Octopath Traveler discussion thread

[Reki]

Disclaimer: I'm unsure if it's okay to make a thread for this, but in the old place we had one since the demo dropped and I thought it would be a good idea to continue discussing the news about the game. I'll try to update when needed, but feel free to close if you think it's unnecessary.

Image from Wccftech

Octopath Traveler (final title) is the next game by Acquire and the guys behind the Bravely series, developed with UE4 and scheduled for release in July 13, 2018. In the game you take the role of one of eight protagonists, each with different backstories, motivations and commands to interact with the world in unique ways. You can also break the battle system take advantage of the battle system, that asks of you to carefully manage Boost Points to use powerful skills or attack repeatedly. You have to be thoughtful, with enemies having a shield counter to break in order to stun them and maximize damage.

The game also features the "HD-2D" style, that combines the looks of retro character sprites with stunning HD environments and excesive DoF that make for lovely visuals on the Switch's screen.

Image from Gamecrate

Square Enix released a demo a month and a half ago, which features the stories of Primrose and some other guy. You'll also be able to give feedback to the development team via survey, so don't forget to tell them to implement an encounter rate slider. Update (11-11-2017): The survey is closed.

Latest news:

(15-05-2018) And we just got a new update! Be sure to check the two final party members - Cyrus and Ophilia - as well as the talents in the latest trailer. We have a dedicated thread too.

(25-04-2018) Take a look at the japanese cover! Thank Netto-kun for posting.

Boxart posted yet?

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(17-04-2018) April's update is here! You can take a look at H'aanit, Therion and their path actions in the latest trailer. Its dedicated thread also shared the new map uploaded to the website;

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Image from Square-Enix

(08-03-2018) The recent Nintendo Direct introduced the amazing merchant Tressa and confirmed the release for July 13, 2018 with this trailer. We also got a look at the Wayfarer's Edition:

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Image from Nintendo Everything


(31-01-2018) A preview of the OST is now available! You can get several tracks from the demo here (JP) or here (US).


(29-01-2018) Take a look at the new dev update detailing the changes in response to fan feedback:

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(24-01-2018) As noted by user Exentryk, the map used in an earlier trailer has been revealed by FrancescaBaerald - its creator - with the following comment:

Hi!

I did this map in 2017 but forgot to share it here

This is the map that Square Enix used for the teaser trailer of the video game RPG "Project Octopath Traveler" (due for release in 2018 ).
Here's the trailer with a glimpse of the map: https://youtu.be/Gp-Y_FgDHjQ

Also I've painted the map for the free Demo that has been released on September 2017 but unfortunately I can't share the demo map yet.
And of course there will be a full map once the game is published

I'm so excited about this project! Working with Square Enix has been incredible.

(As always made with watercolour and ink on paper)

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(18-12-2017) The music recording for the game is finished according to the official Twitter. They also shared a video:

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(24-11-2017) Nintendo UK shared a message from Masashi Takahashi, the producer of the game. Thanks to Oregano for making a thread. It reads:

Hello, this is Masashi Takahashi, the Producer of project OCTOPATH TRAVELER for Nintendo Switch.

It's already been two months since we released the project OCTOPATH TRAVELER demo version. The end of October marked the cut-off point for our gameplay survey, and despite only running it for around six weeks, we received 45,500 responses from across the world, which was a great honour and a huge surprise! Thank you all very much for taking part!

We're reading through each of the responses we've received, and we'll get back to you in due course with the results of the survey. We'll also provide impressions and ideas that the development team have had in response to your comments.

In the meantime, I just wanted to take this moment to say a big thank you for the wonderful reception you've given us so far. We're working hard on development, and I hope you'll all continue to support project OCTOPATH TRAVELER!

For those of you who haven't tried the free demo* yet, please note that it's still available to download, so I hope you'll consider trying it!

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(29-10-2017) Square Enix shared early results for the survey, as noted by Nintendo Everything. Be sure to give them that click! Some results:

Some of the feedback that users wrote in the survey are as follows:

• Wish the movement speed could be faster
• Some parts of the map were hard to see
• Hope for a feature to skip events
• The menu is a bit inconvenient (maybe criticizing the UI quality)
• Could the text be a bit bigger?
• Make the battles more interesting

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(23-09-2017) Reddit user scottwo did a summary of the TGS stream:

Hey guys, so I watched the stream on youtube (it's the first game shown) and wanted to share a little bit of what they said. They didn't really say anything that we don't know and mostly just walked the interviewer through the beginning of Olberic's demo. Here are some points, though.

• They had been quiet since January because they wanted to release the demo worldwide simultaneously. So, unfortunately, they had to hold a lot of information in until that was ready. They really wanted to to the demo because they wanted everyone to be able to see what the visuals looked like running on the switch to increase interest.
• Hard to put the current development progress into a single number percentage, but, as we've seen in the demo, they've got combat, dialog, exploration, etc in the game and working. They're also still refining the visuals.
• Interviewer was told by his boss not to play the demo so that he could be playing it for the first time during the interview today. He was super pissed that he couldn't play it. Haha.
• Hopefully, there will be plenty of Switches when the game launches so everyone that wants to play it will be able to.
• When the Japanese say "Octopath" オクトパス they pronounce it the same as octopus. Interviewer thought it had something to do with octopus until they explained the name. Laughs all around.
• Told interviewer to use Obleric to show off the battles.
• They really discussed and tested voice acting, but decided to put it in to be a little more immersive.
• It will have English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Italian text on launch. Sounds like they'll have one version worldwide.
• Door openings are their best use of HD Rumble. They originally had it rumble with every footstep and it was way too much, so they took it out.
• Asked a Producer if he liked Romance Saga. He said yes. Interviewer said he was relieved, then. It's in good hands.
• Developers explain that they intend the flow of battle to be: Find weakness -> Break -> Hit hard with Boost. It's simple, but it can get complex.
• Interviewer loves Phillip. And Emma Watson.

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Some resources:
- Official page (JP), NoA page (US), NoE page (UK)
- Nintendo Switch Presentation trailer
- Nintendo Direct trailer

Finally, enjoy some of the amazing tracks by composer Yasunori Nishiki:
- Main theme
- Demo title screen theme
- Primrose theme

 

[Dabi3]

Barring Metroid and Pokémon missing 2018, this is easily my most anticipated Switch 2018 title.

 

[toa95]

Super eager for this game, need to get back to the Demo and finish it but Mario has absorbed all my time on my Switch recently

 

[Feichaw]

Barring Metroid and Pokémon missing 2018, this is easily my most anticipated Switch 2018 title.

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Mine as well. I hope the other stories are as good as Primrose's.

 

[Chairman Yang]

What was the consensus on the demo? Did it increase or decrease the level of excitement?

 

[RailWays]

One of my highest anticipated purchases next year. Looking forward to seeing how varied the game play gets with all the characters.

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

I was floored by the demo. I was sold on the art style but the game itself was exactly what I wanted...but didn't KNOW I wanted.

 

[Dukie85]

This game is easily my most anticipated Switch game for next year. It brings back what I love in my JRPGs. Looks soooo damn good. Been looking forward to it ever since the 1st time it was announced.

 

[Reki]

What was the consensus on the demo? Did it increase or decrease the level of excitement?

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A lot of people liked the new tweaks to the battle system (coming from BD and BS) and some grimdark undertones in the story. Barring the need for some QoL improvements, I'd say the response was pretty great.

 

[Serrato]

Im hopeful for the game.

If they listen to the survey and tweak it we have something great in the making

 

[delume]

Visual style put it on the radar for me but the demo is what sold it. Very excited to play this next year regardless of what tweaks may or may not occur. If anyone is new to Switch and hasn't tried it yet, I would highly recommend it (after you finish Mario of course.) :)

 

[Brakke]

The demo was pretty cool and Bravely Default (and Second) were great. Very bullish on this one.

 

[ShiftyHermit]

Really liked the style of the game and the multiple characters, but didn't care for the battle system. Will still most likely grab it on release.

 

[ItsTheShoes]

I really enjoyed it, although I thought the random encounters had too many damage sponge enemies (specifically in the knights story). I'll be picking it up since I liked the writing, art, and music.

 

[Bishop89]

Visually this game is a treat.

I hope one day it comes to a platform I own.

 

[Nablith]

Not a huge Nintendo fan but I'm probably going to end up buying a Switch for this game. Hoping Xenoblade and SMT review well enough as well so I'll have more than one JRPG on it, hahaha.

 

[Zen Hero]

I'm really excited for this game. I loved the Bravely series, and this has the promise to be just as good. Even though it's not actually the same dev team as the Bravely series, it seems like they're channelling what made it great (while also doing their own thing).

The demo was really good. The battle system shows so much promise. It was fun with just one character, but I can't wait to see what kinds of crazy combos and stuff you can pull off once you get a full team. The best part of the Bravely series was orchestrating ridiculous team combos, and I'm really looking forward to doing that with this game's battle system.

 

[activepassive]

I'm definitely excited for this game. I played the demo and enjoyed it, though I want to see how the game builds upon itself. I am one of the few that thoroughly enjoyed Chrono Cross and in spite of its bloated roster as well as SaGa Frontier in spite of it's relative looseness. The biggest difference now is that I'm in my 30's and have three kids and a wife, so I don't especially have time to do too much meandering. I hope it can tell a tightly woven, compelling story across these 8 characters.

 

[Musou Tensei]

When it was shown at E3 I wasn't very interested in it but man made me the demo want this game.

 

[Illusion]

Demo was excellent. hoping the game isn't released at $60....

 

[Dary]

Demo felt like this is to SaGa what Bravely Default was to Final Fantasy. Curious that they still haven't decided on an official title, though, especially after releasing a demo.

 

[PKrockin]

My first impression was that it looks atrocious, like a kid spamming instagram filters to make it look artsy. I only played the knight side of the demo, but that increased my interest somewhat mostly because of the battle system.

 

[Zebei]

Bravely Default and Second are easily two of my favorite RPGs ever, only beat by Xenoblade Wii.

Naturally, I was very excited when this was announced because it's from the Bravely Team (Although I vaguely remember that being somewhat false?). Other people's impressions from the demos has only made me more excited. Game can't come out soon enough, and I can only hope the soundtrack is stellar.

 

[AweOfShe]

The demo was an absolute treat, and I think I spent a good 12 hours on it.
I didn't even know sidequests could have alternate outcomes until I went through it my third time!

I am extremely hyped for the game.

I really want FF6 remade with this style, so badly. ;A;

 

[Reki]

Naturally, I was very excited when this was announced because it's from the Bravely Team (Although I vaguely remember that being somewhat false?). Other people's impressions from the demos has only made me more excited. Game can't come out soon enough, and I can only hope the soundtrack is stellar.

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The game is being developed by Acquire, not Silicon Studio (the Bravely guys) but key staff from that series is working on it, like Tomoya Asano, the producer of both BD and BS.

 

[Deleted member 2793]

Loved the Bravely games, but was disappointed at this game at first. I don't have nostalgia for SNES RPGs, so I felt like this was a stepback for Asano, but after playing the demo I was completely sold. Great battle system and Primrose's story was amazing. Can't wait for this.

 

[silva1991]

I just bough a Switch, but for some reason I was under the impression the demo was timed...

I'll download it tonight.

 

[GallianGeneral]

I freaking loved the demo for this, it is definitely one of my most anticipated Switch games! It's actually written quite well (if the demo is anything to go by at least) and the visuals and gameplay are so, so good. Primrose really surprised me with how well she was written, i'm very stoked to see what happens next with her story

 

[Disclaimer]

Demo was excellent. hoping the game isn't released at $60....

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May I ask why?

If the demo is any indication, it promises to have a very large amount of content.

I mean, to 100% the demo, it's at least ~4-5 hours. Times four (eight characters), that's minimum 16 hours of... introductory prologue, should one choose.

I'm expecting to easily be able to put 100+ hours into this game.

 

[Hollywood Hitman]

I'd easily pay 60 for this gem. One of the best feeling throw back titles in recent history and it can't drop soon enough for me

 

[alexi52]

My most anticipated switch game

 

[Crayon]

I find the demo is strong. The visuals make a real impact. Music is good. I'm not fully understanding the combat system but I was still able to make use of it and experiment. Good atmosphere.

The only thing I really don't like is the voice. Luckily it can be turned all the way off. Doing this actually enhaced the cozy retro feeling of the game.

I'll keep an eye on Octopath.

 

[ILikeFeet]

oh boy, time for an excuse to listen to the title theme again. everything about the demo was on point. I only had 2 negatives to say in the survey, the small text and the excessive bloom/dof. but everything else was aces.

 

[Illusion]

May I ask why?

If the demo is any indication, it promises to have a very large amount of content.

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1. I want more diverse price values in gaming in general.
2. I can't justify full price on a pixel game unless it was coming from an established franchise.

I personally want to see the game at $40-$50 range

 

[MrFrankFontaine]

The demo was an unexpected joy to play through. I really liked the gameplay once I figured it out and the dialogue was surprisingly mature which is refreshing for what is a traditional RPG. I had to mute the games around my kids which is a first for me for a Nintendo console/handheld. This will be day 1 for me based off the excellent demo they put together.

 

[Kanann]

One of the best jRPG team here, what could be wrong? another loop hell? LOL

 

[Zebei]

One of the best jRPG team here, what could be wrong? another loop hell? LOL

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8 paths

8 loops.

Each

 

[Izanagi89]

Got my Switch about a week ago and immediately downloaded the demo. Without even getting to the actual game the music in the main menu alone sold it for me...
...
...
And then I played it and good gravy, it's way better then I anticipated. Good voice acting and writing, coupled with a great battle system, makes it easily my most anticipated Switch game.

 

[Maliq]

Got Switch two weeks ago and I still haven't played anything beside Zelda. Haven't touched Mario x Rabids and haven't even bought Mario Odyssey!
How long is the demo for this? Maybe I can finish it in a break between BOTW. The visuals looks really good.

 

[Golnei]

What was the consensus on the demo? Did it increase or decrease the level of excitement?

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I think it helped put the game on the radar of a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't have considered it, getting its foot in the door in terms of mindshare at a time where there wasn't much else to occupy Switch owners.

Primrose really surprised me with how well she was written, i'm very stoked to see what happens next with her story

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My impression was that her story was generally considered the stronger of the two - I'd agree, her character and situation was much more compelling than Olberic (much better voice acting, as well.).

That's kind of what has me a bit apprehensive about the final game - parts of the demo left a strong impression, but I could see the final game having significantly varying quality between each characters' plots, and potentially tying everything into an overarching narrative which might be haphazard or poorly constructed.

But hopefully it doesn't turn out that way - there's plenty to be optimistic about just going off what they have shown.

 

[Disclaimer]

Got Switch two weeks ago and I still haven't played anything beside Zelda. Haven't touched Mario x Rabids and haven't even bought Mario Odyssey!
How long is the demo for this? Maybe I can finish it in a break between BOTW. The visuals looks really good.

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There's two demo character prologues to play, each taking about an hour individually. They both have identical post-games, and 100%ing the demo takes around ~4-5 hours.

 

[Moogle]

I liked the Primrose route (I didn't see Olberic yet). Hoping to get a Switch in the new year, this demo is gonna be the first thing I play. Thread subbed!

How long is the demo for this? Maybe I can finish it in a break between BOTW. The visuals looks really good.

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There are 2 routes - Primrose and Olberic - about an hour each, apparently.

 

[Maliq]

^Thanks. Gonna try the demo real soon.

 

[PKrockin]

We don't yet know the price or if it'll have a physical release, do we?

 

[Champion]

We don't yet know the price or if it'll have a physical release, do we?

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No. The game doesn't even have an official name yet...

 

[Ginger Hail]

I just really love the art style and visuals they've gone for. Demo was enough to full pique my interest for the full release.

 

[PKrockin]

No. The game doesn't even have an official name yet...

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lol. I'm so numb to baffling, nonsensical JRPG names here and there that it didn't even occur to me that Project Octopath Traveler was a working title, especially with it being due for release soon.

 

[Aeana]

I've gone on and on and on about how much I loved the demo elsewhere, but it's true. I loved everything about it. I really can't wait to see how the final product turns out.

 

[Neoleo2143]

I wish they'd just abandon buying nonrenewable items. They don't offer anything to the gameplay considering how simplistic the dungeon structure in this game and the bravely titles are. But I am much more optimistic about how this turns out in regards to regular encounters. The Boost point system works a lot better for random encounters than the brave and default system. Though I am concerned about its ability to carry the combat, it seems a bit too shallow for the length these games are.

The overall aesthetic seems to be the star of the show though.

 

[Pent]

I really hope they do something about that intense bloom effect. It's my only big complaint about the demo, but man was it awful. I could barely see anything inside the caves.