Octopath Traveler [Switch, 2018]

[EOJ]

I'm about 4 hours in and I'm really enjoying this, so I thought I'd open a topic to discuss the game with other members here.

I started the game with Ophilia, and since then I've gotten Therion, Alfyn and H'aanit. So far the battle system is fun, if a bit simplistic. I'm digging the old school vibe to it all.

[ookitarepanda]

The battle system is anything but simple later on. Once you have your 8 characters and you’re choosing subclasses you’ll get a real kick out of building a mega buster. My max was 300,000 damage to one enemy in one attack.

Soundtrack is gorgeous, depth of field is super cool like 3D Dot Game Heroes.

[EOJ]

So far the battles have been 1) find enemy weakness, 2) exploit that to break enemy into a dizzy state, 3) use your stored BP to power slam them in a couple moves. Rinse and repeat for each encounter. I'm happy to hear it gets more complex than that, and I'm looking forward to it.

[ookitarepanda]

Yep. I viewed it as tutorial without shoving it in your face. First you have to get used to BP management and vulnerabilities, so they give you a while to practice having the right people in your party to hit certain vulnerabilities, before they start getting more complicated.

It’s like Final Fantasy 6, where they don’t give you Espers to learn magic until Zozo. Or in Chrono Trigger where you don’t learn magic until End of Time. Or even Paper Mario, as they keep unfolding (see what I did there) more partnerships and special star-power based moves. I hope you like it as it goes.

[EOJ]

I really don't like the fake old(er) English they use in H'aanit's chapter. In Japanese, it is just normal Japanese, so this change is bizarre to me. I had to switch over to Japanese text after awhile because I couldn't stand the goofy English text anymore. Whoever is in charge of these localizations needs to stop doing this. Several Dragon Quest games (including Dragon Quest Builders, which is otherwise great fun) were marred by this as well.

[ookitarepanda]

Yeah it boggles my mind. In DQ7 on the 3DS it made me nuts how every village had to have a terribly stereotyped accent. If they spoke English like a second-language French person, why wouldn't they just speak French?

[EOJ]

Okay, just got Primrose and I'm going through her chapter. About 6 hours in. My son really likes this one so I've been playing it with him for a bit most days after he comes home from school. 

How do you recommend progressing through this game? Get all 8 characters and go through their chapters in turn, or just focus on a handful (or do you have to get all the characters)? I think there are 4 chapters for each?

[ookitarepanda]

Nice. Primrose was part of the first demo and I really liked the closing of her first chapter - it was the first boss sprite I saw and was really impressed by how huge they were making things.

I got all 8 characters and did their Chapter 1s, then did everyone's chapter 2s. After that I kinda focused on finishing off 3 and 4 for each character in a row because usually the chapter 3 is where you're like "how are they gonna wrap this up?" But there is a lot of exploring to do between 1 and 2. You'll go out to discover the second ring towns and the side dungeons on those paths, as well as get the subclasses. If you're brave you can try to dash through to the third ring towns as well to look at equipment and try to steal stuff, even if the percentages are really low.

[EOJ]

I just got Cyrus, the last character (for me), and played through his chapter. I really enjoyed it (probably my favorite). On to the Chapter 2s!

[ookitarepanda]

Cyrus's storyline is pretty awesome. I definitely think they tried harder with some than others. Tressa can get bent, in my opinion...

[EOJ]

I tried Therion’s CH2 and got wiped out at the boss. My party levels were 22,21,16 and 13. So I guess I should level up a bit.

[ookitarepanda]

I would say on your way out to the Ch2s you should stop by the shrines on the paths to those towns so you can pick up the subclasses. I feel like it would be immensely challenging to try the rest of the game without getting those.

[EOJ]

That's what I did today. I stopped by four shrines and got those subclasses. I had no idea there were shrines in the game, so when I came upon the first shrine it was quite the nice surprise.

[EOJ]

15 days later and I'm at 35 hours play time and just finished the last Chapter 3. On to the Chapter 4s! The battle system gets a bit more complex as you go along, but I still find it to be pretty simplistic (and that's not a bad thing). And the game is fairly easy, I haven't died once yet. Still having a blast though.  The eight-way split narrative is a refreshing way to play an old-school style JRPG, it's like Game Of Thrones Pocket Mini or something. 

[EOJ]

Still working my way through this. I have completed two chapter 4s so far (Cyrus and Ophilia). I loved Cyrus' story line. The last boss in Ophilia's was the first time I saw a gameover. I beat it by using two clerics and putting reflective veil on all party members (over and over). It took about 15 minutes, but the boss killed himself with the spells thrown back at him.  I didn't break him even once, that way he couldn't summon anyone or put up that nasty spell-nullification.

[ookitarepanda]

Cyrus's was awesome. I really really liked Primrose's final chapter even if I didn't like the rest of her crap. One thing I will say: on Primrose's final chapter, there's a boss where there are two underlings. YOU MUST STEAL FROM THESE TWO UNDERLINGS. And make sure you have the ability that lets you steal double the loot.