I’ve become something of a lover of Square Enix’s HD-2D branch of games in recent times. Between the great demo for The Adventures of Elliot: The Millenium Tales and the superlative remakes of the first three Dragon Quest games, I’m wholeheartedly onboard with its merits in presenting classic game formats with modern techniques. It’s perhaps poetic, then, that they would also announce a brand new Octopath Traveler game to cap off 2025. Octopath Traveler was where HD-2D first started, and it’s enjoyed several successes with a dedicated sequel and a popular mobile game. This time, Octopath Traveler 0 tells some of the origins of the series while also bringing in some intriguing overhauls to its formula. Just how successful is it in doing that, though?
An Adventurer is You
The big change in Octopath Traveler 0 comes down to who you control and follow for all of its narratives. Rather than be like the first two games, where you would follow eight individual characters with their own backstories, personalities, and motivations, you instead take charge of the story through a create-a-character system. You can decide things like their gender, appearance, voice, and certain elements of their background that will affect gameplay. They’re, of course, a silent protagonist, so what their personality is like is largely going to come down to each individual player’s imagination. Throughout each narrative presented by the game, you’ll also be given choices that can affect things like story outcomes or simply how other characters might react. As someone with a preference for old-school storytelling in RPGs, I wound up vastly preferring this setup to the other numbered games.
I think it’s a lot easier to get invested in the sweeping and open-ended fantasy of Octopath Traveler when you’re playing as your own character that’s guided by your own agency. While that presents its own risks, especially regarding how other characters bounce off of the player, I think it’s a worthy endeavor. Even putting aside the Job system, used for the main character only, it’s fun to imagine how different players will have different takeaways and experiences based purely on a few seemingly innocuous decisions they made near the start of the game. It pairs very well with the semi-open world nature of the map design and quest structure, where you’re given a large suite of linear tasks that you can tackle in whatever order suits your fancy. While I haven’t completed the game as of this writing (being a preview article, based on a limited slice of the game), I already find myself thinking of the numerous ways I could approach it upon a revisit. Maybe I could initiate X story first or plunge into Y dungeon to try my hand at an optional boss who’s far out of my party’s level range.
Although a few areas and sea travel are locked off to the player as part of story progress, you can visit an extremely large quantity of areas straight away. This is provided you can survive them, as each section of the world has an associated Danger Level and different encounter tables where you’ll contest with a wide variety of enemies. You can punch well above your level with enough preparation and strategy, though, and that’s what really inspires my sense of wanderlust. It’s as pure in its adventure game elements as it really gets, made all the better by how dense with content the game is. Each town you stumble across usually has a few associated stories where you’ll meet new characters to recruit into your party, to bring back to your own town, or they’ll have miniature storylines.
This is even before getting into the Path Actions feature, where you can perform up to three interactions with most NPCs. This can be things like stealing to “relieve” them of their items, haggling with them to buy their items or their services in battle, or accomplishing these by defeating them in battle instead. Each of these comes with a set of involved risks, and failing them too many times will bar you from doing Path Actions in a given town until you restore your reputation at the local bar. It’s fun in a silly way to try my hand at something that has a low chance of succeeding to get an item early, be it fighting a townsperson that’s 30 levels above me or trying to steal an item I have just a 3% of grabbing. It’s just another tool to get immersed in the role-playing aspect of the experience, and I love it.
Fight, Fight, Fight!
Octopath Traveler 0 offers an interesting refresh of the core combat seen in the first two games. It still follows many of the same conventions as before, being a turn-based game following the usual traditions of the genre such as using a turn order system (where the order of character actions are denoted by a timeline at the top of the screen), exploiting enemy weaknesses through different weapon types and elemental attacks, and keeping on top of your Skill Points to use a variety of buffs, debuffs, and special attacks. Where Octopath stands out is the same as before, using the “Break” and “Boost” system. Each enemy comes with a Break number, where they’ll have their defenses halved and be temporarily stunned after being hit with a weakness a certain number of times. Usually, enemies come with around 3 to 5 weaknesses split across different weapons and spells. While this might sound tedious, it’s backed by the Boost system, which allows you to power-up your various Skills, some of which have multi-hit properties, alongside letting you multiply regular attacks in a single turn to smash through their Break numbers.
You also have quite a lot of party members to choose from, with around 30 or so you can fiddle around with to form a party of eight to use in battle. Four party members compose the active front row, and the other four compose the standby back row, and both can be swapped freely in battle. While it’s rare to have to swap for regular encounters, this system really shines during boss fights, where smart swapping between front row and back row can greatly disrupt the rhythm between playing offensively or defensively. This also means that smart party composition can really take you places, as while most characters fall into similar Jobs that make their stats similar, they also all have different unique Skills that make them worth bringing into battle for one reason or another. On top of this, the player character can change their Job into whatever you please, allowing you to more comfortably strategize and experiment.
While I’m still quite a ways away from seeing all of the battles the game has to offer, I’m quite content with its level of challenge so far. After you reach a certain point, boss battles also start implementing some creative strategies that spice up tension and gameplay, like striking party members with countdowns that cause instant death upon reaching zero, or making fields that take away Boost at the end of every turn. Despite how monstrous they can be in terms of HP, with a bit of planning, they can be cut down to size in record time thanks to the 8-person party system and pre-existing mechanics like Boost and Break. The bigger headcount also means that players have to make much more considered choices about what equipment to prioritize buying, which makes a far bigger difference in damage dealt or received compared to level ups.
The Story So Far
Octopath Traveler 0 promises a narratively enormous story, and so far it hasn’t disappointed. While I can’t yet judge the full quality of it, since I am still playing through it, I am very impressed with what I’ve played so far. Like previous games, rather than a single continuing narrative, you instead get a series of vignettes tied together through the setting’s lore. Unlike before, these vignettes also contribute to a singular broad narrative, so the end result is less like Octopath and more like a much grittier version of Dragon Quest. These stories all follow dramatically different themings, exploring different aspects of common human vices in a way that’s very over-the-top and theatrical. There’s an especially big focus on villains and human antagonists, with many of my encounters (so far) being humans instead of common RPG ilk like monsters or demons.
The three main antagonists, the Masters of Fame, Wealth, and Power, are so insane with how their motivations play out that it loops right back around to being sincerely awesome. I love every second they’re on screen with how they chew up the scenery, aided by excellent voice acting and music to heighten the tension. I can’t go much further in detail than that, but so far the game has expertly woven a sense of tragedy with grandiosity. From the tense opening hours to where I’m at now, it does an especially excellent job of sucking the player into the world. As someone who found Octopath Traveler 1 (which 0 is naturally a prequel to) to be bereft of compelling narrative, it’s shocking that this is probably the most hooked I’ve been on a story from Square Enix since Dragon Quest VII.
While there isn’t a single consistent party throughout the game, each story intimately follows a small set of characters that you’ll get to know. These aren’t party members; rather they’re guest stars who have their own roles and obligations. Actual party members are instead found in towns or recruited as part of a story involving your hometown, and they’re quite lively too. I’ve yet to see how many of them will fully develop, and I am eager to learn more about them.
The Journey Continues
My time with Octopath Traveler 0 has so far been grand and highly enjoyable. While I expected to enjoy its music, combat, and aesthetic a lot, I’m surprised at how much its story has sunk its teeth into me. I’m already praying that this isn’t the only time Octopath uses a create-a-character system, as it’s by far the most I’ve been invested in this series and world. This is even before mentioning the changes to Quality of Life, like easy party and equipment management, as well as how things like quest markers work. I’m 25 hours in, and this is shaping up to be the ultimate JRPG comfort food.
OCTOPATH TRAVELER 0 IS OFF TO A ROLLING START
If you are looking for another HD-2D title, check out our reviews of Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
Many thanks go to Square Enix for a Nintendo Switch 2 review code for Octopath Traveler 0.
A hobbyist who took up the pen to write about their favorite pastime: games. While a lover of many genres, Isaiah Parker specializes in Platformers, RPGs, and competitive multiplayer titles. The easiest way into his heart is to have great core gameplay mechanics. Self-proclaimed world’s biggest Sonic fan. Follow him @ZinogreVolt
