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Finally started Octopath Traveller and I honestly still can't get over how beautiful looking this game is.

Buckle

Buckle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
41,050
Can't remember the last time I've gone from area to area in a game and just feel like my eyes are constantly feasting.

I've always loved the look of classic sprite based JRPGs and this just takes it to a whole new level.

This is a visual style I'd love to see flourish more. Goddamn.
 
Jaded Alyx

Jaded Alyx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
35,353
Buckle said:
Can't remember the last time I've gone from area to area in a game and just feel like my eyes are constantly feasting.

I've always loved the look of classic sprite based JRPGs and this just takes it to a whole new level.

This is a visual style I'd love to see flourish more. Goddamn.
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What are you playing it on?
 
Haze

Haze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,777
Detroit, MI
I played it on switch and yeah it's a gorgeous game. Can't imagine how nice it looks on PC. It's on game pass so I may just boot it up for shits and giggles.
 
Izanagi89

Izanagi89

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,566
The visuals and music slaps so hard, making for top tier presentation. What a bloody game.
 
TheYanger

TheYanger

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,142
I need to finish this sometime. I really enjoyed everything about it except for the narrative structure. The whole 'circle the map as you do 'town->dungeon->boss' for each party member's disconnected story in turn, is really offputting and boring. It just FEELS way too formulaic even though it's not that different from most games just going 'town->dungeon->boss' if only because each one is so isolated feeling.
 
diablogg

diablogg

Member
Oct 31, 2017
3,267
I also love the visual style, it really is quite striking.

Overall, I had a bad time with the game because pre release the producer I think it was said the game was a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy 6 and I did not feel that AT ALL. So I think that messed up my expectations for the game. That along with it feeling quite grindy with the way to frequent random battles.

I have a suspicion I might be able to enjoy this game on PC with mods either god mode, or turning off random battles/making them way less frequent and just enjoying the story.
 
dogbox

dogbox

Member
Jan 30, 2019
1,179
Spaceball Arena
It really does look amazing. Glad you're enjoying it so far OP! It was the first game I played on the Lite, and I remember wishing I could blow that shit up to a big screen. The tiny text gave me headaches too aha. Thinking I will play this on Series S next and really take it all in.

The increasingly gigantic and elaborate boss sprites are just ridiculous
 
Lobster Roll

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,327
Excited to join you in a couple days OP. I want to see what all the hype is about.
 
Joltik

Joltik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,762
Buckle said:
Can't remember the last time I've gone from area to area in a game and just feel like my eyes are constantly feasting.

I've always loved the look of classic sprite based JRPGs and this just takes it to a whole new level.

This is a visual style I'd love to see flourish more. Goddamn.
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Click to shrink...
But what is your opinion on how it sounds?
 
Brazil

Brazil

Actual Brazilian
Member
Oct 24, 2017
18,421
SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil
I get the complaints about the bloom, but it still looks amazing to me. Very excited to see things like Triangle Strategy and Eiyuuden Chronicle follow in its footsteps.
 
inner-G

inner-G

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
14,473
PNW
dogbox said:
I remember wishing I could blow that shit up to a big screen. The tiny text gave me headaches too aha. Thinking I will play this on Series S next and really take it all in.
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I'm not sure if Series S runs it at 60fps, but that was a bigger feeling upgrade than the screen size to me on the PC version.


youtu.be

[4K] Octopath Traveler: PC vs Switch Graphics Comparison - 60fps and 4K Unleashed!

The PC release of Octopath unleashes the full potential of Square Enix and Acquire's unique JRPG. Armed with a full settings menu, this is the first time we'...
youtu.be youtu.be
 
Lothars

Lothars

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,765
Yeah it's a beautiful game and I like it but found it was a grind fest, I need to get back to it just to finish it off.
 
Xita

Xita

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
9,185
Hey me too! It's super gorgeous on my PC.

Mostly though, what I can't get over is the music. Holy shit, it's soooo good.



I can't wait to get further in and hear more of it.
 
Aurongel

Aurongel

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
7,065
The way the soundtrack is edited to fit individual character leitmotifs is legitimately masterful. I'm honestly not sure if there's a JRPG out there that does it as well as Octopath.

It's a shame the game itself is so repetitive and sterile. I'd love for these aesthetics to quietly become the standard for 2D RPG throwbacks.
 
OP
OP
Buckle

Buckle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
41,050
Jaded Alyx said:
You know you have to post screenshots right? It's the law when you make such threads.
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A lil bit of two early areas:

Y2PRPr9.jpg


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G5o2X6s.jpg


TheYanger said:
I need to finish this sometime. I really enjoyed everything about it except for the narrative structure. The whole 'circle the map as you do 'town->dungeon->boss' for each party member's disconnected story in turn, is really offputting and boring. It just FEELS way too formulaic even though it's not that different from most games just going 'town->dungeon->boss' if only because each one is so isolated feeling.
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One of the things I'm actually looking forward to is the seemingly self contained or more personal nature of each story. Its a nice change from the usual though I totally understand why people might be annoyed it sounds like it doesn't all tie together as cohesively as other RPGs.

Joltik said:
But what is your opinion on how it sounds?
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Fantastic. Square Enix nailed the sights and sounds to make the presentation feel like a million bucks.

The music is really there to hit you when you're taking everything in.
 
TheYanger

TheYanger

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,142
Buckle said:
One of the things I'm actually looking forward to is the seemingly self contained or more personal nature of each story. Its a nice change from the usual though I totally understand why people might be annoyed it sounds like it doesn't all tie together as cohesively as other RPGs.
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That's not what bothered me, it's the structure of A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H for the stories. I'd RATHER just do it like A A A A A A A B B B B B B B but the game is not really built that way (before anyone says YOU TOTALLY CAN, let's be real, that would involve some insane grinding).
It means you do an hour of someone's story, then go do 7 hours of OTHER stories, half of which are not interesting, just to get back to do another hour of the first one.
 
OP
OP
Buckle

Buckle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
41,050
Jaded Alyx said:
Heh, 'early' depends entirely on which character you started with.
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Yeah, I'm playing as Hannit so I started in the Darkwood. Badass hunter who doubles as a beastmaster. There was never another choice.

(although I did briefly play as Olberic back when I played the demo on Switch)

Working my way towards the Thief now as my first party member so I can steal everything not nailed down.
 
Future Gazer

Future Gazer

â–˛ Legend â–˛
The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
4,273
I find the mix of the harsh lighting and overly brown color palette to be absolutely hideous.
 
diakyu

diakyu

Member
Dec 15, 2018
17,525
There's a reason Square wants to go all-in on this style. It's incredible. Potentially the most beautiful battle scenes of any rpg I've played on the switch.
 
Quinton

Quinton

Specialist at TheGamer / Reviewer at RPG Site
Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,256
Midgar, With Love
TheYanger said:
That's not what bothered me, it's the structure of A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H for the stories. I'd RATHER just do it like A A A A A A A B B B B B B B but the game is not really built that way (before anyone says YOU TOTALLY CAN, let's be real, that would involve some insane grinding).
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I did it. Didn't grind especially "insanely" until much further on.
 
Rouk'

Rouk'

Member
Jan 10, 2018
8,136
Quinton said:
I did it. Didn't grind especially "insanely" until much further on.
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Same, I did the first chapter of each traveler, but then I immediately rushed to finish Cyrus's story (my first character), so that I could switch him out. Didn't really grind at all. XP doesn't matter nearly as much as weapons and armors in the game
 
Hikari

Hikari

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,687
Elysium
Gorgeous game but the story is almost non existent and it takes way too long to even pick up things. At best you'll find out stuff in the very last dungeon and the final boss is incredibly tough for no reason. Trust me when you finish you still won't understand or care about the characters. I spent 75 hours on this game and I still am asking what the hell is going on. Most of the game's plot is handled through the use of sidequests and only two-three stories are actually important to play. Honestly, if I YouTube's the rest after finishing everyone's chapter 4 I would have not wasted any time. The last part of the game is way too time consuming and the story beats aren't even worth it in the end. I'm praying for the sequel one day to make things much better. Project Triangle already looks promising at least.
 
carrot_

carrot_

Member
Feb 21, 2021
160
I also just recently played it and was the same: loved the visuals, vibe, music, everything. While there were a few sloggy moments around everyone's chapter 3s for me, for the most part I also enjoyed the stories. By the time I got to the end, I loved all the characters and felt like I'd been given a glimpse into their personal stories - stories that didn't involve "saving the world" like most RPGs, but were important to them. And I really loved that.
 
OP
OP
Buckle

Buckle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
41,050
Praying Conquerors of the Continent makes it over here this year.

...hopefully they're planning on localizing it anyway. Octopath certainly did well enough to warrant it.

(the mobile game)
 

Belfast

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,882
diablogg said:
I also love the visual style, it really is quite striking.

Overall, I had a bad time with the game because pre release the producer I think it was said the game was a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy 6 and I did not feel that AT ALL. So I think that messed up my expectations for the game. That along with it feeling quite grindy with the way to frequent random battles.

I have a suspicion I might be able to enjoy this game on PC with mods either god mode, or turning off random battles/making them way less frequent and just enjoying the story.
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If anything is a spiritual successor to FF6, it's FFXIV. Yoshi-P clearly has a lot of love for that era of Final Fantasy (FFV as well).
 
arsene_P5

arsene_P5

Prophet of Regret
Member
Apr 17, 2020
15,438
The game has a lovely artstyle. Make sure to try out the "Project triangle" demo from the same developer, too. It's available on Switch eShop.
 
Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,467
diablogg said:
Overall, I had a bad time with the game because pre release the producer I think it was said the game was a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy 6 and I did not feel that AT ALL. So I think that messed up my expectations for the game. That along with it feeling quite grindy with the way to frequent random battles.
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(1) No one said it was a spiritual successor to FFVI. It was a mistranslation that was pretty quickly debunked, but not before tons of people took those expectations to heart, rather than what Octopath's promotional material said it was going to be (eight characters, eight stories, whose paths will you follow, etc).

(2) The scholar job's first passive halves encounter rate, such that you'll go entire screens without encounters. Which is a really low rate for a game with random battles.

(3) Zero grinding's required, at all, during the main game. Equipment, build, and tactics are 1000x more important than levels, which give comparatively little power.
 
diablogg

diablogg

Member
Oct 31, 2017
3,267
Disclaimer said:
(1) No one said it was a spiritual successor to FFVI. It was a mistranslation that was pretty quickly debunked, but not before tons of people took those expectations to heart, rather than what Octopath's promotional material said it was going to be (eight characters, eight stories, whose paths will you follow, etc).

(2) The scholar job's first passive halves encounter rate, such that you'll go entire screens without encounters. Which is a really low rate for a game with random battles.

(3) Zero grinding's required, at all, during the main game. Equipment, build, and tactics are 1000x more important than levels, which give comparatively little power.
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1. Well that's what I remember reading, whether it was debunked or not is irrelevant to how it shaped my expectations for the game.

2. That's cool scholar does that, I remember getting many MANY battles per screen. Not sure if I unlocked that guy (I got about 8-10 hours in, still didn't have whole party when I stopped)

3. When I say grinding I just meant the many fights per screen I was getting, grinding not in the sense of needing to do battles to gain power, but grinding in the sense that the act of combat FELT like a grind and it was very frequent.
 
Mercador

Mercador

Member
Nov 18, 2017
2,840
Quebec City
Buckle said:
Also looks great.

I must admit I was abit bummed it wasn't Octopath 2. Hopefully thats something they're still planning to tackle down the line.
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If it sold enough, we'll see. They bring an old SNES Final Fantasy mainline with Octopath, and now old FFTactics with Project Triangle. As a 43 years old gamer, I'm quite happy, though I wonder if it's really a niche market or there's enough demand for that kind of game.
 

Deleted member 4090

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,053
TheYanger said:
That's not what bothered me, it's the structure of A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H for the stories. I'd RATHER just do it like A A A A A A A B B B B B B B but the game is not really built that way (before anyone says YOU TOTALLY CAN, let's be real, that would involve some insane grinding).
It means you do an hour of someone's story, then go do 7 hours of OTHER stories, half of which are not interesting, just to get back to do another hour of the first one.
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That's just a really terrible way to play the game. Why force yourself to do all of the slow starts in a row, and constantly throw out any narrative momentum? It is a big open game and forcing oneself to play a specific way is just asking to suffer.

It really isn't grindy, either. Level does absolute fuckall. You get what you need from exploring and poking at the towns with the PATH actions.
 
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