Square Enix Trademarks Term Used To Describe Octopath Traveler's Unique Art Style

Stuff set into motion just doesn't end, these days. Yo-Kai Watch, this studio's works, Skyrim ports, etc.

Does anyone else think that HD2D is a odd term for this game to latch onto? It’s vague because there is nothing to indicate that it’s referencing to pixelart, HD2D makes me think of Rayman Legends and the new Monster Boy game. High-bit makes me more sense for Octopath’s visual style but possibly harder for them to trademark.

@CurryPowderKeg79
It’s just a trademark for the term not a patent, patenting the concept of new sprite based games with lots of visual effects is hopefully impossible to do.

@Lizuka that statement means nothing. How could you know of something you'd want if it isn't already a thing?

I prefer Chibi Bobble head style from World of Final Fantasy.

@CurryPowderKeg79 There have been at least a dozen times that I could've benefited from having a tire gauge on-deck. Just saying

I hope they move away from copying Final Fantasy character sprites and go for something like Chrono Trigger or Xenogears. Final Fantasy character sprites are butt-ugly, and Octopath Traveler's sprites being based off of Final Fantasy VI's sprites really turned me off.

Octopath's artstyle isn't anything new either. If anything it kinda just feels meh. They literally took Xenogears' foundation of 2D sprites in a 3D space (which was already kinda ugly), removed the controllable camera, and added unnecessary effects like insane depth of field.

So Chrono Trigger and Mario RPG 2DHD remasters on Switch when?

I don't see why they need to trademark that. In fact, I feel like that is hurting the industry because it might discourage other major companies from doing similar HD2D projects.

Kind of silly.

I hope this means there are new games using this artstyle in the future.

I love the 2D sprite art style in Octopath Traveler but please don't overuse it too much. A new game with that style of graphic is okay but if there's like 4 of that in the work then that's just way too much.

This is a good sign. Square should make more games like this, especially after posting that large financial loss a few months ago. Not every RPG they make needs to have a bloated budget that takes upwards of a decade to make.

@SalvorHardin I was thinking the same, that term sounds a bit generic and if you called anything from New Super Mario Bros to the new Monster Boy HD2D it'd sound right but doesn't look like Octopath. Its a very unique look and one that I adore, it kind of reminds me of those old pop up books I used to have as a kid

It is a really cool art style that no other game seems to be trying to replicate.

I'm actually about to finish the main story for every character in Octopath Traveler, and I can see there's a lot of potential to make a sequel.... Or even a prequel!!

I can also see they could make a spin-off using only Cyrus, as the main protagonist, since he's a scholar that can solve puzzles and can also fight using spells.

I'm not a big SNES fan because I didn't have that system as a kid, but if Nintendo did an "A Link to the Past HD" Remaster in the Octopath art style they would have my money instantly. It would simply teleport from my bank account to their bank account auto-magically. It could be so gorgeous, I think, and I'd really love to at least see a fan-made attempt/proof-of-concept.

But, I agree, I don't want to see every new 2D game do it, no.

This didnt need to be trademarked

The trademark is irrelevant to the rest of the industry. All it means, if granted, is that only Square Enix can sell games using the term HD-2D or HD2D

HD2D, my lightsaber, now!

you guys who think this shouldn’t have been protected are silly.

It baffles me that there are no Octopath Spirits in Smash.

Octopaths 2DHD graphics does not look all that good.
Check out the Last Night, this game did this way better.

Translation: Square-Enix is going to give in and cuddle its pet audience once more.

Of course, such a scenario - provided I'm not merely seeing things, which might well be the case for many among you - wouldn't be anywhere near as much of a slippery slope as Rayman Legends proved to be, but in the wake of us Nintendo fans still waiting for a chance to play any numbered Kingdom Hearts game it would just be aggravating, not to mention it would lead to very hypocritical rejoicing.

It could also be a trade-off for the numbered FF games coming to Switch, come to think of it. I can easily picture the PS crowd wanting this game in exchange for Final Fantasy VII coming out on Switch.

I just hope that not every Octopath sequel looks like the first one. I like the visuals, but it will sooner or later became stale if they don't make some changes.

That's quite surprising indeed. Especially since, if I understand things correctly, other devs can use similar style, and just won't be able to use the name. The name, which does not really describe the art style.

If anything they ripped off 3D Dot Heroes. Super sick of Octopath. It was gorgeous, but hollow. Like a supermodel

Octopath is an outstanding game. A bit rough sometimes but very good nonetheless.
Would love a sequel, but I would prefer the cutscenes as a animations, rather than sprites talking.

Dreams of FFVI and Chrono Trigger with this art style _

I am surprised by all the negative comments about OT: I must say that I enjoyed Octopath much more than Dragon Quest XI, with its basic vanilla combat system and hideous music. When DQXI releases on Switch you will see.

I really, really hope that they bring the Bravely series to the Switch. I will buy that in a heart beat!

Owned since July - only started playing it on Friday and am in so much love with it. Sequels need a pacing tweak - the stop and go of the first 9 hours of feeling like you are beginning the game over and over is both part of the charm and a bummer, also would like less dark lighting effects, gets a little muddy. English voice acting is all over the place too. But man is that battle system great as well as the character designs. So much fun.

While I'd love another Octopath Traveler game on Switch, I'm worried it wouldn't have the same charm as the original did. It's kind of what I felt about Bravely Default's sequel. The first game was great, albeit slow, while the second game was just "meh, been there, done that" for me. But that's just my personal view. I'd actually rather Square Enix worked on getting the Kingdom Hearts 1.5/2.5/2.8 Remixes working on Switch (I've played them on PS4 and there's nothing there that would tell me they couldn't run flawlessly on the Switch), and for them to also work on optimizing KH3 for Switch as well now that the other versions are nearing release date.

The acronym should actually be VSDOFM, for "vaseline-smeared depth-of-field mess".

@EvilLucario Final Fantasy sprites look amazing to this day. Especially 6.

@Antraxx777 Everything but the character sprites are fine. They are far too squished and animations are incredibly stilted. Especially the run/walk cycles. And it's not even just a SNES thing when Chrono Trigger blows FF sprites out of the water in every way.

I still need to pick this up along with Wolfenstein.