Octopath Traveler - Nintendo Switch

Octopath Traveler might be one of the best games available on the Switch right now.Gameplay - 5/5The vast majority of the game will be spent in random encounter battles, and it's the game's combat system that I think shines the most in this game. Combat is turn-based and is very easy to learn, but is still quite intricate. Characters can use a range of weapons and spells, powering up their moves with a BP meter. Certain characters can use unique abilities in battle, such as summoning an animal or NPC to fight for you. The combat system never really feels overwhelming. It is still a JRPG, so expect a lot of grinding for experience.Graphics - 5/5The game's pixel art style and lighting effects make the game look absolutely beautiful yet simple. Unfortunately, there are no settings to adjust the effects that I have seen. Some people have said the lighting and depth-of-field made them feel sick, but I haven't experienced anything like that.Music - 5/5Music is one of the most important aspects of a game to me, and this game has a fantastic OST. Not a whole lot to say about it other than that.Characters - 4.5/5All eight playable characters have different skills, abilities, and personalities. However, you have to sort of ignore the fact that 2 people with completely opposing personalities and goals would be travelling together. Even though I like Therion (he was my starter character), he feels a bit out of place due to the fact that he is a thief. Therefore, it makes little sense why a merchant named Tressa, who hates thieves, would travel with him. It's not to difficult to overlook because the eight characters don't interact with each other very frequently, which is a bit of a disappointment. This leads me into my next point.Story (Stories?) - 4.5/5Individually, I think each character's story is decent enough. Primrose has, in my opinion, the best (and darkest, most mature) story; one of avenging her dead father. However, I was a bit let down by the fact that the eight character's individual stories do not intersect. Sure, two characters may have objectives in the same town, but they never seem relate to each other. I knew this going into the game, but I still think its a lost opportunity. It almost feels a bit like a compilation of 8 short games. Some people may not mind this, but others may be disappointed.Final Verdict -This game is overall a fantastic game, and a lot of love and care was put into it. As I said earlier, the only time I think the game actually falls flat comes to missed opportunities in stories crossing paths. However, if you want to experience 8 short, simple stories, then this game is even more fantastic.

I have been playing Octopath Traveler non-stop since it released and I have not even scratched the surface of this game! Let me say this- this game does not have an overall ultimate plot like most JRPG's, instead it has 8 different plots for 8 different characters, allowing you to play out the stories in which ever order you desire. Thus far, each characters story has been enjoyable and are not heavily cliche'd like other games. The voice acting is good for the most part and there are a lot of side stories to interact with. To complete these side stories you utilize class action skills such as- Thief= Steal, Merchant= Purchase, Dancer=Allure, Scholar=Interrogate/Advise, and Hunter=Provoke. Plus these skills are good to have overall as you can gain new items or information.The visuals in this game are amazing as they bring back so many memories of JRPG classics but now in HD-2D. The water, snow, sun rays, and desert sand effects are beautiful and deserve praise. The character sprites and cities look good and are well designed. The music is amazing and different regions have different battle music, making battles so much more bearable. The combat is great too as you get to set up a 4 man team and battle how you like, but remember whomever you start with will always be in your team. The combat takes notes from bravely default and you can stack up extra actions, which can be used to deal tons of damage, or prevent an enemies from using their ultimate attacks on you. Enemies have weaknesses which can be used against them to break their guard and leave them open for critical attacks. My only complaint is that enemies do not have health bars, making certain battles that much harder. Lastly- ensure you are properly leveled for each region or you will get obliterated, no joke.Overall- OPT is a beautiful game with great stories and an amazing battle system that old and new players will appreciate.

I believe the subject line says it all. I play a ton of them. Turn based rpgs are my jam, and this one is just excellent. If you like games in this genre, don't even think about...just buy it.It has a great story, but a story that can easily be skipped if you are not interested.It has excellent, fun, challenging battle mechanics that require strategy for optimal results.It has tons of combinations of characters that lead to results versus specific types of combatants.I'm about 80 hours in so far, and probably halfway done...so the value is there for sure.It's on the switch, which means you can play it anywhere.My only complaint is that the map is little wonky. Especially in a dungeon. It's hard to figure out exactly where you are in a dungeon. It's easy to get to places, but it's impossible to truly determine where you've already been; so you end up backtracking a lot...but since the battles are so fun, it's really not a big deal.I mean..what are you waiting for?