Octopath Traveler II - in glorious HD-2D

[BadgerFarmer]

I have all that 90s nostalgia for the SNES era RPGs, and it is absolutely comfort gaming for those of us of that vintage. However, that also makes it rather conservative. When it comes to the visual style and the combat, they do a good job in keeping the essence of the old while modernising. But when it comes to the storytelling, it just feels old, as if we haven't moved on in the last 30 years. While it occasionally touches on some more 'mature' themes, it doesn't do anything with them.

[Yasawas]

I've just read the Edge review of this [7] and while I find them fairly hit or miss they get it spot-on this time.

 

15-20 hours in I have a party of four and seem to be spending most of my time stressing about how to plot a route on the map that progresses character stories yet doesn't over level some while giving others no chance. It's all just too much choice. The stories aren't bad in the main, I think the combat is superb, character speccing likewise, towns reasonably interesting and the whole thing looks spectacular. But it's just such an oddly paced mess that tries to be simultaneously linear and open-world without really doing either especially well and I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 might be luring me back instead.  

[David Kenny]

On 17/03/2023 at 22:30, Jamie John said:

 

Quite possibly; this obviously owes a bit debt to FFVI, which didn't release over here until 2002, I believe.

 

I loved these sorts of games when I was a kid - I know most of FFs VII-IX off by heart. Nowadays, though, I don't know what it is, but I just find trad turn-based games dull, and I think my tastes in narratives have matured to the point where I find the cookie-cutter stories in most of these sorts of games so ho-hum that it's not enough to see me through. They just seem like games made for children, or teenagers, which, I suppose, is exactly what they are, and whereas 13-year-old me thought Squall Lionheart was the coolest, angstiest guy ever, 33-year-old me wants a bit more from my fictional characters.

 

That said, if the battle system in a JRPG is good enough, then that can sometimes be enough to keep me playing. I'm a strong advocate for FFXII, for example, and while I couldn't tell you much about what happens in that game's narrative or who the characters are, I adored the battle system to the point where I sunk about 50 hours into the game and did all of the optional boss fights. To an extent, the same applies to FFVII: the story becomes pure hokum after the first disc, but the way that the battle system constantly rewards you with abilities, magic, limit breaks, weapon arts and who knows what else keeps you plugging away.

 

I'd read that the battle system in this was pretty decent and strategic, but I'm not prepared to wade through the mire in order to get there.

You beat Yiazmat in 50 hours? I think it took me about 5 hours to beat that boss on its own! You're right, though. A superb battle system carried that game.

[Jamie John]

6 minutes ago, David Kenny said:

You beat Yiazmat in 50 hours? I think it took me about 5 hours to beat that boss on its own! You're right, though. A superb battle system carried that game.

 

It could have been longer, but not but much, I don't think. I should say that I played the PS4 version, which allowed you to speed everything up, I believe. Yiazmat still took a good chunk of time, however, even at full speed. I got him first time, though; you could automate things in that battle system so much that it became pretty easy to break the game later on. It was brilliant. A shame we'll probably never see the likes of it again, particularly when FFXVI is looking increasingly like Devil May Cry.

[Soulstar]

52 minutes ago, David Kenny said:

You beat Yiazmat in 50 hours? I think it took me about 5 hours to beat that boss on its own! You're right, though. A superb battle system carried that game.

I was on that game over 140 hours and didn’t finish all the side quests. That was also with the 4x speed up. 

[JamesS]

On 06/04/2023 at 12:54, Yasawas said:

I've just read the Edge review of this [7] and while I find them fairly hit or miss they get it spot-on this time.

 

15-20 hours in I have a party of four and seem to be spending most of my time stressing about how to plot a route on the map that progresses character stories yet doesn't over level some while giving others no chance. It's all just too much choice. The stories aren't bad in the main, I think the combat is superb, character speccing likewise, towns reasonably interesting and the whole thing looks spectacular. But it's just such an oddly paced mess that tries to be simultaneously linear and open-world without really doing either especially well and I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 might be luring me back instead.  

 

I wouldn't worry overly about levels. I'm about 80 hours in, and have maybe 30 levels difference between my highest and lowest level characters, but it doesn't really matter that much as most of your stats come from equipment. I've had no trouble finishing each character's final chapter bosses even when they're way below the stated suggested level because I've got loads of good equipment now to bring their stats up massively.

[Yasawas]

20 hours ago, JamesS said:

 

I wouldn't worry overly about levels. I'm about 80 hours in, and have maybe 30 levels difference between my highest and lowest level characters, but it doesn't really matter that much as most of your stats come from equipment. I've had no trouble finishing each character's final chapter bosses even when they're way below the stated suggested level because I've got loads of good equipment now to bring their stats up massively.

 

I fired it up for the first time this month and still enjoyed myself so I think I'll keep going for now and try to stop overthinking it 

 

All the characters are fun to use (although their unique Y-button abilities seem wildly variant in usefulness) which is unheard of in a JRPG as far as I'm concerned, and definitely helps.