Octopath Traveler II Director Talks About The Future Of The Series

Wow, it's only been out that long?! I picked it up for half-price a few weeks ago, which seems unusual...?

I never played the first instalment, so no I can't comment on how it improved on that outside of what i've read in reviews.

Anyway, it's my first real turn-based battle JRPG and after 25 hours, I absolutely love it. I've got the voice-over set in Japanese, as the English overdubs were a bit over the top for my liking – YMMV.

Can't wait to progress the story tonight.

due to poor sales of game number 2 i seriously doubt we will get a octopath 3..

@johnedwin Did it not sell well globally? It didn't seem to be marketed that well, but man – I'm so glad I took a punt. Especially as I have always avoided turn-based RPGs. This one has really turned me on to others, like the new / old Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster.
What do other people recommend for turn-based novices like me who love OTII?

@JaapV Final Fantasy X is a lot more linear, but is really endearing. The Turn Based combat in that is more grounded, but its an early case of someone experimenting with what you can do with the system. Not to mention the really endearing story. The other FF games are recommended as well, especially 3-5.

Bravely Default games are from the same team. I don’t like them personally, but the gameplay is similar to Octopath.

Dragon Quest XI is a certified hood classic. It’s the stereotypical turn based game in every way, but does everything right. My favorite JRPG on switch, and JRPG franchise in general.

These are my recommendations if you’re starting out, but if you wanna branch out and experiment with your tastes more, there’s plenty to choose from.

Turn Based Strategy games are a guilty pleasure of mine. Tactics Ogre Reborn is my favorite, but you can’t go wrong with any of the Fire Emblems either. Disgaea 4 and 5 are fun if you want something over the top.

The SaGa series is rather advanced and out there, but worth trying if you can get them on sale. I recommend Romancing SaGa 2, or SaGa Frontier. I enjoy this series a lot, but it’s not for everyone.

Hope this helps!

@JaapV it is a good game it did not sell well in japan according to physical sales so that is why i think a third installment will not happen..

OTII is my favourite game of the year so far, but as it stands now, sales numbers aren’t strong enough to justify a third game (at least not for now). Miyauchi-san knows that too I think, hence the polite reply on the Famitsu question.

A shame it’s not selling really well , I loved the first one and the second one is even better . Lots of improvements without changing it too much. So much content ! I’m about 35 hours in and I don’t feel I have even scratched the surface !

@JaapV In addition to the recommendations of the above poster, I would highly recommend you give Chained Echoes a shot. It's the epitome of an indie gem, absolutely nailed the feel of 16-bit JRPGs while still feeling modern in many respects.

Oversaturation, there's just far too many JRPGs for the current generation (Switch, PS5, etc). And HD-2D is no longer the new thing, so it does little to stand out. Had this been held back until the Switch 2, it would have sold so much better.

Didn't it come out Feb 23rd? That's (over) two months ago.

I thought both Octopaths were very close in quality, but I'd also give the edge to II. The extra focus on chapter variety gave it a shot in the arm, even if the structure of the game still has its downsides. Both are excellent though and I'd pick up a third game day one.

This came out Feb. 24th… more than a month ago, jeez. Great game. I had to stop to finish off BOTW in preparation for TOTK. Now that is done I’m going back to this. Love it! Would love to see a third entry in the series.

Sad to see it sold poorly. Square Enix can't catch a break lately. Now all pressure is on FF16 to sell well. Thank goodness they have FFXIV, or else I would be very nervous for them.

I really hope we see a Bravely Default 3 before Octopath 3, but I hope we get both eventually. These games (especially Bravely series) have taken the place of traditional turn-based Final Fantasy games for me.

I loved how the game evolved, but I still think there is some room from improvement regarding interactions between characters and their participation in individual tales. Like how they paired them? If you have them in the team maybe add a couple more lines supporting the character before a boss fight and so on. I still felt the characters more connected by the end and it was much appreciated

@SpoonySpoons Awesome, thanks for the recommendations! My brother-in-law is really into Switch JRPGs too, so hopefully he can lend me something. He recommended Triangle Strategy (the strategy element intimidates me!) and Bravely Default II – he loved the first entry, and has the second but hasn't played it.

Thanks also, @SwitchVogel – I'll put Chained Echos on my wish list!

My history with gaming is a bit funny, as I was a very sick kid and in and out of hospital a lot, so ended up spending a few years out of school and retreating into my own world. This was back in the SNES days, and my favourite games of the time were Secret of Mana and Super Mario World. When I was a bit better with my health and I could go to school and socialise, the gaming slowly fell by the wayside. I ended up selling my SNES and kinda never looking back. Well, not until COVID came about and we were locked down in isolation for months.

I was so stressed out worrying about family I developed insomnia, so took to surfing the net to relax one night stumbled up a video playthough of Breath of the Wild on YouTube. It became my nightly ritual to watch little sections of it as a way to switch off my brain. Not long after, I bought a Switch for my daughter and started playing it at night after the family went to sleep. If you had of told me I'd get into gaming five years ago, I'd have told you you were mad. But here we are!

Anyway, Octopath Traveler II has bought back some cosy memories of my old SNES days, reminding me of those worlds and stories I used to love escaping into in order to avoid reality – for just a few hours at a time, at least.

I hope they make a third entry.

@JaapV Triangle Strategy is actually a really good pick as well, especially to dip your toes into strategy games. It does a great job of introducing common story and gameplay tropes without making you feel like its holding your hand. Probably my favorite of the HD-2D series so far(haven’t played Octopath II yet).

Picked it up recently and enjoyed what I played. It’s on the back burner until I the fall as that will give me time to crank through Zelda.

@JaapV I've heard that it's sales aren't as strong as the first, even this early on, which could be why it went on sale so quickly.

@Fulgor_Astral Yeah, a bit more interaction would be nice, especially at help avoid moments where we're really forced to suspend our disbelief, such as an NPC telling one of our protagonists it's three against one, only to have our entire party of four present once the fight begins.

But even that is a minor flaw in a great game.

I skipped the first entry because I didn't even own a Switch at the time and everyone said OT2 is way better. So far, I am loving it at about 16 hours. I know there are many more hours to go, but it's easily my favourite JRPG, having not really played many RPGs since the SNES era. It has the charm of those old games but feels thoroughly modern. The combat system is incredibly engaging and I'm invested in all of the stories (only five characters so far, and I'm invested more in some than others, but they're all interesting).

I would love a sequel eventually, if it's in the cards.

Eh, given how low-effort the existing PC interaction is, I think it might be a better idea for them to just axe that whole concept entirely — just keep every character story separate from the others, like LAL. This could even allow them to do some more interesting things within those narratives, as they could have NPCs refer to what the other characters are up to on their routes. Like maybe PC1 is an apothecary visiting a town that's been damaged by some disaster, and then part of PC2's story involves causing that disaster (or attempting to mitigate it).

I dunno. Obviously it would be nice if we could form a proper 8-character PARTY in these games, but they seem so actively disinterested in that I don't see much hope for it ever happening. And it's not like there aren't various NPCs in the Octo2 routes, for example, that could become party members for those stories. Or, hell, they could even just do a Mercury system that let ya' hire out whoever — faceless, voiceless mercs are always easier to swallow than fully-realized characters who spend all of their time together pointedly NOT talking to each other.

I really hope Octopath 2 ends up performing well enough for Acquire and Square-Enix to justify taking a third crack at it, because OT2 truly is stellar as both a RPG and a sequel.

I took advantage of the BOGO sale Gamestop had a couple weeks ago, and I picked up Skyward Sword (only Zelda game I've never played), and I got Octopath 2 for free. I bought Octopath 1 when it came out, and it is a gorgeous game, but I got really bored with it, really fast. Octopath 2 was the complete opposite. I'm loving every second I'm playing it. The characters and stories seemed way more fleshed out. If they do a third one, I hope they can live up to the second one.

@JaapV Hey Jaap. This year will see the release of Suikoden 1 and 2 Remastered, which will be another HUGE highlight in the turn-based JRPG genre. It may not have the same polish as OT 2, but will be an upgrade to one of the absolute best JRPG games from the PS1 era. It's pixel based like OT 2 so if you like the aesthetics you will like Suikoden. It's my all time favourite series.