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Having subjobs equipped on characters breaks the game wide open and makes it even note fun. I also suggest to look up the location of shrines where you learn the new jobsbecause as soon as you can get to one you just walk in and you get it. Cyrus is all around a great character as well. Start with Cyrus you are correct! His skill you learn that halves the encounter rate is the best QOL feature in the game and turns adventuring from stressing out about constantly getting into random encounters, to laid back and way more enjoyable. There're things to improve-as with any game, especially burgeoning IPs-but it's an all time classic for me. Ultimately, the game has one of the best turn-based battle systems of all time, a nice balance between challenge and breakability, a deep job system, thoughtfully thematic stories, charming characters, lovely micro-worldbuilding via path actions that never stop being satisfying, a GOAT OST, and one of my favorite graphical styles. Each protagonist has NPCs with whom they have chemistry in their own stories, so inter-protagonist discussion beyond the vignettes was largely unnecessary, although I think they could have included much more tavern banter, and earlier at that. They're, at their core, personal journeys of self-discovery-frequently with scenes whose intimacy would be punctured if seven other characters were huddled around offering commentary. because that's not what the game's about. Yes, another way the game defies genre norms is with its relative lack of party interaction. Now, subjectivity and all, but IMO everybody should be able to find stories that resonate with them among the eight, even if it isn't every one.Ī traveling doctor grappling with the morality of his craft? An intrepid businesswoman learning value outside of capitalism? A fallen knight forced into introspection, who overcomes his disgrace to understand the tribulations of his erstwhile brother-turned-traitor? An ex-noblewoman who plants herself into a human trafficking ring only to bring it all down in a quest for familial revenge? A huntress weened on tales of her teacher's extravagant hunts, who makes her own story in the saving of him? A professor disgraced by his pupil's rash lie, who, rather than begrudging said student, journeys to gain further knowledge? People say it has "a bad story"-usually while being aghast at its (perceived) lack of overarching narrative-but it's deliberately an anthology of eight personal short stories, each more thematically focused, introspective, and uniquely down-to-earth than most other JRPGs.
Octopath traveler ost the riverlands series#
There was obviously a lot of division on Era about the game, but I think a not-insignificant portion of that came from (1) the pre-release mistranslation comparing it to FFVI, in conjunction with (2) Western JRPG players' general aversion to any JRPGs they perceive to be atypical, especially with regard to narrative, because the West lacks the mindshare for popular atypical series like SaGa.Ĭertainly, Octopath has flaws, but the effects of those two things are readily apparent. For me, the answer leans toward Octopath Traveler, in terms of personal impact. The Switch has so many superb JRPGs (most notably absent from the poll being SaGa Scarlet Grace), it's a really tough call.
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There's a lot to do outside of and in-between chapters, and the game expects players to have curiosity enough to see such things, rather than trying to critical path the stories, and end up resenting their structure.Īllow me to quote my recent post in another thread about why I love Octopath: Really, people burn out on Octopath because they approach it with a very rigid mindset of progression, when it's a very open-ended game by design. Want to move on after 5-6? Feel free! What does that moving on look like-exploring various haunts, upgrading your party, finding the sub-job shrines, or moving straight to a CH2?-you decide! The best way to approach the game is to just do what you want! Want to do all eight CH1s to recruit all the characters? Do that. If you're a random encounter hater, perhaps you'd prefer Cyrus, whose Scholar class quickly unlocks the passive that halves encounter rats (but keep in mind, anyone can unlock that as a Scholar-Cyrus just starts as one and can do it the quickest). who just so happened to have a very OP personal ability, too. For me, that was earnest country boy Alfyn.
Octopath traveler ost the riverlands full#
They're stuck in your party until you clear their full story, but all the characters are good-just choose who appeals to you most. It's largely unimportant who you start with.