Octopath Traveler: Preview Thread

Octopath Traveler isn't just shaping up to be the game that you hoped it would be, it's quickly proving itself to be even more. Even in its first few hours, this game has proven that it's more than capable of carrying on the dream of the '90s JRPG, while still doing enough new things with it to keep the experience fresh. This is a game that's all killer, no filler, and proves that Square Enix still has the talent to remain the highest authority on RPG production. Although the official Final Fantasy XVI may still be quite a few years off, we firmly believe that it's already arrived under a different name.

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http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/07/hands_on_taking_the_path_less_traveled_in_octopath_traveler

From our 20-or-so hours with the game so far, we are happy to say that Octopath Traveler could be an instant classic: a true RPG gem in the Switch's already gleaming crown.

With mechanical elements that cherry-pick the best bits from Shin Megami Tensei's 'Press Turn' system, Final Fantasy's class-based setups and Chrono Trigger's multi-faceted world map, Octopath Traveler has every chance of being one of the best RPGs available on any platform right now, let alone Switch.

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https://www./tech/gaming/714375/Oct...are-in-for-Nintendo-Switch-s-next-MASSIVE-hit

Lelouch0612 said:

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/07/hands_on_taking_the_path_less_traveled_in_octopath_traveler

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wow
That's a bold statement.

God this looks so good. I wish I could afford a switch right now.

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I expected glowing previews, but not like these.

Previews looks overwhelmingly positive but is the game worth $60?

To look or not to look...

I'm definitely not reading any reviews but not reading/watching previews is a much more difficult choice to make.

5 minutes into this thread and already getting the sweats

Strong previews! Not that I need any more convincing though.

The interesting thing about all of this is that there's no contrived plotline like many JRPGs tend to do. You simply wander the land, exploring dungeons and leveling characters, until you eventually stumble upon a town with the next party character and you choose to help them with whatever their immediate goal is. There's no central protagonist here, no dark lord or other big bad that you're directly working to resist, just a group of unique people with varying goals who happen upon each other by chance. This episodic and laidback approach to storytelling is quite refreshing, and we can't wait to see how things further develop as storylines begin to crossov

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This either means there is no big story or they spent 20 hours and still not done with getting all the characters.

I am heartened by these previews! If the full thing turns out as good as the previews suggest I'm going to have to make it my next priority. Sorry, Persona 5. One day I will boot you up.

Lelouch0612 said:

Although the official Final Fantasy XVI may still be quite a few years off, we firmly believe that it's already arrived under a different name.

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Wow! Between this and the "spiritual successor to FFVI" talk, this is becoming one of my most hyped games ever.

(I decided to watch!)

So it seems like the character you pick at the start is your 'main' character, as in you can't remove them from your current party. Hmmm, not sure whether I should keep the demo save and start with Primrose or start again with a new character.

*Guaraná said:

wow
That's a bold statement.

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Especially if they haven't played the whole thing yet.

Meelow said:

He's talking about the first chapter, which we already knew that was the case.

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20 hours on one chapter though? I was hoping they'd play beyond the character recruitment chapter, guess I'll have to wait for the reviews, so far it seems like everything else is positive.

"Characters and their stories don't interact much"

My biggest fear coming out of the demo.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/105987/octopath-traveler-preview-a-return-to-classic-rpg-form

It's slightly too soon to make a definitive recommendation, but Octopath Traveler certainly seems to be living up to the buzz. Gamers who aren't particularly thrilled the JRPG genre might not find too much to get excited about, but players who fondly remember the 16-bit era will be stunned with how well the old-school formula translates into a modern medium. Keep on top of the Octopath Traveler launch and all other upcoming games by checking out our complete schedule of 2018 video game releases.

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Previews are looking good, as expected.

Saint-14 said:

This either means there is no big story or they spent 20 hours and still not done with getting all the characters.

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I have all the characters and am about 20 hours in, and there's no over-arching story (yet?). It's eight different stories. The characters only interact via one-on-one optional "banter" scenes, sort of like a Tales game.

Saint-14 said:

20 hours on one chapter though? I was hoping they'd play beyond the character recruitment chapter, guess I'll have to wait for the reviews, so far it seems like everything else is positive.

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I'm going to guess it's the demo build with the timer taken off, so you can't get into any high level zones, but you can do all of the prologues.

These are quite some previews. As the dude that called Lost Sphear "the Chrono Trigger sequel you've been waiting for" at preview, I'm tempering how much it's increasing my expectations, but I'm locked in for sure.

Hope any of the previewers can check if this has dual text.
Like how maybe like Zelda changes to Japanese text if your system language is put on Japanese.

Plum said:

So it seems like the character you pick at the start is your 'main' character, as in you can't remove them from your current party

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Oh shit what? OK now I gotta really think of who's going to be the permanent party member

Most important takeaways from Gamexplain preview
- the game gets a lot more intense in chapter 2
- conversation scene between party members at the start of chapter 2
- battle theme of chapter 2 is different from chapter 1

No Depth said:

"Characters and their stories don't interact much"

My biggest fear coming out of the demo.

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Where did you read that?

No Depth said:

"Characters and their stories don't interact much"

My biggest fear coming out of the demo.

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GameXplain's preview shows a scene with Primrose and H'aanit bonding.

Uh, last JRPG I played was FF6 back in the day. Perhaps I'm actually part of target audience this time?

Saint-14 said:

This either means there is no big story or they spent 20 hours and still not done with getting all the characters.

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It takes about 10 to 12 hours to get to all characters if you go straight at it. Every character has it's own storyline with different chapters, which are accesible in certain towns. Finish the opening chapter and the second becomes available somewhere on the map, but you'll be way underleveled to tackle it immediatly, so you'll naturally take on the chapter of another character first.

The storylines might cross over later, but from what I've seen so far (15 hours in) all stories kind of stand alone. (You can have little scenes where other characters react on what happens from the second chapters onwards, but those are very short) And that's fine, because most stories are quite interesting and it's refreshing to do a chapter in one 1,5 to 2 hour sitting

ChaosSmurf said:

I'm going to guess it's the demo build with the timer taken off, so you can't get into any high level zones, but you can do all of the prologues.

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It's the full game. Not sure what the person in that preview did, but in the 20 hours you can easily have all eight party members unlocked.

Holundrian said:

Hope any of the previewers can check if this has dual text.
Like how maybe like Zelda changes to Japanese text if your system language is put on Japanese.

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the game is multi language

A Treehouse employee did let slip that there was some kind of overarching story (12:41)



And the previews only reach to the Chapter 2 of the characters they went for so I'm not surprised that there isn't anything just yet.

"B-b-but it should be priced $30"

Glad to see glowing previews so far. Although literally the first time I played the demo last year, I knew this thing was special.

Remember that an overarching storyline is confirmed and even teased in the first chapter. One of the people Primrose is after showed up in, I believe, Cyrus' opening chapter, where he gazed upon him after leaving his town. But I'm guessing that's for later in the game, the beginning focusses on individual storylines.

kuroneko0509 said:

the game is multi language

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Oh thx I've withheld preordering cause I wasn't sure if I wanted the JP version or not but if I can freely choose I guess I can safely order from my local amazon.

Honestly it sounds pretty bad from listening to the GameXplain vid. No interactions between characters, no plot involving them all etc. Gameplay doesnt evolve. Least i'll have the amazing OST.

Noppie said:

Remember that an overarching storyline is confirmed and even teased in the first chapter. One of the people Primrose is after showed up in, I believe, Cyrus' opening chapter, where he gazed upon him after leaving his town. But I'm guessing that's for later in the game, the beginning focusses on individual storylines.

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As per embargo, can't talk about anything past Chapter 2, but there are hints earlier on that stories begins to overlap and coalesce into something more central

Plum said:

A Treehouse employee did let slip that there was some kind of overarching story (12:41)



And the previews only reach to the Chapter 2 of the characters they went for so I'm not surprised that there isn't anything just yet.

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Sounds like it and honestly, I'd be a bit disappointed if that wasn't the case.

Noppie said:

Remember that an overarching storyline is confirmed and even teased in the first chapter. One of the people Primrose is after showed up in, I believe, Cyrus' opening chapter, where he gazed upon him after leaving his town. But I'm guessing that's for later in the game, the beginning focusses on individual storylines.

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Yep. Things are 100% connected—at least, some of the characters' stories. I wouldn't be surprised if some later Chapters have multiple required party members as they intersect.

Granted, we've also heard the game is soloable, so who knows for sure. Primrose and Cyrus interacting with the same antagonist is telling, though.

jschreier said:

I have all the characters and am about 20 hours in, and there's no over-arching story (yet?). It's eight different stories. The characters only interact via one-on-one optional "banter" scenes, sort of like a Tales game.

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Oh well, that's disappointing, doesn't the limited interaction between the members feel jarring? Makes them feel as tools instead of actual characters imo.

Noppie said:

It's the full game. Not sure what the person in that preview did, but in the 20 hours you can easily have all eight party members unlocked.

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Lol, fair enough. >20 hours to do a few zones seemed a little weird.

Gamespot's video
https://www.gamespot.com/videos/is-the-switchs-new-rpg-octopath-traveler-living-up/2300-6444915/

This is a game that's all killer, no filler

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Aww yeah baby

With mechanical elements that cherry-pick the best bits from Shin Megami Tensei's 'Press Turn' system

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NANI

Saint-14 said:

Oh well, that's disappointing, doesn't the limited interaction between the members feel jarring? Makes them feel as tools instead of actual characters imo.

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Yes, it's especially weird because when you're doing a chapter for a given character, only that character shows up in all the cut-scenes, making it feel like they're traveling solo. The other characters only show up in battle and then in those optional one-on-one banter scenes.

GwyndolinCinder said:

Honestly it sounds pretty bad from listening to the GameXplain vid. No interactions between characters, no plot involving them all etc. Gameplay doesnt evolve. Least i'll have the amazing OST.

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I find it hard to believe the gameplay at the end of the game introduces nothing new from what is in the game at the introduction stories in chapter 1, and that there's no dialog between party member in the entire game, and there's no plot at all beyond the individual stories.

I think I'll probably only do the first chapter for about 4 of the characters on my first go around before moving on to chapter 2 as I could see how grinding through all 8 of those introductions could get repetitive real quick, as GameXplain guy alluded to. Thankfully you can collect a character without doing their first chapter so I'll just pepper those in as I go. And, I'm assuming, with leveled up characters I'll probably be able to blast through them.

July 13 cannot come soon enough, really looking forward to playing this. Probably going to spend more time on portable mode then docked for this =p

Noppie said:

Remember that an overarching storyline is confirmed and even teased in the first chapter. One of the people Primrose is after showed up in, I believe, Cyrus' opening chapter, where he gazed upon him after leaving his town. But I'm guessing that's for later in the game, the beginning focusses on individual storylines.

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Yeah, I started with Primrose and then noticed that in Cyrus' chapter and that got me really excited. I guess if you didn't start with Primrose your reaction might be completely different though.