Octopath Traveler II is a role-playing video game created by Square Enix and Acquire and published by Square Enix. It is a sequel to Octopath Traveler (2018) and the third game in the series, following the earlier mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent (2020). However, it has new characters and a different setting compared to previous games. The game was released worldwide in February 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows computers. This is the first Octopath game available on PlayStation platforms. Versions for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S were released in June 2024. The game received praise from reviewers.
Gameplay
The game is similar to Octopath Traveler and follows the style of a traditional Japanese role-playing game (JRPG). Players control eight different characters, each with their own reason for traveling through the game world. Each character has a "path action," which allows them to interact with other characters in the game world. These interactions often help the player earn rewards, such as items or characters who can join battles. A new feature in the sequel is the game having separate "daytime" and "nighttime" parts. During these times, characters can perform different actions. For example, during the day, a character named Hikari might fight other characters to learn new battle skills, while at night, the player might use in-game money to bribe characters for information or items.
The game keeps the turn-based battle system from the first game, including the "break" and "boost" systems. Enemies have hidden weaknesses to certain weapons or types of magic. When these weaknesses are discovered, a symbol appears on the screen. If the weakness is used enough times, the enemy becomes temporarily weaker. Every turn, players earn "boost points," which can be used for extra moves in later turns. A new addition to the battle system is "Latent Powers," which are special abilities unique to each character. These abilities recharge when a character takes damage or breaks an enemy.
The game keeps the six weapons from the first game: sword, spear, dagger, axe, bow, and staff. It also keeps the six types of magic: fire, ice, lightning, wind, light, and darkness. Depending on the jobs each character has, they can use certain weapons and magic types. There are eight standard jobs: hunter, apothecary, thief, scholar, merchant, dancer, cleric, and warrior. Each character can gain an additional job beyond their starting one, except for a few jobs that are only available to specific characters. Unlike the previous game, players can have up to three characters with the same non-default job. To gain a new job, players must first find the guilds that teach those jobs. In addition to the standard jobs, there are four unique jobs: Armsmaster, Arcanist, Conjurer, and Inventor. These jobs offer special skills and require players to complete unique quests to unlock them. Unlike standard jobs, each special job can only be assigned to one character.
At the start of the game, players choose one of the eight characters to begin their journey. This character becomes the main hero of the story and cannot leave the group until their story is finished. This character also leads events that do not involve a specific character.
Unlike the first game, all eight characters complete their first chapter alone. Later chapters may include help from other characters. However, players can skip the first chapter of the other seven characters, except for the main hero.
Story
Octopath Traveler II keeps the same format of following eight characters, but it introduces new characters in the world of Solistia. This world has more advanced technology than the medieval setting of the first game, resembling the 18th or 19th centuries. During the game, technologies like the steam engine appear.
The story follows eight main characters, each with their own journey. Ochette, a hunter from Toto'haha, tries to catch three legendary beasts to stop a predicted disaster. She eventually kills her unchosen companion, who attacks her homeland. Castti Florenz, a person who has lost her memory and works with medicines, searches for her past and faces her former colleague Trousseau, who poisoned a village and threatens another town. Throné Anguis, a member of the Blacksnakes assassins' guild, steals keys to her collar to gain freedom and later kills Claude, the guild's leader and her biological father.
Osvald V. Vanstein, a scholar wrongly imprisoned for killing his family, escapes to find the real killer, Harvey. Harvey used Osvald's wife in experiments and kidnapped his daughter. Osvald defeats Harvey and rescues his daughter. Partitio Yellowil, a merchant trying to end poverty, negotiates with businessman Roque Brilliante to gain rights to the steam engine. Agnea Bristarni, a dancer inspired by her late mother, travels to become a star and beats her rival, Dolcinaea, in a competition.
Temenos Mistral, a cleric investigating his archbishop's murder, discovers the Moonshade Order and defeats Kaldena, who planned the killing and tried to use dark power. Hikari Ku, the crown prince of Ku, flees after his brother Mugen takes control. Later, Hikari returns with allies to reclaim his throne.
In addition to individual stories, the game includes "Crossed Paths" chapters where pairs of characters work together. Ochette and Castti explore a dark presence in a forest. Throné and Temenos find pieces of a mirror linked to a mysterious woman named Alpates. Osvald and Partitio help build a telescope while noticing strange changes in the night sky. Agnea and Hikari hold a festival after Ku's restoration.
After completing all stories, the characters see visions of the Sacred Flames dying, plunging the world into eternal night. Using Alpates's mirror, they try to restore the flames and learn about the Moonshade Order's plans. The Dark Hunter, Petrichor, influenced events involving Ochette's companion, while other villains affected the characters' journeys. Temenos's friend, Mindt, is revealed as Arcanette, leader of the Moonshade Order, who planned events to revive the dark god Vide.
As the Sacred Flames fade through sacrifices, Arcanette tries to bring back Vide and cause eternal night. The characters defeat Arcanette, then fight Oboro, who sacrifices himself to complete Vide's revival. Finally, the characters defeat Vide and restore daylight to Solistia.
Development
The game was first announced during a Nintendo Direct broadcast on September 13, 2022. A few days later, the first live gameplay footage was shown at the Tokyo Game Show. Like the previous two games in the series, Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, this game uses a graphical style called HD-2D. This style copies the look of old 16-bit video games, which used pixel-based graphics, but displays them in high-definition, 3D diorama style. When the game was announced, it was already about 90% complete. The game was released on February 24, 2023, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows. A limited edition version of the game included figurines of all eight main characters and an art book. A demo of the game was available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Steam before its release. Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S versions were announced during Tokyo Game Show 2023. The Xbox versions were released on June 5, 2024. This release included a patch for all platforms that added various difficult superbosses to fight after completing the main story.
Reception
According to the review aggregator website Metacritic, Octopath Traveler II received "generally favorable" reviews.
Polygon praised the game's visuals but noted issues with the story. It stated that during battles, players must consider each character's strengths and weaknesses and use their abilities together. However, during main story scenes, all characters except the one directly involved in the scene suddenly disappear.
Other reviewers were more positive. RPGFan said the game improves on its predecessor, Octopath Traveler. It claimed the sequel builds on the first game's strengths, adds helpful updates, and is overall a better game.
In Japan, the Nintendo Switch version of Octopath Traveler II was the second best-selling retail game during its first week of release, with 53,995 physical copies sold. The PlayStation 5 version was the eighth best-selling retail game in Japan that week, with 14,422 physical copies sold. The PlayStation 4 version sold 7,269 physical copies, making it the eleventh best-selling retail game in the country during the same week.
By June 2023, the game had sold 1 million units.