Octopath Traveler 0: My New Favorite JRPG with Epic 8-Character Battles!

Though a prequel, Octopath Traveler 0 feels like a natural evolution of the unique JRPG formula that began in 2018. The original Octopath Traveler introduced a captivating HD-2D aesthetic that revitalized pixel art, giving it a grandeur reminiscent of the 90s console era. Its innovative approach of allowing players to control a cast of protagonists, each with their own story arcs, drew inspiration from classic titles while offering a fresh take on the traditional JRPG structure.

However, the execution of the first game left something to be desired, as the individual character narratives often failed to weave together into a cohesive experience. As more titles received the HD-2D treatment, the novelty began to fade. With a sequel that felt like more of the same, my expectations for Octopath Traveler 0 were tempered. A prequel that also serves as a sort of remake of the mobile title Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent seemed to suggest the series might be running out of steam.

Yet, after investing more hours into Octopath Traveler 0 than its predecessors, I can confidently say it’s the strongest entry in the series, even without a dramatic overhaul. The game builds on a brilliant battle system inspired by Bravely Default, offering greater flexibility with a larger party. More importantly, this prequel smartly discards design elements that previously hindered it, removing the most frustrating gacha mechanics from the mobile version and enhancing the overall experience.

The ensemble cast concept has shifted; instead of selecting from multiple protagonists, you create your own avatar, customizing their pixel appearance and background, including job class and favorite food. This change addresses a core issue of the series, where the quality and tone of each character’s story often felt inconsistent. As the roster grew, it became increasingly difficult to ignore the disparities, with some characters transitioning from leads to minor roles and themes varying widely.

Your silent protagonist starts in the idyllic village of Wishvale, but the story quickly takes a dark turn as the village is destroyed by three villains. Emerging from hiding years later, you embark on a quest across the continent of Orsterra to seek justice against these tyrants, exploring themes of human desires, power, wealth, and fame. You can pursue each target in any order, though the game subtly suggests tackling all three simultaneously. With only three arcs to begin with, the level discrepancies are far less pronounced than the previous game’s eight protagonists.

Each arc features its own lead characters with distinct motivations who accompany you, though they primarily remain in the background until called upon in battle. This narrower focus allows for a more consistent narrative. Octopath Traveler 0 embraces a darker, more mature tone that pushes the boundaries of its Teen rating. The pixel art style suggests much while the writing depicts a harsh world filled with vice, where terrible things can happen to good people, and calls for retribution are serious.

The three tyrants are twisted characters, including a playwright who is a sadistic serial killer drawing inspiration from his victims. The narrative delves into the tragic flaws of its characters and how their desires can corrupt them, making them more monstrous than any beasts encountered in battle.

While your party members have less narrative involvement, they shine in the turn-based battles. Even though encounters are primarily random, they are engaging as you discover enemy weaknesses and chip away at their shield points. There’s a satisfying crunch when you land an attack that breaks an enemy, rendering them inactive for a turn. Timing your attacks to break enemies before they act adds a layer of strategy, especially when you can unleash devastating moves with accrued battle points.

As challenges escalate, enemies may change their weaknesses or summon minions to shield them, turning battles into tactical puzzles where you must maximize each turn. You can swap rows during a turn, adding flexibility to your strategy.

You can now form a party of up to eight characters, which is how the game justifies the Octopath name, given the over 30 recruitable characters. While this creates a humorous conga line when traveling, the party is divided into front and back rows. The back row acts as understudies, unable to act but protected from enemy attacks, ready to step in if their front-row partner falls. This allows for strategic swaps, ensuring each pair has different weapon types or elemental magic.

The absence of second jobs is compensated by spending job points to unlock additional skills. This could mean acquiring multi-hit attacks or elemental magic previously unavailable to a character. Skills can be equipped and changed as needed, with more unlocked through exploration and interactions with NPCs.

Path actions, which allow unique interactions with NPCs, remain but are simplified. They now depend on the NPC rather than the party leader, often serving as a means to obtain items through various methods, including persuasion, purchasing, or combat. This encourages players to engage with NPCs for their wares, with the option to invite them to move to your town.

The most heartfelt aspect of Octopath Traveler 0 is the arc focused on rebuilding your childhood town of Wishvale, a new feature compared to the mobile title. The town-building mechanics evoke a poignant tone, as the trauma of its destruction lingers in the memories of its inhabitants. Reuniting with survivors across the continent fuels your determination to restore the town.

The town-building involves gathering materials and placing buildings on cleared land. To prevent distractions, you often need to progress in the main story to unlock new facilities or clear more land for construction.

As you invite more residents to Wishvale, they generate resources, and new facilities can enhance gameplay, such as growing produce for cooking stat-boosting meals or a training facility for non-active party members to gain experience. As the main story darkens with formidable threats, Wishvale becomes a comforting refuge, especially since it’s the only place you can rest for free.

Octopath Traveler 0 spans over 100 hours of gameplay, drawing from the extensive story of Champions of the Continent developed over four years. However, it lacks the novelty of new locations that other expansions often provide. While it gradually reveals more of the continent, players familiar with the first game will find much of Orsterra recognizable. Each arc feels episodic, leading to moments where you may need to seek out specific characters to progress, reminiscent of its live-service origins.

Despite this, Octopath Traveler 0 stands out as a commendable title, preserving a richly crafted narrative that fans who shy away from free-to-play models may have missed. While the future of the series remains uncertain, this installment offers a journey worth savoring for a long time.