Console commands my friend, look at the trophy list and you'll see it's impossible to max out every skill and do everything even if playing around the clock in a few days, also he gets copies before release
I have 45 hours into octopath traveler 2 so far and it's already way better than the first. I love the first entry but it felt empty compared to the second. This game a lot of content; main stories, cross paths, scent of commerce, collecting items for secondary jobs, etc. It felt so overwhelming with how much content they gave us, and that's a good thing personally!
@@maibignutt6434 thanks for responding. That was my biggest disappointment, because by the end of the game your team is so OP, with no bosses or challenges to face.
Nice review. A few notes though (spoilers for others): 1. Warmaster is not a better version of Warrior. Saying that diminishes the roles provided by the 2 jobs. Warmaster is more about the utility of the divine weapons. For example, Temenos is a great Warmaster, as Temeno's Latent Power synergizes well with Sixfold, and Temeno's EX skill (no spoiler) greatly synergizes with Spiritlord's Staff. Warrior on the other hand provides you with Learned Skills (Hikari) and or access to the most powerful Physical Attack (Warmaster doesn't have this) or access to incite, if you want to build a defensive character that will eat up most enemies' attacks. 2. The actions of the characters, I agree, can seem overlapping, but the devs did that so you can build at most 2 groups (east and west continent groups actually) such that your group has access to ANY action for ANY time of day. And giving characters overlapping actions frees up players from going back and forth to the tavern to switch characters just to do actions in the overworld. I personally think this is a great change from the first game where getting an is just from thief/merchant. 3. I do agree though that Merchant is the strongest job. And the strongest Hired Help is unlocked later on where you have access to an assassin that hits a TON of damage, heals HP, AND SP for your entire party.
Octopath 1 was incredible. I'm glad to see they've improved on a couple of things people found lacking in the first game. Party banter is fun because you get some extra context and get to see the party interact with each other. The first game had some of that but it was odd seeing a party of 8 people traveling together with no real explanation and they barely even acknowledge each others existence. Great review. Definitely got me excited to start this second one.
I only started playing a couple days ago, I’m already massively invested in these characters. The music is god tier as always. This game deserves so much more exposure and appreciation.
100% completion reviewers deserved my sub. Not like those big outlets playing on easy mode while not knowing they even finish the game. Then they plagiarizes other reviewer's article while insert their options and agenda where it got nothing to do with the game.
Been massively looking forward to this review from you! It’s a funny coincidence how both you and The Completionist managed to get Octopath Traveller videos out within 24 hours of each other - it’s still really impressive how you manage to keep up with so many 100% reviews :)
Picked it up day 1 on Switch. JUST NOW finished it after 198 hours, secret boss included. IT'S SO GOOOOOOOOD. I looked forward everyday to spending hours on it. Did ALL the things, cleared the map entirely, and all quests done. I was so sad when it was over, I just want MORE even after almost 200 hours
I've played the pc demo for 15 minutes and then turned it off immediately. Not because it was boring but because of how much fun it was and I didn't want to further spoil myself. Hikari's path was epic, graphics are peak 2D pixel graphics. Gameplay is a huge upgrade to the classic turn-based combat system. And most of all, the music is just godly. I still have to play through the actual game once it's released on steam but for now I can't find anything I don't like about this game. It's exactly the kind of game I've been looking for.
@@saintofgayfrogs I'm currently playing Octopath Traveler I and it's the best turn-based game I've played in the last couple of years. The stories are not connected but that doesn't bother me. I like that everyone is the main character and that you can play everyone and their story in the same playthrough. Since they are all the MCs, the game at no point forces you to play any character. So you can also just play with the characters you like and ignore the rest.
@@pandaman1331 10/10 game. I'm at the very end of 2 right now before the super boss. If you love 1, get excited because I promise you 2 is even better.
@@pandaman1331 Also the stories will link up at the end once you've finished all 8. They improved on that at the end of 2. Once you get the end of 2 you'll probably be really hype.
In depth review from someone who actually fully played the game and not just spent 4-5 hours on it. You covered most all of the topics someone looking for a review would want covered and clearly put a good amount of time and effort into not only completing the game but doing this review. Thank you. Subbed.
I really want to see more Octopath content, so it was great to see your review on this even if you’re unlikely to revisit it. It’s really not gotten that much attention considering how fun and polished it is!
I loved the first one. Just finished it. Beat Galdera. Just bought this today and I am two chapters in. I can tell already that this game is a masterpiece! The soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous and graphically it looks wonderful.
Current best reviewer out there. Your reviews are thorough and well considered. Thanks so much! Been looking forward to this one. It's on my short list of something to get soon.
This has been my airport game on Switch and I finally sat down this week to beat it, and as somebody who enjoys grinding I agree with you about the grinding in this game. The money grinding for equipment mid-game pretty much halted my progress between chapters 2 & 3. Needless to say, I just parked it in one area for a day and grinded until I was lvl 40+ for my characters and deep six figures with money and I think I’m set until the end of the game lol
I'm glad you liked it. When I watched your preview vid you mentioned that for you it might come down to if the 8 disparate storylines come together, which had me worried. I still haven't finished it, but I heard that they kind of do, but it's not a main focus of the game. Regardless it is super super fun, and I agree that it is stunning on the steamdeck. These days I rarely start a new game and continue playing it to the end without switching to other games, but OT2 has its hooks in me for sure.
Pros: - Fun gameplay, Boost and break is satisfying, character abilities are fun to use in battle and outside of battle, secondary jobs and latent power adds to the strategy. - Good graphics - Amazing soundtrack - Details (almost every NPC has a description when inquired, side missions have unique solutions) - Unique Stories (all of them start off great and hook you in) Cons: - Balancing issues (a lot of the bosses feel too easy and can be cheesed, some skills are useless like Teach, etc) - Story outcome (although all stories start out amazing, some ended better than others, and some ended really bad) - Banter could be better. Lot of times it feels disjointed, unnecessary, and forced. Overall it’s a pretty fun game. The overall issues I had were with some of the stories and balancing issues. Other than that, it’s great JRPG with a lot of fun mechanics and a detailed world. 9/10
Hope I can check this out soon. Really liked Octopath 1 but Octopath 2 came out like 3 days before Lightfall so I didn't wanna get too invested knowing I'd just drop it for a month. Really good review again my man.
For people worried about the grind aspect, I myself never really had this problem by doing each chapter by it's recommended level and making sure I sub in my lowest level characters in every new chapter and honestly by the early mid game around lv25 you can probably be under leveled by like 5 and still be good (just put your best defensive gear on your more frail characters if they're dying) as your starting character will be way over leveled to compensate because you can't switch them out until you finish all their story chapters. Even if you're struggling to beat certain bosses you can cheese them with hired help like Mortismal mentioned that shit is so broken lol.
If it's anything like the first one,the recommanded LV is a straight up lie, in the first one I litterally never met the recommended and was like 5-7 LV behind, and I only got like 1 Game over outside of the true final boss.
The characters and stories were amazing, along with the music and voice acting. The improvements to combat were sweet too. If there's one thing I have to critize is still the fact that it's missing TRUE party feeling. They should have chapter 1's solo and then force you to gather the rest of the party to then have them all react to the main story content before progressing. But they did have a lot of good moments with joint chapters and especially the ending bits. So I hope there is a 3 and its truly joint.
I really enjoy this game. It is a massive improvement over the first Octopath visually and through storytelling. I am not big on the grinding though. I always feel behind on money and there is always at least one character that has to be brought up to speed just to do their story and that slows it all down.
I love the game, but I have two major issues with it. - The characters who aren’t in your active party don’t earn XP so they’re always under levelled and you’re pretty much guaranteed to have over levelled character in your party when you do their stories. It would be nice if you could level your character down for these parts. A system like Xenoblade Chronicles where the XP isn’t applied to a character until you choose to add it would be even better. That way you have more control of your characters level and have the option to have more challenge when you’re using a low level party member. - The path actions are cool, but it’s annoying to have to switch out party members to see what you can do. It adds some tedium to exploring towns. It would be cool if you could at least see what the other party members could do if they were in your party even if they don’t let you use those abilities while they’re not there. It would save having to swap out most of your party to see what you could do.
I always stay til the ending credit words. "May you wander in wisdom and have an amazing day." I don't know, something about them make me feel hopeful, happy, and gives me a smile to my face.
Just beat the final boss and I loved it. The 8 characters fighting together was amazing to experience! I honestly wish they gave you the option to switch parties on the fly from the get go though. It was pretty annoying to have to keep going between taverns all the time (though I guess it made it so places were worth revisiting so I'm kind of mixed on it).
Okay, so I skipped most of the stuff containing spoilers, but I like that class system and that the world is very open, I know now, that I need to buy this game, thank you for the great review!
I love the art style & have heard many great things about the game! On the fence if I should try it out, since I'm usually not a big fan of the combat style used in this game 😅
Expand your horizons! This may become your favorite game...or not. But you won't know if you don't try it. Video games are art and this canvas is beautiful.
@@scottdixon2505 the second is better than the first in almost every way, and I would advise the OP not to judge the second on the quality of OCT1. I enjoyed the first few hours to be honest, but quickly got frustrated. I love the second. The first one had lots more grinding, especially for the final boss. The invidual stories are not as interconnected as OP2 and hardly any main character interaction. You need to have the thief in your party to get all the purple chests which kind of defeats the purpose of the flexibility of your party. It does have fantastic music and graphics. There’s a lot more faults than just those. It’s clear the developers listened to the criticisms and made a lot of attempts to address them with the sequel, although some of those problems still exist to an extent. The second has much better characters with more options for combat such as capturing monsters with Ochette which is much improved. All the characters are more customizable and strong in their own ways. The story, dialogue and voice acting is much improved too. The sound track is just as pleasing as the first was, though.
Finished it a few days ago as well. I did a few hours of grinding. But that was more for convenience than actual need. I did get all the bonus skills and items for exp early on, which may be the reason why I didn't have to. But party rotation is highly recommended.
Great video! Clearly you did a lot of work to plan out all of your points and thoughts! Love it! 🙌🏻 I think one thing that would take it to the next level is having some background music, either some from the game or if there are legalities around that, then some other good JRPG type music. I think that will bring an energy to it that would take it to a 10/10!! Great work! 🤓🤘🏻
Two words: Bewildering Grace! If you get lucky, it makes the level grind a lot more fun when you make Partitio a dancer and use his latent power to boost BP at the start of the battle. I had several 100x JP and 100x EXP bonuses throughout my playthrough! Fun times.
Kinda surprised you had to grind. I did the 'split the party in two' approach and the first team ended up at about level 80 after doing all their stories and exploring the world a fair amount. I was diving into level 45 dungeons at level 20 and could clear the fights, then ochette could snag something like a revenant and proceed to one shot all the random encounters. Then the second team loaded up with the first teams gear was able to basically walk through their stories, just with low accuracy which added a little challenge if my big hits or break attacks whiffed. That could just be a testament to how strong my first team was though. Throne and temenos night time buffs went debuffs plus ochette and Osvald dumping raw damage
I loved the first one, though lack of free time resulted in me never finishing it, sadly. Got my hands on this one on launch day and have loved every minute of it. This series has a particular ambiance and charm when it comes to the soundtrack/visuals that make for a truly unmatched experience. Would definitely recommend to anyone on the fence about it.
I'm always excited for the steam sale time to come around because i get to catch up on your incredible reviews! Just picked up Octopath Traveller II and a few others I had missed after watching your videos! Great job as always Mortem, cheers!
It took me exactly 15 minutes into Hikari's path of the demo to get hoocked on this game. Stunning pixelated 2d graphics. I'd even say this is peak 2d graphics. Gameplay immediately got me hoocked. It was just the intro and it was already the most fun I had for a very long time with a turn-based rpg. But most oustanding ist the music. The OST ist just so epic and immediately makes you immersed in the game. This is exactly the kind of turn-based jrpg I've been looking for. I didn't even know that the first game came out in 2019. I've been missing out for 5 years. Time to get the game I guess.
I think I've played/watched/read so many "Hikari" stories that his ended up being my least liked one because from chapter 1 I knew pretty much exactly what was going to happen at every beat. Surprisingly I think Castii, Partitio, and Agnea ended up being my top 3 because they all had a combination of interesting writing or fun supporting cast(I loved Ori).
Fully agreed, I know many reviewers praise Hikaris story the most or gravitate towards the sadder or edgier ones like Throne or Osvald but for me, I see those storybeats a lot. Espicially Hikaris in the media I consume. I got way more attached to Partitios story, Castti and intruiged by the mystery in Temenos. Heck Partitios prologue when I played the demo got me to pick him as my main traveler. It just has good vibes and heart in it in a very uplifting way. (Love Ori) Casttis path however is my favorite, not just due to how emotional it is but just how genuine it felt while playing and the people she helps pays forward to later.
I def agree that the more lighthearted ones were def my more favorite ones. I can see why many people weren't that interested in Agnea's but to me I think her story was one of the most beautifully executed stories of the 8. Whereas some stories left you wanting or their finales weren't as satisfying.
I'd say that his chapter 1 was pretty bad in terms of cliche, but I actually enjoyed the later ones, especially the second. Also, his ability to learn skills from NPCs he defeats was a really fun mechanic to me.
@@Zhyiber That's what is meant to happen though - the endings have some open ended threads that tie into the true ending's subject. Which is the problem I had with all of Agnea's story - there is never any stakes or intrigue there at all. She just..wants to be famous and finds out the people at the top are stereotypical baddies.
My only issue with the game is the pacing. It's either a roller-coaster between low and appropriate level content. Or you do a party of 4 first, get used to the late game fights, and then have to star over at lvl 15 for the other 4. This completely destroys momentum.
Thanks for another great and fun review! Have you considered playing either Enderal (Skyrim mod with incredible storytelling) or the Trails series (JRPG series with the best world building I’ve ever seen that develops from entry to entry). They’re super different recs, but I think you’d really love them both if you have the time!
Personally I didn't have any problems with the pacing I didn't have to do any grinding at all until the final boss cuz it wiped the floor with me U can look at the chapters recommended levels and do them in an order that sortof fits them and you will get through the game on a very smooth pace
Still absolutely plodding through this but I’m also really, really enjoying it. The first time I’ve fallen into a traditional JRPG since, like…FFXII maybe? It’s amazing.
I bought this one during the sale thanks to this video and am enjoying it immensely. Right from the start I felt good as the voice acting is excellent, not kids at all, my usual gripe with pixelart. And they manage to not make them look like children. (Not my usual style of game.) However, one thing I found to be EXCELLENT is that the text is BIG, big enough to be read comfortably at 2560x1440. And I didn't even have to distort the UI to get that! So thanks for highlighting this one.
Thanks Mort for another great review. As a fellow steam deck owner I always appreciate your quick reviews of steam performance and this game in particular just suits that platform so perfectly.
Thanks a lot. Been watching all your older reviews and am really enjoying them. Buying most of the games, lol. Current steam sale has almost all of the Square Enix and other SRPG stuff on sale. woo!
The shrines imply that each of the 8 travelers were chosen by their respective patron gods, so I don't mind handwaving it away as "they were destined to come together"
Huh, I never had to grind levels for this game, but I also started out with the scholar and picked up the thief not long after - both of which have stacking (I think) support skills that boost XP. You can also pick up the XP augmenter, which increases XP, relatively early in the game (low 30s).
I think by adding some in battle banter and cross class combos they could have added alot to the cohesion between characters. A simple fix for OP3. Out of all the heavy hitters released, eldin ring, GOWR, HFW this was the only game to help with my obsession with Ghost of Tsushima: Legends. Best game I've played in years.
In terms of the grind, one thing that isn't made clear to the player is that gear is MUCH more impact full to stats than levels are. You can easily clear chapters underleveled if you spend time finding better gear through shops, exploring, and path actions. I had level 30 characters easily keeping up with level 60 characters in terms of damage output solely due to having endgame gear. The main difference levels make is in HP. Also, while the secret job skills are more expensive, they don't increase in JP as you buy them. This means that it takes roughly the same amount of JP to max them out as a regular job.
The jobs system in particular sounds pretty cool as I just finished yakuza 7 and found that to be incredibly fun! I may be buying both octopath games in the future based on this review
Bought this game from a combination of a Steam sale and your review Mortim! Just finished the game and I have to say this was a lovely JRPG. Pro tip guys, Temenos is straight up bonkers strong.
Dammit I can't decide if I should play this game or not, I didn't really like the first game and some reviews say 2 is "basically the same" but Mortismal here seems to be showing some significant improvements to where I had my issues...I don't know...
Just 100% this game today, quite a ride! One important tip: don't grind and overlevel your characters before finishing the main story quests for each character!! It makes the boss level too easy and not satisfying. The bosses usually have interestingly designed mechanics in place to challenge you, over-leveled character will totally neturalize it (except for the hidden boss). So I would highly recommend proceed with the main stories when you are close to the suggest level. I made the mistake of over leveling in mid game and that made chapter 4/5 fights very bland...
It's not just overlevelling. Equipment makes a much bigger impact than levels, so if you do like I did and beat the stories for 4 of the characters, getting all the powerful gear along the way, and then transfer that gear to new characters - you'll completely annihilate the lower level bosses. Equipping things around the power level of the area each boss is found makes the fights much more of a challenge and feel like you're playing them as intended.
I do feel like this game was absolutely an improvement over the first game and I think it is a great example of a developer taking community and critical feedback to heart and producing a greatly improved sequel. With that said though, I still feel like this game falls a little short of greatness and there was definitely more grinding than I could stomach and I ended up setting this one aside around 60 or so hours in just because I didn't feel like putting in the grind for the end of the game and I just wasn't sure the plot payoff was going to be worth it as several of the 8 stories fell pretty flat for me though admittedly some of them were enjoyable.
I don't mind a combat grind, but I really hate other kinds of grinds. The damn chests in ff12 are the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in a game.
I recommend playing this game slowly and enjoying every moment. You can skip a lot of dialog and even speed up combat. But I recommend taking your time and savor every second. Play with audio on if you can too.
Thanks for the review, have this on my wishlist but hadn't picked it up yet. Steam spring sale is just a few days away so hopefully it will go on sale and I can grab it.
Here because game pass added both games and I haven’t yet beat the first but wanted to play the second. Knowing now that they’re not direct sequels. I can!
I started playing this on release and I’m not even done. You on the other hand has it at 100% already. Truly dedicated reviewer.
I mean it's his job
Job or not he's a pumper. Guy eats games for breakfast and always has
Yes
@@patrickmcpartland1398 Job or not this is impressive lol
Console commands my friend, look at the trophy list and you'll see it's impossible to max out every skill and do everything even if playing around the clock in a few days, also he gets copies before release
The SPEED at which you 100% so many games remains INSANE to me!
Keep it up, Morti!
My thoughts exactly!
He ods on Adderall
Same comment every video.. don't you get tired of it?? Why nobody comments about the actual content of the review..
kinda unhealthy but damn
@@NotCharAznablehe must be nerfed
I have 45 hours into octopath traveler 2 so far and it's already way better than the first. I love the first entry but it felt empty compared to the second. This game a lot of content; main stories, cross paths, scent of commerce, collecting items for secondary jobs, etc. It felt so overwhelming with how much content they gave us, and that's a good thing personally!
Exactly my thoughts, also at 45 hours
One thing I wished the first game had was a new game plus in order to take everything you accumulated into a new game. Does the sequel allow that?
@@caxshen shorter? Each character has about 5 or so chapters to them as opposed to the first game which has 4 so I don't think so..
@@skepticalbutopen4620 honestly didn't finished the game yet but I haven't heard anything about a new game plus🤔
@@maibignutt6434 thanks for responding. That was my biggest disappointment, because by the end of the game your team is so OP, with no bosses or challenges to face.
Finally getting around to this one. Playing a jrpg during Christmas really takes me back to my grade school days.
The sound tracks in both these games are next level. An underrated part of a great package.
Nice review. A few notes though (spoilers for others):
1. Warmaster is not a better version of Warrior. Saying that diminishes the roles provided by the 2 jobs. Warmaster is more about the utility of the divine weapons. For example, Temenos is a great Warmaster, as Temeno's Latent Power synergizes well with Sixfold, and Temeno's EX skill (no spoiler) greatly synergizes with Spiritlord's Staff. Warrior on the other hand provides you with Learned Skills (Hikari) and or access to the most powerful Physical Attack (Warmaster doesn't have this) or access to incite, if you want to build a defensive character that will eat up most enemies' attacks.
2. The actions of the characters, I agree, can seem overlapping, but the devs did that so you can build at most 2 groups (east and west continent groups actually) such that your group has access to ANY action for ANY time of day. And giving characters overlapping actions frees up players from going back and forth to the tavern to switch characters just to do actions in the overworld. I personally think this is a great change from the first game where getting an is just from thief/merchant.
3. I do agree though that Merchant is the strongest job. And the strongest Hired Help is unlocked later on where you have access to an assassin that hits a TON of damage, heals HP, AND SP for your entire party.
Octopath 1 was incredible. I'm glad to see they've improved on a couple of things people found lacking in the first game. Party banter is fun because you get some extra context and get to see the party interact with each other. The first game had some of that but it was odd seeing a party of 8 people traveling together with no real explanation and they barely even acknowledge each others existence. Great review. Definitely got me excited to start this second one.
I only started playing a couple days ago, I’m already massively invested in these characters. The music is god tier as always. This game deserves so much more exposure and appreciation.
100% completion reviewers deserved my sub. Not like those big outlets playing on easy mode while not knowing they even finish the game. Then they plagiarizes other reviewer's article while insert their options and agenda where it got nothing to do with the game.
Been massively looking forward to this review from you! It’s a funny coincidence how both you and The Completionist managed to get Octopath Traveller videos out within 24 hours of each other - it’s still really impressive how you manage to keep up with so many 100% reviews :)
For whatever reason this clicked with me A LOT more than the first one. It's an improvement in every way.
Picked it up day 1 on Switch. JUST NOW finished it after 198 hours, secret boss included. IT'S SO GOOOOOOOOD. I looked forward everyday to spending hours on it. Did ALL the things, cleared the map entirely, and all quests done. I was so sad when it was over, I just want MORE even after almost 200 hours
I've played the pc demo for 15 minutes and then turned it off immediately. Not because it was boring but because of how much fun it was and I didn't want to further spoil myself. Hikari's path was epic, graphics are peak 2D pixel graphics. Gameplay is a huge upgrade to the classic turn-based combat system. And most of all, the music is just godly. I still have to play through the actual game once it's released on steam but for now I can't find anything I don't like about this game. It's exactly the kind of game I've been looking for.
@@pandaman1331have you played it yet?
@@saintofgayfrogs I'm currently playing Octopath Traveler I and it's the best turn-based game I've played in the last couple of years. The stories are not connected but that doesn't bother me. I like that everyone is the main character and that you can play everyone and their story in the same playthrough. Since they are all the MCs, the game at no point forces you to play any character. So you can also just play with the characters you like and ignore the rest.
@@pandaman1331 10/10 game. I'm at the very end of 2 right now before the super boss. If you love 1, get excited because I promise you 2 is even better.
@@pandaman1331 Also the stories will link up at the end once you've finished all 8. They improved on that at the end of 2. Once you get the end of 2 you'll probably be really hype.
In depth review from someone who actually fully played the game and not just spent 4-5 hours on it. You covered most all of the topics someone looking for a review would want covered and clearly put a good amount of time and effort into not only completing the game but doing this review. Thank you. Subbed.
The art style for this game is gorgeous!
I really want to see more Octopath content, so it was great to see your review on this even if you’re unlikely to revisit it. It’s really not gotten that much attention considering how fun and polished it is!
Your dedication is incredible. Keep up the good work!
refreshed at the right time, been looking forward to your thoughts on this!
OT2 is possibly my favorite JRPG I've ever played. So much interesting strategies involved in the OT games' combat.
I just finished the game yesterday. It's definitely there as one of best JRPGs of recent years.
This game was already on my backlog, I'm so looking forward to playing and 100-percenting it in the future. Thanks for the hype dude!
I loved the first one. Just finished it. Beat Galdera. Just bought this today and I am two chapters in. I can tell already that this game is a masterpiece! The soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous and graphically it looks wonderful.
Hi Mortym! Looking forward to playing this one. Right now, I am working my way through some of my backlog...and it's a looooooong list.
Current best reviewer out there. Your reviews are thorough and well considered. Thanks so much! Been looking forward to this one. It's on my short list of something to get soon.
This has been my airport game on Switch and I finally sat down this week to beat it, and as somebody who enjoys grinding I agree with you about the grinding in this game. The money grinding for equipment mid-game pretty much halted my progress between chapters 2 & 3. Needless to say, I just parked it in one area for a day and grinded until I was lvl 40+ for my characters and deep six figures with money and I think I’m set until the end of the game lol
I am still in my Playthrough and you are already finished! Good Job!
I am having a Blast with this game.
Totally reccomend it for all JRPG fans.
I'm glad you liked it. When I watched your preview vid you mentioned that for you it might come down to if the 8 disparate storylines come together, which had me worried. I still haven't finished it, but I heard that they kind of do, but it's not a main focus of the game. Regardless it is super super fun, and I agree that it is stunning on the steamdeck. These days I rarely start a new game and continue playing it to the end without switching to other games, but OT2 has its hooks in me for sure.
Pros:
- Fun gameplay, Boost and break is satisfying, character abilities are fun to use in battle and outside of battle, secondary jobs and latent power adds to the strategy.
- Good graphics
- Amazing soundtrack
- Details (almost every NPC has a description when inquired, side missions have unique solutions)
- Unique Stories (all of them start off great and hook you in)
Cons:
- Balancing issues (a lot of the bosses feel too easy and can be cheesed, some skills are useless like Teach, etc)
- Story outcome (although all stories start out amazing, some ended better than others, and some ended really bad)
- Banter could be better. Lot of times it feels disjointed, unnecessary, and forced.
Overall it’s a pretty fun game. The overall issues I had were with some of the stories and balancing issues. Other than that, it’s great JRPG with a lot of fun mechanics and a detailed world.
9/10
Eh I'll say a 7/10
Hope I can check this out soon. Really liked Octopath 1 but Octopath 2 came out like 3 days before Lightfall so I didn't wanna get too invested knowing I'd just drop it for a month.
Really good review again my man.
I have only one thing to say about this game:
Oswald
Happy to hear such positive thoughts on this game. Makes me excited to play the first game so I can dive into this one as well 😁
It seems we have a winner! Thank you for another in-depth review, Mort.
For people worried about the grind aspect, I myself never really had this problem by doing each chapter by it's recommended level and making sure I sub in my lowest level characters in every new chapter and honestly by the early mid game around lv25 you can probably be under leveled by like 5 and still be good (just put your best defensive gear on your more frail characters if they're dying) as your starting character will be way over leveled to compensate because you can't switch them out until you finish all their story chapters. Even if you're struggling to beat certain bosses you can cheese them with hired help like Mortismal mentioned that shit is so broken lol.
If it's anything like the first one,the recommanded LV is a straight up lie, in the first one I litterally never met the recommended and was like 5-7 LV behind, and I only got like 1 Game over outside of the true final boss.
The characters and stories were amazing, along with the music and voice acting. The improvements to combat were sweet too. If there's one thing I have to critize is still the fact that it's missing TRUE party feeling. They should have chapter 1's solo and then force you to gather the rest of the party to then have them all react to the main story content before progressing. But they did have a lot of good moments with joint chapters and especially the ending bits. So I hope there is a 3 and its truly joint.
I knew you would beat me! I am wrapping up 100% today.
Great work friend you are a real pro haha.
I really enjoy this game. It is a massive improvement over the first Octopath visually and through storytelling. I am not big on the grinding though. I always feel behind on money and there is always at least one character that has to be brought up to speed just to do their story and that slows it all down.
Great review as usual. I'm really looking forward to playing this game, so I'm glad to hear I like a lot of the stuff you mentioned in the review
Excellent review ! Thanks !
Always a good morning when Mort has a new 100% vid up 🙂
I love the game, but I have two major issues with it.
- The characters who aren’t in your active party don’t earn XP so they’re always under levelled and you’re pretty much guaranteed to have over levelled character in your party when you do their stories. It would be nice if you could level your character down for these parts. A system like Xenoblade Chronicles where the XP isn’t applied to a character until you choose to add it would be even better. That way you have more control of your characters level and have the option to have more challenge when you’re using a low level party member.
- The path actions are cool, but it’s annoying to have to switch out party members to see what you can do. It adds some tedium to exploring towns. It would be cool if you could at least see what the other party members could do if they were in your party even if they don’t let you use those abilities while they’re not there. It would save having to swap out most of your party to see what you could do.
I love putting on some good music and grinding, personally. I don't consider needing to grind a negative...it's how you get a sense of progression.
thanks for this review, it's very thorough. Between this and chained echoes I don't know what to play next.
I always stay til the ending credit words. "May you wander in wisdom and have an amazing day." I don't know, something about them make me feel hopeful, happy, and gives me a smile to my face.
I didn't 100% the game ,more like 95% but the final boss fight was so fking epic, it was incredible.
@@johndodo2062 the final final boss galdera took me about an hour to beat. Epic fight. Animations are great. Music is great.
@@johndodo2062 Tell me again when you get there.
Just beat the final boss and I loved it. The 8 characters fighting together was amazing to experience! I honestly wish they gave you the option to switch parties on the fly from the get go though. It was pretty annoying to have to keep going between taverns all the time (though I guess it made it so places were worth revisiting so I'm kind of mixed on it).
Heh. It was the opposite for me - the final boss spoilt the gaming experience for me
@@cleniad😂
Man, how awesome to see this channel grow. You deserve every bit of it. You my friend, have become my favorite reviewer.
Okay, so I skipped most of the stuff containing spoilers, but I like that class system and that the world is very open, I know now, that I need to buy this game, thank you for the great review!
Did u enjoy it?
I love the art style & have heard many great things about the game! On the fence if I should try it out, since I'm usually not a big fan of the combat style used in this game 😅
Expand your horizons! This may become your favorite game...or not. But you won't know if you don't try it. Video games are art and this canvas is beautiful.
I think it's on gamepass! Give it a try there. Double check first though
If you have a PC(and probably xbox), the first octopath is on game pass so it'll only cost you a few bucks, play the game and then cancel.
@@scottdixon2505 the second is better than the first in almost every way, and I would advise the OP not to judge the second on the quality of OCT1. I enjoyed the first few hours to be honest, but quickly got frustrated. I love the second.
The first one had lots more grinding, especially for the final boss. The invidual stories are not as interconnected as OP2 and hardly any main character interaction. You need to have the thief in your party to get all the purple chests which kind of defeats the purpose of the flexibility of your party. It does have fantastic music and graphics. There’s a lot more faults than just those.
It’s clear the developers listened to the criticisms and made a lot of attempts to address them with the sequel, although some of those problems still exist to an extent.
The second has much better characters with more options for combat such as capturing monsters with Ochette which is much improved. All the characters are more customizable and strong in their own ways. The story, dialogue and voice acting is much improved too. The sound track is just as pleasing as the first was, though.
@@makasete30 my mistake
I love and appreciate that you have been adding a bit to share your steam deck experience as of late
Finished it a few days ago as well. I did a few hours of grinding. But that was more for convenience than actual need.
I did get all the bonus skills and items for exp early on, which may be the reason why I didn't have to.
But party rotation is highly recommended.
I just find the voice acting superb and endlessly charming due to coming out of these tiny little sprites 😂
Merchant was a strong class in last game too. It's very self-sufficient.
Great video! Clearly you did a lot of work to plan out all of your points and thoughts! Love it! 🙌🏻 I think one thing that would take it to the next level is having some background music, either some from the game or if there are legalities around that, then some other good JRPG type music. I think that will bring an energy to it that would take it to a 10/10!! Great work! 🤓🤘🏻
Two words: Bewildering Grace! If you get lucky, it makes the level grind a lot more fun when you make Partitio a dancer and use his latent power to boost BP at the start of the battle. I had several 100x JP and 100x EXP bonuses throughout my playthrough! Fun times.
Kinda surprised you had to grind. I did the 'split the party in two' approach and the first team ended up at about level 80 after doing all their stories and exploring the world a fair amount. I was diving into level 45 dungeons at level 20 and could clear the fights, then ochette could snag something like a revenant and proceed to one shot all the random encounters. Then the second team loaded up with the first teams gear was able to basically walk through their stories, just with low accuracy which added a little challenge if my big hits or break attacks whiffed.
That could just be a testament to how strong my first team was though. Throne and temenos night time buffs went debuffs plus ochette and Osvald dumping raw damage
I loved the first one, though lack of free time resulted in me never finishing it, sadly. Got my hands on this one on launch day and have loved every minute of it. This series has a particular ambiance and charm when it comes to the soundtrack/visuals that make for a truly unmatched experience. Would definitely recommend to anyone on the fence about it.
I'm always excited for the steam sale time to come around because i get to catch up on your incredible reviews! Just picked up Octopath Traveller II and a few others I had missed after watching your videos! Great job as always Mortem, cheers!
It took me exactly 15 minutes into Hikari's path of the demo to get hoocked on this game. Stunning pixelated 2d graphics. I'd even say this is peak 2d graphics. Gameplay immediately got me hoocked. It was just the intro and it was already the most fun I had for a very long time with a turn-based rpg. But most oustanding ist the music. The OST ist just so epic and immediately makes you immersed in the game. This is exactly the kind of turn-based jrpg I've been looking for. I didn't even know that the first game came out in 2019. I've been missing out for 5 years. Time to get the game I guess.
Another stellar review! Keep it up my dude!
I finished the game my self as well
It was very enjoyable
Keep it up! Need to support people who 100% their games before giving a proper review!
Love your videos man
The fact that MG can play these games and 100% of them so fast is so incredible.
Just found you because of this video I’m liking your content so far keep it up 👍
I think I've played/watched/read so many "Hikari" stories that his ended up being my least liked one because from chapter 1 I knew pretty much exactly what was going to happen at every beat. Surprisingly I think Castii, Partitio, and Agnea ended up being my top 3 because they all had a combination of interesting writing or fun supporting cast(I loved Ori).
Fully agreed, I know many reviewers praise Hikaris story the most or gravitate towards the sadder or edgier ones like Throne or Osvald but for me, I see those storybeats a lot.
Espicially Hikaris in the media I consume. I got way more attached to Partitios story, Castti and intruiged by the mystery in Temenos. Heck Partitios prologue when I played the demo got me to pick him as my main traveler. It just has good vibes and heart in it in a very uplifting way. (Love Ori) Casttis path however is my favorite, not just due to how emotional it is but just how genuine it felt while playing and the people she helps pays forward to later.
@@Skimmer951 My ordrer is Castti>Temenos>Throne>Partitio>Hikari>Osvald>Agnea>Ochette
I def agree that the more lighthearted ones were def my more favorite ones. I can see why many people weren't that interested in Agnea's but to me I think her story was one of the most beautifully executed stories of the 8. Whereas some stories left you wanting or their finales weren't as satisfying.
I'd say that his chapter 1 was pretty bad in terms of cliche, but I actually enjoyed the later ones, especially the second. Also, his ability to learn skills from NPCs he defeats was a really fun mechanic to me.
@@Zhyiber That's what is meant to happen though - the endings have some open ended threads that tie into the true ending's subject.
Which is the problem I had with all of Agnea's story - there is never any stakes or intrigue there at all. She just..wants to be famous and finds out the people at the top are stereotypical baddies.
My only issue with the game is the pacing. It's either a roller-coaster between low and appropriate level content. Or you do a party of 4 first, get used to the late game fights, and then have to star over at lvl 15 for the other 4. This completely destroys momentum.
Thanks for another great and fun review! Have you considered playing either Enderal (Skyrim mod with incredible storytelling) or the Trails series (JRPG series with the best world building I’ve ever seen that develops from entry to entry). They’re super different recs, but I think you’d really love them both if you have the time!
Personally I didn't have any problems with the pacing
I didn't have to do any grinding at all until the final boss cuz it wiped the floor with me
U can look at the chapters recommended levels and do them in an order that sortof fits them and you will get through the game on a very smooth pace
This looks simply stunning… it’s another game added to the list.
Still absolutely plodding through this but I’m also really, really enjoying it. The first time I’ve fallen into a traditional JRPG since, like…FFXII maybe? It’s amazing.
"Hired Help" is basically pay-to-win. :D
I respect your work ethic.
Inspiring stuff.
Game of the Year for me, so far. If you enjoy old-school turn-based JRPGs the I don't know how you wouldn't love this game.
I bought this one during the sale thanks to this video and am enjoying it immensely. Right from the start I felt good as the voice acting is excellent, not kids at all, my usual gripe with pixelart. And they manage to not make them look like children. (Not my usual style of game.) However, one thing I found to be EXCELLENT is that the text is BIG, big enough to be read comfortably at 2560x1440. And I didn't even have to distort the UI to get that! So thanks for highlighting this one.
Yet another game to buy and never find time to play. Thanks Morti!!
Thanks Mort for another great review. As a fellow steam deck owner I always appreciate your quick reviews of steam performance and this game in particular just suits that platform so perfectly.
Thanks a lot. Been watching all your older reviews and am really enjoying them. Buying most of the games, lol. Current steam sale has almost all of the Square Enix and other SRPG stuff on sale. woo!
20:04 knowing how to break/cheese the game mechanics is truly wandering in wisdom. Onward to 200k. All glory to the algorithm.
Keep up the great work!love the videos
The shrines imply that each of the 8 travelers were chosen by their respective patron gods, so I don't mind handwaving it away as "they were destined to come together"
Huh, I never had to grind levels for this game, but I also started out with the scholar and picked up the thief not long after - both of which have stacking (I think) support skills that boost XP. You can also pick up the XP augmenter, which increases XP, relatively early in the game (low 30s).
I think by adding some in battle banter and cross class combos they could have added alot to the cohesion between characters. A simple fix for OP3.
Out of all the heavy hitters released, eldin ring, GOWR, HFW this was the only game to help with my obsession with Ghost of Tsushima: Legends. Best game I've played in years.
good morning!
In terms of the grind, one thing that isn't made clear to the player is that gear is MUCH more impact full to stats than levels are. You can easily clear chapters underleveled if you spend time finding better gear through shops, exploring, and path actions. I had level 30 characters easily keeping up with level 60 characters in terms of damage output solely due to having endgame gear. The main difference levels make is in HP.
Also, while the secret job skills are more expensive, they don't increase in JP as you buy them. This means that it takes roughly the same amount of JP to max them out as a regular job.
i thank you for all your hard work.
I would love if they gave the early FF games this HD pixel art tresatment
How can you already 100% this game? You're just incredible, and not just for finishing the game but also for giving us such comprehensive analysis
The jobs system in particular sounds pretty cool as I just finished yakuza 7 and found that to be incredibly fun! I may be buying both octopath games in the future based on this review
Do it! The final "secret" boss of octopath 1 is everything I ever wanted in an RPG
Bought this game from a combination of a Steam sale and your review Mortim! Just finished the game and I have to say this was a lovely JRPG. Pro tip guys, Temenos is straight up bonkers strong.
Amazing comprehensive review. I'm looking forward to play this game ... once I finish my 2022 backlog LOL
Yes! More JRPG content! Granted it's understandable if you don't play them for the channel since JRPGs are infamously long haha
Dammit I can't decide if I should play this game or not, I didn't really like the first game and some reviews say 2 is "basically the same" but Mortismal here seems to be showing some significant improvements to where I had my issues...I don't know...
If you didn’t like the first one this one isn’t for you lol
I am playing the first one I am a fan
Just 100% this game today, quite a ride! One important tip: don't grind and overlevel your characters before finishing the main story quests for each character!! It makes the boss level too easy and not satisfying. The bosses usually have interestingly designed mechanics in place to challenge you, over-leveled character will totally neturalize it (except for the hidden boss). So I would highly recommend proceed with the main stories when you are close to the suggest level. I made the mistake of over leveling in mid game and that made chapter 4/5 fights very bland...
It's not just overlevelling. Equipment makes a much bigger impact than levels, so if you do like I did and beat the stories for 4 of the characters, getting all the powerful gear along the way, and then transfer that gear to new characters - you'll completely annihilate the lower level bosses. Equipping things around the power level of the area each boss is found makes the fights much more of a challenge and feel like you're playing them as intended.
Thanks for the review.
Have this game on my wishlist. Once I'm done with my other adventures + enough time on my calendar, I will give this one a try
You're like the only guy that does what the completionist does.
It'd be awesome to see mana series in this style, octopath the action rpg. I think that'd be mega popular.
I do feel like this game was absolutely an improvement over the first game and I think it is a great example of a developer taking community and critical feedback to heart and producing a greatly improved sequel.
With that said though, I still feel like this game falls a little short of greatness and there was definitely more grinding than I could stomach and I ended up setting this one aside around 60 or so hours in just because I didn't feel like putting in the grind for the end of the game and I just wasn't sure the plot payoff was going to be worth it as several of the 8 stories fell pretty flat for me though admittedly some of them were enjoyable.
I don't mind a combat grind, but I really hate other kinds of grinds. The damn chests in ff12 are the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in a game.
I recommend playing this game slowly and enjoying every moment. You can skip a lot of dialog and even speed up combat. But I recommend taking your time and savor every second. Play with audio on if you can too.
Hmmm, I might have to check this out.
Thanks for the review, have this on my wishlist but hadn't picked it up yet. Steam spring sale is just a few days away so hopefully it will go on sale and I can grab it.
Here because game pass added both games and I haven’t yet beat the first but wanted to play the second. Knowing now that they’re not direct sequels. I can!
Crazy you completed this in 50 hours lol game so large and I've been addicted