SPOILER FREE REVIEW

I'll list some of my problems with Octopath Traveler 1 and how Octopath Traveler 2 fixed these. When I finished the game on the Nintendo Switch, I thought of it as a 7/10 game barring the Switch limitations. Its a really good game don't get the rating wrong, but there were enough issues I had that had it lowered. I did wish there was more voice acting in Octopath Traveler 1 when playing through it and Octopath Traveler 2 has voice lines throughout the game! The next problem is that the travelers never really interacted with each other outside of travel banter and the only instance of it was the secret boss at the end of Octopath Traveler 1 from what I can recall. Octopath Traveler 2 fixes that with the addition of Crossed Stories where two travelers interact with each other and new combat lines. The last problem is that it was a bit of a grindfest in Octopath Traveler 1 and in Octopath Traveler 2, they have plenty of ways to expedite the grind.

Octopath Traveler 2 is objectively a really good sequel in the series. You do not have to worry about playing Octopath Traveler 1 before playing Octopath Traveler 2 as they are completely disjointed stories aside from the secret superboss. The soundtrack and beautiful pixel art are just as expected from playing Octopath 1 which means that they are amazing! I would argue that the soundtrack blends more with the context they are played in more than Octopath 1. The combat is the same Octopath 1 but they iterated on it by implementing a meter for each traveler and giving each traveler two unique skills that only they can learn. In addition, there are some job class changes that make each class feel better to use. These unique skills can help give an edge in combat and each traveler's special meter can help turn the tides of battle to your favor! The stories of each traveler are really well developed standing by themselves and have their own unique theme that all add up to one big theme that all the travelers' stories can add up to collectively. Even the side stories can have some relevancy to the overall plot of Octopath 2 which is neat.

Score: 9.5/10
Although this was a significant improvement from Octopath Traveler 1, there are some problems that still exist like idle members not getting exp though this is a subjective topic and is not as much of a problem since there are ways to expedite exp/jp gain. Even if you haven't played Octopath Traveler 1, I'd recommend to play Octopath Traveler 2. It was such a good time playing through this game and the stories can make you feel emotional if you decide to get attached to the characters. This is definitely a must play in 2023!

I need an Octopuff plushie.