Octopath Traveler 2 is one of those games where I couldn’t even comprehend how special it was until it was over. I went into it expecting more of the original Octopath Traveler, which I liked but did not love (similar to Chris Carter’s take). But if Octopath Traveler was a love letter to golden age SNES/PSX RPGs, Octopath Traveler 2 is a perfect encapsulation of them.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most fun RPG worlds I’ve ever explored. There are secrets and bosses around nearly every corner, rewarding every ounce of curiosity you have. At the same time, it never feels like you’re just cutting through filler content either. Octopath Traveler 2 is immaculately paced, always tantalizing your senses with story objectives and rare treasures to pursue.
Similarly, the game’s combat mechanics offer a wonderful level of depth. Random encounters never gave me that usual feeling of tedium, since I felt consistently engaged in figuring out ways to dispatch foes faster and faster. Octopath Traveler 2 does a fantastic job of offering rich levels of party customization, yet it never bogs the player down with them. I was constantly getting huge “aha!” moments whenever I discovered different synergies with my skills and equipment. This did eventually make the game feel easy, but I also felt like I’d earned it. Even after spending nearly 100 hours with the game, I was fiddling with my team and experimenting with new ideas.
The segmented story has grown on me in retrospect too. While I initially didn’t like how separated each character’s tale was, that structure felt so real to me this year. Our paths often cross with friends and comrades, but ultimately, we’re all the heroes of our own stories. We all have our dreams we’re reaching for, and those goals may create temporary friendships of convenience.
But that’s not to say that those practical relationships can’t become meaningful. It’s human to want to make connections where we can, and we see the characters in Octopath Traveler 2 do that too. Hikari’s mission to lead Ku will naturally diverge from Agnea’s aspiration to become a star. But that doesn’t mean that, for a brief time, they can’t share a story together. People often come and go in our lives, and seemingly lifelong friendships may become fleeting over time. But those memories, however temporary, are important. And by the end of Octopath Traveler 2, that’s the sense I got from these eight unlikely, but ultimately relatable allies.
There’s no telling where our paths in life will take us. But if we only look ahead at where we want to be, we might miss the adventure we can have now. And in the case of Octopath Traveler 2, there are few adventures I’ll ever look back on as fondly. Here’s to what 2024 may bring, and may Team Asano rest easy knowing they’ve created such a special, captivating game.
