TIL an 84 is an "ok game". Also the FFVI thing was a misquote.
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Octopath Traveler Review Thread
- Thread starter Wise
- Start date
I say god damn!
Rushing out to buy the soundtrack then the game.
Don't you think that's a bit unfair? The "game" is beating the story of eight different characters each with their own standalone narrative. That's the game. Whatever comes next whether it's canonical or not, is bonus content. A secret dungeon that ties the game in, in whatever way it does, doesn't change the 40-60 experience of what the game is. This is an even more extreme version of the "it gets good after 25 hours" argument some used with Final Fantasy XIII.
Sometimes the post-game content is the best in the game. Sometimes it has interesting implications for the character or the world. Sometimes it's just repetitive filler. Sometimes it even has stuff that's not canonical to the story. But this stuff does not define the game and it shouldn't for Octopath Traveler.
If you could play this dungeon that ties the lore together in some way after only beating one character's story I would be a little more forgiving, although I would ultimately still have the same response, but we need to be fair about this.
I was seriously contemplating buying the OT soundtrack off of Amazon Japan yesterday for ~ $44 shipped to the US. But I didn't pull the trigger. Now it is unavailable.
Much regret.
Much regret.
Pet peeve of mine, but it's frustrating to see Jason post a blatant spoiler on Twitter.
A post game dungeon with bosses, tying together the lore and (presumably) serving up a final ending.
I don't follow him and I'm not interested in OT, but it's so disappointing to see that thrown out there on the day of release.
I understand why he's written something about it, but it just rubs me the wrong way. Jason isn't the only one, game sites across the world constantly post spoilers on the day of release. It's crazy.
Still, no one is forcing me to look I suppose...
A post game dungeon with bosses, tying together the lore and (presumably) serving up a final ending.
I don't follow him and I'm not interested in OT, but it's so disappointing to see that thrown out there on the day of release.
I understand why he's written something about it, but it just rubs me the wrong way. Jason isn't the only one, game sites across the world constantly post spoilers on the day of release. It's crazy.
Still, no one is forcing me to look I suppose...
Yeah I don't get it. Game totally bucks the idea that an overarching narrative is necessary for a JRPG. huge breath of fresh air not prioritizing another "band of heroes saves the world" plot. don't even care if it doesn't 100% hit the mark, it's a novel stop in the right direction for me.
Yeah, this is a good point, and something I thought about this morning. The reason I decided to post it so clearly is because the massive amount of interest in the question "do the eight stories overlap in any way?" has turned the existence of this dungeon into an extremely newsworthy question. I won't spoil the stories themselves, but the structure of this game has become too big a news question to avoid reporting on, if that makes sense.
Its....not really a spoiler lol. The means to get to this point is obscure at best and he's not posting actual story spoilers.
Oh yeah, I get it. It wasn't really a pop at you, more the culture we now live in.
Where you've got the first 15 minutes popping up weeks before release, thumbnail spoilers on release day, guides revealing all of a game's hidden secret within a few hours of the discs (carts) being delivered to shops.
I usually avoid everything at all costs and I have become more sensitive to spoilers with age, so maybe it's just me.
Disagree matey. I'm not too bothered if I know how it works, I know it exists and that's a bummer. But hey, that's just me.
That was a mistranslation and mostly applied to the evolution in gameplay in context.
Of course it's a spoiler... as Jason even admitted above your post but he explained why he's posted it and that's fair.
Will just link my previous post on this rather than repeating myself again; please read point 2.
It's not reviewers' fault that they didn't cover the postgame.
Everything I have read so far has been completely fair criticism towards the game. I'm still going to buy OT and will probably love it but some of the reactions to these reviews is absurd. The game is not even reviewing horribly and yet people are flipping over a game they haven't even played.
I feel the same way you do, but journalism these days is all about 1.being first, breaking info, and 2.being correct, fixing your mistakes, clearing up ambiguities. It's compensation for an incomplete review that would be perceived by a few people to be incorrect, and tbh I knew it was coming as soon as this news about postgame started trickling out last night.
You have to just stay off the internet, your follows, and threads for that particular game if you care about not getting (even minor) spoiled. I know what you mean though, it sucks. But since the internet boom, nothing stays a secret for very long anymore.
It's a much bigger travesty for journalists to be seen as either unethical or doing incomplete reporting. So follow-up compensation rears its head in bright neon lights at times. We're in the Octopath Traveler review thread afterall. That kinda stuff comes with the territory. We crave the organic discovery of secrets when playing our new games but then hardly any of us have any self-discipline to play our games by our lonesome without interacting with strangers to talk about games. We can't have it both ways.
Yeah without knowing a whole lot it just sounds a bit like the Phantom Pain stuff, where there was an obscure procedure involved in actually getting to see some vital content. So it could be more of an anti-spoiler, the real spoiler is in not knowing that that stuff even exists (if it is as obscure as it sounds).
Oddly enough, I'm much more interested in this game after reading this thread. I'm excited to dive in!
Being a reporter at a newspaper, I know the pressures all too well. With breaking news, it's 'be first or be best'.
Like I say, I get it, understand it and have to deal with it myself on a day-to-day basis... doesn't mean I have to like it though. lol
If this was a review thread for a game I was interested in, I wouldn't be anywhere near it!
Edit: Dont let me derail the thread, just felt the urge to comment. :)
Lost Sphear is an "ok" game. From what I've played so far, Octopath Traveler is a great game.
I don't think being "classic" should excuse a game of all faults tbh. If it has repetitive dungeons that's worth pointing out, even if old games had repetitive dungeons too.
You bought an extra one for me? :oDing-dong! UPS arrived much earlier than expected today.
Also, I heard that there were meltdowns in this thread. The reviews don't even seem bad, though.
nope, no meltdowns. People have been pretty reasonable for the most part. There have been lots of people dropping by just to be overly dramatic about other posters' non-existent behavior though. Several people also stopped in just to say "I knew it, I'm not buying the game after reading these reviews" which is really weird seeing as this game is reviewing quite favorably. The drive-by posters stick out like a sore thumb to anyone who has actually been reading the whole thread lol.
Just got my collectors edition. But its a busy weekend. Wont have time to play untill sunday.
There are meltdowns in every review thread. While the game sounds overall pretty good, it also sounds like there are some real problems with it. People who are less well adjusted and emotionally invested in a game don't take well to criticism of any sort.
Question about image quality:
The black parts of the screen are fading out on the border, I remember this from the first demo. But i don't remember they fade out to a dark green, it looks like an image error, especially on an OLED TV, the "glitter" on the screen I remember fondly from the first demo (never tried the second) but now it looks like some error too because it flickers instead of some smooth glitter.
I bought the game digitally. Is it broken or changed the developer the graphic style in a weird way since the first demo?
The black parts of the screen are fading out on the border, I remember this from the first demo. But i don't remember they fade out to a dark green, it looks like an image error, especially on an OLED TV, the "glitter" on the screen I remember fondly from the first demo (never tried the second) but now it looks like some error too because it flickers instead of some smooth glitter.
I bought the game digitally. Is it broken or changed the developer the graphic style in a weird way since the first demo?
Oh man just caught up on the thread since yesterday and seeing all the talk about endgame stuff --
Stoked to hear there's some story-related content in the end game that pulls it all together. I didn't want to believe it was real in case it wasn't, cuz I wanted it so badly it'd be a huge let down LMAO - glad that's not the case! Now just gotta tell me there are some good, satisfying scenes and dialogue attached to it somewhere and not just lore/context text boxes and I'll be really happy! /fingers crossed
Thing is that other games with more than 8 characters have done this, and it's heightened the experience.
It varies a lot due to the characters' stories being so different in tone, like there's some cliché, lighthearted adventure stuff with Tressa while Primrose's is quite bold and dark, pretty interesting stuff.
This is nothing like XC2 or any anime JRPG.
Its an RPG..?
What did you expect?
That's like hating Tetris because of the repetitive block falling!
The Trails in the Sky trilogy does this with even more than 8 characters and it's incredible. There are even unique conversations that are written for very specific groups of characters. And not just the FF6-style one line interjection, big, back and forth exchanges between 4+ characters that just don't happen with other parties.
The localization and writing are both extremely strong. There are cliches, but it doesn't matter because the scripting/dialogue is so excellent.
Every single NPC (and dog) has a backstory you can use a path action to read, and some of them are total gut-punchers. If an RPG can make me feel awful about stealing from an NPC with a paragraph of backstory, that's good writing.
I know many people who loves Trails in the Sky and after playing it for about 20 hours I asked these people when the game starts to get awesome and they tell me I have to wait for part two of the trilogy. Sora no kiseki is a game with huge potential and really good characters. But the tutorial is about 10 hours long, filled with every anime cliche you can find. It's the same with Persona 5. The games are wasting time with tutorials and hand holding, explaining you things you either find out yourself or would be explained via a small textbox. The biggest problem is the pacing of the stories. I do have patience, but I'm not a Shaolin Monk. When you start Octopath Traveler, you're right in the adventure without any long tutorials or hand holding sections. The pacing of the stories so far is great, it's not wasting too much time to introduce you to the world. Guess it's a matter of personal preferences. I find myself that I lost the patience to wait 10-15 hours until the game starts to catch up.
Ok bad example, but RPGs are generally very repetitive in nature.
When you break them down to the bare-bones you visit a town, get quest do said quest, fight things, level up, fight boss.
Not strong enough, then level up .
Rinse repeat.
How can the basic groundwork of a genre be a strike point against it?
If it fails to do it well then fine, but for myself and many others the battle system is excellent and indeed it's strong point!
This is why only having one sole reviewer for a game is not a good idea.
Famitsu (love it or hate it) and older gaming publications usually had 4 reviewers which could give you a better overall opinion.
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In between. Like with Xenoblade 2, it has conversations that are far longer than they need to be but at least the cringe factor is kept low.
