With five characters collected, there’s three to go for my start at Octopath Traveler. Next up is Alfyn, a traveling apothecary. I like his affable good nature and all, but I’m not a fan of his fiddly potion brewing. I’ll add him, but I don’t think I’ll be including him in my main party even so. Really, his only contribution to date was making me miss Cyrus’ analyze ability when he was out of the group.
We picked up Primrose after that, a dark magic dancer who’s story involves emancipating herself from captivity and finding the bandits that murdered her father. She was my main character last time, and I know I really am interested in her tale probably more than the rest. Welcome to the party!
And what a party it is, too. I’ve got a guy who can analyze weakness, a healer, and four characters who can all pump out magical attacks that hit everyone. Oh, and two characters that can recruit villagers to serve as summons.
The more time I spend in Octopath Traveler, the more I keep coming to the same thought. This might well be the best Final Fantasy game I’ve ever played. I mean, it’s not FF of course… not in name. But it’s like Final Fantasy without all of the pomp and convoluted storylines and slavish commitment to franchise tropes. What we’re left with is something that’s very upbeat, streamlined to the individual stories, filled with great music and visuals, and centered around a really engaging turn-based battle system.
Look at that — I picked up the eighth and final company member, Olberic (and, incidentally, finished my loop around the newbie portions of the world). He’s a reluctant old warrior called back into service, yadda yada. I’m tempted to include him in my core team for his tankish nature, but that would mean I’d have to kick someone else out… and I don’t know who I could bear to part with.
So what now? I guess I need to pick a character’s storyline and pursue it. You’re up to bat, Tressa, so don’t mess up.
We start making the journey west to Quarrybrook, and it’s during this trek that I discover the battle music actually changes. It’s the first time I’ve heard something different, and I’m glad for the variety (even if I have liked the battle theme to date).
I guess that explains how the game handles its questing system. When you get to a town or area where a character or multiple characters have a storyline quest there, it gives you a choice which to activate for the time being. Pretty straight-forward. I like it.
Bio Break 