While we are still a few months away from Octopath Traveler II's Switch release on February 24th, 2023, that hasn't stopped the team over at Square Enix from sharing a good helping of content - the game is supposedly 90% complete, after all.
The latest of these updates, posted by the game's official Japanese Twitter account (@OCTOPATH_PR), gives us a closer look at Solistia, showcasing some of the game's Chapter End bosses and some crafty camera movements.
It looks like the HD-2D rendering has really come along leaps and bounds of late too - and that is considering the very strong position in which it started. The environments in the above video look stunning and, combined with the new dynamic camera work, it is clear that Square Enix is really spearheading a stylistic movement here.
The tweet's caption (translated via Twitter) describes the game as the 'evolution of HD-2D', with these new graphics representing 'HD-2D series version 2.0'. What is clear is that the team are impressed with how the game is looking so far, and hey, can you blame them?
For more of an idea of what you can expect from Octopath Traveller II, check out the announcement trailer below and be sure to head over to the game's official site for even more information.
What do you make of this new footage? Adventure down to the comments below to let us know!
[source twitter.com]
Comments 34
Never finished the first Octopath. Never finished the first Bravely.
I liked Live A Live though.
...I feel like I need to play both Octopath and all three Bravely games at some point. Right now Xeno 3 has my attention though. There's too many RPGs!!!!
I am so excited for this game. I absolutely loved the first one.
I really enjoyed these HD-2D games but I think it will be soon too much.
Anyways, for me:
Octopath I > Triangle Strategy > Live A Live.
On the other hand, the filters are completely blown out (contrast, depth of field, even the cloud shadows are far too intense).
It's a shame because it's so close to looking perfect.
Loved the look of Octopath one, but got bored after the second chapter because half my party were such low level I couldn't progress unless i did a lot of grinding. Got bored. Turned it off. Found out my old self does not have the patience for these types of games anymore
So wont bother with this one
I want a 3D open world adventure with these graphics.
To me this is comfortably the best looking game on the Switch.
I'm glad that for this one the characters stories will finally intertwine instead of each being its own separate chapter like the original where you still had all characters there just that they don't get too much involve in the story of the focus character.
@bozz actually there haven't been any demonstrations of the game running on the Switch yet. It's going to be multiplat release (PC, PS4, PS5, Switch), and at TGS the game was running on PC, iirc. They can cut the graphics for the Switch.
@gcunit It won't be 3D then if it had these graphics cause then it'll be 3D HD (like Trials of Mana and Tales of Vesperia) instead of 2D HD which are these graphics.
Square has a lot of hit or miss games but they almost never dissapoint witht the visuals
Stares at my shelf of unopened Switch jrpgs
@Bunkerneath I was in the same boat. I got much further.. I can’t remember, maybe like chapter 4, 5 or 6?
Anyway, I can’t progress because I get wiped out quickly.
I’d love to revisit and get this one too but yeah… I don’t have the patience or willpower.
@Tainaru Nah. Considering it's only five games so far announced over a five year window of release and the only things they have in common is the visual style, it's definitely not too much. If we were on Octopath Traveler 5, I'd agree with you, but it's Octopath Traveler II and they'll be releasing 5 years apart from each other. The rest are very different games from very different franchises, just with a similar visual style. Nothing wrong with that, I think.
@Serpenterror
My understanding is that the characters still have separate stories, but they will interact with each other during “Crossed Path” side stories. A definite improvement over the first game, but the individual characters will still have separate stories.
I'm still waiting on Square to release the DQ3 remake in this style. Didn't care for Octopath 1, so will pass on the sequel.
I'm saddened it's been so long without an update on DQ3, but the Enix side of things, especially relating to Dragon Quest, always seem to take their time.
I’ve tried to get into this style and genre, but can’t
Happy for those who love it though, they’re getting plenty of content! Seems to be a passionate niche.
Beautiful! One of my most anticipated games right now.
Looks great, but for the love of God, could they just tone down the grind. Please respect our time, for crying out loud.
I sorta hope this is set in the same universe but just different continent. I mean granted beating up the Evil God might be the icing on the cake but I feel like you can't just "win" against that. Granted the I never played the mobile game (which I still feel should be ported/remade for console) so perhaps there are other continents already.
Granted as far as I know the gods of Octopath only created Orsterra so...could be more gods to beat up.
HOLY MOLY! Square enix nailed it with thit art, yes ART!
amazing game, cant wait for this one.
@Bunkerneath I think they want you round-robin through each character's first chapter or two before taking on chapters 3 and 4. It means swapping out one or more characters but since you can't swap out your first character until you complete their chapter 4 they'll be over leveled and can carry a little, especially if they can tank or heal. Also chapter 2 is around when you can go get secondary jobs so you can always have a healer, aoe, tank in your party no matter the characters.
It's probably better to do it this way than try to focus on just 4 characters because, spoiler: there's a late game fight where you need all 8 characters and you're screwed if you haven't been building everybody up in some way.
@Tainaru It will never be too much for me. You can inject this art style straight into my veins!
Looks maybe slightly better?
The more I see Hd2D though, the less impressive it gets. Live A Live looked pretty ugly to me.
@vontheodore Personally, I love that heavy depth of field, and I wish Skyward Sword had kept it for the Switch version. I think it looks so pretty to combine that heavy depth of field with the shimmer from lighting effects.
crazy how much better this looks compared to all the other 2d hd games... i was always against 2d hd remakes of old classics but if they are on that level i'm fine with some of them
Never much had interest in RPG's like this but that trailer is changing my mind. Visually, it's gorgeous. Luckily it's not releasing now as I have Automata and NMS on the docket for the foreseeable future
@Ulysses I'm usually all for depth of field (loved it in Skyward Sword) but combined with everything else it's too much! I wish they'd brighten up the image so I could appreciate the gorgeous pixel art <3
I'm not gonna watch anymore trailers, I can't wait for this to come out!!!! ❤️❤️
The style has come a long way since the first game. It's amazing how detailed things are in II.
I am really curious to see switch footage of the game considering how much more visually detailed it seems alongside it being multiplatform from the get go this time.
... Wun can only hope.
@Mgalens That's actually a good point.
Now I'm wondering whether Square Enix is still building Octopath Traveler from the ground up for Switch, or if they are building it for other platforms first and turning the Switch version into a port.
I've stalled out in the original about 5 hours in because I got sidelined by DQ11. I plan to revisit it at some point. I like the graphical style, some of the dialogue definitely drags though, and it would be nice to be able to speed up combat like you can in DQ11 and the FF ports, etc.
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