Octopath Traveler II Review: Another Great Tactical JRPG

Octopath Traveler 2 does enough to push its core systems a little further, but remains firmly in the realm of great, not transcendent.

Octopath Traveler 2, from Square Enix and Acquire, is a pixel-art JRPG sequel that carries the surprising weight of expectations on it. It’s surprising because Octopath Traveler never felt like it was going to surpass niche status, but somehow managed to extend its reach just a little further than the niche genre of pixel-art tactical JRPGs. With clear foundational building blocks in place, it’s not a stretch to imagine Octopath Traveler 2 could be something truly special.

And, for the most part, it’s something close to that – a great game with great systems that nevertheless begins to drag over its runtime, unable to avoid the same pitfalls its predecessor faced. The eight-person sprawling narrative is more closely tied together than before, but the game still feels like playing multiple different, short retro-inspired JRPGs than one deftly navigated one.

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That said, to be great is no shame – and Octopath Traveler 2 is truly great. As far as tactical JRPGs go, its combat system is one of the better ones in recent memory, marrying explosive burst turns with a kind of methodical, plodding pace that rewards players both for risk-taking and conservative measures at equal frequency. The characters feel a little more fleshed-out this time around, with standouts like Partitio in particular being a delight to follow.

Graphically, it feels like Octopath Traveler 2 has made some progress in rendering some beautiful scenes, something that the previous title had no shortage of. The world of Solistia is absolutely gorgeous in spots, further bolstered by the way that scenes change from the day/night cycle the game has implemented. There are some views that, despite their simplicity, are so breathtaking they’re worth pausing to take in. The world really is, in spite of its linearity, teeming with detail.

That day/night system – which we noted previously in our Octopath Traveler 2 preview felt interesting – doesn’t fully coalesce into something that dramatically impacts gameplay, though it’s still a nice little feature. The addition of Latent Powers, which are essentially Final Fantasy-style limit breaks, are a welcome new part of combat but are similar in scope to the rotating times on the world map.

Perhaps that’s the biggest knock against Octopath Traveler 2. It just doesn’t feel like it pushes the conceit of the original game that much further. While that means the floor of the game is high thanks to its predecessor’s pedigree, the ceiling hasn’t been raised by much. The result is a perfectly serviceable, mostly seamless journey through a world that still doesn’t do enough to flesh out its side stories and characters.

Thankfully, Octopath Traveler 2‘s combat and aesthetic does more than enough heavy lifting to create a fun tactical JRPG that’s well worth the look for fans of the genre. It’s not going to change anyone’s mind about the genre, and it still feels like there’s something missing from really breaking through into the realm of something truly special, but that doesn’t mean Octopath Traveler 2 is anything less than a wonderful second effort from a team that cleary has its finger on the pulse of what makes JRPGs fun.

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Octopath Traveler 2 releases on February 24, 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PC, and PlayStation 4. Screen Rant was provided with a digital Switch copy for the purpose of this preview.

Source: Square Enix Asia/YouTube