still felt fair. Other than that, great video! 😊
I didn't expect the the thief character to be a powerhouse this time around. The new skills (especially Surprise Attack) made the thief a vast improvement over the previous version.
This is a beautiful review of the game and such a stark reminder of how two people with love for this genre of games can have such a different experience just based on personal preference. I thought that the original game's interconnectedness felt much stronger and more earned than in OCTP2. I think I just liked the characters more in 1 than in 2. Temenos is one of my least favorite characters (d/t personality and his story) because I held him up against the standard of Ophelia. Overall, OCTP2 is the better game, but found the characters less likable as compared to the original. It was helpful to hear what you liked about the characters and the game!
I don’t enjoy turn based games most of the time. I’d much rather be able to do combos and spam attacks in real time, but I still put in 50-60 hours into Octopath Traveller without even finishing it. OT2 takes everything I loved in the first game, enhanced it, and made me fall in love with turn based games. This will probably be the first turn based JRPG that I play to completion in over 10 years of trying. I don’t need an amazingly compelling story, and this game knows that. What they offer in return is a super fun gameplay loop that only gets better over the early hours of the game that you can experience in bite sized pieces anywhere on the switch. It’s an amazing game that shows me what I missed out on by not trying out those older JRPGs.
This is a great game I just simply can’t stand random encounters. Modern JRPGs have spoiled me. If I could see enemies in the field or have a way to turn encounters completely off for a time while I explore, this would be one of my top games of the year.
I never finished Octopath 1 due to the grind and just got bored I still thought it was a good game the 2nd one however I 100% this game was phenomenal from music gameplay and story definitely my game of the year
I wanted to play it but the reviews scared me a bit. They mentioned the final boss was insanely hard. Is there any easy mode or any feature that may let you focus on the story without grinding as much as the first one? Thanks!
The final boss isn't bad but they did put in a side quest for an optional secret boss that is pretty lame. Use cheat engine, grab a code trainer, or skip that boss. No one would blame you.
I don't get why he mentioned that this game makes the bosses less predictable. Many bosses in the first game had different patterns, weakness changes, enemies to guard/assist them, and near the end, special battle effects that changed how you had to approach each battle. It's just this time, it's done earlier. That's the only change I notice so far. It really seems like whatever problems pop up just.... aren't true. Or maybe I'm missing something.
the original game is upfront about the 8 eight separate stories and advertises as such. It always gets on my nerve whenever people complain about the stories not being connected with one another.
People these days can't read or understand what an anthology is. It's simply pathetic, and it makes me realize why so many people died in the Jonestown incident. 😒
A lot more voice acting than in the first game. Most quests are voice acted, with small scenes with minor npcs here and there still just text. Feel free to jump straight into OT2, you don't need to play the first game, its mostly a different world from the previous game, sort of like the final fantasy series does.
I think there were stories that I enjoyed more in OT1, but as a whole, the stories told in 2 are better. I would disagree however with the OST being better in 2. Its still miles ahead of your average game, but OT1 was better imho.
Way too early to call this GOTY. The first entry was enjoyable but disappointing overall, and i think this game they've taken a giant leap in the right direction. They're so close in perfecting the ultimate RPG, so I'm looking forward to future entries. You also take to take into consideration that we have both the new Final Fantasy and the mostly anticipated new Zelda entry. So this game has two heavyweights in the race for GOTY. I'd be surprised if the new Zelda game doesn't pick that mantle up.
I can tell you don't understand the battle system. Complaining about grinding in a game whose battle system makes it so your strategy and ability to break foes is far more important than the characters' levels, is just completely asinine. In the original game, the only real grinding I had to do was at the very end, to beat the final boss. Which, I was never able to beat because that fight was all about your tactics and boosting and breaking at just the right moments. From what I've played in 30 hours so far with 2, this isn't even an issue with so many encounters. I find myself overleveled by the time I get characters to their respective chapters. A character at any level can break anything with the right skills, abilities, equipment, or items. Making the only gameplay problem, to have the right party members. If a character is underleveled, you can just have that character survive and get tons of exp and JP especially with dancer skills and merchant abilities. It's like people grind because they believe they need to, just because it is a turn based rpg.
I loved the combat and art style of the first one but overall I found the game boring as far as story and execution. I’m hearing good things about the sequel though. I’ll probably pick it up eventually.
I've enjoyed it so far, 30hrs in, and some of the characters are written better then others...A lot of times the dialog just dredges on for waaaay to long, and with poor writing, repeating the same things...."I gotta bring smiles to eeeeeeveryone" Seeing peoples smiles is eeeeverything" "Don't worry, I'll make sure everyone smiles" Bla bla blaaa.... Uggg -___- Other then that it's been pretty fun, just have to have a few beers to get through some of the boring parts~
>Actually learning from shortcomings But it's still practically the same game? The complains are still unaddressed: Bland characters with no development, shoehorned character interactions with no emotional connection or overarching plots, dungeons being hallways with no puzzles, no minigames or anything based on the world..
Don't grind in Octopath! It's a waste of time, gear vastly outscales stats from leveling. Take the time to do sidequest and don't be a cheapskate when it comes to gear and you will be more than fine!
I think it’s a great game, definitely better than the first, but I definitely would not consider it game of the year material. The gameplay is really fun and the music is amazing, but the stories themselves just aren’t that good. They have they’re high points, but the characters themselves are more interesting than the stories
I keep hearing reviewers say they needed to grind but I never needed to in my entire playthrough. Gear outscales leveling stats by such a wide margin I'm convinced that they A) never spent any of their money. B) Never stole anything. or C) Never did side quests which all reward money, gear, and permanent stat boosts. Its free real estate.
Octopath Traveler 2 has made it into one of my favorite games of all time. A list that barely has changed since I was 12 years old. I'm 28 now.
Octopath Traveler II, for me personally, dethroned Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, something I did not expect to ever happen. So yeah, OT2 is game of the year for me.
@@twilightlord9950 huge claim. But I do agree that OT 2 is up there with the big boys
As regards the characters interacting with each other, I of course loved the crossed paths idea and would like to see a lot more of those, but even the small detail of each character commenting on the events of the battles did a lot for me. Hearing Throné casually compliment Osvald with a smirking "Brilliant, Professor" or the matter-of-fact "Excellent work, Hikari" from Castti gave me the impression that these people care about and spend time with each other.
It's my GOTY too, and even though a lot of great games have released and are releasing this year, I don't think that will change. It's become one of my all time favorite JRPG's now.
Everything just feels improved from the original. Environments feel more lively, lots of great places to explore in the world, combat has a lot of cool improvements, stories are all pretty interesting. Most of all though I love the characters. The crossed paths and the final quest at the end of the game do a lot to help them all feel like a proper party, and the travel banter between them all was great too.
Btw I also started with Hikari, bc his quest of finding allies to help him take back his kingdom felt like the perfect reason for him to form a party with everyone you meet. It was also a nice touch that every time you get a new party member a little cutscene or event occurs that shows how you meet and why they decide to join you. It's a small change, but it's a lot better from the original where you just join them during their first chapter for almost no reason.
I loved the first game but this one so much more. The amount of effort compared is actually crazy. Surprisingly enough I didn’t find the grind to be too bad. When I wasn’t doing story I was busy exploring the extra dungeons when I was high enough level. After beating those I was ready for the story mission. Nothing really felt like mindless grinding. Idk, could be just me.
This was my experience as well
Do you still have to keep re-arranging your party over and over to make them all level up? I've been interested in Octopath 2 but that really bothered me while playing the first one and made me stop playing it
Definitely going to have to add this to the wishlist, I can see myself turning this into my bedtime game for sure.
Yessss that’s what it’s been for me. Only problem is that it’s been making me stay up a bit too late, worth it though
Octopath 1 was a game I adored on release, so many aspects of it I fell in love with, the ost is still a staple in my music library. When I saw the trailer for 2 I couldn't believe my eyes, I had no clue how it could better the first. And yet, it did, now this doesn't take away my love for 1, I still adore that game, 2 I just adore more. The changes to the Hunter capture system, the visuals, the togetherness feel of the party, god the partys characters were gripping, the usefulness of Alrond for end game grinding was huge. Octopath 2 has very quickly become one of if not my favourite switch game
I just completed the main stories and sorting through post game content and side quests now. I’m in love with this game. It’s a perfect balance is simplicity and complexity. I hope they made a 3rd game.
I chose Throne first and it was so worth it! Not only that you get the offensive boosts at the beginning of a fight at night, but also the last passive ability of the thief class that gives you more exp and LBP (thats what the ability learning points are called in german, not sure what it is in english). Combined, i had no problems to defeat random encounters in one turn, which made them less annoying, and through the passive i almost never had to grind. Throne is also great for Bosses as she will have high stats for being the main main character and deal tons of damage through the godly ability of the thief class with speed boosting equipment. But there is still more. She can also support the damage the other three characters by lowering the bosses stats, making the others get less damage or deal more damage. The latent ability also allows to drop the defense of an enemy before dealing even more damage with her. On top of all of this, always having the stealing path action comes in very handy and is very convenient.
The worst thing I could say about this game is that "it's not for everyone". People who don't like turn-based RPGs are not likely to enjoy this game at all.
But if you liked Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, or any of those blast from the past games, this will be your game of the year as well. It's probably gonna be mine, if I'm honest.
Completely agree. I’d probably never recommend this game to my friends who only play 3D mainstream games because they probably wouldn’t like Octopath very much. Having a preference is totally normal and not everyone needs to play every game. Thanks for the comment!
funny enough i have a little insight on this. i had never played any jrpg before this game besides a little ff15 and watching like 3 hours of persona 5. and i don’t usually like games like this whatsoever, but octopath just sucks you in instantly. i’m 35 hours deep now and have loved every second. the random encounters do become abrasive tho
dunkey would like to know your location
lol I love Dunkey
Dunkey is nitpicky and biased, OK byeee
@@mt.crushmore I win byebye
duck funkey
He might like this game, which resolved many of the issues of the previous one
I absolutely WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree! I knew I’d like this game but I didn’t expect to fall in love with it and all the characters as much as I did. As a woman I wanted a female lead protagonist and I had such a hard time choosing as all the females were viable with cool stories to different degrees to different players, have really cool abilities and powerful moves. I had a hard time choosing between all 8 characters and I’m glad I got to play through all of their stories. Well I’m just short of halfway but I mean I didn’t miss anyone’s story by choosing one character.
I though Temenous would be a bland, boring, pious cleric… but nope, he toes the line between good and evil and is absolutely hilarious. I thought I’d dislike Partitio and that he’d be a sleezy, selfish money grubbing merchant, but nope! He just wants to end poverty and bring prosperity to everyone. Hikari’s fight against evil in his family and within himself, Throné trying to end human slavery, Ochette playing IRL Pokémon and Agnea just wants to dance baby! This game is a blast and I love it. The pacing is great and any grinding is fun and I learn a ton every time. There’s different ways to finish quests so no 2 playthroughs will ever be the same. I ADORE this game and haven’t been able to put it down. Even when I’m not playing I am thinking about it and new strats and new places to explore.
This game is amazing and depending on Tears of the Kingdom and the rest of the year, is either my game of the year or JRPG of the year. All I can say is that it’s been ages since a game made me feel the way this one did, maybe not ever. I’ve played a lot of great games lately but this one is something special. Imagine if they make a third…
Love the video and wholly, fully agree.
Love this comment, you put it all perfectly. Especially Ochette playing IRL Pokémon lol
Im curious what about osvald
@@user-mm2zj3mz3u I didn’t want to mention Osvald because I didn’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t yet played. His is the most emotional I think. Some stories are pretty surface but charming but his dogs pretty deep. The ending made me feel… vindicated? I guess. Anyway I personally was very invested in his story. He had so much loss and so far to go to avenge it and he learned that he hadn’t lost everything and that revenge can be pretty hollow. And the frustration he must’ve felt in the beginning being wrongly convicted and stuck with no way to even begin to fix anything. Very triumphant feeling at the end of his story
Hi, I didn't want to watch the video because I want to have everything fresh and new to me. However I have one question - is there something in the game that I should focus on? I've never played any JRPG before, but I just wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. I'd rather just let it all flow naturally, but if there are certain aspects I shouldn't ignore, I'd like to know about them. Thank you.
@@cheekydemon6131 I genuinely just put this same sentiment into a comment on another video I saw for beginners of Octopath 2. My only advice is to not watch much at all and only look up written guides when absolutely necessary. The main focus of this game is its characters, their stories and their roles in combat. The game will give you everything you need to know as far as information and ample opportunity and time to figure out combat. There are certain mechanics of rpg combat but there’s sooo many different combinations of characters and job combinations skills and equipment and play styles that no 2 people will ever play exactly the same. There’s not much to be gained from learning from anyone else’s play because yours may be totally different. You only get one first playthrough and the story and characters are amazing. You’re not timed or graded, so enjoy the story, don’t rush it. If you want to min/max the game afterwards you can always playthrough it again, and then you’ll be well versed in weapons, characters and combat. Don’t be intimidated. Just jump in. There are things I found out about way later on in the game that didn’t effect my game at all for not having known. My ONLY advice is to try to play every characters first chapter, then second, etc. Osvald is the only character who has an automatic second chapter attached to his first but it’s short and doesn’t effect anything else. I think the best way to enjoy it is to explore, go around and collect all your characters and play through their first chapter and then chase down the story chapters in the order you find most interesting. And some people will have their opinions on their main character but just pick the one you like the most. They’re all powerful and have their unique pros and cons but you will have them locked to your party until you finish their full story so just make sure you pick the one you like the most. Just don’t ruin your first playthrough trying to make it perfect. You can always have a more efficient run later. I’m 100 hours in and I’m just now wrapping up the last 4 characters last chapters. I play slowly and explore and do side quests.
I hope you find that you love it. I felt lost at first but I loved it so much I kept with it. I think I mostly felt lost because everyone online seemed to be a pro. So don’t compare and just enjoy it. I genuinely hope you love it and have fun exploring. There’s 9 save files so you can always start again and branch off if you feel like you might die or want to try something else. There’s a few auto save points when you go through loading screens into new areas but it’s mostly checkpoint manual saves so you can save to multiple slots and try again and again from there. 🖤
I loved this game a lot. I personally chose Temenos, and I honestly couldn’t imagine having picked anyone else. Super useful class and skills, most consistently entertaining character to watch in cutscenes (in my opinion, at least; Agnea has a bit more charm and Partitio is obviously funnier, but I think Temenos is just the most solid overall), and one of the best personal narratives that is very clearly the most important to the overall connected final chapter (it’s to the point that I saw someone early after it released asking if the final battle was only the way it was because they started with Temenos; I think the devs liked Temenos, too).
I definitely see Temenos as the true main character, who while helping it her travelers starts piecing together not only the main conspiracy he’s after, but the whole over arching schemes happening behind the scenes.
Also the intro of his chapter 1 is a perfect intro for the game
I totally agree with your Octopath Traveler 2 review. The talented developers have really listened to their fans feedback and the end result is a beautifully crafted game that is a total joy to play and experience. We can only hope and pray that there will be an Octopath Traveler 3 sometime very soon!
I just want to add that I didn’t have to grind at all, and I just beat Galdera. I just chose the 3 nearest characters to my main Osvald, Temenos, Throne, Ochette… and finished all the quests for them and constantly went to dungeons that were a few levels above mine and explored everywhere, even with Evasive Maneuvers on. Then when I started needing to go to the West continent, I picked up the 5th character and then swapped out my highest who was not my main character and went quickly to make team 2, switching out the old members as soon as possible. Then I finished the stories of all team members using their teams to do it and all the dungeons on the east and west with teams 1 and 2, respectively. They both finished around the same level and then I finished all the side quests and I did grind a very small bit to finish out the JP for each job on each character, but it wouldn’t have been necessary. Then I finished Galdera at level 70, dying about 4 times and revising my strategy without using any online resources for him. Honestly, it’s a perfect game and I never once felt it wasn’t fair or that I was intentionally grinding. I used the internet for some side quests. They were a little tricky to figure out but gave great reason to actually talk to every townsperson.
Although I did do this while equipping all the EXP and JP boosting equipment and skills as soon as I found them which could explain the difference. I suppose my only criticism with the game is the Life in the Shadows skill which relegated me to mostly playing at night. Without it I could have seen some monsters I missed, etc.
Also, Partitio’s voice acting was amazing and this is the only game I have ever played where I listened to the dialogue and didn’t skip the voice acting when I was done reading it.. it was so fun to hear all the good voices and stories.
I started with Partitio! He’s the best!
I wish I started partitio. Castti for me, which wasn't to bad, but partitio is my favorite.
I was so interested in Octopath 1 when it was coming out, but just never got into it. But honestly I'm looking forward to giving this a go. It sounds awesome as an experience too
You’ll love it I’m sure!
U have to give it a try....
I didn’t realise my first character would stick with me until the end but I chose Throne, she can’t hit all monsters at once it just meant I had to use a lot of strategy which I really enjoyed. Partitio and Agnea stories I enjoyed most.
Honestly I never had a problem with how the 8 stories were separate in the first game. Like, that's new compared to other games of the genre, but that was interesting, having 8 small stories rather than one big story. Plus, as far as character interaction goes, the Travel Banters were enough to make it believable for me.
To each their own I know! I'm just saying, it's a different way to tell the story, but I like it! :)
Octopath Traveler is a huge step up from 1. Currently my favorite game from this year
Yeah I don't see any game possibly unseating this. It's in my top 5 of all time now.
Grinding? I found myself constantly running from battles to avoid getting overleveled and was still breezing through many boss battles 5 to 10 levels under the reccomended. I think we coulda really used a hard mode option. I chose Ochette as my first traveler and her versatility with monster capturing was certainly useful.
Enjoyed this game so much, the music and HD/2D style was top notch and it got even better when I realized you could change job classes like in FFT. I took Ochette to start, I’m a sucker for the archer/hunter type characters.
For new players, I would recommend only picking up 4 characters for your first playthrough, so that you can have a whole new story with your second one as well as avoid somepretty large level disparities when going back for the other stories
Tbh, I’m about halfway through the game, and I haven’t really had to grind. That’s partially because I feel Octopath does a good job at allowing strategy to make up for level, and partially because it’s so easy to over level in Octopath, but mainly because I kept doing the side content and trusting the recommended levels for each main story quest. Those help give you the equipment, stat boosts, and levels you need to keep up with the main story, and unlike Octopath 1 I felt really encouraged to do so because some dungeons had Side Quest or Job License requirements, and it’s a little harder to over level in this game than Octopath 1.
It's easy to overlevel in both, but level is not the deciding factor of how you win or what your battles look like.
Great content man, awesome work!
You’re very kind, thank you for watching my vids!
This is my 2nd favorite game of the year so far; to me nothing ever beats Tears of the Kingdom. And I have yet to play Sea of Stars, but Octopath Traveler 2 is a master-piece that was a huge improvement over the original.
The original was an amazing game, but I do agree that most individual character arcs felt too simple. The only character whose story had any real depth from beginning to end was Primrose. Though Ophelia, Olberic, and Alfyn did have some surprise moments that made them interesting later on. And it was painfully obvious that what happens in canon is that all 8 protagonists did their respective 4 chapters alone. Side quests and crosspaths did involve characters interacting more, and it's final chapter was a huge improvement over the original. Instead of it being cryptic about quest requirement and it just being a big boss gauntlet that gives you one epic final boss with 0 chance to save. It at least has some direction and the certify to let you save before the final boss. The boss itself may have been a joke compared to Galdera, but there's also good news regarding Galdera too; a top secret superboss. Plus the Moonshade Order being an entire organization dedicated to Vide was still more depth than it just being one mystery girl behind closed doors.
But yeah, OT2 is so much different where every character had an amazing arc. I chose Throne as my starter given my obsession with completionism and getting all the various items, and she really excels where Therion kind of lagged behind (Out of process of elimination, he was my least favorite party member in the 1st game and now wish I chose Tressa instead of him as my starter), but I'd probably would choose Osvald as my starter if I did a next playthrough. And here's a special challenge; defeat every chapter boss using just the respective protagonists, so that it follows what technically happens in canon. But another improvements the 2nd game really made over the original also is the visuals of the towns. OT1 had great looking sprites and backgrounds, but the towns and buildings like kinda meh; OT2 really improved those and the boss actually moving to attack was also a huge improvement. But yeah, Latent Powers and boss design also improved the combat. Also, you level up a lot faster in OT2 than you did in the 1st, so that's also a plus. (Especially with Osvald in the party and/or Throne at night).
The one thing Octopath 100% percent improved for me is the easier ways to grind XP. While I know it's annoying for people, there are more option for it. There are the obvious XP and JP modifier accessories like in the first game, but you also have the Extra experience and hard worker, which come a lot easier being on the dancer and scholar instead of the late game advanced jobs, we have life in the shadows, the exp and jp perk for the night, arrow of fortune, besides bewildering grace, we now have alrond and the octopuff/ chubby cait item jerky things Ochette can, so many more way to easily achieve exp... also grinding is easier with Vigorous Victor
I know Zelda and Silksong will probably end up a lot of people’s game of the year but I’m fairly confident that this will stay my favourite. I’d been longing for a sequel for years and when they announced it I was overjoyed. I loved the first and the second managed to top even that!
silksong ain’t even close to being released
Loved the game too, I haven't had to grind at any point besides for the endgame superboss, and I even regret doing so since I obliterated it (still took 3 attempts but I feel that's way too fast). I did every chapter choosing the lowest level one and made sure I always had my weakest travelers in the party so that they would keep pace with my higher level ones, and on the few instances where I was too low level for the easiest chapter, I cleared a side dungeon and it did the trick without feeling like grinding.
This game is by far one of my favorites. I highly enjoyed OCTOPATH 1, and Champions of the continent, their mobile game. I truly hope this game gets another 🙌🏽
I picked Osvald because having the free weakness reveal is just so nice. I stand by my choice because I think he's the least likely characters to be a canon protagonist (similarly but coincidentally in the first game, my protagonist was Primrose).
I can't really say I agree about the grindiness though. I never needed to grind (except for the superboss, but that's a different thing altogether). When I got to people's final chapters, I did need to gain some levels, but I just decided to back out of the chapter I was in and take my team to another tier 3 city. The levels I gained on the way were more than enough, and it wasn't really grinding because I was going to need to get to that city eventually anyway. Plus, I know someone who consistently did every chapter underleveled... The thing is that in both this and the first game, equipment is a bigger factor in your strength than levels are.
two friends and i bought it when it came out since we really enjoyed the first game, there was no end to the amount of wackiness we got up to, such as entering level 50 dungeons when we were level 20 and just getting lucky enough to get some of the gear in there, i 100%ed it in two weeks with just under 100 hours lol definitely one of my favorite games
Im playing through this sountrack for the first time. Its quickly become one of my favorites. And the game it came with is really good so far too
What is that song you use right at the beginning? I’d really appreciate it if anyone knows it,I’d love to listen to more of this. Thank you.
It is the Riverlands Theme from Octopath 1. Probably my favorite song from the OST so check it out!
My favorite game of the year, and one of my favorite games I ever played in 30 years.
The only area that I think OT outpaces OT2 is the music. The music is really exceptional in both games, but OT's OST fares slightly better. I started with Throné and upon a replay, I would either stick to Throné or grab Hikari. Partitio's story was probably my favorite, and that surprised me a lot. Agnea's was a wash, and she's really the only one I didn't care for. Ironic after how much I LOVED Primrose and her story in the first game.
I want to see OT3! I have already thought of some names too ;)
OP2 is such a vast improvement over the first game. I can't put the game down. My favorite improvements so far are the art direction and story depth. The sprites have more expression to them, even in battle. The stories are so fun to experience.
It’s definitely my GOTY for sure. I’m done with half of the stories so far and I’m going to finish Castti, Hikari, Ochette, and my starting character Osvald’s stories in that order.
I completed Throne’s, Agnea’s, Temenos’, and Partitio’s stories thus far.
I’ve spent more time in this game than the first one at around 68 hours I believe and I still haven’t completed all the stories or explored all the dungeons. This game definitely feels like it has more content (or maybe I just spend a bit longer on the bosses in this one, but either way I’m loving it) not to mention the soundtrack. Partitio’s theme and the boss theme that plays for every Chapter 4 are among my favorites.
I agree this game is amazing and definitely going to be top 10 for games of all time but I disagree that its grindy i didn't have to grind at all until the final boss. If you just fight every encounter you come across and explore you actually become overleveled very quickly
I knew this game is one of my GOTY is when i adore all aspects of it that i dread it comes to an end and i hope the journey doesn't end. i cant remember the last time i didn't want to reach the end of a game....
Review from the heart, dont see them to often anymore, Ill give this game a try. Thx mate.
Lovely video and i very much agree. I also love how they added new stuff like the little boats and the big boat, also the map feels better interwoven in a way where you feel like you're actually traveling alot as well. The biggest selling point from 2 over 1 for me was the epilouge i felt like that was just done so much better in this game than the previous one.
100% agree. The first one was good for what it was, but it definitely had flaws. The developers really polished and fixed everything that was an issue for me in the first game, and Octo 2 is one of the best JRPGs I've played in recent memory. The characters, stories and the music are all so amazing, and I really hope this series continues, because I'm absolutely in love with it now.
I also picked Hikari as my main, and he definitely feels like the "main character" to me, but I really like Agnea and Partitio too, and if I ever do a second playthrough, I'd probably pick either of them instead.
I think one of the biggest problems with video game sequels is sometimes it'll feel like "the story is cool and all and the combat is innovative, but I'm not sure why they made the sequel." For Octopath 2, I don't even have to think to tell you why they made a sequel. They knew that could do better with the feedback given and gave us a god send of a game. I loved every single second of my playthrough and am so happy with the game.
Actually, I kinda acceptable for a distinguished main story for each characters. I feel this is a thing for Octopath now.
However, I hope they improved the banter skits by letting them in the scene after the cutscene ended with a full voice-over (same quality as character story). Make it more immersive but not break the character story.
The crossed path is excellent improvement, but it is too big and we get 4 pairs instead of whole party.
My suggestion is to have like 20-30 small side quests with versatile member pairing and all connected to the final boss.
But one thing I love about this series (including Bravely Default II, Triangle Strategy) is they are actually care their fans which is become rarer in these days for a big company.
I tried to like this game so much. Great music, great stories, great graphics, love the combat. Spent about 10 hours in the game and then stopped playing. 2 dealbreakers for me are the fact that sometimes you absolutly have NO idea what to do in certain sidequest AND you can accept sidequests in low level areas that in order to complete them, you will need to be in high level areas...No idea what they where thinking there. If I accept a sidequest in a level 5 area and need to be level 30 in order to complete it... I would probably already have forgotten about this sidequest. Currently I am also playing Dragon Quest 11 on the switch. In this game when you accept a sidequest, you can actually complete it at that level and it also tells you what you need to do. I don't have the time to use the scrutenize skill across the entire map to complete a sidequest that, in most cases don't even give you that great of a reward. Turns out when browsing the internet, more people have the same feeling and search the answer for sidequests online... that really can't be the meaning of sidequests. I have no problem searching online here and there to find a solution to a specific problem.. but if I have the search online ALL the time... no thx.
You do realize you don't NEED to complete every quest at the time you pick it up? You might say that some quests in octopath TRAVELER might require you to TRAVEL to other places and talk to other npcs. For instance, the npc named "octopus-obsessed noble" might be important to remember for a quest later, maybe note that for later. I appreciated not having map markers for quests, otherwise it would just be fast-traveling between towns to complete quests.
I like the multiple character storylines, it reminds me of saga frontier which would have been a classic imo had it been finished completely.
I chose Partitio as my starting traveler. I liked his story and character
I didn't expect to end up liking Temenos as much as I did! I was expecting a more cookie-cutter archetype for the cleric, with rigid morals and a holier-than-thou attitude. They caught me off guard with his characterization; he quickly became my favorite. Overall, I'm so glad I decided to try this game, it's become one of my all-time favorites.
Way I see it, the Octopath Traveler walked so Octopath Traveler II could run.
Havent had as much fun with a game in a while, then i played Octopath Traveler 2. It bumped its way straight into my top 3. Gameplay was just way too fucking fun
This might have been my switch game of the year, but then I played Link's Tingle Land 2.
After playing ff16 a part of me felt empty, I tried really, really hard to love the newer FFs but I just couldn't. That's when I came across Octopath Traveler 2, sure there's no chocobos or phoenix downs but this to me felt more like a final fantasy from my memories. Octopath might not have high polygon models or hyper realistic CGI, but holy sh*t it might be the most visually stunning game I've played in the past 5 years. Everything about the game such as the battle system, the characters, world exploration, I just love them all so much. Personally I hope SE will keep making these 'classic' JRPGs - even if they're not branded as Final Fantasy. Letting go is hard I'm not gonna lie, but I've come to accept that I'm no longer the main audience for the series. It's a bittersweet feeling but I'm genuinely glad to see Final Fantasy evolve.
I totally understand where you’re coming from and I agree that OT definitely fills a classic Final Fantasy sized hole in my heart. And yeah the amazing thing about pixel art is that it’s timeless, I don’t see why more triple a games wouldn’t go for that style
@@apoxfox I also think one of the many charms of the pixel art style is just how much you can get away with ridiculous game mechanics 😂 for example in OT you can literally mug a child, or duel a random elderly lady for no reason lmao I don’t see how it could work in a ‘realistic’ looking game.
I just started yesterday, I quite liked the first game despite it's flaws, and only found out couple days ago that that sequel released (again, no marketing?)
I chose Osvald to start, I like those darker stories and figured that if I don't get hooked right away, I'll drop the game pretty fast
What an amazing game. I will say though if you do some side quests and exploring between chapters, you don't have to grind at all to complete the main story. I finished it with every character around lvl 50 (and my protagonist was lvl 70)
Either this or Tears of the Kingdom will be my GOTY. They improved on the first game in every way! My favorite change has to be that it’s less formulaic. Octopath 1 was very clear, that everyone had 4 chapters, every chapter had a boss and every town was equal in terms of questing. Even the world, while nice, was one big circle. 2’s worldbuilding feels more natural.
While Zelda will automatically take that spot for me this game was truly special and had love and care put into it from start to finish.
Agreed but when octopath traveler 2 did come out in February is was definitely up there for Goty contender imo but now that totk is out it’s obvious totk is winning goty 2023
“Didn’t see any marketing” my man I use TH-cam at work to listen to music and I got an ad every 20 minutes and was seeing it all over IG 😂 but o agree with the first game. It was okay. Just didn’t like how the stories didn’t connect until the end by side quest and even then it felt empty
a bit early to call it game of the year, but it's an amazing game (I'm only halfway through and it already feels 2 steps above the first one, which I loved as well)
Personally, I don’t think grinding is necessary at all in this game. Even though I was below the recommended level, the game still felt fair.
Other than that, great video! 😊
I chose Throne' but Temenos is my favorite as well.
I also really loved Throne’s story, especially the locations like New Delsta
I didn't expect the the thief character to be a powerhouse this time around. The new skills (especially Surprise Attack) made the thief a vast improvement over the previous version.
This is a beautiful review of the game and such a stark reminder of how two people with love for this genre of games can have such a different experience just based on personal preference. I thought that the original game's interconnectedness felt much stronger and more earned than in OCTP2. I think I just liked the characters more in 1 than in 2. Temenos is one of my least favorite characters (d/t personality and his story) because I held him up against the standard of Ophelia. Overall, OCTP2 is the better game, but found the characters less likable as compared to the original. It was helpful to hear what you liked about the characters and the game!
Wow yeah I felt the opposite about the characters. Thanks for your comment that’s super interesting
I wonder how well this panned out? I think many rpg fans would think bg 3 is their favourite for the year. Ofcourse hindsight 20/20
Ah yes… anotha mastapiece!!
I don’t enjoy turn based games most of the time. I’d much rather be able to do combos and spam attacks in real time, but I still put in 50-60 hours into Octopath Traveller without even finishing it. OT2 takes everything I loved in the first game, enhanced it, and made me fall in love with turn based games. This will probably be the first turn based JRPG that I play to completion in over 10 years of trying. I don’t need an amazingly compelling story, and this game knows that. What they offer in return is a super fun gameplay loop that only gets better over the early hours of the game that you can experience in bite sized pieces anywhere on the switch. It’s an amazing game that shows me what I missed out on by not trying out those older JRPGs.
Absolutely agree
My too, my too. So damn good 🤩
My current GOTY too.. loved it so much.
Aight listen, to answer ur question at the end, every single rpg i start I'm like "STUP UP, WHERE'S THE WIZARD???" So u bet ur ass I went for Ozvald
amazing review - I definitely think you should try out Sea of Stars, you'll enjoy it!
Thanks for watching ! Just downloaded it last night, it looks beautiful 😄
@@apoxfox ah lovely! it's such a fantastic game, hope to see you do a review on it 🙏🏻🥰
This is a great game I just simply can’t stand random encounters. Modern JRPGs have spoiled me. If I could see enemies in the field or have a way to turn encounters completely off for a time while I explore, this would be one of my top games of the year.
Great game, fantastic soundtrack!
I thought Castti's Latent power is that you can concuct without consuming items?
Aye
I never finished Octopath 1 due to the grind and just got bored I still thought it was a good game the 2nd one however I 100% this game was phenomenal from music gameplay and story definitely my game of the year
Do need to play the first one to enjoy this?
Nope! It’s a completely different story
I wanted to play it but the reviews scared me a bit. They mentioned the final boss was insanely hard. Is there any easy mode or any feature that may let you focus on the story without grinding as much as the first one? Thanks!
The final boss isn't bad but they did put in a side quest for an optional secret boss that is pretty lame. Use cheat engine, grab a code trainer, or skip that boss. No one would blame you.
I chose throné but if I picked again I'd probably do osvald or temenos
6:44 I thought the bosses in Octopath Traveler II were easier than the first personally.
I don't get why he mentioned that this game makes the bosses less predictable. Many bosses in the first game had different patterns, weakness changes, enemies to guard/assist them, and near the end, special battle effects that changed how you had to approach each battle.
It's just this time, it's done earlier. That's the only change I notice so far. It really seems like whatever problems pop up just.... aren't true. Or maybe I'm missing something.
the original game is upfront about the 8 eight separate stories and advertises as such. It always gets on my nerve whenever people complain about the stories not being connected with one another.
People these days can't read or understand what an anthology is. It's simply pathetic, and it makes me realize why so many people died in the Jonestown incident. 😒
Great video
It is fantastic!
Well said. 💪🏾💙
What was the background song?
is it full voice acting? cause i hate reading esp in this day and age, also do i have to play octopath 1 first?
A lot more voice acting than in the first game. Most quests are voice acted, with small scenes with minor npcs here and there still just text. Feel free to jump straight into OT2, you don't need to play the first game, its mostly a different world from the previous game, sort of like the final fantasy series does.
If you hate reading, I fail to understand how you are still alive
I think there were stories that I enjoyed more in OT1, but as a whole, the stories told in 2 are better.
I would disagree however with the OST being better in 2. Its still miles ahead of your average game, but OT1 was better imho.
Game of the year 100%
I agree love this game
Way too early to call this GOTY. The first entry was enjoyable but disappointing overall, and i think this game they've taken a giant leap in the right direction. They're so close in perfecting the ultimate RPG, so I'm looking forward to future entries.
You also take to take into consideration that we have both the new Final Fantasy and the mostly anticipated new Zelda entry.
So this game has two heavyweights in the race for GOTY. I'd be surprised if the new Zelda game doesn't pick that mantle up.
I can tell you don't understand the battle system. Complaining about grinding in a game whose battle system makes it so your strategy and ability to break foes is far more important than the characters' levels, is just completely asinine. In the original game, the only real grinding I had to do was at the very end, to beat the final boss. Which, I was never able to beat because that fight was all about your tactics and boosting and breaking at just the right moments.
From what I've played in 30 hours so far with 2, this isn't even an issue with so many encounters. I find myself overleveled by the time I get characters to their respective chapters. A character at any level can break anything with the right skills, abilities, equipment, or items. Making the only gameplay problem, to have the right party members. If a character is underleveled, you can just have that character survive and get tons of exp and JP especially with dancer skills and merchant abilities. It's like people grind because they believe they need to, just because it is a turn based rpg.
Completely agree
Still waiting on Sea of Stars in August…
That game looks just incredible
Me too.
I loved the combat and art style of the first one but overall I found the game boring as far as story and execution. I’m hearing good things about the sequel though. I’ll probably pick it up eventually.
I've enjoyed it so far, 30hrs in, and some of the characters are written better then others...A lot of times the dialog just dredges on for waaaay to long, and with poor writing, repeating the same things...."I gotta bring smiles to eeeeeeveryone" Seeing peoples smiles is eeeeverything" "Don't worry, I'll make sure everyone smiles" Bla bla blaaa.... Uggg -___- Other then that it's been pretty fun, just have to have a few beers to get through some of the boring parts~
Mine too :)
>Actually learning from shortcomings
But it's still practically the same game? The complains are still unaddressed:
Bland characters with no development, shoehorned character interactions with no emotional connection or overarching plots, dungeons being hallways with no puzzles, no minigames or anything based on the world..
Don't grind in Octopath! It's a waste of time, gear vastly outscales stats from leveling. Take the time to do sidequest and don't be a cheapskate when it comes to gear and you will be more than fine!
Looks like Paper Mario.
What’s the art in the title?
Official promo art for the game! It was posted on the official Octopath Twitter :)
@@apoxfoxThanks! Amazing video, continue the good work!
I think it’s a great game, definitely better than the first, but I definitely would not consider it game of the year material. The gameplay is really fun and the music is amazing, but the stories themselves just aren’t that good. They have they’re high points, but the characters themselves are more interesting than the stories
Chill bro, how can you say its game of the year in april?
I hate random battles.
Skill issue
Grinding makes it a no for me unfortunately. Game looks and sounds amazing.
I keep hearing reviewers say they needed to grind but I never needed to in my entire playthrough. Gear outscales leveling stats by such a wide margin I'm convinced that they A) never spent any of their money. B) Never stole anything. or C) Never did side quests which all reward money, gear, and permanent stat boosts. Its free real estate.
You don’t have to grind. It’s really all gear and skills.