Octopath Traveler II Review

The follow-up to 2018’s Octopath Traveler had a simple task: take what made the original game good and add just enough to make the sequel better. Although Octopath Traveler II doesn’t do anything groundbreaking in the JRPG genre, it sticks to what it knows best and does it all so very well.

A Level Up

Players who experienced the first game should feel right at home at the beginning of its sequel. You will again start by selecting the “protagonist” whose story you’ll get to hear first. This character must remain in your party throughout the entirety of the game, so it’s an important decision.

Once you’ve completed your initial heroes chapter, you’re free to roam around the world of Solistia slaying monsters, gaining levels through random turn-based combat, and gathering the rest of your companions. This is also a great way to explore and see the beautiful HD-2D art style in action.

Now With Voice Acting!

While playing through the first chapter of each hero’s story, you might also pick up on the amount of voiced acted lines in Octopath Traveler II. Unlike its predecessor, you will be delighted to hear all 8 travelers’ main stories are now fully voiced from beginning to end. This provides much more depth and detail to these tiny sprites that were sorely lacking before. By the end of my nearly 80-hour playthrough, I had become much more attached to the characters and was genuinely interested to see where their stories would end.

Another great addition is the built-in day/night cycle. Although I touched upon it in my preview article, I enjoyed seeing the world change as I walked around a town or on the hunt for my next piece of loot. Making the world feel more alive and providing each traveler with different path actions to perform out of combat is another way in which the sequel stands above the first.

My Turn

The combat doesn’t stray too far from the tried-and-true turn-based formula of JRPGs. Each enemy has a certain number of shield points that must be broken by attacking their weaknesses shown. Once the enemy is broken, enemies will lose their turn and take increased damage. Heroes also generate 1 BP point each turn which can be cashed in to make any attack more powerful, depending on how many are used at once. The system (unchanged from the first game) challenges players to decide when to “go for it all” or pull back and build up their attacks.

A new mechanic present during combat is the latent power gauge. Each hero has a small gauge on the upper right of their status box that will slowly fill as they take damage or break foes. Once this gauge is full, the player can choose when to unleash a powerful effect for that turn. These effects can range from that character acting twice, making single-target abilities become multi-target (and vice versa), or even unleashing special moves that you can’t otherwise use.

Come Sail Away

Another new feature I enjoyed was the ability to get a boat. I won’t spoil how to get the boat, but being able to sail the seas while defeating enemies with my party on it was a nice touch. Even though you don’t end up getting to do much on the boat, it does help with making the world feel more connected, which was something the first game struggled with.

Unfortunately, there were some areas that I wish Square Enix would’ve taken some time to improve upon. The major one is the mostly dull side quests. Sure, there are some gems that stand out, particularly with the “Crossed Path” side quests that showcase two party members at a time, but most of them boil down to fetch quests or using a path action to handle someone in town. With no marker or ability to track a side quest, you must spend time deciphering dialog to figure out how to complete it, only to finish and be left feeling unrewarded. Not to mention that all but a few side quests don’t have any voice acting, making them even harder to slog through or care about.

2nd Times the Charm

Octopath Traveler II has taken what made the first game great and built upon it with just enough to keep it fresh. With the new additions mentioned above and travel banter that will make your party feel like a family, this is one octopathed-journey you don’t want to miss.