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News Octopath Traveler II announced for Switch, Playstation and Steam, launching February 24, 2023 (UPDATE: Prologue Demo available now, see threadmarks)

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Seven said:
Yeah, the story in the Bravely Default demo was completely divorced from what we saw in the main game. Here's the trailer for it:
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Thank you! Making sure I get that downloaded before the store closure since I seem to have deleted it a while back after I got the full game.
 



Official countdown art starts today!
Therion and Throné at once is an interesting choice when we're 16 days away from release.
 
The demo is available right now.

Thanks to that, when I'll wake up, there will be a bunch of music for us to listen!
 
I have too much shit to play right now. Engage DLC, Octopath demo, and god damn is that Metroid Prime remaster tempting.
 
Demo is out on everything (NSW, PS4/5, Steam) by the way. Or so it seems, it's kinda late here ahah
 
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This is probably the blurriest HD 2D game on Switch in handheld mode. I highly recommend turning off screen effects in the graphics settings.
 
Trying the Hikari route right now. I just love the OT battle system, I think I might prefer it over Bravely Default at this point, the Boost and Break mechanics work so well together.

In terms of performance, I think is okay in handheld mode, maybe a bit blurry? I'm not so sure.
 
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Ozzie said:
This is probably the blurriest HD 2D game on Switch in handheld mode. I highly recommend turning off screen effects in the graphics settings.
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If it’s anything like Triangle Strategy, the screen blur effect and the weird dimming in the corners were fucking terrible and I was amazed how much clearer and better the game looked when I turned them off.
 
Maronic03 said:
The youtube link, in case come folks have troubles with Twitter:



Is it me, or the bit at 2:18 hinting at a big final story?
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Yeah certainly seems like it. I don't know if it'll necessarily be "big" (the game's going to be long enough already honestly) but I imagine there'll be an actual final joint chapter or two here (instead of what it was like in the original where the connections and true final boss were more of an epilogue). That scene at the campfire certainly seems like it's linked to a larger story

Honestly just a bit of an final chapter making the stories' connections explicit and all would probably be enough to round out a game like this (though I'm someone who enjoyed what the original did with its stories for the most part)
 
Maronic03 said:
Is it me, or the bit at 2:18 hinting at a big final story?
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No doubt. Confirming what many of us expected I'd say; the first game's post-game epilogue was rushed due to budget constraints.

Downloading the demo right now, I have to check it out aahhh. Early impressions seem very positive as well.
 
SammyJ9 said:
If it’s anything like Triangle Strategy, the screen blur effect and the weird dimming in the corners were fucking terrible and I was amazed how much clearer and better the game looked when I turned them off.
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It's definitely an improvement in handheld mode if you disable those effects.

Another complaint I have is that the UI is either blurry or crisp. And I'm not sure if it's me but does navigating through the Menu/UI feels sluggish?
 
Has anyone tried any of the side intertwining stories chapters (assuming it's even possible)?

Countdown 15:


EDIT : Apparently they're gonna have a collab with on of their cafe in Japan:



Hikari and Agnea dancing together are cute I ship them.
 
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From GSR on Era (also known as Boltgsr on twitter/reddit) we got some pretty significant info on the game structure through datamining (I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this, I don't remember if he has a Fami account):
In addition to the shared stories for Hikari/Agnea, Ochette/Castti, Temenos/Throne, and Osvaldo/Partitio which are a few chapters each, there looks to be a formal "last story" with a few chapters this time.
 
Update: just tried the demo a second time but with Hikari, and MUCH better! The game looked much cleaner and the battle camera is so dramatic and epic lol.

Anyway, I'm going to stop there, I want to save the experience once the game comes out in 2 weeks.

Team Asano is my favorite team from SE.
 
Started as the merchant and the game is gorgious and also very addictive. My main gripe with this series is that nothing is interactive in the environment when the graphics begs you to explore. You usually end up with getting nothing. I still press a on pretty much any barrel I see. Anyway the interactions with the npcs are fun, the battles are fun and nice looking and the game is pretty fast paced. Loving it so far. Seems better than the first one.
 
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I hate this. I just played short of 2 hours of the demo so obviously now I want to buy it day 1. Ughhhh...

The game is so, so, so gorgeous. They stepped up the presentation in a major way. Animation and camera work, little flourishes like the dragonflies in Themenos' starting area, and holy fuck, either they're being smart about it or there are way more unique assets, the towns and interiors are chock-full of detail. Can we talk about those interiors by the way? So nice to actually walk into every type of tavern/armory/shop/younameit. The coziness is off the charts.

The OST is banging but that was a given. I, weirdly, especially dig the re-arranged victory fanfare of all things (and God that main theme, that main theme... yes, both versions)

Played Temenos' ch. 1 and recruited Throné. I particularly loved how you
investigate the crime scene after the boss battle to piece together the murder. Even if there's barely any gameplay involved it's nice to actually do something different for once. The effects work is super moody as well.
Honestly this stuff could go a long way in helping with the repetitiveness of the first game's structure. Already feeling a tad of that verticality they mentioned in the map design too. Canoes are a tiny addition but they work nicely. Recruiting other characters is also noticeably less jarring now that their meeting scenes are (partially) voiced.

Temenos seems like a really fun character too. Dialogue is still charming, but like in many other JRPGs it could do with a touch of editing here and there, though it still feels good as delivery timing seems very appropriate, not stilted.

Super early impressions but I feel like all of the improvements Acquire brought to the table are refining the formula to a sheen.

Ah btw, having companions during your ch. 1 missions is a great idea (opens up gameplay strategizing immediately while getting your traveler to bounce off another character, in turn providing more opportunity for character development), hoping to see them re-iterate on it during the mid and late-game.


Playing a game like this simply reminds me of why I love videogames in a way. Obviously it's as subjective as it gets, but Octopath just clicks for me.


Maronic03 said:
From GSR on Era (also known as Boltgsr on twitter/reddit) we got some pretty significant info on the game structure through datamining (I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this, I don't remember if he has a Fami account):
Click to expand...
How significant is this story structure spoiler btw? I want to click but maybe I don't and I don't know it yet ahahah
What I'm most curious about is whether the travelers can have more or less than the (rigid-ish) 4 story chapters they had in OT 1.
 
I was really warm on this game since: I love the first one so much, this cast did not had the initial impact the old one did, and the time it was coming out I had other games ahead.

But I really came around after the demo, some of the movesets are really cool and the characters grow on you.
 
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I've only put an hour in, but I definitely liked what I played. Definitely isn't a meaningful evolution, but the additions and changes feel purposeful. Love how snappy it is to change the time of day.

I ended up canceling my preorder though, due to Metroid Prime. I already have Like a Dragon preordered for that week, and Metroid ultimately takes priority here. Will probably grab this in April, hopefully it goes on sale by then.
 
This is a GOTY contender on all platforms. I just finished the demo on PS5, Switch, and my PC. Triple dip time. 😍
 
Vernal said:
How significant is this story structure spoiler btw? I want to click but maybe I don't and I don't know it yet ahahah
What I'm most curious about is whether the travelers can have more or less than the (rigid-ish) 4 story chapters they had in OT 1.
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It's a hint on how the game handles the post game.
 
I played as the beast girl. I am enjoying it so far. I feel like the Beast menu overall has too many windows and probably can be condensed. Esepcially when you have a full roster, I should just get 1 window asking if I want to Add or Prepare, not multiple.
 
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I was planning on skip it because I want to play Redemption Reapers, but played the demo and got me hooked again. So good, the art , the music, and the story. Started with the apothecary and really like the mistery around her and the skill that recover s 30% of life/sp at the end of the battle allows for more exploration time and not worrying too much about wasting SP.

Still not conviced too much on the night / day action but since changing time is literally a button, it doesn't bother me that much. Also was looking like crazy how to change the battle speed in the options only to found out it's the + button on any battle.
 
I picked the thief to start the demo hoping that the Steal mechanic would carry over (steal stuff from NPCs in the overworld) but instead you just get to knock people out? Enjoying it, hoping the rest of the music is fire like the original (is it me or is the main theme the same?)
 
ermitron2 said:
I was planning on skip it because I want to play Redemption Reapers, but played the demo and got me hooked again. So good, the art , the music, and the story. Started with the apothecary and really like the mistery around her and the skill that recover s 30% of life/sp at the end of the battle allows for more exploration time and not worrying too much about wasting SP.

Still not conviced too much on the night / day action but since changing time is literally a button, it doesn't bother me that much. Also was looking like crazy how to change the battle speed in the options only to found out it's the + button on any battle.
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Yep, a simple + will do.

Personally I dig the day/night implementation. More beautiful vistas and atmospheres, harder enemies spawning if you want a challenge/grinding, exclusive passive night abilities for every traveler (obviously adding an additional layer of strategy), AND they are even doing fun stuff with certain things only spawning at certain times (see the Nintendo Life preview posted earlier, around 2.45, if you don't mind light spoilers) which is just lovely. From what I've played I also think they might occasionally make use of the mechanic during side-quests.

Linkstrikesback said:
I can't see any mention of it on The shop page. Does progress carry over from the demo? Because if not, I'll just wait to play it.
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It does.

ctc43f said:
(is it me or is the main theme the same?)
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It's a re-arranged new version(s). There's actually two main themes, one is for day time, the other for night time.
There are more, new arrangements too!


I forgot to mention this yesterday but I also loved Temenos' ch. 1 very beginning
You jump into the action playing a God, k cool. But then he straight up forgets his lines, giving us some playful humor right off the bat... annnnd then you're Temenos forgetting the very same lines. Fun parallelism/setup.
 
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Vernal said:
Personally I dig the day/night implementation. More beautiful vistas and atmospheres, harder enemies spawning if you want a challenge/grinding, exclusive passive night abilities for every traveler (obviously adding an additional layer of strategy), AND they are even doing fun stuff with certain things only spawning at certain times (see the Nintendo Life preview posted earlier, around 2.45, if you don't mind light spoilers) which is just lovely. From what I've played I also think they might occasionally make use of the mechanic during side-quests.
Click to expand...
Oh that part I like, it really changes the atmosphere of some areas depending on the day, but rather just having to change to be able to use the other action. Like for the apothecary just don't see a reason why you cant inquire and sooth at any moment really , its not like there is only going to be people sick at night, or can ask questions during they day. But again is just a button away so it's just me
 
I didn't bring this up earlier but I have to, I can't help it; though I admit, I might be the only person so invested in this specific aspect of Octo lmao

Ok, so if OT 1 and 2 aren't actually in the same world they are playing dirty by the way:
The game can't just go: long ago there were 8 gods (the first game had 8 "base job" gods), and show you Aelfric, Alphen and Dother, like son, these are the exact same gods of the first game's pantheon. They're fighting a different great evil though, named Vide, which could be easily explained as happening before/after Aelfric seals away Galdera, and new gods are probably a thing, I remember posting that tweet some pages ago about it + new secondary jobs associated with the new deities, which definitely throws a wrench into things, but still, please don't toy with us like that!)
It'd complete bs to have this amount of "references" and go the FF way, like one or two things I get, but this is a step too far. They better be set in the same world only different region and time.

Ok, this is my last post about this continuity stuff till it's actually crystal-clear what's going on with it. I promise ahah
 
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For the original OT demo, I was able to play all 8 characters, and I believe that's the case with this demo as well. It's very generous, and greatly appreciated.

One note so far: it's funny how the dynamic camera angles turn everyone into paper Mario characters.
 
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I preordered the ps5 version. I played the original on Switch first, then xbox series x. And that graphic style shines in 4K.
 
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