''Octopath Traveler II'' is an upcoming

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...

and

Acquire ''Acquire'' is a multi-player mergers and acquisitions themed board game. It is played with tiles representing hotels that are arranged on the board, play money and stock certificates. The object of the game is to earn the most money by developi ...

. It is a sequel to ''

Octopath Traveler ''Octopath Traveler'' is a role-playing video game developed by Square Enix, in collaboration with Acquire. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch in July 2018, for Microsoft Windows in June 2019, for Stadia in April 2020, and for Xbox ...

'' (2018), and the third entry in the series after the prequel

mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

game '' Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent'' (2020), though it features a new cast of characters and setting separate from prior games. It is scheduled for a worldwide release on February 24, 2023.

Gameplay

Similar to the first ''

'', the game plays as a traditional

JRPG While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia come Video games in Japan, from Japan, many have also been Video games in South Korea, developed in South Korea and Video games in China, in China. ...

. The player move between eight separate characters, each with their own purpose for traversing the game world. Once again, each character has their own "path action" - a particular means for the player to have the respective character interact with

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...

s in the game world, often with the goal of getting reward items or characters to fight in support of their cause. New to the sequel is there being distinct "daytime" and nighttime" segments of gameplay, with path actions, will differ depending on the time of day. For example, the player can choose to make the character Hikari duel characters in the daytime, in hopes of learning new skills for battle, but at night, there is the separate option to instead spend in-game currency to

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...

characters for information or items. The game retains the

turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...

battle system of the first game as well, including the "break" and "boost" systems. Every enemy has a number of hidden "weakness" attributes related to being weak to particular weapons or elements. Once discovered, an indicator is shown onscreen, and if it is exploited enough times, a "break" occurs, temporarily weakening the enemy. Every turn, "boost points" are accumulated, which can be used for extra moves in future turns. New to the battle system are "Latent Powers", which function similar to

limit break ''Final Fantasy'' is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games (RPGs). The eponymous fi ...

s in ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...

'', moves that can only be accessed once a gauge builds up over the course of a battle.

Story

While ''Octopath Traveler II'' retains the same structure of following eight separate character's stories throughout the game, it follows eight new characters in a new setting separate from the prior games. It takes place in the world of Solistia, a setting that is more modern than the prior game's

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

setting, which is presented more like something from the nineteenth or twentieth centuries. The game's main cast includes Agnea, a

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

; Partitio, a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

; Hikari, a

warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

; Osvald, a

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

; Throné, a

thief Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

; Temenos, a

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

; Castti, an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

; and Ochette, a

hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

. A character's occupation generally ties in to the character overarching goal; the dancer Agnea is on a quest to become a world famous entertainer, and the merchant Partitio is on a quest to make money and end poverty. Hikari's story follow his quest to return home after being haunted by previous battles, Osvald is on a quest for revenge on a man who ruined his life, Throné is on a quest for freedom, Castti and Temenos are on separate journeys related to personal discovery and truth, and Ochette is searching for creatures of legend. The character's stories intertwine more than in the prior game.

Development

The game was first announced during a

Nintendo Direct Nintendo Direct is a series of online presentation or live shows produced by Nintendo, where information regarding the company's upcoming content or franchises is presented, such as information about games and consoles. The presentations began i ...

broadcast on September 13, 2022, with first live gameplay footage being shown a few days later at the

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...

. Like the prior 2 entries in the series, ''Octopath Traveler'' and '' Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent'', the game uses a graphical style dubbed as "HD-2D" - an approach that recreates the 2D pixel-based graphics style of the

16-bit era In the history of video games, the fourth generation of game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in North Amer ...

of video games, and portrays it in a high-definition, 3D

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

style. At the time of announcement, the game was already estimated to be approximately 90% complete. The game is scheduled for release on February 24, 2023, for the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...

, and

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

platforms. A limited edition of the game with figurines of all eight main characters, and an art book.

References

External links

{{Bravely Upcoming video games scheduled for 2023 Acquire (company) games Fantasy video games Japanese role-playing video games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation 5 games Single-player video games Square Enix games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Yasunori Nishiki Unreal Engine games Windows games

Gameplay

Story

Development

See also

References

External links