Octopath Traveler 2 Review

ign.com:

When I reviewed the original Octopath Traveler almost five years ago, I absolutely loved it. I was completely smitten with its art style, its spiritual and artistic connections to the 16-bit JRPGs I grew up with, and its amazing battle system. Playing Octopath Traveler 2, I was excited to see everything I loved about the original return. What’s surprising, however, is how little it's advanced in the last half-decade. In fact, outside of the specific stories being told, Octopath Traveler 2 is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor. That means it’s just as great in many ways, but that lack of novelty also makes it a bit less magical the second time around.

Because Octopath Traveler 2 is so similar to its excellent predecessor, there’s no reason not to go back and play the original first. But the stories aren’t directly connected either, so if you are considering starting the journey here, you should know that once again the name ”Octopath” refers to the eight playable characters and the paths they follow through the world. You can choose to start with any of them, and after playing through the first hour-long chapter of their story you're stuck with that character for the rest of the campaign – meaning you can't remove them from your party. You're then free to wander the beautiful tilt-shift world, but areas are more or less locked out by their difficulty level. For example, if you enter an area with a "Danger Level 16" and you're at level five, you're going to be murdered pretty much instantly upon your first encounter. You might think to yourself "Ah, but I am a seasoned JRPG veteran, I know a thing or two about how to approach high-level zones," but I'm here to tell you you're wrong. If the area says it's 16, you