Octopath Traveler - Nintendo Switch

Octopath Traveler might be one of the best games available on the Switch right now. Gameplay - 5/5 The vast majority of the game will be spent in random encounter battles, and it's the game's combat system that I think shines the most in this game. Combat is turn-based and is very easy to learn, but is still quite intricate. Characters can use a range of weapons and spells, powering up their moves with a BP meter. Certain characters can use unique abilities in battle, such as summoning an animal or NPC to fight for you. The combat system never really feels overwhelming. It is still a JRPG, so expect a lot of grinding for experience. Graphics - 5/5 The game's pixel art style and lighting effects make the game look absolutely beautiful yet simple. Unfortunately, there are no settings to adjust the effects that I have seen. Some people have said the lighting and depth-of-field made them feel sick, but I haven't experienced anything like that. Music - 5/5 Music is one of the most important aspects of a game to me, and this game has a fantastic OST. Not a whole lot to say about it other than that. Characters - 4.5/5 All eight playable characters have different skills, abilities, and personalities. However, you have to sort of ignore the fact that 2 people with completely opposing personalities and goals would be travelling together. Even though I like Therion (he was my starter character), he feels a bit out of place due to the fact that he is a thief. Therefore, it makes little sense why a merchant named Tressa, who hates thieves, would travel with him. It's not to difficult to overlook because the eight characters don't interact with each other very frequently, which is a bit of a disappointment. This leads me into my next point. Story (Stories?) - 4.5/5 Individually, I think each character's story is decent enough. Primrose has, in my opinion, the best (and darkest, most mature) story; one of avenging her dead father. However, I was a bit let down by the fact that the eight character's individual stories do not intersect. Sure, two characters may have objectives in the same town, but they never seem relate to each other. I knew this going into the game, but I still think its a lost opportunity. It almost feels a bit like a compilation of 8 short games. Some people may not mind this, but others may be disappointed. Final Verdict - This game is overall a fantastic game, and a lot of love and care was put into it. As I said earlier, the only time I think the game actually falls flat comes to missed opportunities in stories crossing paths. However, if you want to experience 8 short, simple stories, then this game is even more fantastic.

I have been playing Octopath Traveler non-stop since it released and I have not even scratched the surface of this game! Let me say this- this game does not have an overall ultimate plot like most JRPG's, instead it has 8 different plots for 8 different characters, allowing you to play out the stories in which ever order you desire. Thus far, each characters story has been enjoyable and are not heavily cliche'd like other games. The voice acting is good for the most part and there are a lot of side stories to interact with. To complete these side stories you utilize class action skills such as- Thief= Steal, Merchant= Purchase, Dancer=Allure, Scholar=Interrogate/Advise, and Hunter=Provoke. Plus these skills are good to have overall as you can gain new items or information. The visuals in this game are amazing as they bring back so many memories of JRPG classics but now in HD-2D. The water, snow, sun rays, and desert sand effects are beautiful and deserve praise. The character sprites and cities look good and are well designed. The music is amazing and different regions have different battle music, making battles so much more bearable. The combat is great too as you get to set up a 4 man team and battle how you like, but remember whomever you start with will always be in your team. The combat takes notes from bravely default and you can stack up extra actions, which can be used to deal tons of damage, or prevent an enemies from using their ultimate attacks on you. Enemies have weaknesses which can be used against them to break their guard and leave them open for critical attacks. My only complaint is that enemies do not have health bars, making certain battles that much harder. Lastly- ensure you are properly leveled for each region or you will get obliterated, no joke. Overall- OPT is a beautiful game with great stories and an amazing battle system that old and new players will appreciate.

This was a gift for the holiday. Great quality and fast shipping.

As a whole, the character development stories tend to be hit and miss. Some were great and others were just so-so. We all have our own biases about what makes a good character, what makes a good story, but with 8 main characters and 8 individual stories, there's something for everyone here. That said, the voice acting and the presentation is quite good, when it's there. A lot of parts that could use it are missing voice, and some of the best voice actors are one-shot characters that appear for a chapter and then all but disappear. Story progression is very linear but there are plenty of sidequests that you can go on, most of these don't involve much beyond "help person A, get reward, help them again, get another reward" but they help to flesh out the world and create NPCs that do more than just stand around and recite bubbles of text. The levelling system is pretty simple and straightforward, but combat is pretty deep and there's a decent amount of min-maxing that can be done (but isn't by any means required). The boss fights can be pretty epic, requiring the right party composition as well as strategy to be used, unless you want to grind and simply out-level the boss. The main problems here are the old-style, walk around and get into random encounters system where encounters can't be avoided, only chances decreased (or increased) with items or skills that aren't available until mid-game or later. This can cause the combat to be pretty tedious at times, especially when your characters are far above the level where the combat is a challenge or even necessary. While not required, there's a decent amount of "endgame" content that can be unlocked even before the game is complete, for instance four powerful secondary classes that require defeating a powerful boss to obtain.

Wanted to pick this up for so long, such a pretty, atmospheric game.

Good game. Nice retro graphics, good character development, interesting story, gameplay easy to understand.

Really fun. Really scratches that JRPG itch.

Those who love RPGs with a complex story -- Go for it!!

Octopath Traveler posiblemente haya sido el juego más subvalorado e incluso ignorado, de todos los que se anunciaron en enero de 2017 cuando Nintendo por fin presentó oficialmente la que, sin lugar a duda es la consola del momento: la Nintendo Switch (otrora denominada "Nintendo NX"). Si bien el anuncio de este título en aquel evento fue extremadamente austero, su estética "retro" y "feeling" de JRPG de la vieja escuela, con toda certeza elevaron las expectativas de los fanáticos del género, en concreto de quienes vivimos su época dorada en la década de los noventa: el juego prometía en un susurro ser una joya y, ¿qué crees, lector? Lo es. Una joya de inmenso valor. La jugabilidad es exquisita y es solo igualada por su aspecto gráfico sutil y hermoso, que logra armonizar personajes diseñados al más puro estilo de la vieja era de los 32 bits con un fresco ambiente en tres dimensiones sorprendentemente bien iluminado y espectacularmente colorido que nunca deja de lado el buen gusto. Conservador hasta la médula, Octopath Traveler entiende a la perfección cómo debe ser un JRPG. No vacila en hacer gala de su origen con un orden impecable en la interfaz de usuario y elementos clásicos capaces de dar una cálida y arropadora bienvenida al juego abonando a su ya de por sí sorprendente capacidad de hacerte parte de él. Si hubiera que definir el apartado de sonido, en una palabra, esa palabra no podría ser otra: sublime. Indiscutiblemente la música es donde más luce la calidad de este videojuego. Es extraordinaria. Deliciosa; sí, esa es la palabra que mejor se ajusta. Queda en evidencia que la gente detrás de su composición y ejecución puso amor y compromiso en cada pieza y nota. Las actuaciones para dar voz a los personajes son ni más ni menos que sobresalientes. Nada que discutir. La nitidez, la calidad… Impresionante. Querrás escuchar toda la experiencia con lo mejor que tengas disponible en casa para reproducir audio. Si bien la historia es lineal en un sentido más bien tradicional, Octopath Traveler te da la oportunidad de tomar decisiones, elegir qué hacer y a donde ir. Los personajes pueden ser tan entrañables como tú desees porque te da la oportunidad de conocerlos y entenderlos. Además, están perfectamente balanceados. No tendrás problema alguno para escoger a tus favoritos porque es fácil conectarse con ellos sin que el juego llegue a hartarte de sus historias, personalidades y motivos. El problema será elegir a quien llevar porque todos son útiles y poderosos. Aquí dejo algo muy importante que aclarar antes de terminar. A pesar de similitudes de origen, Octopath Traveler no quiere ser como sus abuelos o sus padres. Octopath Traveler no quiere ser comparado con referentes -subrayo- obligados como Chrono Trigger, Earth Bound o Secret of Mana. Octopath Traveler quiere estar a su altura, lucir sus propias cualidades y sobre todo, escribir su propia historia. A los fans del género: este título es obligatorio. Un tesoro, una maravilla. Es platino puro que muchos dieron por simple plata.