Octopath Traveler 2 is One of the Most Underrated Games of 2023

Paying homage to the JRPGs with an incredible narrative and extremely fun and fluid gameplay
2023 has already given the gaming community some incredible titles this year, headlined by notable titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the Metroid Prime remaster, and much more. However, one of this year’s best titles has been flying under the radar in conversations: Octopath Traveler 2, an HD-2D JRPG developed by Square Enix and Acquire and published by Square Enix. While Octopath Traveler 2 is labeled as a sequel to the first game, it features a new cast of eight travelers who decide to accompany each other’s adventures. Fans of old-school Final Fantasy and other 2D JRPG games will appreciate the turn-based style of combat, and those that pay a ton of attention to detail will see the world of Solistia and its people truly come alive.
The game’s greatest strengths are (1) its eclectic cast of characters and their compelling narrative arcs and (2) the dynamic, turn-based gameplay and experimentation with various jobs/builds. However, some characters shine brighter than their peers, either because their personal stories resonate more than others OR their utility within the main party just cannot be denied. For this review article, Timurhan and Timothy (aka TnT) are taking a different approach than the other review articles on thanksforplaying.live. We created a collaborative power ranking, where we did a written snake draft with all eight travelers! We considered factors such as a traveler’s overall story arc, power level, and impact on our respective parties. As a bonus, we also gave ourselves the opportunity to respond to the other’s pick and share our thoughts about that character.
Before you read any further, please make sure you listened to our official review, facilitated by the always amazing Lucas!
PICK NO.1: – HIKARI – Tim (Orion)
Tim – This feels like a betrayal to Osvald, who I started with, but my god, Hikari is an absolute powerhouse. Osvald carried the early game for me, but from the start Hikari’s physical attack is insane, and once equipped with the Armsmaster job he has an answer for every encounter and has by far the most damage output of any other traveler. His story is nothing ground-breaking: Evil warmongering half-brother takes over the kingdom of Ku and he must travel throughout the world searching for allies to take back his homeland, but I found the interactions throughout his story to be intriguing as things don’t go as smoothly as he envisions. It was a tough decision, but the right one.
Timurhan - I am not mad at this pick at all, as I actually started my playthrough with Hikari. In general, I’m a sucker for the feudal-Japan aesthetic, and I usually gravitate towards characters that emphasize physical attack and defense oriented. While Hikari’s story follows the trope of an heir-apparent who wants to be a benevolent and honorable leader, Square made a great choice in adding in a supernatural element to explain why Hikari is so adept at dispatching his foes. This translates to Hikari having an absolutely insane damage output, even early in the game, with his latent abilities; Hikari single-handedly saved my ass through a few tough situations where I may have been a little under-leveled by delivering the final haymakers (“Brand’s Blade” and his latent abilities can do up to 99,999 damage with an unlockable passive skill). Plus, some of the most heartfelt and understanding moments come from Hikari’s banter with his fellow explorers, and his dialogue helped convince me that this group of 8 random personalities were held together by the future ruler of Ku.
PICK NO.2: OSVALD - Timurhan (Hyalet)
Timurhan - Imagine if we combine the power of Dumbledore with the characterization of Liam Neeson’s character in Taken. The end result is Osvald, the scholar (aka mage). Where Hikari is the best physical attacker in the game, Osvald is the most powerful magic user in the game. To start, his backstory is arguably one of the most interesting. He and his partner Harvey are both scholars who use science and math to increase the potency of their magic. Harvey grows increasingly jealous of Osvald, and as a result, Harvey frames him for the murder of Osvald’s mother and daughter. When we meet Osvald in the game world, we find him hardened by prison and fixated on revenge. Overall, Osvald’s story, especially towards the end, hit me the hardest. Story aside, Osvald is easily the most effective magic user, as he is able to hit multiple enemies at once with a single magic attack. Even though Osvald may take a couple of turns to reach peak efficiency and power, his damage output also reaches some insane heights. Much like this draft, Hikari and Osvald were the 1-2 punch in my main party.
Tim - No complaints here, and undisputedly the right pick. His “Study Foe” talent alone makes him borderline indispensable, and fights go that much quicker. Pairing him with the inventor job made him extremely versatile in the early to mid game, along with “Alephan’s Wisdom” + Osvald’s latent ability to deal chunky amounts of damage, made him an absolute force. Transitioning to the end game, equipping him with the Conjurer job made for perfect synergy. He made a solid Merchant and Armsmaster as well. Hell, he’s good to great at everything. The Taken reference is well…taken, and really resonated with me as a father of three daughters. It’s why I do feel that I betrayed Osvald in not taking him first as his story and character arc was one of my favorites.
PICK NO.3: TEMENOS - Timurhan (Hyalet)
Timurhan - This pick is where I had to start deciding between a character’s story vs. utility within my party, and this was probably my most difficult decision in my power rankings. Temenos gets the nod here, because his characterization and story were arguably the most interesting out of all of our explorer’s. Throughout the game, Temenos tries to solve the mystery of the murder of his church’s pontiff and winds up finding himself in the middle of a plot between his church and a clandestine cult that seeks said church’s downfall. However, what makes this story great is that neither side is villainized, and Temenos is both devout and doubtful to his and others beliefs. Further, he is extremely sarcastic yet caring, and his dynamic with Crick is one of my favorite ongoing interactions in the game. Story aside, Temenos acts a healer, a need for any party, and when given the Scholar job as a second class, is also a formidable magic user. His latent power paired with “Elemental Barrage” helped make quick work of many enemies’ shields in some rough boss encounters.
Tim - Ah, my little lamb, I fear thou hast reacheth on this pick! Don’t get me wrong, Temenos, both character and story-wise, were excellent. The smart-ass inquisitor had me laughing throughout, and his more somber and serious moments really created strong gravity to the moment. However, the big-bad of his arc is pretty weak despite his story doing a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of overall narrative to the story as a whole. In the end game he finished as my Arcanist, which synergized perfectly with his Cleric abilities. The Arcanist passive, “Price of Power,” particularly really raised his power level. Actually, the more I think about it the more I am jealous of this pick. Great damage output with his light spells, and the best healing in the game…dammit. Timenos outwits me again!
PICK NO.4: THRONE - Tim (Orion)
Tim – Two words: “Aeber’s Reckoning.” On the surface, it doesn’t seem like it would be that powerful of a skill since it isn’t tied into Throne’s EX skills (though “Disguise” is incredibly powerful in its own right), and she doesn’t have access to any strong skills from her latent ability. Like Lightning McQueen though, Throne’s all about speed baby! “Aeber’s Reckoning’s” power is based on her speed stat, and by stacking all speed equipment on her, a fully boosted “Aeber’s” will still hit for over 15-20k damage even to fully shielded enemies! Did I also mention that it hits all foes? And when using her latent ability you can “Swift Step” for even more speed with her first action, and deal even more damage in the second turn! This gets more into my actual review of the game (see the link above), but there were many times even nearing the end game where if I had both Hikari and Throne in my party I could two-shot bosses once setup. Bosses were too easy! She was a great Cleric as well in case you need to hit that “Oh Sh*t” button if multiple party members go down by using her latent ability to Revive and then Heal Wounds. Quickly on her story–Without getting into major spoilers I was really into her story until it took a super-weird turn in her final Chapter. Every interaction with “Father” and “Mother” I felt riveted by, and the stakes felt real when hunting them down for her freedom from the oppressive and abusive Black Snakes organization, and then, shit just got weird.
Timurhan – "Killing [Tim] would be safer, corpses don't come after you." - Throne. Just kidding! I agree with Throne being a 4th pick. Her story is perhaps the most personally tragic out of the 8 travelers - an orphan born to the Blacksnakes, a secret thieves (or more accurately, assassin) society, who seeks to break her servitude to the organization and the cycle of manipulation and abuse by the hands of her adoptive Mother and Father. Even though Tim wasn’t crazy about her ending, I actually really liked the emotional, tense twist about her parentage and her relationships to everybody within the Blacksnakes. In terms of party utility, Tim already summarized her incredible utility being the speediest party member. I actually made her a 2nd Hikari, where she mostly held the Warrior 2nd job, and landed crazy high damage on bosses. For example, “Corrosive Armor” + “Brand’s Blade” or “Aeber’s Reckoning” in the same turn felt absolutely unfair after a certain point.
PICK NO.5: PARTITIO - Tim (Orion)
Tim – Admittedly, our boy Partitio is a little naive. He has a big heart, always has it in his mind to help others, and certainly has lofty goals. End world poverty? C’mon man, you can’t be serious. Except, as you progress through his story, and see him develop strong relationships along the way, you begin believing that this wily, charismatic Merchant might be able to pull it off! Nevermind the fact that he saved me thousands upon thousands of leaves with his “Business Partners" talent, he also gets us a sweet ride (ship) to traverse between the two continents unlocking all sorts of additional side-content. He also happens to be the best utility character in the game. By pairing him with the Inventor job (once Osvald releases his strangle-grip on it in favor of Conjurer) he has incredible versatility along with access to powerful abilities and passives, such as “Donate BP” (powerful combined with his latent ability), “Sidestep” (super OP for solo encounters), and several others. (Minor spoiler: Unlocking the Foreign Assassin for his “Hired Help” skill is a must-have.) On top of all of that, Partitio seems like he would be an awesome dude to hang out and have a beer with after a long day working at the steam factory.
Timurhan – So I’m not sure if I would’ve picked Partitio as my fifth, mostly because his story and personality felt so annoying after a while. Maybe I just watched too much Shark Tank growing up, but it was really hard not to roll my eyes at the “Capitalism and entrepreneurship will end world poverty” theme at the end of each chapter of his story. That being said, his and Osvald’s paired story of supporting a young astronomer’s research was my favorite out of all the pairings, as you can see how someone with Partitio’s heart and charm can win over a stoic, cold Osvald into friendship. (Honestly, I agree that he would be the only party member that it’d be fun to have a drink with.) However, if we’re only talking about a character’s utility, Partitio has the potential to jump higher on this list. His Merchant job pairs perfectly with any other job in the game, so Partitio essentially takes on whatever role you need him to do - healer, tank, damage dealer, etc. My favorite combination was having him as an Arcanist, as “Seal of Diffusion” essentially spread all of Partitio’s buffs to all members of the party like “Sidestep” (guaranteed evade), “Rest” (recover HP and Skill Points), and more.
PICK NO.6: CASTTI - Timurhan (hyalet)
Timurhan - Castti’s story alone might be a reason to draft her higher if I re-did this process. At the start of the game, we find Castti alone and with amnesia. We learn that she was a part of a traveling team of apothecaries, but there are rumors that they essentially committed genocide against an entire town. I was completely engaged in her story, as we start to piece together pieces of Castti’s recent past and learn exactly why she and her contemporaries are both renowned and feared. However, as a party character, I did not have as much fun with her builds as I have the other picks before me. Castti is another healer, but she heals by brewing potions to heal, buff allies, debuff enemies, etc. However, these potions require ingredients that were pretty expensive early on, essentially making this skill only worth it when activating her latent ability which lets Castti brew without consuming resources. Once you have enough silver to buy the ingredients, the other party members are already a step above in terms of their support abilities. Towards the end of the game, I loaded her up with skills that allowed her to activate her latent ability more consistently and effectively, which was great for recovering HP, SP, and BP often, but that was about it for dedicating a build for her.
Tim - I am totally in agreement with regard to Castti’s story…although initially I was not. The whole amnesia schtick is formulaic to many stories we have heard and seen before, but as you progress through her story you really begin to feel a sense of urgency and hope that she figures out her past like ASAP! Unlike Agnea, which we’ll get to, the stakes are real (and scary), and the ramifications catastrophic if she doesn’t piece her past together in time. She is the group’s “mother hen” always doting on her fellow travelers, and is a natural leader. Her compassion throughout her story really shines, and by the end I felt just as worn out as she was! It is unfortunate then to say that her power level just doesn’t hold up to her story. Her “Concoct” ability is good in the early game for some clutch healing and debuff/shield breaking, but her healing capability is simply out-classed by Temenos. Her debuffs weren’t powerful enough to become a mainstay in my top 4, and by the mid-to-late-end game, multiple characters became much more efficient at shield breaking. In short, top three story, bottom three power level. #6 is the right place for her.
PICK NO.7: OCHETTE - Timurhan (hyalet)
Timurhan - This might actually come as a surprise to Tim, as we both complained about Ochette’s characterization throughout our time playing the game. As a character, she was just so freaking irritating, as her only purpose up until the end of her last chapter was eating meat. If you want to get an idea of 90% of her dialogue in game, she’s a carbon copy of Sokka’s on-stage character as depicted in “The Ember Island Players” in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Now that we got that out of the way, I actually really enjoyed the idea of her story - Ochette essentially has to save her island from an impending, apocalyptic disaster by catching three beasts of legend scattered around Solistia. This story itself nodded towards The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Pokemon. In terms of utility, she’s not extremely different from Hikari or Throne in that she too was extremely effective at dealing physical damage. However, once the player captures all of the beasts of legend, in addition to other extremely strong beasts in the overworld, Ochette can summon them to both grant insane buffs to the party and deal a boatload of damage to her foes. Considering Octopath Traveler 2 is an homage to the Final Fantasy games of old, Ochette easily slides into the role of summoner, which made it hard for me to give her the last pick of this draft.
Tim - “I’m hungry” - the most annoying words uttered by the most annoying traveler by far. At least her story made sense to the main plot, and her latent power, “Animal Instincts,” had multiple powerful options (massive single target damage, powerful AOE, and a crippling AOE debuff that can last for many turns), but I do not share Timurhan’s enjoyment in her story whatsoever. As her story came to a close there were moments that I did enjoy, but perhaps that was my unbridled jubilation that I felt that her story was finally coming to a close.
PICK NO.8: AGNEA - Tim (Orion)
Tim - If it wasn’t obvious, Ochette would’ve been my last pick. However, I am pleasantly surprised to see that Agnea is the last traveler available! I understand Timurhan’s point-of-view; her story has no stakes whatsoever, and the ending to her story (SPOILER ALERT) is a literal dance-off, which I promise is much cooler than it sounds. Let’s be fair. Most of this game’s stories can be borderline depressing at times, and the levity Agnea’s story of wanting to fill her deceased mother’s shoes by becoming a dancing star makes much more sense than Ochette’s constant desire to eat, eat, and eat some more. Not everyone can be thrust into a position of impending doom. Some gals just want to make it big and have fun helping others while achieve that same dream! And don’t get me started on her primary class, Dancer, which is one of the best utility jobs in the game. Paired with Merchant as her secondary job, Agnea rivaled Partitio as my main go-to to fill that utility slot in my party. There is some fun synergy to be had as her latent ability allows single target skills to spread to all targets, and if you combine that with Arrow of Fortune you will be swimming in job points. Of course, this can be paired with many other powerful single-target abilities that become outright broken when able to be used across all targets. She does not deserve to be the last pick, because she is a star! Watch her shine!
Timurhan - The beauty of how this snake draft worked is that I pretty much got to force the last pick for Tim (sorry bro.) Agnea’s story simply paled in comparison to everybody else’s story. While I completely understand that some levity is necessary when everybody else is dealing with really depressing shit, Agnea’s ambitions just felt so inconsequential and out of place. To make a long story short, Agnea wants to be a famous superstar dancer and spread smiles across the land. That’s it. As a party character, she’s fine in the early to mid-game as you’re still finding travelers to add to your party and have limited options for jobs, but towards the endgame, Agnea simply gets outclassed by other characters, whether it was recovery, reducing shield points, dealing damage, spreading buffs/debuffs, etc. One of the best parts about finishing the game was knowing I never have to hear her say, “WaTcH mE sHiNe” ever again.
We hope that our podcast review and our collaborative power rankings of the main characters show that Octopath Traveler 2 is truly an incredible JRPG. Many of its characters have rich storylines and personalities, and the gameplay encourages a lot of experimentation to find optimal and/or fun synergies between your party and the jobs they hold. Octopath Traveler 2 can easily be a game-of-the-year contender if it wasn’t for the already crowded pool of prospects this year.

Comments