168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Octopath Traveler 2 has a fantastic cast of characters. It only takes a few moments of valuable time with each of them to get a good grasp on who they are and what they’re like. Temenos is a cleric overflowing with doubt and dripping with sarcasm, Ochette is naivete personified but stands out thanks to her optimistic outlook toward the world she explores, and Castti manages to remain motherly and caring in the face of amnesia. Yes, even the amnesiac is written well. Who'da thunk it?
While the eight main characters have their own independent stories, told through disparate chapters spread across the whole world of Solistia, there are moments when the game allows them to interact with one another. In the style of the Tales games, you can view short skits where characters give their thoughts on whatever is happening in the current chapter. These are brief windows into the types of🔜 interactions that are normally left to our imaginations. They range from the mundane to the zany, but they all provide more insight into the characters’ personalities and the dynamics being built behind the scenes.
Stronger than the skits are the paired paths - four stories that see two characters actually teaming up for a chapter. These are very short and sweet but prove that Octopath Traveler 2 made a mistake in adhering so closely to the isolationist storyteller philosophy of its predecessor. Paired chapters let the game’s writing thrive, allowing the strong personalities to flourish together instead 𒁃of keeping them apart. My favourites are Castti and Ochette’s paired chapters - not only do they tell a compelling story about how nature reacts to the supernatural entity affecting the world, but they reveal a surprising mother-daughter dynamic between the two. They are more effective than either character’s own storylines in expressing their personalities and making them feel like part of a large group of travelers.
By the game’s end, the eight are a tight-knit group of close friends and companions with their own in-jokes and shared memories. We didn’t get t𓄧o see these bonds being built, merely fleeting glimpses that leave us with more questions than answers. What actions did Castti take to prompt Ochette to view her as a mother figure? How does Temenos reconcile working with criminals like Throné? After finishing the game, you’re treated to a poignant scene in which the protagonists all say their goodbyes one by one. It’s emotional, but I felt cheated out of a rounded, fౠuller experience.
Let’s contrast this with another game with eight protagonists that tells many smaller stories in the service of a larger plot: 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 9. It’s not as non-linear as Octopath Traveler but still manages to let the talking stick get handed from one character to another while 💧keeping the plot rolling forward. The key is a mix of dramatic highs and lows - on the first Disc alone, you have the memorable play, the chase in the Evil Forest, clashes against Black Waltzes, and a glimpse of the big bad himself. But you also have campfire chats, a stay at an inn where Zidane flirts with Dagger, and Vivi going on a shopping trip. The dramatic lows serve to build up these characters and establish a group dynamic that makes the cast feel more realistic as a group of travelers who didn’t know each other beforehand. They break up the plot beats wonderfully, and we get to watch relationships grow over time.
Octopath Traveler is a game of dramatic highs𝓰 and not much else. It takes over 50 hours to reach the final chapter, and this is the first time you’ll ever see all eight characters on the screen at once. We don’t get to see the campfire chats, the shopping trips, the drunken nights at taverns - all the things we just know the game would pull off. The things that would make the heart-wrenching final scene all the more so.
It goes against the game’s general philosophy, but Octopath Traveler would tell stronger stories with a linear narrative attitude. The opening hours work well enough - let us gather up the cast in any order we wish - giving the play﷽er control feels good. But then, take the reins away. Put us on a railroad. Octopath Traveler 2’s writing really takes off when the game knows you have all eight characters and can let them all interact - a game that capitalises on this and makes you recruit the entire cast before proceeding would have the license to tell a far more engaging story that lets its characters - the main draw of Octopat⛦h Traveler - shine.